Ring the Bell: Captain scores in overtime to send Bulldogs back to NCAA Women's Frozen Four

ERIE, Pa. — After 66 minutes and 38 seconds of 0-0 hockey Monday night at Erie Insurance Arena, Minnesota Duluth senior defenseman Ashton Bell had enough.

It was time to ring the bell on the scoreless marathon, and the Bulldogs’ captain did just that, literally ringing the puck in off the crossbar 6:39 into the overtime period to give fifth-seeded UMD a 1-0 overtime victory over fourth-seeded Colgate in the second of two NCAA quarterfinals played Monday.

Bell, scoring just her fourth goal of the season, intercepted a pass at the Bulldogs’ blue line, muscled her way past a Colgate defender in the neutral zone and unleashed the game-winning goal just before entering the slot to put UMD back in the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time in over a decade.

“It’s an incredible feeling. I have chills right now, still,” Bell said. “Getting coach her 100th win was a pretty special moment in the locker room for us. It’s pretty sweet.

“We haven’t been in the Frozen Four since 2010, so that’s pretty special. To get it with this group, we have a great group. We’re not finished yet.”

The Bulldogs advance to play top-seeded Northeastern in the national semifinals on Thursday in Erie. The Huskies cruised past Robert Morris 5-1 in the first quarterfinal on Monday. The other two Frozen Four participants will come from Tuesday’s quarterfinals featuring No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 Providence and No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Boston College.

Thursday will be the Bulldogs' first appearance in the Frozen Four since beating Cornell in three overtimes for the NCAA championship in 2010 in Minneapolis. That was also the last time the Bulldogs won an NCAA tournament game after dropping a 2-1 quarterfinal at Wisconsin in 2011 and losing 1-0 to Minnesota at Amsoil Arena in 2017.

“What a great hockey game, from start to finish. Two really good teams duking it out,” said UMD coach Maura Crowell, who beat her alma mater Monday for her first NCAA tournament victory as head coach and 100th win as coach of the Bulldogs. “We carried some momentum from the third into OT, and what a finish. Nice to see our captain bury that goal, so clutch. Our team is thrilled. It’s a really special moment for our program.”

Bulldogs junior goaltender Emma Soderberg made 30 saves for her sixth shutout in 18 games this season. It was a bounce-back performance for the netminder from Jarved, Sweden, after she was pulled in the second period of a 7-2 UMD loss on March 6 to the Buckeyes in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals in Minneapolis.

“She had an incredible game,” Bell said. “We had a slow start, but she was ready to go right from the puck drop, and she kept us in there.”

The Bulldogs relied on Soderberg to keep Colgate off the scoreboard in the first period as UMD’s 23-player roster was dunked into its first NCAA tournament game ever. The Bulldogs were outshot 12-6 in the opening 20 minutes, only to outshoot the Raiders the rest of the way 24-18.

Despite turning the tide on possession, clean looks became increasingly difficult for UMD to come by as Colgate consistently threw sticks and bodies between the Bulldogs and freshman goaltender Kayle Osborne, who made 29 saves for the Raiders.

UMD’s game-winning goal was one of the few clean looks UMD got all night, which is why Bell said she didn’t want to take the chance for granted.

“They were really tough; they came out strong,” Bell said. “They clogged things up in the middle and made it difficult for us to get shots through. We just stuck with it and kept getting pucks to the net, and it worked out for us in the end.”

The Bulldogs — with the sixth-best scoring defense in the country, giving up an average of 1.76 goals per game — didn’t give the Raiders many chances, either, especially after the first period. Averaging 2.77 goals per game heading into the NCAA tournament, Raiders coach Greg Fargo said his team would have liked to generate more chances than they did.

Fargo said he didn’t expect Monday’s game to be the defensive battle that it was, and definitely didn’t foresee a 0-0 game after 60 minutes.

“Duluth did a great job defensively and were in our way most of the night,” Fargo said. “They certainly played a good game and made a great play in overtime to win it.”

