Recent History
UMD's next NCAA post-season berth came after an eleven-year drought in 2004. The Bulldogs won the first game in the Midwest Regional, shutting out Michigan State 5–0. 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 semifinal game. Despite having the lead after the first two periods, 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 the 2009 WCHA playoffs. UMD swept Colorado College in 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 the Xcel Energy Center in Saint 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 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 goaltender Alex 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 the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Cinderella Bulldogs entered tournament play with a 5-4 overtime win over Princeton. The team advanced to the West Regional final against first-ranked Miami (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-seat AMSOIL Arena located at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. In 2011, the Bulldogs earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. They reached the Frozen Four for the fourth time in the school's history with 2-0 and 5-3 wins over Union College and Yale 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 the Michigan Wolverines 3-2 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 the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The conference will begin 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 defeated Maine by a score of 5-2, but lost to Boston College 4-0 the following evening in the regional finals. Jack Connolly was awarded the 2012 Hobey Baker award on April 6, 2012 for his performance during the season.
Read more about this topic: Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs Men's Ice Hockey, History
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