Adrian College sweeps St. Norbert college, winning 2-1 & 5-1 this past weekend. (Photo by Mike Dickie)
#8 Adrian sweeps rival St. Norbert, eyes #12 Concordia-Wisconsin next weekend
Adrian College (17-4-0) has all but run over their competition this season outside of ranked opponents as they remained unbeaten after they swept the newly unranked Green Knights (11-8-2) this past weekend who are now 1-6-2 in their last nine games being outscored 24-7 in those games. The Green Knights were kept in the game by their goaltender Kiera Markell on Friday in the opening game of the weekend as she made 31 saves in the 2-1 loss to the Bulldogs. Kiera Stack made 20 saves on 21 shots in the victory for Adrian. On Saturday, Adrian was in control for most of the game if you simply look at the scoreboard, leading 4-2 after two periods and adding a fifth at the midway point of the 3rd period. However, St. Norbert did outshoot Adrian 35-26, but Stack played exceptional, making 34 saves in the win. The Green Knights went through two goalies in the game, Markell giving up three goals on only 11 shots and Tanith Plachetka gave up two on 13.
Parker Beyer led the way for the Bulldogs on Saturday, scoring a goal and assisting on two.
The defending Slaats Cup champions St. Norbert are currently in 3rd place behind Adrian and Concordia-Wisconsin in the NCHA standings, they’ll need to find ways to score more goals if they want to make it back to the NCAA tournament as they’ve had issues in that department all season long after losing a large graduating class which held a vast majority of their production last season. For Adrian, they’ll find themselves visiting the Falcons next weekend in what’s to be the biggest matchup for Concordia all season long.
Adrian, as mentioned hasn’t fared the greatest in their ranked games this season, granted, they were against two top four teams in D-III [Augsburg & Amherst], so all things being equal, they’re a very good hockey team, but it’ll be interesting to see how this weekend goes. Many doubt the Falcons because of their extremely weak strength-of-schedule despite their incredible 19-1-1 record, but the same can be said about Adrian, who has taken care of everyone they should beat… but haven’t played their greatest against the teams they can beat. CUW split the regular season last year with Adrian and then proceeded to get blown out 7-0 in the Slaats Cup, but both of these teams are different for various reasons and we will learn a whole lot about both by the end of the weekend as this will most likely determine home-ice for the upcoming Slaats Cup playoffs. Adrian has faced the better of the competition when compared to CUW, so that may play a factor if things stay close late in the game. With that being said, the Falcons have come back numerous times late this year including a few weeks ago against St. Norbert when they scored two goals in the final five minutes to send it to overtime and eventually win the shootout.
Hamline gets by a dangerous Bennies team after a split weekend
If you would like to read our featured series article of these two teams from our very own Tommy Berry, you can do so here.
Saint Benedict as we discussed is on pace for their best season ever as a program under fourth year Head Coach Lindsay Macy. The Hamline University Pipers are under first year Head Coach Jake Bobrowski, but a familiar face as he was formerly an assistant during their NCAA runs under former HC Natalie Darwitz.
The Pipers (14-3-0) entered the weekend ranked #3 nationally in the poll, meanwhile the Bennies received votes as they entered at 11-3-3. Hamline, coming off their big weekend with the #2 ranked Auggies in which they split, were looking to stay on track and keep stringing together wins as they push for home-ice in the MIAC playoffs. Saint Benedict on the other hand was beginning their MIAC gauntlet as they faced #3 Hamline this week, Gustavus next week, & #2 Augsburg the following week, a crucial part of the season where every game matters since only the top five teams make the playoffs in the MIAC (50%).
#4 Helena Siska – Saint Benedict Bennies (Photo by Jordan Modjeski, CSB+SJU Athletics)
In game one the Pipers led 2-0 after two periods, but the Bennies fought back hard, not giving up as Coach Macy preaches. They scored with six minutes left in the game to make it 2-1, then buried the tying goal with under a minute left (19:12.4) to send it to overtime when things looked grim entering the final period of play. Hamline would go on to win the shootout after a scoreless overtime period, but the Bennies got a point out of game one.
In game two, Hamline had their way, outshooting the Bennies 38-15 and winning a comfortable 5-1 in the TRIA to remain 1st in the MIAC ahead of Augsburg.