Minnesota Duluth 0-0-0-1—1

Colgate 0-0-0-0—0

First period

No scoring.

Second period

No scoring.

Third period

No scoring.

Overtime

1. UMD, Ashton Bell 4, 6:39.

Saves — Emma Soderberg, UMD, 12-7-8-3—30; Kayle Osborne, COL, 6-10-8-5—29.

Power plays — UMD 0-0; COL 0-1. Penalties — UMD 1-2; COL 0-0.

1/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Mannon McMahon (16), defenseman Sydney Bard (11) and Colgate goaltender Kayle Osborne (31) watch as Minnesota Duluth forward Ashton Bell (26) scores the game winning goal in overtime during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. Minnesota Duluth defeated Colgate to advance to the national semifinal. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

2/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Ashton Bell (26) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game winning goal against Colgate during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

3/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Mannon McMahon (16) celbrates after forward Ashton Bell (26) scored the game winning goal in overtime during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

4/26: Minnesota Duluth players react after defeating Colgate 1-0 in overtime during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

5/26: Minnesota Duluth coaching staff hugs after winning in overtime against Colgate during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

6/26: Minnesota Duluth goaltender Emma Soderberg (30) makes a stick save during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

7/26: Colgate goaltender Kayle Osborne (31) makes a save against Minnesota Duluth during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

8/26: Minnesota Duluth head coach Maura Crowell talks to her players during a timeout at the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. Tonight's win over Colgate was Crowell's 100th win as Minnesota Duluth head coach. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

9/26: Forward Anna Klein (19) and Minnesota Duluth forward Taylor Anderson (5) shoot the puck on goal against Colgate defenseman Allyson Simpson (10) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

10/26: Minnesota Duluth forward McKenzie Hewett (24) bats the puck away from Colgate defenseman Shelby Wood (17)during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

11/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Gabbie Hughes (17) pushes the puck away from Colgate forward Kaitlyn O'Donohoe (16)during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

12/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Ashton Bell (26) blocks a shot from Colgate forward Kaitlyn O'Donohoe (16) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

13/26: Minnesota Duluth goaltender Emma Soderberg (30) makes a save against Colgate during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

14/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Ashton Bell (26) and Colgate forward Eleri MacKay (14) compete for the puck during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. Bell was given a holding minor penalty on the play. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

15/26: Minnesota Duluth forward McKenzie Hewett (24) shoot the puck on goal against Colgate goaltender Kayle Osborne (31) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

16/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Clara Van Wieren (25) and Colgate forward Darcie Lappan (72) compete for the puck during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

17/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Gabbie Hughes (17) controls the puck against Colgate forward Delani MacKay (44) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

18/26: Minnesota Duluth defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith (28) pressures Colgate forward Kaitlyn O'Donohoe (16) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

19/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Taylor Anderson (5) shoots the puck on goal against Colgate goaltender Kayle Osborne (31)during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

20/26: Minnesota Duluth goaltender Emma Soderberg (30) makes a save against Colgate during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

21/26: Minnesota Duluth defenseman Lizi Norton (6) dives after the puck near Colgate forward Darcie Lappan (72) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

22/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Katie Davis (11) shoots the puck past Colgate defenseman Allyson Simpson (10) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

23/26: Minnesota Duluth forward Mannon McMahon (16) and Colgate forward Kalty Kaltounkova (98) compete for the puck during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

24/26: Minnesota Duluth Naomi Rogge (9) and Colgate defenseman Taylor Kirwan (26) compete for the puck during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

25/26: Minnesota Duluth Naomi Rogge (9) and Colgate defenseman Taylor Kirwan (26) compete for the puck during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

26/26: Minnesota Duluth Naomi Rogge (9) controls the puck against Colgate defenseman Sydney Bard (11) during the NCAA Women's National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinal game on Monday, March 15, 2021 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)