DULUTH — Emma Soderberg picked up her 17th career shutout and Gabbie Hughes notched her 199th career point as Minnesota Duluth finished off a home sweep of Bemidji State, winning 5-0 on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Soderberg, the fifth-year senior goaltender and Swedish Olympian, only needed eight saves to move into a tie for second among UMD goaltenders in career shutouts, matching the 17 Switzerland's Riitta Schaublin accumulated from 2003-2007. Saturday was Soderberg's sixth shutout of the 2022-23 season, matching her own career high set back in 2020-21.
Three more shutouts this season will tie Sodeberg with Kayla Black (2012-16) atop UMD's career shutout list at 20. Four shutouts give her that record, and tie her with Black for the single-season record of 10 from 2014-15.
Saturday originally appeared to be Hughes' night to celebrate a major milestone as she picked up an assist for point No. 199 at 16:45 of the first period, helping the Bulldogs take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. The assist — No. 121 of her career — moved the fifth-year senior center and captain into fourth in career assists by a Bulldog, but she'd finish a point shy of becoming the seventh Bulldog to ever hit 200 career points.
Fifth-year senior defenseman and captain Ashton Bell gave the Bulldogs a quick 1-0 lead 5:59 into the game, scoring her 24th career goal as a defenseman. Bell, the Olympic gold medalist from Canada, is tied with Krista McArthur (2002-06) for second at UMD in career goals by a defenseman. Bell needs five more to tie the school record of 29 set by another converted defenseman, Jessica Wong.
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Ashton Bell is now in a two-way tie for second among all UMD blueliners with 24 career goals after this beaut pic.twitter.com/ZO6Hte4QCK
— UMD Women's Hockey (@UMDWHockey) January 14, 2023
Fifth-year senior forwards Anneke Linser and Naomi Rogge also scored goals Saturday, as did junior wing Clara Van Wieren. Linser had two goals, Bell had a goal and an assist while fifth-year seniors Kylie Hanley and Maggie Flaherty had two assists each.
Abbie Thompson finished with 29 saves on 34 shots for Bemidji State.
The Bulldogs hit the road again next weekend for games on Saturday and Sunday at St. Thomas. Fourth-place UMD has moved within four points of third-place Wisconsin in the WCHA standings as the Bulldogs have opened 2023 with back-to-back league sweeps while the Badgers went 0-4 against the Bulldogs and Ohio State to start the new year. Fifth-place St. Cloud State has fallen 11 points back of UMD following two losses at Minnesota State.
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