Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey

TheMinnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockeyteam is anNCAA Division Icollege ice hockeyprogram that represents theUniversity of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are a member of theNational Collegiate Hockey Conference(NCHC). The team plays home games at the 6,800-seatAMSOIL Arenaat theDuluth Entertainment Convention Center.
The Bulldogs program has produced manyNHLplayers such asGlenn 'Chico' Resch,Jim Johnsonwho is currently the assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks,Tom Kurvers,Dave Langevin, andBob Mason. Perhaps the best known alumni of Minnesota-Duluth includeHockey Hall of FamememberBrett Hull, as well asMark PavelichandJohn Harrington, both of whom were members of theMiracle on Icegold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. On April 9, 2011, the Bulldogs defeated theUniversity of Michigan, 3–2 in overtime, to win its first NCAA Division I Championship. UMD captured its second national championship on April 7, 2018, with a 2–1 win over theUniversity of Notre Dame, and its third championship (and second consecutive one) on April 13, 2019, with a 3–0 win over theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst.
Duluth started its ice hockey team in 1930 but shuttered the program after only two years. Oncethe depressionandWorld War IIhad ended, the Bulldogs rekindled the team and played as a minor independent for a few seasons before joining theMIACas a provisional member. WhenUMDjoined the MIAC fully in 1952 it coincided with the Bulldog's dominance of the conference. In its first two eligible seasons Minnesota–Duluth won the MIAC crown, going 15–2 in league play. After Bob Boyat's one season behind the bench where the team finished 2nd in conference, Connie Pleban took over and the Bulldogs ran roughshod over the MIAC. Duluth won six consecutive MIAC titles without losing a single game in league play. UMD also began to win against some of the major programs by the early 1960 and in 1962, withRalph Romanonow at the helm, the Duluth hockey team left the MIAC and played as an independent looking to promote itself as a major program (no formal distinctions between levels of play existed at the time for ice hockey).
After four seasons theWCHAinvited Minnesota–Duluth to join as its 8th member school. The addition of the Bulldogs allowed the WCHA to hold an 8-team conference tournament, which meant that UMD would participate in the first championship in program history. Predictably, the Bulldogs didn't fare well the first time out and that trend held for several seasons, as it wasn't until1971that Duluth notched its first postseason victory. More concerning was that, in its first 15 seasons in the WCHA, UMD produced only 2 winning seasons and never finished above 5th place in the conference. All of that was set to change, however, whenMike Sertichwas promoted to head coach in 1982.
Under Sertich UMD made the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons from 1983 to 1985.The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament for the first time in school history in1983, but were defeated byProvidence Collegein a two-game series by the scores of 3–7 and 2–3.
In 1983–84 UMD won its first conference regular season title and conference postseason tournament to receive the program's second bid to the NCAA tournament. UMD defeatedClarkson Universityin the quarterfinals and advanced to the1984 Frozen FourinLake Placid, New York.UMD reached the title game by defeating WCHA foe,University of North Dakota, 2–1 in overtime.The championship game featured a match-up between Minnesota–Duluth andBowling Green(CCHA).After 60 minutes of hockey, the game remained tied, 4–4. Bowling Green'sGino Cavalliniscored a goal in the fourth overtime to defeat UMD in the longest NCAA Division I ice hockey championship game in history, 97 minutes and 11 seconds of playing time.
For the third season in a row, the Bulldogs reached the NCAA tournament and for the second straight season UMD reached theFrozen Four.The team had their hopes for a national championship lost in another overtime game, this time a 6–5 semi-final loss in three overtimes toRensselaer.The Bulldogs would rebound in the third place game to defeatBoston College, 2–1 in overtime.
Minnesota–Duluth next bid to the NCAA tournament would come in1993. The Bulldogs facedBrown Universityin the first round, winning 7–3.UMD was defeated byLake Superior Statein the quarterfinals, 4–3.  Lake Superior State would go on to the Frozen Four, losing in the national title game toMaine.
UMD's next NCAA post-season berth came after an 11-year drought in2004. The Bulldogs won the first game in the Midwest Regional, shutting outMichigan State5–0.The win over Michigan State set up a game against WCHA rival and the defending back-to-back national champions,Minnesota.UMD advanced to the Frozen Four by defeating Minnesota 3–1 and faced another WCHA rival,Denver, in the semi-final game.After two periods, with UMD leading, it was looking very likely that UMD would make it into the NCAA Championship game since UMD hadn't lost all season when leading after two periods, but the Bulldogs lost to the Pioneers 5–3 after a four-goal third period by Denver.
