Bell chooses Minnesota-Duluth after UND dropped program

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This article was published 04/05/2017 (3062 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over a year ago Ashton Bell thought she had her future laid out before her.

The reigning Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League most valuable player was returning to the Westman Wildcats for her final season and had committed to the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks for the following year. Then came the news on March 29 that UND had cut its women’s hockey program.

The announcement came right before Bell, who captained the Wildcats to the league’s best regular-season record and into the championship series before falling to the Pembina Valley Hawks, were set to take on the Prince Albert Northern Bears in a best-of-three series with a berth to the Esso Cup on the line.

The 17-year-old tried to put it out of her mind and earn a trip to the national female midget hockey championship, but the Wildcats were swept in two games and Bell started going through the recruiting process she thought she finished last April all over again.

“It has been really stressful,” she said. “I really, really like it there (at North Dakota) and was disappointed that it finished, but it’s just been stressful going through the process all over again.”

The good news for Bell was she had been through the process before and knew what she wanted. She went back to the schools she was debating between but didn’t choose last year, found they were willing to welcome her with open arms and on Wednesday announced she will join the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the fall.

Bell is heading to a team that reached the Western Collegiate Hockey Association final and the NCAA quarter-finals last season. The Bulldogs also feature Brandonite and former Yellowhead Chief Jalyn Elmes. Ryleigh Houston, a Winnipegger who spent her freshman year at North Dakota, is transferring to Minnesota-Duluth next season as well.

Brandonite Ashleigh Brykaliuk captained the Bulldogs last season but exhausted her eligibility and won’t return.

“It was in the running last year and I really like it as well,” Bell said about why she chose to commit to Minnesota-Duluth. “They have a great university and hockey program as well.”

Bell, who plans to study biology, had another solid hockey season. She posted a league-high 35 goals and 53 points during the regular season and was named the MFMHL’s MVP for the second straight season. She also captained Canada to a silver medal at the world under-18 women’s hockey championship.

Despite being a leader for the last two seasons, the five-foot-nine forward is willing to accept any role with the Bulldogs.

“Obviously do whatever they ask me to do and play whatever role they ask me to play, like be an energy player so something around there,” she said.

The next few months will be busy for Bell. She will be finishing up her Grade 12 school year, has to go to Duluth to register for her classes and will work in Deloraine during the summer before returning to Minnesota in the fall to join her new team.

It will be a busy time, but Bell is happy to have the stress of finding a new college team out of the way again.

“It’s a relief being done and deciding again. Now I can start applying (for classes) and all that stuff,” she said.

» cjaster@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @jasterch