Another week of excitement out west as we had a 100th career point earned, some previously overlooked programs on the rise continue to stack early wins. Other teams showing their success last season wasn’t a fluke, but serious improvements that are here to stay. There wasn’t much movement within the USCHO top-15 poll, but as always, it’s college hockey, every given weekend presents new opportunities for everyone involved.
VonRuden nets her 100th Career Point
Adrian’s Jessica VonRuden scored a pair of goals on Saturday vs Marian University to help the Bulldogs get the 9-1 win. Her second goal on the night earned her the 100th point of her career. The graduate student from Owatonna, Minnesota scored 3 goals and accounted for one assist this weekend in Adrian’s sweep of Marian, winning 9-1 & 3-2 in OT via a shorthanded goal from Une Bjelland to keep Adrian’s record a perfect 6-0.
Adrian faces Trine in a home/away series Nov. 18/19 at 7pm ET both days.
Aurora is here to stay
The Aurora University Spartans last season under (now 4th year) Head Coach Jackie Kooistra had their best season as a program by far, finishing with a record of 22-7, winning the NCHA title, and earning an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. So far, Aurora has begun 5-1 this year, most recently sweeping Finlandia over the weekend, winning 10-0 & 7-0. When Coach Kooistra was asked about what last year’s NCAA tournament bid & NCHA title did for her team’s confidence and momentum this season, she said:
“Coming off a season where we won the NCHA Title and made our first appearance in the NCAA Tournament has really kept a fire going in this young squad. With the bulk of the team returning from last year and the addition of some key new players, we have really stepped up in terms of team play and confidence. It will obviously be hard to replace those key 5th year players we had last season, but this team is hungry to stay on top and keep fighting. With the very talented freshmen class from last season becoming sophomores, we are expecting huge things from them in terms of confidence and experience. We also have an amazing leadership group that without a doubt takes more pride in this team than I have ever seen. When you have leadership like we do, the sky’s the limit.”
Coach Kooistra then added: “The absolute best thing about the AU Spartans is our work ethic. This team NEVER gives up. No matter the score, no matter the circumstances, the fight in this team is something that I can confidently say will always be unmatched. I have never been so proud to stand behind a group of student athletes such as these young women. They grind in practice daily, pushing each other to beat times and be the best. That grind and mental toughness translates over into our gameplay. Hard work and staying mentally tough is the name of the game for this group.”
Aurora visits Lake Forest College next for a pair of games Nov. 18/19 at 3pm CT both days.
Keep an eye on St. Olaf
The St. Olaf Oles are coming off a monumental program-improved season of 9-17 and are currently 4-1-1, coming off a weekend-series sweep of Bethel University, winning 4-0 & 4-3. St. Olaf had a combined record of 0-45-5 (yes, 0 wins) from 2018-2020 and hadn’t won 10+ games since 2012-2013. Head Coach Tracy Johnson, who enters her 3rd year with the program, has turned the landscape of the team around immensely in a very short period of time. When asked about the team’s progress in terms of their success last season, Johnson said:
“Can’t say enough about how special our group is. We have a team full of dedicated women who are committed to putting in the work necessary to compete each week. The upperclasswomen have done an amazing job at welcoming the new players and every member of our team has embraced the vision of contributing to the growth of our program. The care they have for each other is obvious to anyone who is around our program and it really shows on the ice.”
In reference to St. Olaf’s big two-game home-and-home series vs Hamline University this upcoming weekend, she added: “A big emphasis for our team has been to focus on playing to the best of our ability regardless of the team lining up across from us. We continue to stress the importance of the little details that we can control and, no matter what, be the hardest working team on the ice.”
The job done by Coach Tracy Johnson with St. Olaf isn’t getting enough credit/recognition as it was a program that legitimately hadn’t won a game in two years (not that long ago). Now they’re 4-1-1, looking to fight for the MIAC conference title. Keep an eye on them the rest of the way.
Other Notable Results from Week 3
#2 Gustavus stays perfect (5-0), sweeping St. Scholastica 9-1 & 3-1.
#6 UW-River Falls shutout both UW-Stevens Point & Northland, 4-0 & 8-0.
#8 UW-Eau Claire defeated Northland & UW-Superior, 3-1 & 3-0.
#14 Augsburg tied St. Catherine’s 2-2 & shut them out 6-0.
Concordia (Wis.) swept Trine, winning 3-0 & 1-0.
St. Norbert swept Lawrence, winning 8-1 & 10-0.
That concludes another week on the western front of D-III women’s hockey, as talked about previously, these examples of teams coming out of the shadows and becoming highly competitive/successful teams is something we need to recognize. Women’s hockey, especially out west at this moment in time, has never been more competitive and had this number of teams at the same time possess the traits and/or all-around skill sets needed to win games and more importantly, conference championships.
