This past week we had a battle between #1 Gustavus vs #2 UW-River Falls and then #3 Adrian headed out east to compete in the Norwich East-West Hockey Classic. Meanwhile, St. Olaf had a player break the single-game program record for points and assists. Exciting stuff from this past week.
Gustavus & UW-River Falls split the series
This past week featured two battles between the top two teams in the USCHO poll, #1 Gustavus vs #2 UW-River Falls in a home-and-home series. Gustavus entered the series 10-0-0, UWRF entered 8-1-0, however, UWRF had shown us more so far in terms of win strength. River-Falls had wins over (at the time) #8 UW-Eau Claire, #3 Plattsburgh State, & #1 Middlebury. That being said, Gustavus showed us that they’re for real and can play with anyone.
In game one, in River Falls, the Gusties won 2-0, goals at the 10:31 mark of the 1st period and a powerplay goal at 19:36 of the 3rd period sealed it up for a Gusties victory. Both goalies had good nights, Katie McCoy recorded the 32 save shutout victory, while Sami Miller recorded a 32 save night for the Falcons. In game two, in Gustavus, the Falcons got a shutout victory of their own, winning 3-0. River-Falls scored two quick goals at the 4:38 & 6:01 mark of the 2nd period, they would then add a shorthanded goal at 19:35 of the 3rd period. Funny enough, goaltender Sami Miller recorded the 26 save shutout victory, while Katie McCoy recorded 26 saves in the loss. In both games, each goalie had the same amount of saves as the other, 32 each in game one, 26 each in game two.
The statsheet was quite spread out in these two games, with only one player recording more than one point for either side, MaKenna Aure of UW-River Falls led the way in points, with one goal and one assist.
St. Olaf has a new record holder
St. Olaf defeated UW-Superior 7-1 on 12/10/22, while First-Year forward Solvei Berg-Messerole from Minneapolis, Minn. recorded a whopping six points in the victory. She set the program record for points and she also broke the single-game assist record with four. So far, in 13 games for the Ole’s, Solvei has 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists).
Adrian heads out East
#3 Adrian entered the weekend with an undefeated 9-0-0 record as they took the long bus trip to Northfield, VT to face #5 Norwich in the first round of the Norwich East-West Hockey Classic, and then faced #4 Plattsburgh in the championship game. In game one, Adrian defeated Norwich 4-3. This game was an interesting one in terms of the scoring, Norwich was up 2-1 after the first period, until Adrian scored at the 15:41 & 16:07 marks of the 2nd period, just 26 seconds apart, to take a 3-2 lead. Karmen Anderson would then score the game-winning-goal for the Bulldogs a quick 0:36 into the 3rd period. Goaltender Sophie Goldberg got the 19 save victory.
In game two however, Adrian and Plattsburgh would remain scoreless until the 17:00 mark of the 3rd period when Sara Krauseneck of Plattsburgh scored the winning goal on the powerplay. There were few penalties in this game, Adrian committed one and Plattsburgh two, but the lone powerplay for the Cardinals resulted in the game winner to win the Norwich East-West Hockey Classic. Adrian is now still a very respectable 10-1 with their only loss coming in the last 3 minutes to the (at the time) #4 ranked-team in the country.
UW-Eau Claire continues to win
Currently, #9 UW-Eau Claire sits with a 10-2-0 record, winning their last 8 of 9 games, their only loss coming to current #2 WIAC rival UW-River Falls where UWRF scored the winner late at the 15:01 mark of the 3rd period. Ranked somewhat low for their record/reputation, UW-Eau Claire eyes an important weekend when they return for the second-half of their season on January 6/7 with two away games at St. Norbert. A series that could help them immensely in the pairwise and regular polls.
Most recently, this past weekend the Blugolds swept Concordia Minnesota at home, winning 4-2 & 8-0. The point leaders for the Blugolds this weekend were Sophie Rausch (4 goals, 1 assist), Hallie Sheridan (1 goal, 3 assists) & Sami Scherling (1 goal, 3 assists). Blugold goaltenders Stephanie Martin made 13 saves in the 4-2 victory and Josie Mathison made 7 saves in the 8-0 victory.
Other Notable Results
Augsburg defeated #15 St. Norbert 1-0 and UW-Stevens Point 5-1.
St. Olaf swept UW-Superior, winning 3-1 & 7-1.
St. Catherine’s defeated UW-Stevens Point 5-1.
Another week in the books, we now enter the break between the first and second half of the season, one west game between UW-Superior & Marian on Dec. 13 (today), but then not another non-exhibition game until January 4, 2023 when Lake Forest heads to #8 Middlebury. Long break is ahead of us, but it’ll go quickly. Enjoy the holidays!
