And then there were two… After today’s frozen four semifinal results, we’re left with two teams that will go at it for the national championship in Amherst, MA (Orr Rink) on Sunday March 19 at 3:00pm EST.
Gustavus vs Plattsburgh (Gustavus wins 3-2 in double-overtime)
Entering the game, Plattsburgh held a record of 26-2-0, while Gustavus held a record of 25-3-0. Both are very impressive, and both of these teams are strong all-around with little to no weaknesses on their respective line charts.
In this game, Plattsburgh got out to a quick 1-0 lead at the 3:31 mark courtesy of Julia Masotta. Gustavus would answer later in the period at 10:25 when Kristina Press buried one. The Cardinals would score the lone goal of the 2nd period (Ivy Boric, 11:12) to enter the final frame holding a slim one-goal lead. Gustavus would capitalize on a powerplay and score the tying goal (Hailey Holland, 7:02), this was their third powerplay opportunity of the game and they scored when it mattered most.
We then ran out of time in regulation and would need an extra period of hockey. We then ran out of time once again, neither team breaking the deadlock during the first 20-minute overtime period. It was then the hero for Gustavus, Lily Mortenson scoring at the 86:41 mark of the game (6:41 of the 2nd OT period) to lift the Gusties to the national title game.
Hamilton vs Amherst (Amherst wins 2-0)
Amherst, the hosting school, entered the game with a 25-3-0 record, while Hamilton entered with a 22-5-2 record. Hamilton, coming off their road-upset of Adrian last weekend, looked to continue their dream NCAA tournament run, which for those of you who weren’t aware, this is the first time in program history that Hamilton has qualified for the NCAA tournament… You couldn’t ask for much better than a final four appearance in your first ever tournament run.
In this game, it was relatively quiet, both teams known for playing good defense and winning low-scoring affairs. The 1st period was scoreless, the 2nd period had some exciting moments including a goal somehow scored a whole 9 seconds into the period (00:09) by Amherst’s Maeve Reynolds who scored a quick pair in the win over Colby last weekend in the quarterfinal round. No more goals would be scored until late in the 3rd period at 18:31 when Rylee Glennon ended it, scoring an empty netter to seal the deal, sending Amherst to the national championship game.
National Championship Preview
This Sunday March 19th at 3:00pm EST, Gustavus and Amherst will play for a national championship, Amherst has won two titles previously (2009 & 2010, HC Jim Plumer), Gustavus has never won a title so this would be the first in program history for them. Another fun fact, Gustavus would be the first ever team from a western conference to win the national championship. This has to do with many factors as to why west teams have never won it, but that’s for another day. The point is, Gustavus winning would mean more than just the program itself winning the title, it shines some well-deserved light on the western teams.
This game looks to be a fun matchup as there’s some great statistical matchups at play in this one. Amherst enters this game having won their last 7 of 8 games via shutout, which in large part has to do with the brilliant play we’ve seen from freshman goaltender Natalie Stott who holds a record of 9 (stats via Amherst website) 25-3-0, 14 shutouts, and a save-percentage of .954… While Gustavus senior goaltender Katie McCoy enters the game with a record of (stats via USCHO) 24-3-0, 9 shutouts, and a .944 save-percentage. Both goaltenders are hard to crack, and it’ll be interesting to see how the freshman does in a national championship game, even though she’s given us no reason but to believe she’ll fare just fine based on her play today and in the quarterfinal (two shutouts).
In terms of team offense, (all stats via USCHO) Gustavus is 5th in the country in scoring, averaging 4.18 per game as they scored 117 in their 28 games thus far. While Amherst is ranked 13th, averaging 3.41. A focal point of this game will be the two powerplay units. Gustavus ranks 2nd nationally with a 31.62% PP unit, whilst Amherst is down at 19th at 21.69%. Just for a fun fact, Amherst is T-2 in shorthanded goals with 6, while Gustavus is close behind T-4 with 5.
This game will be based on defense and how each team manages to hold up. Gustavus can put up big numbers on the scoreboard which we haven’t seen Amherst be able to do as consistently, but they haven’t needed to due to their stellar defense and goaltending. Both of these teams are top-3 in team-defense. Gustavus ranks 1st nationally, allowing 0.82 GPG (goals-per-game), while Amherst sits in 3rd, allowing 0.90 GPG. In terms of penalty kill, Amherst ranks 5th with a PK (penalty-kill) rate of an astounding 98.04%, Gustavus ranks lower at 26th, but they still hold a PK percentage of 91.43%, so both teams are very good in that area.
Another interesting statistic, Amherst ranks last (71st) in penalty minutes (which is a good thing), only averaging 3.79 penalty minutes per game. Gustavus (62nd) ranks near Amherst with an average of 5.36 penalty minutes per game which could be the difference in this one who knows. Both teams are so evenly matched in various areas something like penalty can obviously play a huge role depending how many a team gets charged for.
It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out on Sunday March 19th, tune in here at 3:00pm EST!
*Note: no photos were included of Amherst vs Hamilton due to no photos be uploaded and/or shared as of 11:59pm EST on 3/17/23*
