Bulldog Insider – Details, episodes & analysis

The second part of a "double dog week" is here for the Bulldog Insider podcast with another episode, this one featuring freshman defenseman Grayden Siepmann of the UMD mens team. The native of Langley, British Columbia, Canada has five goals and seven assists in 33 games this season.

Siepmann joins Bulldog Insider co-hosts Matt Wellens and Zach Schneider to discuss his background in hockey, his path to UMD, how he ended up with number 37, his passion for cooking, who is the "MVP" of his living situation with teammates as roommates, and much more.

The Bulldogs face North Dakota on the road on Saturday at 6:07 PM in an NCHC semifinal showdown. As Wellens writes, UMD is considered a lock to make the 16-team NCAA Tournament.

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

The season is not done for Ashley Messier and the UMD womens hockey team! They earned a sixth-consecutive NCAA tournament berth. Messier, a Graduate Student defenseman from Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Canada, joined the Bulldogs after five years at Cornell. If you're wondering about her last name, she is indeed related to NHL legend Mark Messier, who is a cousin of her father Joby, also a former NHL player.

In this episode, Messier joins Bulldog Insider co-host Matt Wellens via Zoom, discussing her background in hockey, why she transferred to UMD, being reunited with Bishop Kearney Selects teammate Mary Kate O'Brien, making the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and much more.

The Bulldogs were able to hang on to the last at-large bid to the 11-team tournament last week, finishing No. 10 in the NCAA Percentage Index Ratings — the system used to select and seed the NCAA men's and women's hockey tournaments. The week began with five Cinderellas from outside the top 10 of the NPI still alive in conference tournaments. One by one, they fell throughout the week, improving UMD's chances each day.

UMD (20-14-3) now has a chance to bounce back from a disappointing WCHA tournament by playing Yale (25-9) in a "battle of the Bulldogs" at 5 p.m. CDT Thursday at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio, with the winner getting the top seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (34-4) at 5 p.m. Saturday. The winner advances to the 2026 NCAA Women's Frozen Four at Penn State.

It's a special double dog week for the Bulldog Insider podcast with another episode scheduled for Friday featuring freshman defenseman Grayden Siepmann of the UMD mens team. They'll face North Dakota on the road on Saturday at 6:07 PM in an NCHC semifinal showdown. As Wellens writes, the Bulldogs are considered a lock to make the 16-team NCAA Tournament.

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

KDAL's Bruce Ciskie, Zach Schneider of My 9 Sports and the News Tribune's Matt Wellens answer your questions about the Bulldogs in Ireland, Saturdays and Max Plante's chances of winning the Hobey.

Bulldog Insider is co-hosted by Matt Wellens and Zach Schneider. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth News Tribune digital producer Wyatt Buckner. You can find more Bulldog hockey coverage at duluthnewstribune.com and more episodes of Bulldog Insider wherever you listen to podcasts.

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.

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.