The time has come for some college hockey, which of course means Bulldog hockey.

Just five days away from their season opener, the UMD women’s hockey team has slotted in at 7th in the nation according to the United States College Hockey Organization (USCHO).

The Bulldogs finished last year ranked 8th. Ahead of them are the usual culprits; Wisconsin at two, Minnesota at three, Colgate, Clarkson and Cornell all ahead of the Bulldogs at four, five, and six, and of course, Ohio State as number 1, who UMD opens up their season against.

Dartmouth, who Maura Crowell left UMD for, is not ranked inside the top 15.

In the WCHA, UMD was selected to finish fourth in the conference.

Amongst reasons UMD will flourish this year is goaltender Ève Gascon, who was tabbed as a preseason All-WCHA teamer. Gascon, one of 48 players invited by Hockey Canada to join Canada’s national women’s team September camp, set a rookie program record for shutouts last season with seven, good for the third most in all of the NCAA. Bulldog freshman forward Caitlin Kraemer also received a vote towards WCHA preseason rookie of the year.

The Bulldogs hit the ice on Sunday against Ohio State before returning home on September 28th to host Syracuse.