The 2008–09 season marked a historic season for the Bulldogs. The 5th-seeded Minnesota–Duluth swept through the2009 WCHA playoffs. UMD sweptColorado Collegein the opening round by scores of 4–1 and 3–1.The Bulldogs advanced to the WCHA Final Five and won 2–1 against Minnesota in the opening game at theXcel Energy CenterinSaint Paul, Minnesota;In the next game, the team beat North Dakota with a 3–0 shutout victory and advanced to the WCHA championship against Denver.Playing in the third game in three days, the Bulldogs shocked the crowd when the team defeated Denver with a 4–0 shutout win.The win over DU was the program's third WCHA Playoff Championship in the school's history and marked the first time that a 4th or 5th-seeded team had won the WCHA Final Five.The historic playoff run by UMD was punctuated by winning three games against ranked teams in three consecutive nights, including back-to-back shutouts from goaltenderAlex Stalock; in addition to the shutouts, the Bulldogs allowed only three goals against through the entire WCHA playoffs.
With the WCHA title, Minnesota–Duluth secured an automatic bid to the2009 NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs entered tournament play and amazingly forced overtime by scoring two goals in the last 40 seconds of regulation and then scored in overtime for a 5–4 overtime win overPrinceton.The team advanced to the West Regional final against first-rankedMiami (Ohio). In the game the RedHawks took a 2–0 lead into the third period when the team rallied back and scored late in the game.
The 2010–11 season marked a historic year for the UMD program. On December 30, 2010, the Bulldogs moved into the new 6,800-seatAMSOIL Arenalocated at theDuluth Entertainment Convention Center.In 2011, the Bulldogs earned an at-largeNCAA Tournamentbid. They reached the Frozen Four for the fourth time in the school's history with 2–0 and 5–3 wins overUnion CollegeandYale University, respectively.UMD was the only Minnesota team competing in the 2011 Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, essentially making it a home series for the team.On April 7, the Bulldogs defeated Notre Dame by a score of 4–3 to secure its first trip to the championship game since the 1983–84 season.On April 9, the Bulldogs beat theMichigan Wolverines3–2 in overtime to win their first men's ice hockey championship in school history.
In the summer of 2011, Minnesota Duluth, along with five other schools, announced the formation of a new conference, known as theNational Collegiate Hockey Conference(NCHC). The conference began competition for the 2013–14 season with six founding members: Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota.In the 2011–12 season, the Bulldogs would again make it to the NCAA Tournament. The team defeatedMaineby a score of 5–2, but lost toBoston College4–0 the following evening in the regional finals.Jack Connollywas awarded the 2012 Hobey Baker award on April 6, 2012, for his performance during the season.
Minnesota-Duluth returned to the NCAA Tournament during the 2014–2015 season where they defeated the University of Minnesota 4–1 in the Northeast Regional Semi-final before losing to Boston University, 3–2, in the Northeast Regional Final.
In 2016–17, the Bulldogs compiled a 28–7–7 record and advanced to their first Frozen Four since 2011, but lost to Denver 3–2 in the national championship game.
In the 2017–2018 season, the Bulldogs defeated theNotre Dame Fighting Irish2–1 to win the national championship.
In the 2018–2019 season, the Bulldogs defeated theUMass Minutemen3–0 to win the national championship for the second year in a row, the first back-to-back national champions since Denver repeated in 2004 and 2005 and the first team to play in three straight National Championship games (2017, 2018, and 2019) sinceBoston College Eaglesin 2006, 2007, and 2008.
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As of April 30, 2024
Source:
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =Save percentage; GAA =Goals against average
Minimum 30 games
Statistics current through the start of the 2021–22 season.
As of August 20, 2024.
This is a list of Minnesota–Duluth alumni who have played on anOlympic team.
Source:
Source:
AHCA First Team All-Americans
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
First Team All-WCHA
Second Team All-WCHA
Third Team All-WCHA
All-WCHA Rookie Team
First Team All-NCHC
Second team All-NCHC
NCHC All-Rookie Team
As of July 1, 2024.
Several players also were members ofWHAteams.
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