Bulldog Insider

Bulldog Insider is built for people who follow UMD hockey closely enough to care about the second layer of the conversation. It does not just ask whether the Bulldogs won. It asks what the loss in Albany means, what the NCAA tournament path looked like, where the women's team stood in a tense selection picture, and how the next roster might need to be shaped. The show has a local newsroom backbone. Matt Wellens identifies himself as the Bulldogs hockey beat reporter at the News Tribune, and the episodes carry that practical sense of someone who has been around the rink, the travel, the coaches, and the recurring questions. Zach Schneider, described as the television voice of Bulldogs hockey on My9Sports, gives the roundtable episodes a familiar broadcast rhythm. Together, the conversation can wander, but it usually wanders toward something useful. A joke about explaining college postseason rules to a seven-year-old becomes a way to talk about how strange the NCAA tournament can feel. A fan question about the portal turns into a measured look at size down the middle, face-offs, penalty killing, defense depth, and the timing of the portal after the Frozen Four. Interview episodes broaden the view. Max Plante talks through awards attention, locker-room normalcy, power play and penalty kill strength, Team USA, and World Juniors in Minnesota. Daniel Shlaine's episode moves through Moscow, Shattuck St. Mary's, junior hockey, recruiting, and the patience involved in choosing a school. Ashley Messier's appearance puts the UMD women's NCAA tournament return in the foreground, including the uncertainty and confidence around selection weekend. Adam Kleber's World Juniors preview connects current Bulldogs, future Bulldogs, Duluth games at Amsoil Arena, and the larger Team USA picture. The show is affectionate toward the program without sounding like a release from the athletic department. It can be skeptical, excited, self-correcting, and deeply specific in the same segment. That combination makes it especially strong for fans who want UMD hockey treated as a real beat, with systems talk, human context, and the odd local aside all allowed to coexist.