As we approach the final weekend of the season, we have some some familiar faces competing for the ultimate prize, along with a new one as well.  Last weekend, we saw a number of stellar games, highlighted by fantastic goaltending that I’m sure will carry into a raucous Hunt Arena for the third consecutive season.

Friday Schedule

3:00 PM CT- #3 Nazareth (26-1-1) vs. #2 Norwich (26-2-0) – River Falls, WI

7:00 PM CT- #4 Amherst (21-2-6) @ #1 UW-River Falls (28-1-0) – River Falls, WI

*NOTE: TEAM SHEETS’ DATA PRIOR TO TOURNAMENT STARTING

#4 Amherst @ #1 UW-River Falls

It’s the highly-coveted rematch that at times, we did not think we’d see this year.  But as I write here on the 25th of March, it most definitely is happening.  Offense vs. defense.  West vs. East.  Hunted vs. Hunter.  It all is coming back to us, just like we saw last year, only two days later.  Last season, the 4th-seeded Falcons defended home ice, “upsetting” the #2 Mammoths in a 3-1 contest.  River Falls controlled the game for a majority of it, but Amherst’s goaltending and structure is so strong, that they kept River Falls from running away with it.  Each team is looking for national championship #3 in their programs’ respective storied histories.

This year, the Mammoths have revenge on their mind, as they try to get the job done, entering their third Frozen Four in four seasons, with the prior two ending on the losing side of the national championship game.  While this team has scored less than those other previous Amherst teams, they are still incredibly dangerous as long as Natalie Stott is around in the blue paint. This will mark the sixth Frozen Four for Amherst, as they’ve gone 4-1 in their previous five semifinal appearances, and won their two national championships back in 2009 and 2010.

After the Mammoths narrowly escaped Saint Benedict in overtime in Round 1, the Mammoths enacted a bit of revenge on Elmira, as Stott shut out EC 3-0 last weekend.  This Amherst team has struggled to score at times, but they can still generate plenty of offense, and put forth a lot of offensive pressure.  I do feel that this team, structurally, is playing the right way at the right time, and have the horses to finally get the job done.

River Falls, as we all know, is an absolute machine.  The talent of this roster is incredible.  What’s more incredible, is that this program had not been able to get over the championship hump for years, despite having arguably better rosters.  Now, while the talent is a bit more even with the rest of the country, they continue to find ways to win games, showing just how impressive of a coach Joe Cranston is.

These high-pressure games are obviously nothing new, having won two straight national championships.  This program has made seven straight NCAA tournaments, and 16 of the last 17, an incredible run.  Somewhat surprisingly, this serves as just the 8th Frozen Four for the program, in part due to some penny-pinching from the NCAA and prior bracketing. This team scores at an incredible clip, led by a scorching powerplay, and possesses skill up and down the lineup.  Again, they’ll get a chance to make history on home ice, for the third straight year.

Common Opponents:

Despite being two of the national favorites heading into the season, these two played zero like opponents throughout the regular season, an indictment how different these schedules are for a calculator to be determining seeding and selection.  In the postseason, is where we saw some common foes.

  • Amherst edged out Saint Ben’s back in the NCAA first round on home ice, winning 2-1 in overtime in a come-from-behind win.  River Falls opened their season with a 7-1 road win over the Bennies.
  • Last weekend, River Falls edged out Williams 1-0 on home ice in the NCAA quarterfinals.  Amherst went 2-0-1 against the Ephs, winning 3-0 on a neutral site in the NESCAC semis, while winning 1-0, and tying 1-1 in a pair of regular season road games.

Against common opponents, River Falls, went 2-0-0, while Amherst went 3-0-1.

Final Look:

Despite the strong fanbase that will make the long trip west, River Falls is at home, which will be a massive advantage in perhaps the most intimidating place to play in Division III.  Amherst will be ready, having just played in this environment last season.  Amherst is an old team, and has played in numerous big games, so I don’t anticipate the moment overwhelming them in the slightest.

What gives me a lot of pause about this game is how strong Williams looked against UWRF last weekend.  While Amherst played Williams close as well, and there’s no doubt that the Falcons didn’t play their A-game last week, that result showed me that UWRF are much more beatable than I initially thought.

