Bulldog Insider

The 2021-2022 University of Minnesota Duluth mens hockey season officially came to a close on Saturday, March 26, 2022 in Loveland, Colorado with Denver’s 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs in a NCAA regional final. 

A two-part season finale of the Bulldog Insider podcast is planned as episodes return next week. In part one, the News Tribune’s Matt Wellens and My9’s Zach Schneider will chat with the fifth-year seniors of the UMD mens team. Part two will feature KDAL’s Bruce Ciskie as he’ll join Matt and Zach to look back at the 2021-2022 seasons for both the UMD men and UMD women. They will also take your questions. If you have a question to ask or topic to discuss, contact Matt by email at [email protected] or at Twitter@mattwellens. Thank you for listening!

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.

Once rivals in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the UMD mens hockey team and Michigan Tech will meet for the 233rd time on Thursday at 2 p.m. This time, it will be in Loveland, Colorado in the NCAA regional semifinals at the Budweiser Events Center.

The Bulldogs will see a familiar face in Jake Magdzas. The former Amsoil Arena Ice Foreman is now Manager, Operations at Budweiser Events Center. In this week's episode, he joins the News Tribune's Matt Wellens and My9's Zach Schneider to discuss how he ended up in Colorado, creating quality ice conditions, future goals and plays a game of "compare and contrast."

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.

The UMD womens hockey team is back in the NCAA Frozen Four for the second straight season after beating Harvard 4-0 in the first round, followed by a dramatic 2-1 victory over Minnesota at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday. Now the Bulldogs get a Frozen Four semifinal rematch with Northeastern at 2:30 p.m. on Friday at Pegula Ice Arena on the campus of Penn State University. The winner gets either Ohio State or Yale at 3 p.m. Sunday in the national championship.

The Frozen Four bound Bulldogs have had solid performances out of goaltenders Emma Soderberg and sophomore Jojo Chobak. It's a position where only one gets to play, but for the one not playing, the other is their biggest supporter. In this week's episode, they join the News Tribune's Matt Wellens and My9's Zach Schneider to discuss returning to the Frozen Four, competing for playing time, the contributions of freshman Holly Gruber to the goalie room, who is better in a shootout, which forward or defensemen would make a good goalie 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 producers Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team is back in the NCAA tournament for a second consecutive season. They are the No. 8 overall seed and will take on the No. 9 overall seed, Harvard, at 6 p.m. on Thursday in a first-round game at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The winner of Thursday's first-round game moves on to play Minnesota, the No. 2 overall seed, in an NCAA quarterfinal at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Ridder Arena.

As sophomores, all defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith and forward Clara Van Wieren know is playing in the NCAA Tournament. In this week's episode, they join the News Tribune's Matt Wellens and My9's Zach Schneider to preview the tournament, discuss having two solid goalies, the absence of Maggie Flaherty and how they have grown as hockey players. They also play a game of "quick hits," sharing their favorite Olympic jerseys, what teammate has the best GIF and if they could sail anywhere in the world, where would that be?

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 Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

This week on the Bulldog Insider, the crew put a call out on Twitter for questions, and you the listeners responded.

News Tribune reporter Matt Wellens, Zach Schneider of My9 Sports and KDAL's Bruce Ciskie answer your questions about goaltending for both University of Minnesota Duluth men and women, what's troubling the men's team in the second half, future fifth-year seniors and the transfer portal.

Also joining the podcast ahead of Senior Night for the UMD men's program on Saturday is Jesse Jacques and Hunter Lellig. The two were freshmen when the Bulldogs won the second of back-to-back national championships in Buffalo, New York. Jacques and Lellig look back on their college careers and share what's next for them.

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 Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

The University of Minnesota women's hockey team has 12 seniors on this year's team, but only five are maybe moving on after the season.

On this week's episode, Duluth News Tribune reporter Matt Wellens takes a walk down memory lane with senior center McKenzie Hewett, senior defenseman Kailee Skinner and fifth-year winger Anna Klein. The trio talks about why they chose to play for the storied program, what lessons they've learned by playing through a pandemic and what their plans are following the postseason.

The Bulldog women host Minnesota State in a best-of-three WCHA quarterfinal series Friday through Sunday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.

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 Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com."

A little less than three months ago, Minnesota Duluth sophomore goaltender Zach Stejskal announced he was battling testicular cancer.

Stejskal declined interviews at the time to focus on his health, but did do a question and answer piece with UMDBulldogs.com in which he wrote in all CAPS, "I DO PLAN TO PLAY" hockey again in 2021-22. Stejskal kept his word as the Cohasset native and former Grand Rapids High School standout returned to the Bulldogs crease Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022 at Magness Arena in Denver in an unplanned relief appearance of junior starter Ryan Fanti at the start of the second period. Stejskal made 20 saves on 22 shots as the Bulldogs won 3-2.

In this week's episode, Stejskal tells the News Tribune's Matt Wellens and My9's Zach Schneider what it was like receiving his diagnosis, his attitude, the support from family, teammates and opponents and returning to the ice.

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 Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

"Jojo" is a name that Bulldogs fans are quickly becoming familiar with. With senior starting goaltender Emma Soderberg away with Sweden at the 2022 Olympic games in Beijing, Minnesota Duluth sophomore goaltender Violet "Jojo" Chobak has been in net for the Bulldogs. Recently, she helped UMD get their first win at Wisconsin since 2010.

In this week's episode, Chobak tells the News Tribune's Matt Wellens and My9's Zach Schneider what it was like learning to play hockey in Chicago, how she became a goalie, UMD's reputation as "Goaltending U," her relationship with Soderberg and what Olympic athlete she'd most like to meet.

KDAL's Bruce Ciskie also stops by the podcast as he, Matt and Zach discuss the UMD men's game at St. Cloud State this past Tuesday, the long review of a St. Cloud State shootout goal and the 2022 Olympic games.

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 Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

For this week's guests, deciding to join Team USA for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing was a no-brainer.

With the NHL deciding to not participate in the Winter Games due to COVID-19 concerns, the United States men's hockey team instead consists of a combination of past and present high-level college players, creating one of its youngest teams in decades.

Joining us this week on the podcast is Bulldogs senior captain and U.S. Olympic men's hockey team winger, Noah Cates and U.S. assistant men's hockey coach Brett Larson — the Duluth Denfeld graduate, former Bulldogs player and coach, and current head coach at St. Cloud State.

Cates and Larson joined the podcast from Los Angeles on Monday prior to Team USA's departure to Beijing. They talked about their decision to join the team, what it's like to come together as a team so quickly and what they are most looking forward to at the Olympics.

The first game for the American men is next Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7:10 a.m. Duluth time vs. the hosts, China.

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 Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.

With temperatures trapped below 0 this week in Minnesota, the Bulldog Insider Podcast did what any good Minnesotan would do.

It went ice fishing.

Former Minnesota Duluth assistant and associate head coach Jason Herter joined the podcast from an ice house on Lake of the Woods this week. Now an associate head coach at Western Michigan, Herter and his family still call the Duluth area their home. Herter was in Minnesota ahead of this weekend's NCHC series between the Bulldogs and Broncos at Amsoil Arena to see his family, do some scouting and ice fish with a few friends.

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 Samantha Erkkila and Dan Williamson. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com.