Nazareth Women’s Hockey. (Photo by Grace Fantanza)
#5 Nazareth University (6-0-0) at St. John Fisher University (2-3-1)
Friday, November 21 at 7 PM EST | Saturday, November 22 at 3 PM EST
First-ever meeting – *Inaugural season for SJF*
Week four of the women’s Division III season brings a unique local matchup as the No. 5 Nazareth University Golden Flyers take on the St. John Fisher Cardinals in a home-and-home series. These two campuses are separated by less than three minutes, setting the stage for what could quickly develop into a true Rochester rivalry. Friday’s opener will be played at the Tim Horton’s Ice Plex with a 7 PM puck drop, followed by Saturday’s meeting at the Rochester Ice Center at 3 PM. This series also marks the first-ever meeting between the programs, with St. John Fisher playing its inaugural season.
Nazareth enters as the clear favorite and is off to one of the strongest starts in program history. The Golden Flyers come in ranked No. 5 in the latest DIIIHockeyNews.com poll, the highest ranking the team’s ever held. Though their early schedule has not been the toughest compared to others near them in the poll, they’ve handled business convincingly, outscoring their opponents 28–5 through six games.
Nazareth’s identity this season has centered on territorial play and controlling shot volume. The Golden Flyers average 44 shots per game while allowing just 12.3, a massive disparity that has fueled their 6–0–0 start. Offensively, sophomore forward Amy Laskowski has been dominant. She leads all of Division III with 13 points and has been held off the scoresheet only once. Laskowski is the engine of Nazareth’s attack and was a finalist for the AHCA Division III Women’s Hockey Player of the Year last season & was named to the DIIIHockeyNews.com All-Rookie team.
The Golden Flyers have also been sharp on special teams, carrying a 31.03 percent power-play percentage, which ranks sixth nationally. The combination of relentless shot pressure, a star forward, and efficient special teams has placed Nazareth squarely in the national spotlight early in the year.
St. John Fisher, meanwhile, continues its first season as a varsity program and has already shown flashes of a competitive, well-coached team. The Cardinals enter the weekend at 2–3–1 after a challenging series against No. 14 Elmira. In the first game, they held Elmira scoreless for the entire second and third periods. In the second game, they battled to a 1–1 tie, showing resilience against a ranked opponent.
Behind the bench is Scott McDonald, a veteran coach with national championship pedigree. McDonald previously led the formerly Division III Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) program to a national title in 2012 and a runner-up finish in 2011. He enters this season with a 207–157–30 career record across 394 games and brings extensive experience to this new program in a recruiting hotbed of Rochester, NY.
Offensively, Fisher is still finding its footing with only eight goals scored through six games. Freshmen Sophie Grant and Keira Reckley lead the team with eight combined points and have been the bright spots for the Cardinals early on. While the offense develops, the defensive structure has kept Fisher competitive. They have allowed just ten goals this season, leaning heavily on freshman goaltender Brynn Bacak. Bacak has been outstanding, starting all six games and posting a 1.68 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. In the series against Elmira, she stopped 35 shots in game one and 41 in game two, allowing only four goals across both matchups.
Coaching experience stands out as an important factor this weekend. Nazareth’s head coach Chris Baudo carries a 143–33–8 career record and has built the Golden Flyers into a consistent contender. Across the ice, McDonald’s 207–157–30 career record gives Fisher a veteran presence behind the bench despite being a first-year program. Combined, Baudo and McDonald have coached 578 collegiate games, adding significant strategy and preparation to this first-ever meeting.
This weekend should be a premier event on the women’s Division III slate. Nazareth brings national aspirations and one of the hottest starts in the country, while St. John Fisher is proving to be a capable and promising startup program with a strong defensive identity. With the two campuses separated by only a few minutes, this could be the beginning of a new, locally fueled rivalry in the UCHC.
