No. 8 UMD women’s hockey to play in top-ten matchup after bye week

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - The University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey team had their bye week and now are set to face the fourth-ranked University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in a home series.

The Bulldogs are also ranked in the top ten, they are sitting at No. 8 currently but being a highly ranked team isn’t the only thing these two teams have in common.

The four total losses for UMD (8-2) and the U of M (7-2) all came against The Ohio State University in October.

Last season the Gophers got the best of UMD in all five matchups including a 3-0 shutout in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regional Finals.

“It’s always exciting, (the) Bulldogs-Gophers matchup, We get to host in Duluth and these are huge games for us,” said head coach Maura Crowell. “We love playing on home ice and we want to make it as uncomfortable for them as possible.”

Despite the recent shortcomings, the players are excited about playing in such competitive games.

“It’s great competition, we have a lot of girls on the two teams that played against each other growing up, so it creates animosity and builds a great tension in the arena. I like being part of that. It’s really not anything personal with it, but I love playing against the Gophers,” said senior defender Nina Jobst-Smith.

Friday’s puck drop is set for 6 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena.

Saturday’s matchup is also Military Appreciation Night and puck drop is set for 3 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena and will be broadcast on the MY9 Sports Network.

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