D-III Women’s Week in Review: Cadets Seize the Moment, Top-5 MSP Clash Ends Even, SUNYAC Upset, & Hunter’s Four-Goal Show!

The Cadets now control their own destiny

We’ve talked about the #7 Norwich Cadets (15-2-0) a fair amount this season and for good reason. Now, the Cadets have now gotten over their biggest hurdle of the entire season as they defeated #4 Amherst (#3 at the time of game) 2-0 to improve to 15-2-0 on the season. The caveat with Norwich this season is that unlike previous seasons in the NEHC, they won’t be eligible for an auto-bid if they win the conference tournament due to the Little East’s new status as a league. The only route for them is the WIAC route, aka the at-large bid.

Currently, Norwich sits at #3 in the NPI, prior to Amherst’s win over Wesleyan this past weekend, the Cadets vaulted ahead of the Mammoths to #2, trailing only #1 Wisconsin-River Falls (18-1-0), who’ve held that spot for the vast majority of the season.

In Little East play, Norwich is unbeaten, a perfect 10-0-0 and their only non-conference losses came to #13 Plattsburgh (10-6-0) & #10 Williams (12-1-3), both very respectable defeats & both coming on the road. Neither loss hurts the Cadets’ NPI very much due to the quality of the losses, plus, road losses hurt you less compared to home losses.

Most recently, Norwich headed to Amherst, MA on Wednesday night for their biggest test yet this season as the Mammoths were unbeaten headed into this game. Throughout the game, Amherst’s star goaltender Natalie Stott kept them in this one, making 35 saves in the loss. Madison Brunet made a remarkable 25 saves in the shutout win over the Mammoths. Norwich controlled most of the game, but the Mammoths definitely had their fair chance of opportunities to get on the board, but Brunet kept them clear and held them to a zero on the scoreboard. The Cadets got on the board first after a scoreless 1st period, Geena Cookinham notched the game-winner at 12:06 of the 2nd period, assisted by Breanna Ricker & Olivia Boyer. The second goal for the Cadets came from Breanna Ricker late in the 3rd period at 19:37, assisted by Cookinham & Maggie Hunter.

The Cadets are on pace to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2022-23, previously, the Cadets made 11 of 12 NCAA tournaments dating from 2008-2020 during their incredible run. Look for Norwich to make a potential Frozen Four run depending on the draw they get in the bracket. If they were to be given a draw that has them hosting one of the lower eastern seeds, they could be one win away from a Frozen Four trip. Also, since they’re currently #3, they could find themselves with a first-round bye, allowing them to only need to win a single game to book their ticket. It’s easier said than done, but things look bright for the future of Norwich hockey regardless of the final results this season under first year head coach Justin Simpson.

The top-5 Minneapolis-Saint Paul series ends in a split

We were treated to a highly anticipated matchup between the cream of the crop this season in the MIAC. Previously-ranked #5 Hamline University (13-2-0) faced off against #2 Augsburg University (11-2-1). The Pipers are now ranked #3 with a record of 14-3-0, while the Auggies remain strong at #2 with a record of 12-3-1. These two played at Hamline on Friday afternoon at 2pm CT in Saint Paul, MN, but had to postpone Saturday’s contest in Augsburg due to the ongoing events in Minneapolis, MN. They played game two on Sunday morning at 11am CT in Augsburg.

 

In game one, Augsburg got off to a rough start in the goaltending category. The Auggies goaltender Marissa Paaske gave up two goals on two shots and was pulled after 4:13 minutes into the game. Following her departure, Kayla Simonson proceeded to do the same thing, giving up two goals on her first few shots, giving Hamline the 4-1 lead as Augsburg’s Aunna Schulte scored on the powerplay making it 2-1 after the disastrous start.

The Pipers would lead 4-1 after the opening period as we saw a flurry of goals including the first goal coming a rapid 24 seconds into the game (Ashlyn Abrahamson). Both teams scored in the middle frame, making it 5-2 as we headed into the 3rd period, which would include a Hamline goal by Nina Thorson to all but wrap things up in Saint Paul as the Pipers took game one despite committing seven penalties to the Auggies two. Goaltender Kendra Nordick made 32 saves for the Pipers in the win.

In game two, we saw a different Augsburg team early on as they didn’t suffer any early goaltending issues and/or goals against. We did, however, see more Hamline penalty trouble as the Pipers committed eight to the Auggies two. Hamline has seen penalties become an issue recently, especially in this series despite getting a dominating win and a slim overtime loss, it’ll be interesting to see how this affects them down the road come MIAC playoff time and more-than-likely, NCAA tournament time.

