DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association's (NCHA) Women's Hockey Slaats Cup Tournament continues this weekend in Lake Forest (Ill.) with the final four and for the second straight year St. Scholastica will face St. Norbert in a semifinal.
Game Schedule:
Semifinals-Friday:
Adrian at #10 Lake Forest – 3:30 p.m.
St. Norbert vs. St. Scholastica – 7:00 p.m.
Championship:
Saturday at 3 p.m.
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St. Scholastica Saints
Record: 15-7-3 (12-4-2 NCHA)
Head Coach: Jackie MacMillan |
- CSS had a bye in the first round and finishing second in the league during the regular season.
- The Saints had a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed at St. Norbert in the regular season finale, but fell 2-1.
- The Saints have never advanced past the semifinal stage of a NCHA Postseason Tournament as they were eliminated by the Green Knights in the semifinals last season.
- The Saints welcome back Olympic Bronze Medalist
Nina Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Wirtschaftschule KV Chur (ZSC Lions/Swiss U18 National)) back into the fold for the postseason. Waidacher last played for the Saints on January 18th at UW-River Falls.
- Despite missing nine games while in Sochi, Waidacher finished third in the league with 22 goals and fourth with 36 points. She is still second in the country with nine power-play goals. Her 2.25 points per game would lead the nation, if she had played enough games.
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Isabel Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Graubunden Canton School (ZSC Lions/Swiss U18 National)) leads the team with 21 points, assists (23), and game winning goals (4). She leads NCAA Division III with 1.10 assists per game.
- Senior
Michelle Fischer (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) is also tied for the team lead with 23 assists. Fischer is third on the team with 27 points.
- Sophomore
Nikki Logergren (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS (Northern Stars)) turned it on at the end of the regular season, recording at least one goal in each of the last four games and at least one point in the last five games.
- Junior defenseman
Alex Blair (Drake, Saskatchewan/Lanigan Central HS) is ninth in the nation averaging 0.80 points per game from her defenseman position.
- Goaltender
Lindsey Hartfiel (Big Lake, Minn./Buffalo HS) is third in the conference with a .934 saves percentage, 2.04 goals against average, and leads with 566 saves.
- CSS has allowed only one power-play goal in the last 20 opportunities. On the flip side, the Saints power-play leads NCAA Division III with a 31.7 percent conversion rate.
- The Saints are ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense, but has seen their production drop off from 4-5 goals per game in November and December to 2-3 goals per game and January and February.
- CSS has only trailed three times after two periods this season and have lost each of them.
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St. Norbert College Green Knights
Record: 18-6-2 (12-5-1 NCHA)
Head Coach: Rob Morgan |
- The Green Knights are on a three-game-win streak. They defeated Marian University (Wis.) 7-0 in the first round of the Slaats Cup Playoffs last weekend.
- St. Norbert has only lost twice in the 2014 calendar year, falling to UW-Stevens Point 3-1 on January 3rd and 4-1 to Lake Forest on February 8th.
- Six different players scored in the quarterfinal win over Marian. Ali Parker scored twice, once on a power play.
- Parker leads the team with 17 goals, 30 points, and four power play goals.
- Zoe Kurth leads the squad with 19 assists.
- The Green Knights have five payers with 20 or more points.
- Kaley Gibson leads the NCHA with a saves percentage of .938.
- In the last eight games, St. Norbert has not allowed more than one goal in a contest. The Green Knights lead the NCHA with a 1.76 goals-against-average as a team.
- Senior Laurel Hill is fifth in the county among defenseman, averaging 0.91 points per game.
- Katie Aluia leads the conference in goals against average (1.54). Fellow goaltender Gibson follows in second with 1.88.
- St. Norbert scores over one goal per game less on the road than it does at home this season. However, the Green Knights have an identical home and road record this season (9-3-1).
- St. Norbert is ranked sixth in the nation in scoring offense (3.81) and has the second-best combined special teams' success rate at .601.
Series History: (CSS is 4-6-0 vs. St. Norbert)
- The Saints lost 2-1 in the regular season finale at St. Norbert. However, earlier in the season the Saints swept the Green Knights in De Pere by scores of 3-2 and 4-1.
- In last year's NCHA O'Brien Cup Semifinals in River Falls, Wis., the Saints fell to the Green Knights 2-1. |
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#10 Lake Forest College Foresters
Record: 15-5-3 (13-3-2 NCHA)
Head Coach: Carisa Zaban |
- The Foresters claimed the NCHA Regular Season championship by not dropping a conference game since an 8-2 loss to the Saints on November 23rd.
- The Foresters, like the Green Knights, have only lost twice in the 2014 calendar year
- Michelle Greeneway leads the conference with 29 goals and second in the league with 40 points.
- Greeneway currently leads NCAA Division III with 1.82 points per game and 1.32 goals per game. She is tied with CSS's
Nina Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Wirtschaftschule KV Chur (ZSC Lions/Swiss U18 National)) with nine power-play goals on the year.
- Alex Stensland and Logan Taylor are tied for first on the team with 17 assists. Stensland is sixth in the country among defenseman with 0.90 points per game.
- Freshman goaltender Casey Hartfiel holds 2.31 goals against average and .900 saves percentage, but it has been the senior Stacey Dierking who has played at the end of the season and holds a 2.91 goals-against-average.
- The Foresters are second in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 4.7 goals per game. Their power-play ranks third with a 29.3 percent success rate.
Series History: (CSS is 3-7-3 vs. Lake Forest)
- The Saints have won, lost and tied the Foresters this season. CSS went 1-0-1 at home in November, but fell at Lake Forest 4-2 at the beginning of February.
- CSS eliminated the Foresters last season in the NCHA O'Brien Cup quarterfinals on Lake Forest's home ice with a two-game sweep. |
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Adrian College Bulldogs
Record: 19-6-1 (11-6-1 NCHA)
Head Coach: Chad Davis |
- Adrian has struggled towards the end of the season with a 3-3-1 record in the its final seven games. During that span, the Bulldogs to the other three teams at this final four.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 6-5 overtime win against Concordia Wis. in the quarterfinal game.
- Kelsey Kusch scored twice against Concordia Wis. and both were power play goals. Kusch is third in the country, averaging 1.81 points per game and fourth with 0.85 goals per game.
- Alex Vallee leads the team with 27 assists and is third in NCAA Division III with 1.04 assists per contest. Vallee is second in the country among defenseman, averaging 1.19 points per game.
- Freshman Kristin Lewicki is leads the nation with five short-handed goals.
- In net, freshman Jade Walsh has a 2.24 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage. Her 12 wins lead the conference.
- Adrian ranks third in the country in scoring offense (4.69 goals per game). They also rank third in the nation in penalty minutes per game (13.5).
- The Bulldogs' power-play is fifth in NCAA Division III with a 25.4 percent success rate.
Series History: (CSS is 3-5-1 vs. Adrian)
- The Saints went 2-1-0 against the Bulldogs this season, including a one-goal win and a one-goal defeat.
- CSS has never faced Adrian in a postseason game. |
