The University of Wisconsin – River Falls made the headlines this weekend after their big tournament victory in the annual Cardinal/Panther Classic held this year in Plattsburgh, NY. There weren’t many games played by west teams this weekend, none holding a large amount of significance besides UWRF. Some teams played earlier this week on Tuesday Nov. 22, but River Falls stole the headlines by winning two games that caused a major shakeup amongst the top teams in the polls after two statement victories.
UW-River Falls Wins the Cardinal/Panther Classic
The Cardinal/Panther Classic, hosted this year by Plattsburgh State, held four of the top teams in the country (three east, one west) this past weekend. #1 Middlebury (3-0), #3 Plattsburgh (7-0), #4 Elmira (7-0), and #6 UW-River Falls (6-1). In the first round games, Middlebury defeated Elmira 3-1 and UWRF defeated the host Plattsburgh 3-2. In the championship/third-place games, Plattsburgh dominated Elmira 7-0 and UWRF defeated Middlebury in OT 3-2 to leave with the trophy.
In UWRF’s first game vs Plattsburgh, the game was tied 2-2 entering the 3rd period until Aubrey Nelvin scored the eventual game winner at the 6:52 mark of the period, while goaltender Sami Miller recorded 24 saves in the victory. In the championship game against #1 Middlebury, both teams were tied entering the 3rd 1-1 until UWRF’s Maddie McCollins scored at the 7:25 mark of the period to put the Falcons up 2-1. Then things got interesting: with less than 15 seconds remaining, Middlebury’s Britt Nawrocki scored a powerplay goal at the 19:45.2 mark of the 3rd period to tie the game up. The Falcons then got the job done in overtime as MaKenna Aure scored the winner late in the OT period with less than a minute left (4:03.6 mark) in the period to end Middlebury’s 31-game winning streak that was started last year when they went a perfect 27-0. Goaltender Sami Miller also recorded 30 saves in the championship game, bringing her total to 54 on the weekend.
River Falls longtime Head Coach Joe Cranston, following the tournament win, talked about being the lone team from out west in the event and leaving with a victory, also what he believed the team did well throughout: “We left River Falls Friday at 3:00 am, and got to Plattsburgh at 3:00 pm. I just wanted to make sure we stayed healthy and to not be sluggish. We had a really good practice that night. I think the team did a very good job of not getting distracted and staying focused on the opportunities ahead of us. It was fun to represent the West, we had a great team effort this weekend; every player contributed to our success!”
The updated records and rankings (11/28/22) after the tournament: #2 UW River Falls (8-1), #3 Middlebury (4-1), #4 Plattsburgh (8-1), #7 Elmira (7-2).
UW-River Falls now sets themselves up with a 1v2 matchup as they face the new #1 Gustavus in a home-and-away series Dec. 7/10 at 7:05pm/2pm CT.
Other Notable Games
#7 Adrian defeated Chatham 6-1 on Saturday 11/26 to remain undefeated 9-0 on the season. Tia Lascelle had 2 goals and an assist, while Jessica VonRuden added 1 goal and 2 assists. Adrian now heads out east to Norwich, VT to participate in the Norwich Tournament (Dec. 10-11) where they will face #6 Norwich and then depending on the result on both games, either #4 Plattsburgh or #7 Elmira.
#9 UW-Eau Claire defeated Hamline 4-2, Sophie Rausch and Sydney Johnson both tallied 2 points apiece, both netting a goal and an assist. Goaltender Stephanie Martin recorded the 19 save victory for the Blugolds. Eau Claire faces Northland College next, hosting them tomorrow (11/30) at 7pm CT.
St. Norbert shutout UW-Stevens Point 5-0, leading the way for St. Norbert was Abbie Tollefson (2 goals, 1 assist) and Erin Huerta (1 goal, 2 assists). Goaltender Brynn Waisman recorded the 23 save shutout victory. St. Norbert’s next games are this weekend (Dec. 2/3) as they play a home-and-away series with Concordia Wisconsin.
This week wasn’t too eventful outside of the pair of top 3 wins for UW-River Falls, but now the current polls have three west teams inside the top-5, four inside the top-10 (#1 Gustavus, #2 UW-River Falls, #5 Adrian, & #9 UW-Eau Claire), so the west is certainly representing themselves well at the top!
