PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's hockey team is poised to make its third-straight appearance at the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship and the Cardinals have one thing on their minds – raising their third National Championship trophy in front of the home crowd.
Plattsburgh State will serve as the host institution for the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship, marking the fourth time the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena has hosted the marquee event. Plattsburgh State also hosted the championships in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Game Schedule
Friday, March 21 – NCAA Semifinals
Plattsburgh vs. St. Thomas (Minn.) – 3:30 p.m. EDT
Norwich vs. Wisconsin-River Falls – 7 p.m. EDT
Saturday, March 22
NCAA Third-Place Game – 3:30 p.m. EDT
NCAA Championship Game – 7 p.m. EDT
Ticket Information
Tickets will go on sale at the Field House Box Office at 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Ticket prices are $15 general admission and $10 for college students with a valid ID. Ticket prices are per day and only daily passes will be sold. For ticket questions and more information, please contact the Field House at (518) 564-4062.
Multimedia Links
All multimedia coverage for championship weekend will be provided by the NCAA. Fans can follow live video and live stats for Friday's Semifinal games by clicking on the matchups on the interactive bracket. Links for Saturday's games can be accessed by following the same instructions.
Div. III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament Interactive bracket
Digital Media Guides
The media guide for the 2014 Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament will only be available in an online format. The digital media guide can be accessed at the link below.
2014 Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament Digital Game Program
History in the Tournament
After finishing third at last year's tournament in Superior, Wisconsin, Plattsburgh State returns to the NCAA Championships for the third-straight season. The Cardinals are making their 10th appearance in the tournament and eighth trip to championship weekend. Plattsburgh State has won the title twice in program history (2007, 2008) and enters the weekend with a 14-8 record in the NCAA tournament.
Scouting the Cardinals
The Cardinals earned the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament by winning their fourth Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) West crown before defeating Williams, 4-1, in the NCAA Quarterfinals to secure their place at the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championships.
After spending 17-straight weeks atop the USCHO.com Division III Women's Hockey poll, Plattsburgh State enters the weekend with a 26-1-1 record. Averaging 4.96 goals per game, the Cardinals possess the nation's most potent offense with 14 players in double-digits and four players with 30 or more points. Plattsburgh State is led by junior forward Shannon Stewart with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points. She is followed by sophomore Bridget Balisy and senior Chelsea VanGlahn with 32 points apiece while senior Ali Vakos comes into the weekend with 30 points. Sophomore Giovanna Senese leads the Cardinals with five game-winning goals and junior defender Alyssa Parke boasts a team-high seven power-play goals.
More impressive than the offensive output is the Cardinals' defense, which has held opponents to a stingy 17 goals this season - an average of 0.61 goals per game. Tournament participants Norwich (2nd, 1.14), Wis.-River Falls (5th, 1.48) and St. Thomas (8th, 1.68) all rank among Division III's top ten teams in scoring defense.
Anchoring the Plattsburgh State defense is the 2014 ECAC Women's West Player of the Year, senior goaltender Sydney Aveson. Aveson begins the weekend with a 20-1-1 record, leading all Division III goalies with a 0.54 goals-against average, a .971 save percentage and 13 shutouts. She enters the weekend with a 67-8-5 career record with 30 shutouts - more than any other Division III men's or women's goaltender.
The Cardinals' penalty kill has been the best Division III has to offer with Plattsburgh State's unit working at 95.5 percent (90-for-95). The Plattsburgh State power play ranks seventh in the country, converting 22 of 100 attempts (22.0 percent).
Unfamiliar Foes
Plattsburgh State meets St. Thomas (Minn.) in Friday's first semifinal matchup, marking the first meeting between the Cardinals and the Tommies. The Tommies are 20-5-3 overall and finished the second with a 14-2-2 record against MIAC opponents.
St. Thomas ended Gustavus Adolphus' 10-year reign as the MIAC Champion with a 2-0 in the MIAC Championship Game and secured a spot for the Tommies in the NCAA Tournament. St. Thomas is making its second appearance in the tournament, with the only other trip coming in 2003. Last weekend, the Tommies were the lone road team to win in the quarterfinal round, punching their ticket to Plattsburgh with a 5-0 win over Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Offensively, St. Thomas is led by junior forward Paige Baldwin with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points. Sophomore forward Courtney Umland leads the Tommies with five game-winning goals while ranking second with 18 points. Sophomore Karina Marette has netted a team-high three power-play goals.
The Tommies average 2.75 goals per game and have outscored their opponents, 116-57. St. Thomas is tied for eighth with a team defense that allows an average of 1.68 goals per game. The St. Thomas power play is 13-for-79 on the year (16.5 percent) while the penalty-kill unit ranks 11th in the country with an 88.8 percent efficiency rate (79-of-89).
Senior goaltender Alise Riedel has played the majority of minutes between the pipes for St. Thomas. Riedel brings an 18-1-3 record into the weekend with a 1.25 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage.
