matt wellens reporting

Matt Wellens

College hockey reporter

Matt Wellens is a college hockey reporter for the Duluth News Tribune covering the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's and women's hockey programs. He also co-hosts a weekly UMD hockey podcast during the season called Bulldog Insider.

Matt has been covering the Bulldogs since the start of the 2014-15 season. His days covering college hockey go back to the 2003-04 season while a student at Northern Michigan University. It was at the start of the 2018-19 season that he, Zach Schneider of My 9 Sports and News Tribune multimedia producer Sam Erkkila launched the Bulldog Insider Podcast.

Matt also leads coverage of Grandma's Marathon for the Duluth News Tribune.

matt wellens reporting
Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens interviews Minnesota Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin during NCHC Media Day on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Future Bulldogs senior wing Barrett Hall discusses the coaching change at St. Cloud State, his decision to come to UMD and what it was like going through the transfer portal under the new rules.
The Bulldogs will bring in an Alaska Nanook for the second season in a row, adding junior center Peyton Platter, who played at Eau Claire Memorial High School and in the NAHL with the Chippewa Steel.
St. Cloud State junior forward Barrett Hall, an assistant captain this season under former Huskies coach Brett Larson, is transferring to the Bulldogs for his senior season.
Minnesota Duluth lost seven players from its 2024-25 roster after that season to the NCAA transfer portal. How did it work out for those former Bulldogs in 2025-26?
Russian Daniel Shlaine is leaving the Bulldogs after one season playing center and wing on UMD's third and fourth lines as a freshman. He had five goals and five assists in 37 games.
Hermantown's Max Plante became the Bulldogs' seventh Hobey Baker winner Friday in Las Vegas, a year after undergoing multiple procedures to treat a congenital heart condition.
The Pioneers beat Wisconsin 2-1 to deny the Big 10 its first national championship in men's hockey. It's the third NCAA title for Denver under coach David Carle and eighth for the NCHC.
Hobey Baker winner Max Plante is not signing with the Detroit Red Wings yet. He'll return to UMD in 2026-27 to play with his brothers. No one is more excited about that than younger brother Victor.
UMD sophomore wing Max Plante of Hermantown was crowned the 2026 Hobey Baker Award winner in Las Vegas, making him the seventh Bulldog to win the award and the fifth from Northeast Minnesota.
UMD sophomores Max Plante and Ty Hanson of Hermantown were named to AHCA All-American teams for 2025-26.