FINAL: Women and Men's NCAA D-III Hockey Championships

WOMEN (from Superior, Wisconsin) 
Elmira          1
Middlebury  0
FINAL Box Score Preview 

1st Period: Middlebury has three power plays but can't capitalize. First period ends as it began, 0-0. Shots are even too, 6-6.

2nd Period: Elmira goes on their first power play of the game 3:18. The Soaring Eagles get a few good shots but can't put it in. Elmira gets another Power play chance when Middlebury's Maggie Woodward gets called for hooking 9:41 into the period.  Not long after the second penalty of the period is killed, Vermont native Taylor Steadman puts the Soaring Eagles up 1-0 on an assist by yesterday's OT hero Sam Curk. With three and a half remaining Curk gets called for checking (can't hit like the boys in women's hockey) but Middlebury falls to 0-4 on the PP for the game. Much higher paced period, with shots in favor of Elmira 14-11 for the period and 20-17 for the game.

3rd Period: With 7:30 remaining Middlebury's leader in points Hannah Bielawski has a breakaway but is stoned by Elmira's Lauren Sullivan. The Panthers call timeout with 2:34 remaining. Middlebury finally pulls Annabelle Jones with 1:20 remaining, but has to put her back in just 14 seconds later for a faceoff. The Panthers finally pull her for good with thirty seconds to go but they can't muster a goal. Final shots in favor of Middlebury 30-26. It is a nation leading 11th shutout of the season for Sullivan.

Elmira avenges the 2005 finals loss to Middlebury and wins their first NCAA D-III Women's Ice Hockey Championship in 10 years.



MEN (from Lake Placid, NY)
Oswego                            3
Wisconsin Eau-Claire       5
FINAL Box Score 

1st Period: After Oswego gets its first shot 8 minutes in, the Lakers go on the first PP of the game 8:44 in on an Isaiah Bennis elbowing call. The Blugolds All-American goalie Brandon Stephenson robs Zach Josepher and Tyler Leimbrock on the power play. As the power play expires at 10:44, Bobby Gertsakis bangs home a rebound off a Look Moodie shot to put the Lakers up 1-0. 31 seconds later Chris Muise beats Stephenson and Oswego takes a 2-0 lead.  Despite the score, W-EC controls most of the first 12 minutes.

Chris Muise erases the goodwill from his goal a few minutes later with a boarding call to put the Blugolds on their first power play. Just seven seconds into the man advantage W-EC's Jordan Singer gets his team on the board, 2-1. Leimbrock gets tripped by Alex Olson to put the Lakers back on the power play with 3:11 remaining, but the Blugolds kill it. W-EC ties it on an Andrew Wilcox goal with just 53 seconds remaining. 1st period ends with the score knotted at two, shots in favor of the Blugolds 13-11.

2nd Period: 6:29 into the period Daniel Olszewksi gives W-EC their first lead of the game on a goal off a rebound. Lakers have three power plays in the period, including a 5-3 for 41 seconds, but they can't capitalize. Shots in favor of Oswego 7-4 in the period, 18-17 for the game. Oswego begins the third on the PP.

3rd Period: Blugolds kill off the penalty. 7:20 into the period W-EC gets an insurance goal from Devin Mantha, son of  former NHL player Moe Mantha. Gerstakis gets his second of the night when his shot from the right point carroms off a defender's skate and into the net exactly halfway through the period. 4-3.  Kurt Weston puts in an empty netter with 58 seconds remaining to seal it. Shots in favor of Oswego 30-25 for the game.

1st NCAA men's hockey title for W-EC in only their second NCAA Tournament appearance (1st was last year). Though they aren't near Buffalo,  it is appropriate that Oswego is from upstate New York, as they lose back to back national championships a la the 90s Buffalo Bills.

NCAA D-III Women's Hockey Final: Middlebury vs Elmira 8 PM Satruday 3/16/13

Who: Middlebury Panthers (20-7-2) vs Elmira Soaring Eagles (23-5-1) 
Where: Wessman Arena Superior, WI
When: 8:00 PM Saturday 3/16/13
Audio/Video: NCAA Video 

Stats (National Rank)                             Team Leaders                  
Offense: 3.28 G/GM (10)                        Hannah Bielawski (F, So.)  (9-22-31)
Defense: 1.69 G/GM (9)                         Emily Fluke (F, So.)           (17-12-29)
Power Play: 33/137 24.09% (6)              Katie Sullivan (F, So.)        (13-12-25)
Penalty Kill: 66/76 86.8% (11)               Annabelle Jones (G, So.)    1.39 GAA

Stats (National Rank)                              Team Leaders
Offense: 4.21 G/GM(4)                            Ashley Ryan (F, So.)        (17-14-31)                            
Defense: 1.14 G/GM (1)                          Tanis Lamoureux (F, Jr.)  (13-14-27)
Power Play: 22/116 - 19.97% (16)            Ashton Hogan (F, So.)       (19-7-26) 
Penalty Kill: 98/106 - 92.5% (2)               Lauren Sullivan (G, Sr.)     1.24 GAA





The Lowdown: This one's for all the marbles 
Both the Panthers and Soaring Eagles defeated previously unbeaten teams in the semi-finals to reach the D-III NCAA women's ice hockey final. For Middlebury, they took care of top ranked Plattsburgh, 4-1, in the first semi-final. After trailing 3-2 in the final three minutes against Gustavus Adolphus, Elmira scored a short handed goal then netted one in the final minute of OT to defeat the Golden Gusties 4-3.

