Bulldog Insider

A year ago this month, Minnesota Duluth goaltender Zach Stejskal went public with his diagnosis of testicular cancer. It triggered not only a wave of support for the Cohasset native, but a surge in donations for the Bulldogs' Movember campaign, which raises funds and awareness for men's physical and mental health issues.

Stejskal is now cancer free, and leading a new group of Bulldogs goaltenders that includes senior transfer Matthew Thiessen and freshman Zach Sandy. He and his teammates are also once again raising funds and awareness for Movember by growing mustaches. Stejskal joins the Bulldog Insider Podcast this week to talk about all of that, and more.

Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com and more episodes of Bulldog Insider wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes air every Thursday.

This week on the Bulldog Insider Podcast, we're talking about the state of women's professional hockey. And unlike previous years, we didn't have to Zoom with players from seven time zones away to do so.

A flood of players — from the U.S., Canada and Europe — have returned from European leagues to play in the Premier Hockey Federation this season, including a number of Minnesota Duluth alumni. There are five former Bulldogs playing on the Minnesota Whitecaps this season, and two — Sidney Morin and Sydney Brodt — joined the podcast this week to discuss the investments the PHF (formerly the National Women's Hockey League) has made to bring in the world's best players.

Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com and more episodes of Bulldog Insider wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes air every Thursday.

Minnesota Duluth sophomore defenseman Will Francis joined the Bulldog Insider Podcast this week to talk about his battle with leukemia and what it took to get back on the ice playing hockey at a high level. Francis shares what it's like to be an inspiration to others battling cancer and the fundraising he's doing for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com."

Thanks to the return of an Olympic gold medalist and a goaltender who has broke out on the international stage in the past year, Bulldogs fifth-year senior center Gabbie Hughes hasn't been in the spotlight as much as you might expect for a player coming off a season in which she was a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award.

The Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

This week on the Bulldog Insider Podcast, Minnesota Duluth's Jesse Jacques and Minnesota State's Ryan Sandelin go way back having both grown up in Hermantown together. For the past four years, however, they've been facing off as rivals in college.

Besides their college careers as rivals and prep careers as teammates, the guys discuss how they met, Jesse's nickname and the origins of it, the significance of jersey number 11, who had the best hair in high school, which former teammate would make a good subject for a documentary film and more.

The Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

This week on the Bulldog Insider Podcast, new University of Minnesota Duluth athletic director Forrest Karr joins to discuss the future of NCAA athletics and that little controversy over a new mascot costume.

The Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

This week on the Bulldog Insider Podcast, Minnesota Duluth junior wing Blake Biondi tells us what it was like to have his senior year at Hermantown High School documented by a film crew for the documentary, 'Hockeyland'; and what it was like to go back and relive that part of his life three years later.

The Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com."

The Bulldog Insider Podcast drops the puck on its fifth season with an in-depth conversation with Olympic gold medalist Ashton Bell. The Minnesota Duluth fifth-year senior defenseman and captain is back with the Bulldogs in 2022-23 after traveling the globe last season with Team Canada, winning gold medals at the 2021 and 2022 IIHF World Championship, and at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

The Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited by Duluth News Tribune digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com."

In Part 2 of the Bulldog Insider Podcast Season 4 finale, the 'Bulldog Insiders' — Matt Wellens, Zach Schneider and Bruce Ciskie — take your questions looking back at the 2021-22 UMD men's and women's hockey seasons while also looking ahead to the 2022-23 seasons.

They break down what the rosters look like at the moment (Note: Connor Kelley had not entered the transfer portal yet when this was recorded) for both the men and women, discuss the incoming players and also put together their All-UMD outdoor rec-league teams as requested by former co-host Kelly Hinseth.

The Bulldog Insider Podcast is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. This episode was edited and produced by Matt Wellens. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

As members of the UMD mens hockey team, Matt Anderson, Koby Bender, Ben Patt, Louie Roehl and Kobe Roth have helped make memories that Bulldogs fans will never forget. In their five seasons, UMD won two NCHC Frozen Faceoff titles, played in four NCAA tournaments, reached three Frozen Fours and won two national championships.

In the first part of a two-part season finale of the Bulldog Insider podcast, Anderson, Bender, Patt and Roth join the News Tribune's Matt Wellens and My9's Zach Schneider to look back on their unforgettable five seasons in Bulldog Country. They discuss their first days on campus, favorite on-ice and off-ice moments, which teacher or staff member impacted their lives most, what the future holds for them, what it was like to watch their captain, Noah Cates, make his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers and much, much more.

Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens and My9 television voice of Bulldog hockey Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producer Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

You can find more episodes of Bulldog Insider wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes air every Thursday.