On September 10, 1997, University of Minnesota Duluth Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin and Athletic Director Bob Corran announced that women's Division I hockey would be making its debut at UMD for the 1999–2000 season. On April 20, 1998, Shannon Miller, head coach of Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics, was hired as the head coach.
On October 1, 1999, the Bulldogs played their first exhibition game in Salt Lake City, Utah, against the Olympic Oval Team from Calgary, Alberta. This game opened the new hockey facility for the 2002 Olympic Games.[3]
The Bulldogs played the Wisconsin Badgers on October 8, 1999, in the first women's WCHA conference game at the Kohl Center in Madison, WI. It was the highest attended game of the season (3,892) and resulted in an 8–0 defeat of the Badgers.[4] Forward Maria Rooth (Ängelholm, Sweden) was selected as Player of the Week in the WCHA on November 22, 1999, the first for UMD.
The Bulldogs season-starting winning streak of 12 games was snapped by Princeton University with a 2–2 tie in Princeton, NJ on December 10, 1999. UMD won the Lake Placid Tournament hosted by St. Lawrence University on January 22, 2000. Freshman goalie Tuula Puputti, freshman forward Hanne Sikio and junior defenseman Brittny Ralph were named to the All-Tournament Team. Sikio was also selected as the Tournament Most Valuable Player.[5]
The Minnesota Gophers hand the Bulldogs their first conference loss 4–3 in a sold-out game at Pioneer Hall (Duluth, MN) on February 11, 2000.
The Bulldogs clinched the women's WCHA regular season championship on February 26, 2000, with a sweep of Minnesota State-Mankato and earned the number one seed for the 2000 WCHA playoffs.
UMD took the inaugural NCAA Division I national championship on March 25, 2001, by defeating St. Lawrence University by a score of 4–2. This marked the first NCAA team championship for the Bulldogs. Maria Rooth was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament while her teammates Tuula Puputti and Brittny Ralph were named to the All-Tournament team.[6] On June 25, 2001, the Bulldogs were honored at the White House by President George W. Bush, the first women's hockey team to be invited to the White House.[7]
Five Bulldogs traveled to Salt Lake City to compete with their national teams at the 2002 Winter Olympics. From the 2001–2002 roster, forwards Maria Rooth and Erika Holst played for bronze medal winner Sweden while forward Hanne Sikio and goaltender Tuula Puputti skated for fourth-place Finland. Kristina Petrovskaia finished fifth with Team Russia. UMD also had two players in the Olympic final game, 2001–2002 newcomer and Olympic gold medalist Caroline Ouellette (Canada) and returning Bulldog and 2002 Olympic silver medalist Jenny Potter (USA).
The Bulldogs, 2002 NCAA national women's hockey champions, were recognized by the Minnesota Twins baseball team at the H.H.H. Metrodome in Minneapolis on May 6, 2002.[8] Jenny Potter set an NCAA record (since tied) for most goals in one game with 6. This was accomplished on December 18, 2002, versus St. Cloud State.[9] Ouellette set an NCAA record for most shorthanded goals in one game with 2. This was accomplished on November 14, 2003, versus North Dakota.[9]
On March 22, 2010, Duluth Mayor Don Ness presented Shannon Miller with a proclamation declaring Friday, March 26, 2010, as "Shannon Miller Day."[10]
On January 21, 2011, The top-ranked Badgers defeated the Bulldogs on the opening night of AMSOIL arena in front of 1,639 fans. The Badgers defeated the Bulldogs 4–1, extending their 11 game-winning streak, best in the NCAA. The Bulldogs still lead the all-time series 26–21–9.[11] A ceremonial puck drop featured Bulldog legends Jenny Potter, Caroline Ouellette and Maria Rooth. In both games, the Bulldogs wore special edition black jerseys.[12] The following day (January 22), for only the second time this season, the Bulldogs found themselves in a two-goal deficit after the first period of play. Despite trailing the No. 1 University of Wisconsin by two goals in each of the three periods, the Bulldogs scored three goals in the final 11 minutes of regulation to earn a 4–4 draw with the top-ranked Badgers in AMSOIL Arena.[13]
Rivalries
Minnesota–Duluth, a traditional rival to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in men's hockey, would start its own rivalry in the women's game. The school gave a three-year, $210,000 contract to Shannon Miller, who coached Canada to the 1998 Olympic final in Nagano. Miller recruited players from Canada, Finland and Sweden, including four Olympians. The rivalry grew as Miller recruited a pair of players away from Minnesota: star forward Jenny Schmidgall, (whose 93 points in 1999–2000 would lead the nation), and defenseman Brittny Ralph, who would serve as the Bulldogs' first ever captain. In the first season, Duluth would lose just once to the Gophers in their first five meetings, which included a 2–0 Bulldogs victory in the final of the WCHA tournament.[14]
Attendance
When the program still played at the DECC, despite the team's success, UMD women's hockey rarely drew a large crowd to its home ice. According to the website US College Hockey Online, the women's hockey team averaged 610 people out of an official 5233 seats, an 11.6% capacity.[15] Even while winning five national titles, more than any other program at that time, the Bulldogs averaged sixth in attendance in women's Division I hockey. The men's team, however, averaged an attendance of 4253 per game having won one national title, an 86.2% capacity rating.[16] They moved in with the men's team in 2010 to the new AMSOIL Arena.
Season by season results
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
Won Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota State (5–4, 1–3, 3–2 (OT)) Lost Semifinals vs. Minnesota (1–5)
Won First Round vs. Harvard (4–0) Won Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota (2–1) Won Semifinals vs. Northeastern (2–1 (2OT)) Lost Championship vs. Ohio State (2–3)
The UMD Bulldogs program has had more Winter Olympians than any other program in the history of NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey; 33 current or former Bulldogs have competed in the Olympic Women's ice hockey tournament.[18]
There are only two Bulldogs players who have won gold in the midst of their college eligibility: Haley Irwin with Team Canada in 2014 and Maddie Rooney with Team USA in 2018.[21]
Postseason history
Won the first three NCAA Division I women's ice hockey national championships in 2001, 2002, and 2003.
On March 18, 2007, the Bulldogs lost in the NCAA Frozen Four championship game to Wisconsin 4–1.
The Bulldogs won their fourth national title in 2008 by defeating two-time defending champion Wisconsin 4–0 in Duluth. The victory capped a memorable season for UMD, which went 33–4–1 and also scored an overtime victory over Wisconsin to win the title of the WCHA Final Face-off, the league playoff championship.[22]
Won their fifth NCAA Division I women's ice hockey national championship in 2010.