Middlebury (NESCAC) and Elmira (ECAC-West) both received at-large bids into the women's tourney after losing their respective conference finals. In the Quarterfinal round, Middlebury came from behind to beat host Norwich,3-2, in OT to punch their ticket to the Frozen Four in Superior, WI. Elmira defeated NESCAC tournament champion Bowdoin, 4-0, in front of the Polar Bear faithful at the Sid to earn their trip out West.

The two teams are no stranger to one another, having played twice in the 2012-13 season. Middlebury swept the regular season series, beating Elmira, 4-3, in OT of the Cardinal/Pardinal Classic back in November, as well as at Elmira, 3-1, in February.

This is the first time Middlebury has made the finals since losing to Plattsburgh in the 2007 championship, a year after beating the same Cardinals in the 2006 finals. Elmira's last trip to the title game was 2009, when they lost to Amherst. The Panthers and Soaring Eagles met in the 2005 Finale, with Middlebury winning  4-3.

Players to watch 
Annabelle Jones (G, So.) The sophomore from Homer, NY made 27 saves in the semis to hold the Cardinals to their lowest goal output (1) all season. Jones is 4th in the country in Goals Against Average (1.39) and 5th in Save Percentage (.943).

Lauren Sullivan (G, Sr.) The senior from Ontario made 38 saves in the semis to send her team to the finals. Sullivan ranks second in the country in GAA (1.24) and seventh in the country in Save Percentage (.938).  Sullivan may be tired after facing 38 shots in a game that went to overtime less than 22 hours before the Finals will start.

In honor of these teams meeting in the end, and having beaten two undefeated teams in the semis to get here, we present Snow Patrol's "In The End" off of their sixth studio album Fallen Empires.

News and Notes 3/13/13: NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team and Middlebury women

NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team
The NESCAC has announced its All-Sportsmanship teams for the Winter Sports season. Unsure of what the amorphous term "sportsmanship" means? Here's what the league office says: 

These student-athletes exhibit respect for themselves, teammates, coaches, opponents and spectators. They display sportsmanship, not only as a participant in their sport, but also as a spectator and in their everyday lives. Through their positive actions and example, these student-athletes inspire others to adhere to the quality of sportsmanship that the NESCAC and the NCAA endorse.

Who picks the team? Glad you asked. The NESCAC SAAC. What's the NESCAC SAAC? You are really good at asking questions! Here's the description of the SAAC from the league:

The All-Sportsmanship Team was created by the NESCAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The NESCAC SAAC serves as the liaison between the student-athletes of NESCAC member institutions and conference administrators. The committee provides a voice to represent the concerns of all student-athletes and to discuss issues impacting student-athlete welfare. The NESCAC SAAC represents all students who participate in intercollegiate athletics and promotes and celebrates student-athletes achievements.

Below find the list of ten men's hockey players that made the team (one for each school). Dan Weiniger (Bowdoin) and Brandon Hew (Amherst) made the First Team All-NESCAC squads as well. There is a bit more diversity in terms of class year this season, with seven seniors, two juniors and one sophomore. Last year, all ten members of the men's sportsmanship team were seniors. Tim Shea (Trinity) becomes the first sophomore to make the team since the Bantams Joseph Tierney made it in 2010.

For the full Sportsmanship Team for all winter sports, as well as the league's official release, click here.

Men's Ice Hockey Name Institution Year Hometown Brandon Hew  Amherst Sr. Fresno, Calif. Dan Weiniger  Bowdoin Sr. Warren, N.J. Jake Billiar Colby Sr. Columbus, Ohio Kevin Kelly Conn. College Jr.  Harrisburg, Pa. Andrew White Hamilton Sr.  Franklin, Mass. Eric Zagorski Middlebury Sr.  Westfield, N.J. Tim Shea Trinity So.  Somerset, Mass. Tim Mitropoulos Tufts Jr.  Winchester, Mass. Donald Kleckner Wesleyan Sr. Alpharetta, Ga. Mark Lyons Williams Sr. Calgary, Alberta Middlebury Women After erasing a 2-1 third period deficit in the NCAA Quarterfinals to defeat Vermont rival Norwich ,3-2, in OT last Saturday, the Middlebury Panthers women's hockey team will play Plattsburgh State in the D-III National Semifinals this Friday, March 15th at 4:30 PM. The game will be held in Superior, Wisconsin.  Middlebury's athletic site provides a preview for the game, with good background on the Panthers season as well as general program history. (Middlebury Preview). For the 38 page, official NCAA program for the D-III women's ice hockey tournament, click here.