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Which teams will benefit the most from UND women's hockey players?

Nearly every player who was scheduled to be on the UND women's hockey team next season has found a new NCAA Division I home. Only three of 25 don't yet have new Division I teams--junior-to-be Dorci Medgyes may stay at UND for one more year, sopho...

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Charly Dahlquist, right, will transfer from UND to Ohio State. Photo by Nick Nelson for the Grand Forks Herald.

Nearly every player who was scheduled to be on the UND women's hockey team next season has found a new NCAA Division I home.

Only three of 25 don't yet have new Division I teams-junior-to-be Dorci Medgyes may stay at UND for one more year, sophomore-to-be Annelise Rice has had offers but may take a year to choose and goalie recruit Lauren Hennessy will play one year at a prep school before making a college decision.

The other 22 players have spread across 15 different programs and four different conferences.

Which five teams will see the biggest impact from UND players?

1. Minnesota Duluth (F Ryleigh Houston, F Ashton Bell, F Gabbie Hughes)

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The Bulldogs hit a home run and landed not only UND's top returning scorer in Houston, but also arguably UND's top two recruits in Bell and Hughes.

This comes at a perfect time for the Bulldogs, who lost their top five scorers from last season's team and desperately need offense.

Houston still has three years of eligibility left, while Bell and Hughes have all four.

Houston tallied 26 points as a rookie, just one point behind senior standout Amy Menke. Bell is expected to make a big impact offensively right away and Hughes put up impressive numbers against top competition in Minnesota.

2. Mercyhurst (F Emma Nuutinen, F Vilma Tanskanen, G Kennedy Blair)

Nuutinen may be the biggest game-breaker of the group and the Finnish Olympian could light up college hockey's weakest conference.

Nuutinen is a dynamic passer and scorer, who had 10 goals as a rookie. She has three years of eligibility left.

Tanskanen was a solid depth player at UND, but could turn into a scorer for the Lakers during her final two years of eligibility.

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Blair, of Bismarck, redshirted last season and will have a full four years left.

3. St. Cloud State (D Abby Thiessen, F Hallie Theodosopoulos, D Taylor Wemple)

The Huskies have been looking to get back into the thick of the challenging Western Collegiate Hockey Association-and adding this trio should help.

Thiessen is a promising defender and will play major minutes right away for a St. Cloud State team that lost three regulars.

Wemple, who will be a freshman next season, also has the ability to fill in some of the voids at defense, while Theodosopoulos has a knack for chipping in goals at key times.

4. Wisconsin (G Kristen Campbell)

Wisconsin lost superstar goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens to graduation after Desbiens played more than 90 percent of Wisconsin's league games in each of the last three seasons.

With no heir apparent, the Badgers were able to land Campbell, who was highly touted by the UND coaching staff.

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Campbell only started four games as a freshman, but has two years of collegiate experience as she was a redshirt for one season.

5. Ohio State (F Charly Dahlquist)

The Buckeyes were a great defensive team last season, led by sophomore goalie Kassidy Sauve, but they really struggled to score.

Dahlquist will give Ohio State a much-needed extra offensive weapon.

Dahlquist showed significant progress from her freshman year (one goal, seven points) to her sophomore season (eight goals, 15 points) and will likely do the same as a junior.

It will help having close friend Lauren Boyle as a teammate and Dahlquist could end up being one of Ohio State's captains by the time she graduates.

Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald's circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year once. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.
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