We’re back in action out west, where it currently looks like at this rate, we may be headed west come March. UW-River Falls holds a commanding undefeated record of 15-0-0, while Gustavus sits behind them in pairwise, their only losses coming to the Falcons. Will we see a west winner for the second-straight season? Back-to-back? Long way to go!
UW-River Falls remains unbeaten *Stats via USCHO*
We’ll take a quick look here as River Falls didn’t play any “notable” or “ranked” games, but they’re still perfect, something no one else in Men’s or Women’s D-III hockey can say…
Currently, Maddie McCollins leads all of women’s D-III with 35 points through 15 games played (16G, 19A). The 2023 USCHO Player of the Year had teammates close behind on the stat list, in 3rd, it’s Megan Goodreau (28 pts – 10G, 18A), 5th is Alex Hantge (26 pts – 10G, 16A), 7th is MaKenna Aure (23 pts – 10G, 13A), and T-12th is Aubrey Nelvin (18 pts – 6G, 12A).
This team is stuffing the stat sheet, near the top, if not the top of most team-statistical categories. Head Coach Joe Cranston’s Falcons seem to be absolutely loaded and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. It’ll be fun to see their games against WIAC-rival UW-Eau Claire, who has been able to cause them more issues than any other team as of the past few years.
Most recently, UW-River Falls defeated Concordia (Minn.) 8-0 & 7-0 over the weekend, while also adding a 6-1 victory over St. Scholastica tonight (1/9/24).
St. Norbert & #10 UW-Eau Claire (SNC 5-1 & UWEC 3-1)
The Green Knights of St. Norbert visited the Blugolds of Eau Claire this past weekend. SNC with a solid record of 10-3-0, unranked, while UWEC entered at 10-3-0 as well. Both teams would leave the weekend with the same record after the split, 11-3-0.
Game One: Norbert 5-1
The first game of the series was an odd one… If you looked at the stat sheet, you’d probably ask how St. Norbert scored 5 goals when they only had 11 registered shots-on-target. Well, Norbert scored 2 goals in the 2nd period on 2 registered shots, they then proceeded to score 3 goals in the 3rd period, on 3 registered shots… Eau Claire failed to register a save in the game after the 1st period, eye opening to say the least…
One could say, as many goalies who participate in games like this will tell you, sometimes facing 20-30 shots is easier than facing 10. 20-30 keeps you loose, active, and mentally sharp, versus the flipside, you face one shot every five to six minutes of the game and BOOM, get ready to make a save after standing there still. Not acceptable to give up five on five shots, but just a thought.
The scoring went like this:
2nd Period:
Naomi Balon – 9:42 SNC 1-0
Grace Wittkopf – 12:29 SNC 2-0
Maddie Hunter – 19:44 SNC 2-1
3rd Period:
Abbie Tollefson – 15:31 SNC 3-1
Lexi Bonfe – 16:13 SNC 4-1
Abbie Tollefson – 16:26 SNC 5-1
Not the type of game you’d expect from the Blugolds from what they’ve shown thus far, even so with the Green Knights. Only putting up 11 shots on goal, not exactly a dominating sat, but they scored 45% of their shots-on-target, so you’ll win a lot of games doing that obviously.
Game Two: UWEC 3-1
Game two brought better luck for the Blugolds, winning 3-1 after making a goalie change and saving more than 55% of Norbert’s shots-on-target.
The scoring began from UWEC’s Eden Gruber at 15:30 of the opening period. Sam Bandholz doubled the lead in the 2nd period, just over the halfway mark at 12:44. Morgan Olson cut the lead in half, scoring for St. Norbert at 17:43, then Sophie Rausch, the nation’s 2nd-leading point scorer (29 pts – 17G, 12A), sealed the deal late in the 3rd at 18:42 to give Eau Claire the home-alumni game victory.
The Jills shock the Spartans!
Aurora has had a down year to say the least, entering the weekend with a record of 7-6-0, while Northland, under new Head Coach Natasha Hawkins, entered at 4-8-1, which currently is on pace for their best season since now-Curry Head Coach Kelly Rider won eight games in 2018-2019.
The games were played in Ashland, WI, a big home series for the Jills in which they took advantage of in the first game, winning 2-1.
The Jills were outshot by the Spartans 45-19, but goaltender Karlee Lehner had a stellar night, making 44 saves and only allowing the lone goal.
Kyleigh Moffatt scored the opening goal of the game in the middle of the 2nd period at 12:51 to give Northland the 1-0 lead, which would hold up until the last minute of the same period. Darci Matson scored the game-tying shorthanded goal with 25 seconds left (19:35.5) in the middle frame.
The hero would then be Kate Holtz for the Jills, scoring the game-winner at 1:26 in the overtime period to give Northland their signature win of the season and maybe even the past few seasons could be under consideration.
Aurora would win Sunday’s game 4-1 to split the series, despite the loss, Northland goaltender Corrin Hanson made 45 saves to keep her team within striking distance.
