D-III Women’s Week Six: Ranked matchups & hello Lakers & Polar Bears!

Another great weekend of Women’s D-III hockey, we got to see a top-five matchup between two teams who met in the Frozen Four and a top-ten matchup between two MIAC rivals. We’ll also look a two teams who’re making a name for themselves as they remain unbeaten through six weeks of play.

*records prior to series being played*

#1 UW-River Falls (6-0-2) vs #5 Adrian (9-1-0) – UWRF 4-2 & Adrian 3-1

#1 UW-River Falls entered the weekend on a 39-game unbeaten streak, this would reach 40, but be snapped as they fell to #5 Adrian in game two on Sunday.

This is the first time these two have met since last year’s semifinal matchup in the Frozen Four in Hunt Arena at UW-River Falls.

In game one, the Falcons came out flying in the opening period, leading 3-1 after the 1st. Katherine Bell scored eight minutes into the game, then Adrian’s Zoe Lohrei tied it late in the period at 16:52, but River Falls would score two in the final three minutes of play. Bailey Olson (17:45) & Megan Goodreau (19:17) scored a quick pair past Adrian’s goaltender Annie Gilbert.

Maya Roy cut the lead in half, scoring on the powerplay, the lone 2nd period goal.

In the 3rd, Madison Lavergne would seal the deal, scoring just over five minutes into the period, getting the win for the Falcons. River Falls goaltender Jordan O’Kane made 19 saves in the victory.

In game two, all but one goal was scored in the 3rd period. In the 1st, UWRF’s Cahlilah Lindquist scored at the 15:15 mark, which held all the way until 8:08 of the 3rd period when Maya Roy of Adrian tied it up 1-1 on the powerplay.

Riley Johnson would score the winner three minutes later, with the game-sealing goal being an empty netter with just under a minute left. Adrian takes it 3-1, ending the 40-game unbeaten streak of River Falls.

#4 Gustavus (4-2-0) vs #7 Augsburg (5-0-1) – Gustavus 2-0 & Augsburg 4-1

#4 Gustavus, winner of the last four MIAC championships, faced off against their rival #7 Augsburg who’s been knocking on the Gusties door as of late, but unable to consistently defeat them. First Year Head Coach Elizabeth Bauer has her Auggies rolling so far, looking to change that history.

In game one, scoring was a rarity. The 1st period was scoreless, but the 2nd period contained the lone goals of the game, both by the Gusties. Eva Nelson capitalized on the powerplay, scoring the game-winner in the first minute of the period. Her teammate would double the lead shorthanded at 6:40, Noelle Hemr.

For Gustavus, goaltender Lily Timmons made 23 saves in the shutout victory, while Auggie goaltender Kayla Simonson made 31 saves in the loss.

In game two, Augsburg came out flying, taking a 4-0 lead in the first 24 minutes of play. Jenna Allen opened up the scoring on the powerplay at 6:37 into the game, her teammate Emily Schoeberl doubled the lead, scoring the game-winner at 13:19 of the 1st, Auggies led 2-0 after the 1st.

Augsburg didn’t let up as mentioned, Emily Cronkhite scored three minutes into the end, shortly after, a minute four seconds later to be exact, Grace Bonnell scored, putting Augsburg up 4-0.

Gustavus’ lone goal came just past the midway point of the 2nd period on the powerplay, it was Abby Elliott, but that wasn’t enough in the end as the Auggies get the huge MIAC series split.

Oswego State (7-0-1): The Lakers remain unbeaten

Oswego State’s been improving year-after-year under Head Coach Mark Digby. They’re off to one of their best starts ever in program history, an unbeaten 7-0-1 after most recently defeating Potsdam 4-1 & Buffalo State 5-0. Their signature games this season have been a 2-2 tie vs #7 Plattsburgh & a 4-1 win over #8 Cortland. 

Oswego’s never made an NCAA tournament appearance, nor won the regular season/postseason league title. Granted, having Plattsburgh in your league doesn’t exactly help you in that area as Head Coach Kevin Houle’s squad has been arguably the best program to ever grace the ice in Division III women’s hockey in terms of consistency and longevity of the winning.

Oswego has completed their first half of play, they’ll return to the ice with a little hour and a half roadtrip to Clinton, NY where they’ll face the currently struggling NESCAC team in Hamilton. They’ll then visit the North Country for a pair of games with Plattsburgh, a massive series. They’ll later face #3 Amherst in Oswego for “Education Day”, an 11am ET puck drop, out of the ordinary, but maybe that’s what they’ll need vs the top-ranked Mammoths. 

Don’t be shocked if Oswego makes their first NCAA tournament appearance this season, it’s wide-open and they’ve got the coaching and roster to get it done. Plattsburgh isn’t invincible and they’ve already beaten Cortland once. 

Bowdoin (7-0-0): The Polar Bears have started the 1st half strong

The Polar Bears of Bowdoin have taken the NESCAC by storm thus far, but have a tough 2nd half ahead of them in terms of opponents. The Polar Bears have began a perfect 7-0-0, handling what’s been dealt to them so far. Bowdoin hasn’t won more than 13 games since the 2012-2013 season when they finished 21-5-2, winning the NESCAC conference title, their fifth NCAA tournament appearance, which prior to that season, they hadn’t been to the NCAA’s since 2005 (four straight from 2002-2005).

A series that’ll likely pay dividends is the series sweep of Colby who started the season quite slow for their liking, the Mules are now 5-2-0, their only losses coming to Bowdoin in their opening weekend of NESCAC play. Bowdoin’s other league wins came over the struggling Wesleyan (2-6-0) in Bowdoin’s opening pair of games.

The real test will begin January 10, 2025 when league play resumes, here’s the Polar Bears eight games to begin NESCAC play: 

*rank and record as of 12/10/24*

at Trinity (6-3-0) 2x

at #1 Middlebury (8-0-0) 2x

at #3 Amherst (7-0-0) 2x

vs Hamilton (2-4-0) 2x

This stretch of games will make or break Bowdoin’s regular season, we’ll see how well they hold up with that gauntlet come January/February.