Bulldogs Prepare For Sophomore Success
The University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs women's hockey team is back after taking the women's college hockey world by storm in their inaugural season a year ago.
The Bulldogs wasted no time in establishing themselves as one of the premier programs in the nation last winter by capturing the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title with a 21-1-2 record (25-5-3 overall) and following that up with a league playoff championship. For their efforts, the team was rewarded with a trip to the 2000 AWCHA championships in Boston, where they placed fourth.
Guiding UMD in their quest for a WCHA title repeat and a berth in the first-ever NCAA championship is last year's WCHA Coach of the Year, Shannon Miller. A former coach of the Canadian Olympic Team, Miller led UMD to a 25-5-3 overall record in her first year of coaching women's college hockey. The Bulldogs pieced together a 21-game unbeaten streak (19-0-2) to begin the year. They were tops in the nation in power-play goals (43) and second in goals scored (196).
Miller is obviously enthused about the team's prospects for the 2000-01 season. "We head into our second season with a strengthened roster and a ton of enthusiasm." She says, "Players uniting from five countries, proudly representing the UMD Bulldogs, with clear goals in mind. This is a great story of a unique team that wants to write their own ending."
The Bulldogs are confident that some new additions will compensate for a couple of key losses from last year's team. One of those missing from the 1999-00 roster includes the WCHA Player of the Year and NCAA scoring leader, Jenny Schmidgall who is expecting her first child in January.
The Bulldogs are still encouraged by the return of 18 players (11 forwards, five defensemen, two goalies) from last year's squad that includes sophomore Maria Rooth, last year's WCHA Rookie of the Year. The All-WCHA First Team-member contributed 37 goals and 31 assists for 68 points as a freshman, good for fifth in the nation. The winger terrorized the opposition, netting four hat tricks on the season.
Rooth's linemate, Erika Holst (25-25=50) will return with an unmatched physical presence combined with a knack for finding the net. The Bulldogs will also look to Hanne Sikio (25-39=64) to maintain her superb and consistent offensive production from a year ago. A pacesetter on the power-play, Sikio amassed a 23-game point streak during the 1999-2000 season. Sikio's deft scoring touch coupled with her bullet slap shot will mean she will be showcased as a forward and a defenseman this year.
UMD will also look to a pair of sparkplugs up front - Michelle McAteer (17-10=27) and Jenny Hempel (6-3=9) - to provide an offensive charge for the team. They will be aided by Joanne Eustace (7-11=18), Laurie Alexander (3-6=9) and Jessi Flink (5-5=10). All are returning from last year's team and all provide tenacious two-way ability.
The Bulldogs return a solid core of defensemen who helped hold opponents to a 1.74 goals per game average. Leading the `Dogs' will be senior captain Brittny Ralph, whose nine goals and 22 assists for 31 points was tops among all team defensemen. Helping Ralph at the point will be Navada Russell (5-25=30) and Pamela Pachal (3-21=24), specialists at the transition game.
The Bulldogs will be backstopped by their No. 1 goalie from a year ago, sophomore Tuula Puputti. The former Finnish National team starter was instrumental in the championship run of a year ago. In her 13 games as a starter, Puputti posted a 1.62 goals-against average, a team-leading .936 save percentage, and three shutouts. Providing relief is newcomer, Patricia Sautter, a member of the Swiss National Team for the last five years.
In addition to Sautter, the Bulldogs have added two forwards and two defensemen to strengthen their roster in Sheena Podovinnikoff, Sanna Peura, Tricia Guest and Satu Kiipeli.
By Ira Turunen, UMD Asst. SID
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