If Amherst is going to take down UWRF, they’ll need to stay out of the box, and try their best to keep up with the blazing speed the Falcons have.  The speed and skill difference is why Amherst came up short in the last two Frozen Fours against River Falls and Gustavus.  What should give Amherst hope, is they are a balanced attack, and have strong players up and down the lineup who can pitch in at any given time.

If you’re River Falls, you just have to play your game, as usual.  Last season, coach Cranston admitted the team had to switch things up in their semifinal game against Augsburg, as the Auggies really made things difficult.  However, the Falcons were more than happy sticking to the status quo against Amherst, as he felt they matched up very well, against the Mammoths, which they did in that championship game.  This year, I would bet the Mammoths are much more equipped having seen River Falls last season, and as good as the Falcons are, I’m not sure I can bet against Stott ending her college career without a national championship.

#3 Nazareth vs. #2 Norwich

While we have not seen either of these schools in recent years on the heightened stage of the Frozen Four,  these two programs have very different histories.  Nazareth from the moment it introduced women’s hockey, has been one of the names to watch in the sport.  Naz hired Chris Baudo as their initial head coach, and since then, he’s built a power in greater Rochester.  The Flyers won 18 games in their first season, and haven’t looked back. Nazareth just won their fifth consecutive regular-season UCHC title this season, and although they lost the conference tournament title, they still managed to qualify for the NCAAs for the fifth straight year, the third longest streak in the country.

When Nazareth has gotten to the tournament, understandably, as a younger program, they didn’t advance.  However, they did put up some great fights in those initial losses, and last year, broke through to Round 2, winning at Endicott, before falling 1-0 at Middlebury in another close game.  This year, Nazareth put together a fantastic regular season, going undefeated until the conference title game, earning a bye, and then coming from behind to knock off a strong Wilkes team last weekend.  Now, the largest stage awaits, and this program has continued to build on what has been a very strong foundation.  Now, it’s time to prove just how far this team can climb.

While Naz is a great program historically, there are few that can live up to the standards Norwich sets for itself in women’s hockey.  There are some definitive parallels between the two programs, however.  A relatively younger program itself, Norwich started play in 2006-07, and in just Year 2, was playing in the national tournament.   The program has gone on to win two national titles, and has now just clinched the program’s sixth Frozen Four appearance in its 13th NCAA appearance.

While this program is historically a blue blood, NU hasn’t been back to the Frozen Four stage since winning it all back in 2018, meaning it’s been quite a while, and this program has been starving through the days of the NEHC to get back here.  Many of the Norwich players are quite young as well, handling the moment of high-pressure games very well thus far, a testament to how first-year coach Justin Simpson has prepared them.  While the schedule has not been the most challenging, in the few spots these talented players have had to step up and meet the moment, they most definitely have done so.

Common Opponents:

Both teams have a few of the same opponents from the regular season. A couple of them are pretty good teams, so we have some nice context that can be drawn from this.

  • Each team won a home game versus Cortland, with Norwich winning 5-1, and Nazareth winning 2-1.
  • Norwich defeated Elmira at home 5-2, while the Golden Flyers went 2-1 against EC: winning 3-2 at home, 4-3 on the road, and then hosting the UCHC title game, losing 4-1.
  • Norwich won a home game versus Morrisville, 3-1, while Nazareth went on the road and beat the Mustangs, 5-1.

Against common opponents, Norwich went 3-0-0, while Nazareth went 4-1-0.

Final Look:

Despite both teams having incredible regular season records, there is no doubt that Norwich is the favorite here.  Yes, both the Flyers and Cadets played less-than-challenging schedules, but Norwich has shown the ability to handle lesser teams in more dominating fashion than Naz has.

I have a lot more faith in Norwich winning the game after seeing just how well Madison Brunet looked last weekend against an absolutely lethal Hamline offense.  Norwich had outshot their opponents in every single game since the season opener, so it was a big question to see how Norwich could play when they’re not controlling the majority of the possession.  It turns out, with Brunet in net, just fine.  The Cadets kept a lot of chances from the outside the slot, and when the Pipers got inside, Brunet held firm.

Nazareth, again, proved they can win close games against very competitive teams, which is what they did when coming from behind last weekend versus Wilkes.  I am so high on this group, led by coach Baudo, and I think there is an absurd amount of young talent on this squad.  This program finds ways to win, as they have shown over the last half decade, so no one should be surprised they have found a way to get here, nor should they be surprised if they can knock off the favored Cadets.