For Hamline, they lost a single point for the weekend but remain two points clear of Augsburg and six of Gustavus/Saint Benedict. They well inside the top five and are continuing their fight for home-ice throughout the playoffs.
For Saint Benedict, they got a vital point to put them two wins ahead of St. Olaf and seven points clear of the Cobbers who they face to cap off the regular season. With Augsburg & Gustavus coming up, the Bennies will need to steal a win or two from these games if they want to push for a playoff spot as the #4 (MIAC) Ole’s don’t have easy games by any means with St. Scholastica, Saint Mary’s, & Bethel, but it’s an easier road than CSB has to end the season as we mentioned with Augsburg & Gustavus in the mix.
Keep an eye on the most interesting conference in Division III, where no matter who wins it, you’re hardly ever shocked and/or surprised. It’s simply just MIAC hockey!
Wilkes vs The MAC
Wilkes (17-1-1), like Concordia-Wisconsin, doesn’t get the credit most 17-1-1 teams receive due to their SOS and also the fact they play 21 conference games in a conference in which the majority of programs are fairly young and/or smaller.
The Colonels sit a dominating 15-1-0 in the MAC, leading 2nd place Arcadia by seven points and 3rd place Lebanon Valley by 14. Most recently Wilkes got another sweep, but were unexpectedly taken to overtime against Stevenson (3-15-1) after defeating LVC 2-1 the previous night. Goaltender Emily Carson played incredible for the Mustangs, making 44 saves on 47 shots to keep her team in it past 60 minutes, but Wilkes scored the overtime winner early in the extra frame.
Fourth year Head Coach Dave LaBaff has really done some incredible work here in Wilkes-Barre, holding a cumulative record of 61-32-6. The key here is, if you remove his first season at the helm, that winning percentage jumps up, as Coach LaBaff minus his first season holds a record of 57-13-4…
The problem here for Wilkes is that the MAC in terms of SOS isn’t helping them at all in their prep for the NCAA tournament assuming things continue to go to plan, as well as the NPI. Wilkes is in a position where they sit ranked 8th in the NPI (as of 2/1/2026), but any loss will tank them as their SOS simply won’t hold much weight, much like Nazareth (18-0-1) and Concordia-Wisconsin (19-1-1). Last season, LVC and Arcadia showed signs they could compete with the Colonels and have had some close games this season with LVC beating the Colonels earlier this season in overtime 4-3. However, looking ahead to the NCAAs, Wilkes will 100% need to win this auto-bid as their record even with two losses in my opinion won’t be enough, especially with how strong the MIAC has performed this season, along with the usual NESCAC performances.
It’s currently Wilkes vs the MAC & Wilkes’ NCAA bid to lose; we will see who wins in the end.
The NESCAC Playoff race is heating up
We’ll take a brief look at the NESCAC playoff standings as even though 80% of the field makes it (8/10 teams), it’s had some shake ups recently with the emergence of #10 Williams (13-1-4) this season and Hamilton pulling off a tie against the Ephs last weekend.
Currently, #4 Amherst leads the way with 25.5 points, #5 Middlebury close behind at 23, #10 Williams 22.5, and #15 Colby at 21. We get to see Middlebury & Williams in a crucial home/home series in two weeks, as well as Amherst hosting Colby for a pair of games in the regular season finale. The key here is the #1 seed gets to host through the playoffs including the semifinal / finals weekend. With these four teams being so close, anything can happen, as well as NPI implications as well.
#1 Natalie Stott – Amherst Women’s Hockey (Photo via Amherst College Athletics)
Due to the NESCAC not performing to their usual ‘near perfection’ in the non-conference this season, we will still see a minimum two teams in (likely three depending how things shake out in the end), but currently, Amherst & Williams sit #2 & #5 respectively. Meanwhile, Middlebury & Colby are on the border / outside looking in, sitting at #10 & #12 with Middlebury currently projected to receive the final at-large bid. Middlebury’s non-conference slate is slightly helping their SOS over Colby, which will likely play a major factor in the end come math time, but for now, we enjoy the final weeks of exciting regular-season hockey as we’re almost in the midst of the playoffs!
