DULUTH — Maura Crowell and the Duluth, Minn., women's hockey program are adding another former Quinnipiac Bobcat, but this one took a bit of a detour via the WCHA to get to UMD.
St. Louis Park senior forward Olivia Mobley will return to Hockey State and join the Bulldogs for her fifth season of NCAA eligibility. The 2019-20 Minnesota Ms. Hockey played three seasons with the Bobcats from 2020-2023 and last year with the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
Mobley becomes the second former Bobcat to join UMD through the transfer portal this spring, along with senior forward Nina Steigauf. They played three seasons together in Hamden, Conn., from 2020-23.
Mobley had 34 goals and 51 assists in 93 career games with the Bobcats before posting nine goals and 18 assists in 39 games at OSU last year. She became Quinnipiac's leading point producer in her final two years, scoring a college-high 17 points as a sophomore in 2021-22 and a college-high 43 points as a junior in 2022-23. . Quinnipiac advanced to the NCAA Tournament both years.
Clint Austin / 2024 File / Duluth Media Group
Last season, Mobley had three goals and three assists as a Buckeye in six games against UMD, including two goals and one assist in the NCAA regional finals in Columbus. She was one of 10 transfers from the Buckeyes' national championship team last season and one of five transfers the team added last spring. The winger is one of three Buckeye players listed in the transfer portal this spring, and OSU adds five more transfer players, including former Bulldogs goaltender Haley McLeod did.
Mobley won three straight Minnesota High School Hockey Championships with Breck from 2018-2020, scoring 57 goals and 39 assists as a senior and was named Miss Hockey of Minnesota. She played six seasons on her varsity team, starting at Hopkins/Saint Louis University. Lewis Park starred as a middle schooler and scored 122 goals in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons in high school.
Mobley will be one of seven players on the Bulldogs' roster next season, along with four freshmen. UMD returns eight forwards, five defensemen and two goalies from last year's NCAA Tournament team.
Crowell said it's still possible she could join the next group — the Bulldogs currently only have six defensemen scheduled for next season — but she said the current roster situation is I'm really satisfied.”
“I think we once again did a good job in terms of identifying the right players that we need in the portal. We've been talking about our freshman class quite a bit,” Crowell said. “What we saw last year was tremendous growth in our returning players. I expect the same thing to happen with our kids now and take those steps again. We are really excited about next season.”
Bulldogs scheduled to enroll in 2024-25
transfer
Nina Steigauf, 5th place, F, Quinnipiac
Olivia Mobley, 5th, F, Ohio State/Quinnipiac
Tyndra Holm, Sr., G, Long Island
new student
Caitlin Kramer, F, Waterloo Ravens (OWHA)
Reese Logan, F, Etobicoke Dolphins (OWHA)
Zoe Kroc, F, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 19U AAA
Kamdyn Davis, D, Chicago Mission 19U AAA
