We’ve made it. We’re entering the final weekend of the 2022-2023 Women’s D-III hockey season where it will all take place in Amherst, MA. This past weekend we saw the field shrink from eight teams down to four in an exciting quarterfinal round of hockey.
UW-River Falls at Gustavus
This was the big matchup out west that in my opinion is a negative of the current travel limits/restrictions the NCAA has in place because these two teams are simply too good to play in the quarterfinal round. However, due to the geographical limits, this game had to be played in the quarterfinal round, similar to last year.
Moving past that, in this game, Gustavus got the win in a very close game in front of a sell-out crowd. 2-1 was the final score with the home team advancing to the final four. Oddly enough, all three goals scored in this game came in the 1st period… Gustavus scored at both 6:16 & 12:50 to get out to a quick 2-0 lead. UW-River Falls would then answer, netting a powerplay goal at the 16:03 mark of the opening period to cut the deficit in half, but ultimately that would be the end of the scoring for both teams as both goaltenders played great games.
Shot totals were 35-32 in favor of Gustavus, Katie McCoy tallied another win, making 31 saves and Sami Miller despite the loss, played very well, making 33 saves. The game was relatively clean, the Gusties committing 4 penalties for 8 minutes and UWRF 2 for 4 minutes.
Middlebury at Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh defeated Middlebury 4-2 in a game that could’ve gone either way, but in the end, Plattsburgh’s offense was too much for the Panthers to handle. This season, Middlebury only scored 4 or more goals in 9 of their 28 games (incl. Quarterfinal game), while Plattsburgh had scored 4 or more in 17 of their 28. Now one could argue it’s the level of the two conferences, but if you’re consistently not putting up that many goals-per-game, it’s hard to win if you’re put in a situation that requires you to go well above your average in order to win the game.
There were two goals scored in each period. Both teams netted one in the 1st with Plattsburgh getting on the board first a very quick 1:51 into the game, while Middlebury then followed with a powerplay goal at the 9:47 mark to tie it at 1. The Cardinals then added a pair in the 2nd period, scoring at the 11:09 & 18:48 marks to end the middle period up 3-1. Middlebury scored at the 6:01 mark of the 3rd to cut the lead to a single goal, but Plattsburgh held on and scored an empty net goal at 19:53 to seal it and get the 4-2 victory.
Shots were 37-30 in favor of Plattsburgh, Ashley Davis got the win, making 28 saves, while Sophia Merageas made 33 in the loss.
Colby at Amherst
Amherst took care of business, defeating Colby 4-0 and getting revenge after Colby defeated them 5-4 earlier in the season to split the weekend series. In this game, both teams held each other scoreless through 2 periods, however, the floodgates opened once the 3rd period began. Amherst scored a trio of goals in the less than six minutes into the final period. Maeve Reynolds scored two quick goals; they came at the 2:47 & 4:34 marks of the period to give the Mammoths a 2-0 lead. They then added another at the 5:07 mark and capped it off with a fourth goal, coming late in the period at 14:52 to end it.
There were only two penalties in the game (2-4), both committed by Amherst. Shots were near even with Amherst leading 30-28, but Colby at one point in the 2nd period had led the Mammoths (according to the broadcast) 10-0 or so in shots, so chances to score were everywhere. Freshman goaltender Natalie Stott continues to have an outstanding season, making 28 saves in the shutout victory, while Paige Bolyard made 26 in the loss.
Hamilton at Adrian
This was a game that could’ve gone either way, I’d say besides Gustavus vs UWRF, this game was the one to watch. Hamilton got the road victory, winning 2-0, but one was an empty net, so this was just a flat-out close game the entire way through. The 1st period was scoreless, but then Hamilton would score at the 15:07 mark, late in the 2nd period to take a 1-0 lead and they didn’t look back. The Continentals capped it off with an empty netter at the 19:03.6 mark of the 3rd and left Adrian with a win.
The story of this game was goaltending, Adrian led in shots by a considerable amount 31-17 and there was only a single penalty called in this game and it was on Hamilton (1-2). Goaltender Evie Sheridan had the biggest win of her career, getting the 31-save shutout victory, while goaltender of the year candidate, Adrian’s Sophie Goldberg made 15 saves in the loss. Hamilton advances to their first-ever final four appearance, this was also their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in program history.
The Final Four
*The host site for all three games this weekend has been approved, Orr Rink in Amherst, MA. Amherst being the top seeded team in the tournament, received the host site bid upon board approval*
Semifinals: Friday – March 17, 2023
Gustavus vs Plattsburgh – 3:00pm EST
Hamilton vs Amherst – 7:00pm EST
Championship: Sunday – March 19, 2023
Winners of both games play at 3:00pm EST.
