UMD Welcomes Home National Champs

UMD Men's Hockey Team Greeted with Celebration Event.

DULUTH, Minn.- Everyone was a Bulldog at UMD’s Championship Celebration Tuesday.

Students, staff, and longtime hockey fans welcomed the team home.

To great fanfare, the 2019 NCAA Champions run through a big inflatable bulldog, greeted by a sea of maroon and gold.

Three of the Bulldogs on the team are seniors this year so they get to end their college career.

Fans were excited to see their boys back home from a victorious trip.

For some, this is glorious dejavu from last year.

“We love to see our Bulldogs win the National Championship 2 yrs in a row, back to back,” said Kaenan Smith, who’s been at both back-to-back championship celebrations.

“We look up to them and we just wanna be exactly like them.”

While it may look to be all about the players, this celebration is really for the fans–anxious to get a picture with the big trophy or an autograph from a player.

Many have stuck with the Bulldogs through thick and thin.

“It’s wonderful to see young men, who are good young men, quality young men, be rewarded for all the hard work that they did,” Lynne Erickson said.

She’s been a fan for over 30 years, and even worked at UMD for part of that.

If this past NCAA championship proved anything, it’s that the Bulldogs aren’t just about hockey, it’s about community.