13 hours Ago By Matt Wellens
DULUTH — Former Minnesota Duluth head coach Maura Crowell often cited the recent success of her favorite NHL team, the Boston Bruins, when it came to using a goaltending tandem instead of picking a starter and riding the goalie from start to finish. For Crowell’s successor, Laura Schuler, her goaltending philosophy is inspired by the dynamic duo of the Bulldogs’ 2010-11 season. “I’ll go back to two amazing goaltenders: Kim Martin and Jenny Harss,” Schuler said, breaking down what she could do in goal this season.
“Jenny Harss had Minnesota’s number and Kim Martin had Wisconsin’s number. You never know how things are going to play out.” ADVERTISEMENT Sophomore Eve Gascon, the preseason All-WCHA goaltender, got the start in goal for UMD’s first two games of the 2024-25 season — a sweep of No.
1-ranked Ohio State in WCHA play in Columbus, Ohio — but no one should expect to see Gascon get the call every game moving forward. The Bulldogs believe they once again have a dynamic duo on goal with Gascon and senior transfer Tindra Holm, just as they did a year ago in Gascon and now-Buckeye Hailey MacLeod. For its first home series of the season, UMD hosts Syracuse at 7 p.
m. Saturday and 3 p.m.
Sunday at Amsoil Arena in a nonconference series, and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will be in goal both days, even Schuler’s at this point. “We always make that decision the night before. It’s usually based on how the week of practice is going for both of them,” Schuler said.
“They're both extremely fit. They're both fast and have been showing really, really well on the ice. We’re really, really happy with where our goaltenders are at.
” Gascon, 21, of Quebec, stopped 75 of the 79 shots she faced last weekend in Columbus to sweep the Buckeyes, bouncing back after getting blasted by that same team in the same rink six months earlier in an NCAA regional final. Those kind of numbers — and those types of wins, against the defending national champions on the road — would typically earn a goaltender two or more consecutive starts, but Gascon said its good for the team and goaltenders themselves to have two that can play between the pipes. “I think it’s better for the long run, too, as a team,” she said.
“In the playoffs you have all your energy.” ADVERTISEMENT Gascon said she was excited when she heard Holm was joining the Bulldogs. The 23-year-old from Sweden comes to UMD after three seasons at Long Island University, where she had a .
935 save percentage and 1.35 goals against average in 91 games with the Sharks. She was the NEWHA Goaltender of the Year and an all-league first-team selection for the second season in a row after landing on the All-NEWHA rookie team as a freshman.
The native of Skelleftea also has experience with Sweden’s Under-18 and senior national teams, as well as the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL). She said she not only knew what she was getting into transferring to UMD — who already had Gascon — but welcomed it. Holm said she felt like her development had stalled a little bit while at Long Island, and UMD — along with playing in the WCHA — provided her a chance to be a better goalie.
“Yes, I'm not going to see as many games as I maybe did at my old school, but I think I'm going to develop way more just because we're going to compete in practice and make decisions hard for coaches,” Holm said. Holm said she’s enjoyed competing in practice with Gascon, who is an up-and-comer on Canada’s senior national team after playing on the U18 squad. Gascon makes “the craziest saves in practice,” Holm said.
“She really inspires me in the sense she never gives up on pucks,” Holm said. “She can be completely out of position in a 3-on-0 drill where you would let the rebound go in, and she never does that. That’s something I really look up to and try and learn from.
” Gascon says she admires Holm’s maturity, calmness in net and that she’s always in the right position to stop pucks. ADVERTISEMENT “If I was more square like she is, maybe I wouldn’t have to make those saves,” Gascon said. “I’m trying to take notes from how she plays.
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