University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey coach Maura Crowell may be familiarizing herself with Duluth this week, but the Bulldogs new bench boss is already very familiar with some of UMD's opponents for the 2015-16 season.

The Bulldogs will begin the 17th season in program history on the road at Lindenwood University on Sept. 25-26 before traveling to out east to take on Boston College Oct. 2-3 --  two of the 12 games UMD will play next season against 2015 NCAA Final Four teams. After three straight weeks on the road, the Bulldogs will open the home and Western Collegiate Hockey Association portion of the 2015-16 season with Minnesota State University, Mankato on Oct. 16-17.  UMD will follow that up with another opponent Crowell faced in the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four title tilt with Harvard University last March — the defending NCAA champion University of Minnesota in Minneapolis on Oct. 23-24.

"Our upcoming schedule features all four NCAA Frozen Four participants from the 2014-15 season, including Boston College and Harvard University," said Crowell.  "We look forward to competing against the best in the country and are proud to boast one of the toughest schedules in women's hockey."

The Bulldogs will host NCAA Frozen Four participant the University of Wisconsin at AMSOIL on Nov. 13-14, showcasing UMD's new 3:07 p.m. time slot on Friday and Saturday afternoons when the Bulldog men's hockey team is also in town.  Notably for Crowell, who faced both Boston College and Minnesota in the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis with Harvard, the Bulldogs host the Crimson on Nov. 27-28.  Crowell spent five seasons with Harvard, including as the Associate Head Coach in 2014-15.

In all, UMD will play three series at AMSOIL in the Friday-Saturday 3 p.m. format.  Additionally to the Nov. 13-14 Wisconsin series, both the Dec. 4-5 St. Cloud State University series and Jan. 15-16 series against the University of North Dakota will showcase the new 3 p.m. Friday game time.

"We will play Friday-Saturday games at home this season, several of which will be doubleheaders with the men," said Crowell.  "Not only does this enhance the excitement around both hockey programs, but it also offers our women the ability to have a day off from both hockey and school.  This will help to promote more well-rounded student-athletes by increasing the balance in their college experience. I believe this will strengthen our performance long term because it allows them to properly recover which will keep them fresh and engaged all season and school year long."

To see the full 2015-16 UMD Schedule, click here.