In this one we skated to a scoreless opening period and first half of the 2nd period. The dam didn’t break until Augsburg’s point-leader this season (19) Nora Stepan scored on the powerplay at 12:54 of the period, which would be the lone goal of the game as we headed into the final period of play. The Pipers would tie it up early on in the 3rd, Abigail Chamernick scored at 3:23, but Augsburg once again on the powerplay, capitalized and scoring was Jenna Allen. Hamline would tie it up late to send the game into overtime (Ella Rothe – 17:40), but Augsburg found the winner a quick minute and nineteen seconds into the extra 3v3 frame, Emma Abrahamson notched the winner to get her Auggies the 3-2 OT win & a weekend split in a crucial MIAC & NPI implication series.

Goaltender Kayla Simonson made 25 saves in the victory, while Kendra Nordick made 28 in the loss.

Next up for #3 Hamline is a home/home with the red-hot Saint Benedict (11-3-3) who’re currently on pace for their best season in program history as they’re only three wins away from tying their program-best 14 that was achieved all the way back in the 1999-00 season.

Next up for Augsburg is a midweek game, today (Tuesday – January 27) vs Bethel (8-6-2), which is a makeup due to their postponement on 1/17/26, then this weekend they have a home/home with St. Olaf (9-8-0).

Oswego stun their rivals in the North Country

Historically, the Oswego State / Plattsburgh rivalry has largely been on the men’s hockey side, but the two schools always generate some buzz between the two when the names Plattsburgh & Oswego face off regardless of the sport. Historically, Plattsburgh has dominated in the all-time cumulative women’s hockey series against the Lakers, holding a record of 50-4-2… To put things in perspective, three of these Oswego wins have come since January 5, 2024. Thus, from 2007 until 2024, Plattsburgh won all but a single game (11/20/2016 – 3-2 @ Plattsburgh). Granted, the Cardinals went on the greatest dynasty run of any women’s Division III team ever under head coach Kevin Houle, winning four in a row from 2014-2017 and adding a fifth in six years in 2019. The Cardinals also won a pair in 2007 & 2008, while finishing as the runner-up in 2006.

Last season, these two went 1-1-1 against each other in the regular season with Plattsburgh winning the fourth matchup 2-0 in the SUNYAC championship in Oswego, NY, eliminating the Lakers from postseason play after putting up their program-best record of 22-3-2. The Lakers missed out on the final at-large bid to Colby from the NESCAC who finished an allegedly more-impressive 17-6-2 (record represents regular-season + conference playoffs, no NCAA tournament games) according to the math (NPI)… the third NESCAC team in the field last season.

This season, both the Cardinals (10-6-0) & Lakers (10-7-0) have been struggling as Oswego lost nearly half their roster to graduation this past season and Plattsburgh is on pace for a program-worst season (which says how good this program has always been historically) as the most losses they’ve ever had total in a season is seven, which occurred three times (2005, 2012, & 2025).

This past weekend, the Lakers had a disappointing 4-3 loss to Potsdam (8-6-2) as they trailed 3-0 just before the midway point of the 2nd period, while the Cardinals won a 1-0 scare over Canton (9-7-1) as they scored the winning goal with just under five minutes left in the game (15:31).

In this one, Plattsburgh outshot Oswego 31-21 and both teams were even on penalties with three apiece. Goaltender Mia DeVivo made 30 saves for the Lakers in the win, while Maddy Stetson made 19 saves in the loss.

Despite the loss, the Cardinals got on the scoreboard first, scoring at 7:37 of the 2nd period was Bailey MacKellar, which was the lone goal through two periods. Oswego would tie it up early in the 3rd period (5:31) after Georgia Cunliffe fired one in. The game-winner would come just past the midway point of the final period, Kayla Doerre scored to give the Lakers their eventual fourth win ever against the Plattsburgh Cardinals.

Next up for the Lakers is a home/home with SUNY Canton and for the Cardinals, it’s a home/home with the close by Potsdam Bears. Both series are scheduled for this weekend.

Zowie Hunter scores all four for the Sabres against the Vikings!

We saw a four-goal-game on the men’s side last week coming from Manhattanville’s Lucas Baksay, scoring all four in the win over a ranked SUNY Geneseo squad. Now, we head west to Wisconsin as the Marian Sabres (9-9-0) found themselves a hero as well. Zowie Hunter scored all four goals for her Sabres in their 4-0 win over the Lawrence University Vikings (2-17-0).

Hunter leads the Sabres this season on the stat sheet, scoring seven goals & tossing nine assists for a total of 16 points. Three of her goals came in the 2nd period, scoring at 7:53 (powerplay), 9:59, & 12:23. Hunter’s fourth of the night came just prior to the midway mark of the 3rd, scoring at 8:24 to cap off her incredible performance.

Next up for Marian is a home/home against Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) this Friday & Saturday with the first game being in Milwaukee. Hopefully the water leak is fixed as a leak shut down the St. Norbert @ MSOE men’s game this past weekend, forcing the teams to play the 2nd & 3rd period in St. Norbert at 9:25am CT and then play the St. Norbert home game later that day at 6pm CT.