One round of hockey is complete in the NCAA Division III tournament and two teams remain from the west region.
Adrian and St. Norbert both took care of business in the opening round and now the NCHA rivals face off against each other next weekend for the right to go to the Frozen Four.
Here’s a look back at how the Bulldogs and Green Knights advanced in the postseason.
Bulldogs roll past Pointers
It was a matchup between two of the nation’s best programs. No.3 Adrian up against No. 6 UW-Stevens Point in a win-or-go-home moment.
The Bulldogs proved to be the better team, setting the tone with two first-period goals and rolling from there in a 4-0 victory, ending the Pointers’ eight-game unbeaten streak.
Dershawn Stewart shined as one of the storylines of the night. He made 28 saves, which is impressive in its own right, but it’s something made even more impressive by the fact that it’s the first time the Pointers have been kept off the scoreboard since 2021.
This is the second consecutive year where Adrian has beaten UW-Stevens Point, but this time it didn’t take overtime get the job done.
Jaden Shields scored the first goal of the game and Casey Gerstein made it 2-0 Bulldogs after one.
A power play goal by Jacob Suede in the second stretched the Adrian lead to 3-0. An empty net goal by Riley Murphy finished out the game.
Adrian (23-6-1) has won six of seven and has scored four or more goals in each of those wins during that stretch. The Bulldogs have scored 138 goals as a team this season, with seven players tallying 10 or more, including Mathew Rehding, who has scored a team-best 16 goals.
The Pointers (21-6-2) were making their 17th trip to the tournament and finish with 20 or more wins in a season for the eighth time in the last 10 years. Alex Proctor made 28 saves.
Green Knights take down Oles
St. Norbert saved its best for last. The fifth-ranked Green Knights broke open a tight game against St. Olaf in the third period to secure a 5-2 win over the Oles.
It’s the second time in three seasons St. Norbert (23-6) has beaten St. Olaf (14-12-3) in the tournament.
Just over six minutes into the third period, the Green Knights started to take the hold of the momentum. Calvin Hanson connected on a goal at the 6:07 mark as St. Norbert went ahead 3-2 in a power play situation and never looked back.
T.J. Koufis pushed the lead to 4-2 with under four minutes to play in the game before Mark Snarr closed out the scoring with an empty-netter.
Neither team scored in the opening period. Carter Hottmann ended the scoreless tie a little over a minute into the second period. Hottmann added a a second goal six minutes later to extend the St. Norbert advantage to 2-0.
Jonathan Panisa cut the Oles’ deficit to 2-1 before the midway point of the period, scoring off the power play and Jonathan young scored with under two minutes to play in the second to tie the game at 2-2.
Will Stromp played a big role for St. Norbert in the win, dishing out three assists. Koufis added an assist to his stat line.
The Green Knights held a 36-20 advantage in shots while Hunter Garvey came through with 18 saves. Thomas Lalonde tallied 31 saves for the Oles, who were making their third tourney appearance in program history.
St. Olaf had won three straight road games heading into Saturday, allowing only one goal in that time. The Oles conclude a season where they won the MIAC title for the second time in three years and also made it to the NCAA tournament for the second time in the last three years.
St. Norbert has now won 34 games in NCAA tournament history, putting it in a tie with Middlebury for No. 1 all time in tourney victories. The Green Knights have won 25 of their last 31 tournament games.
They are playing their best hockey at the moment as well, winning eight consecutive games. Included in that streak is a 3-1 win over Adrian in the NCHA championship game earlier this month.
