This past weekend, the Division III women’s ranks saw two wins by Elmira that propeled the Soaring Eagles to the top spot in the USCHO.com D-III Women’s Poll.
A weekend sweep of top-ranked Plattsburgh will do that, obviously.
No. 2 Elmira defeated Plattsburgh 2-1 on Saturday and then 6-2 on Sunday.
In Saturday’s win in front of nearly 600 spectators, Cassidy Delainey’s power-play goal at 11:33 of the third period stood as the game-winner. Kyle Nelson made 36 saves in goal and Brooke Wilgosh scored the other Elmira goal.
Jordan Lipson scored for the Cardinals and Camille Leonard finished with 25 saves in the Plattsburgh crease.
On Sunday afternoon, Nelson stopped 39 shots and Ashton Hogan scored twice for Elmira to complete the sweep. National scoring leader Ashley Ryan added a goal and an assist for Elmira, while Leonard made 33 saves for Plattsburgh.
No. 3 Norwich also swept the weekend, beating Plymouth State and Massachusetts-Boston on home ice. The Cadets took a 2-1 win Friday, allowing just 10 shots on goalie Laurie King, and then broke out for a 5-1 win against UMB with a five-goal second period. Loren Carrier and Celeste Robert combined to stop 18 shots for Norwich on Saturday.
No. 4 Middlebury won both at home against Hamilton with a 2-0 whitewash Friday and then 3-1 on Saturday. Ananbelle Jones earned the 24-save shutout Friday and then Emily Fluke’s two goals and Madeline Marsh’s 10 saves led the Panthers in Saturday’s victory.
Adrian swept through its weekend on the road as the fifth-ranked Bulldogs edged St. Scholastica 2-1 on Friday and then blanked Finlandia 5-0 on Saturday. Kristin Lewicki’s goal 4:01 into the third period won it Friday against the Saints and then five different players scored in Saturday’s win as Jade Walsh picked up her second win of the weekend with eight saves through 40 minutes before Brooke Gibson played the third and stopped all four shots she faced.
No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus shut out St. Benedict in two straight games in a home-and-home series with a 3-0 win Friday at GAC and then a 2-0 win Saturday at St. Benedict. Goalie Lindsey Hibbard stopped all 18 shots Friday and all 17 on Saturday.
No. 7 Wisconsin-River Falls downed co-No. 10 Wisconsin-Superior 4-1 Saturday as the Falcons allowed the first goal to Superior’s Lynne Larson before scoring the next four to gain the win. Brianna Breiland, Dani Sibley and Carly Moran each had a goal and an assist.
No. 8 Amherst beat Connecticut College 3-1 on Saturday. Sabrina Dobbins made 30 saves and Emily Flom chipped in two assists for the Lord Jeffs.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point, ranked No. 9, topped Wisconsin-Eau Claire by a 4-1 count on Saturday. Shauna Bollinger had a goal and an assist and Janna Beilke-Skoug made 29 saves for the Pointers, who were outshot 30-24. Claudia Gagnon broke Beilke-Skoug’s shutout 7:20 into the third period.
Bowdoin, the country’s other 10th-ranked team, may drop out of the rankings after a 3-3 tie and a 5-1 loss on the road at Williams. Bowdoin rallied with three unanswered Friday to get the stalemate, but Gwendolyn Schultz’s hat trick led Williams on Saturday. Hanna Beattie added three assists for Williams.
Another big matchup goes down Monday night as No. 3 Norwich plays at No. 4 Middlebury.
