D-III Women’s Noteworthy Week Two: Falcons Fly, Gulls Soar, & Bears Shock

 

River Falls dominates *again* & avoids a Saint’s scare

#1 UWRF defeats #2 Augsburg 4-0

We were treated to a highly anticipated #1 vs #2 matchup early in the season as it’s only week two. The Falcons of River Falls & the Auggies of Augsburg were facing off in a rematch of last season’s NCAA Frozen Four Semifinal round where River defeated the Auggies 4-2 on home ice en route to their second straight national title.

The Falcons as we mentioned in our preview article for this game have had their fair share of Laura Hurd winners, a betting favorite scored a pair in this game, senior forward Megan Goodreau scored the opening goal about eight minutes into the game, then would later add one on the powerplay just past the midway point in the 2nd period, giving UWRF a 3-0 lead. The other Falcon goals came from Gracyn Knowles (13:52 – 1st period) & Madison Lavergne (19:30 – 3rd period – empty net).

The Falcons led the Auggies in shots 31-24, rookie of the year Kayla Simonson had 27 saves despite the loss for the Auggies, while Jordan O’Kane had 24 saves in her shutout win. If you’re a fan of River Falls, it was good to see the solid goaltending from O’Kane and if you’re not a fan, then things got a lot harder for you. Last season, goaltending at times, was the achilles heel for River Falls. In the end, it was irrelevant as they handily won the national championship, but in some moments/games throughout the season, goaltending was the one soft spot where opposing teams (if they were to) would be able to take advantage and potentially pull off the upset.

There’s only positives to take away from this game if you’re Augsburg in my opinion… you lost to the #1 team in D-III, the loss to River Falls will benefit you more in the NPI rankings than if you blew out a bottom-ranked team, and if you make it to where you want in the end [NCAA tournament], there’s a more than likely chance you’ll see them again in a bigger, better moment.

#1 UWRF defeats St. Scholastica 4-3

St. Scholastica for me was a team with the potential to be most improved in not only the MIAC, but in all of Division III women’s hockey with their new coaching staff they’ve brought in. You can read all about my thoughts in our MIAC Women’s Season Preview, but for now, we’ll stick to Saturday night in Hunt Arena.

Saints’ Assistant Coach Callie Hoff made her return to a place she’s all too familiar with, Hunt Arena, where she won the Laura Hurd award as a star of Wisconsin-River Falls during the 2022 season, putting up 67 points. Head Coach Sydney Brodt found herself in the biggest game so far of her D-III coaching career, and her team definitely showed promise for this season.

St. Scholastica found themselves up 2-0 after the first period, a sight I’m sure left most of the arena quite shocked at… and the rest of D-III hockey. Grace Chapman, a sophomore forward from Blaine, MN scored all three goals for the Saints, notching her first career hat trick as she only played one game last season. Chapman started it off a brisk six minutes into the game, then followed it up just about five minutes later, giving the Saints a 2-0 lead that would hold through the rest of the opening period.

Of course, River Falls had plenty of answers in the 2nd period. The Falcons scored three unanswered goals, evenly spread out through the period. Madison Kadrlik – 04:23, Megan Goodreau – 14:43, & Sophia Hess – 18:05, which gave River Falls the 3-2 lead entering the final period.

However, before people could sit back down in their seats, Grace Chapman scored her hat trick a quick minute-nine seconds into the period, putting St. Scholastica even with River Falls 3-3. Shortly after, Kailey Niccum scored the eventual GWG at 4:16 of the period, only three minutes after the tying goal by Chapman.

The shot totals are incredible considering the score, this hints back to my prior comment in the Augsburg game recap about occasional goaltending woes last season. UWRF led in shots 42-7… despite the loss, goaltender Makenzie Cole made 38 saves for St. Scholastica, meanwhile, Jordan O’Kane made four saves on seven shots for River Falls. There’s something to be said about the theory in regard to facing a low amount of shots tends to be tougher than facing a lot, however, I believe Head Coach Joe Cranston would prefer this type of game doesn’t become a regular occurance in the event they do hold an opponent to less than 10 shots…

The Gulls shock the Cards

#12 Endicott defeats #7 Plattsburgh 3-1

Endicott is a team who’s made strides over the years, consistently being the preseason favorite in the Conference of New England (CNE), but coming up short in big NCAA moments. Well, this is a win that could be considered on that caliber.

Historically, believe it or not, Endicott now leads the series 2-1 as they pair had only faced off two times prior, the NCAA tournament in 2019 where Plattsburgh won 3-2 in OT, in the Cardinal/Panther Classic in 2021 where the Gulls won 4-3 in OT, then Saturday, where Endicott held home-ice and won 3-1. In my mind these two had faced off more than three times, but in the rare matchups we’ve seen, the Gulls have gotten the best of the Cardinals.

In this game, Plattsburgh got on the board with a mere four seconds eft (19:56) on the clock in the 1st period, giving them the 1-0 lead (Tessa Morris) headed into the intermission.

In the 2nd period, Ava Schmidt buried the tying goal about eight minutes into the period, while her teammate Ella Rago netted the eventual GWG on the powerplay with just under five minutes to go in the period.

The one that sealed the deal would come just before the midway point of the final period (08:07) on the powerplay, it was Cammi Ahern padding the lead for her Gulls.

Goaltender Chloe Lewis was injured and left the game for Plattsburgh after 33:05 minutes, replaced by Maddy Stetson. Lewis made 11 saves on 12 shots, while Stetson made six on eight shots. For Endicott, Lauren Ferrari (great last name by the way) made an incredible 45 saves on 46 shots.

Potsdam splits the series against their former Head Coach Haney

#11 Elmira 3-1 & Potsdam 1-0

#11 Elmira Head Coach Greg Haney was formerly the HC of Potsdam for three seasons, spanning from 2020-2023. Haney has faced his former team in the non-conference regular season three times and holds a 1-2 record versus the Bears.

In game one, it was seemingly all Elmira on the statsheet, leading in shots 42-8, but it was painfully filled with penalties totaling 9 for 26 minutes (one major) for the Bears and 6 for 12 minutes for Elmira. Potsdam’s Elise Clifford was given a ten-minute game misconduct in the game which the penalty box was filled more times than not. Fun fact, there were five roughing, three body-checking, two cross-checking, & then your run of the mill hooking/trippings… but a rough (no pun intended) game to say the least.

Potsdam went up 1-0 early in the 2nd period, but Elmira tied it with just over 30 seconds left in the period to send it to the final period tied 1-1. The Soaring Eagles then scored on the powerplay, it was Anna Lugge with the eventual GWG. Lugge would then ice it off with the third Soaring Eagles goal a quick three minutes later. Elmira takes game one 3-1.

In game two, remarkable, the lone goal came only two minutes-twenty seconds into the game by Olivia Visco, assisted by Rachelle Cain. Unlike game one, this only featured two minor penalties, both on Potsdam, a simple interference and too many players on the ice, much improved from game one. The Bears were heavily outshot once again, this time it was 35-19, goaltender Magalie Parent made 35 saves in the victory, following up the 39 saves she made in the loss.

The reason I mention the history of Haney and his former program, is simply because it’s interesting Potsdam hasn’t exactly been a contender or even above .500 since his departure, but the Bears seem to give him troubles, just an interesting observation.