DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's hockey team will begin its postseason run this weekend when it takes on Aurora University (Ill.) in a two-game Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Slaats Cup playoff series.
Where:
Fox Valley Ice Arena – Geneva, Ill.
When:
Saturday at Noon
Sunday at Noon
Live Video: https://athletics.aurora.edu/sports/2017/10/26/gameviewerwhockey.aspx?id=640
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/aurora/whockey/
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSWHockey
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/saintswomenshockey
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/csssaints
TWO-GAME SERIES / MINIGAME FORMAT
* Two games are played with standard NCAA rules applying (single 5:00 OT).
* Games 1 and 2 can end in an OT tie.
* If the two games are split or if both end in a tie, a 20-minute minigame is played. At the end of the second game, the ice shall be resurfaced and there is a 15-minute intermission. Starting lineups are announced before the minigame, as in a regular game, and the teams will play the full 20 minutes, regardless of score. Should the game be tied after the 20 minutes, the teams will play 20-minute sudden-death overtimes periods.
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 12-9-4,
9-4-3 NCHA
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-St. Scholastica will make its ninth consecutive NCHA postseason appearance this weekend.
-For the first time since 2017, the Saints will not be at home to open the Slaats Cup playoffs.
-CSS enters the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, which is its lowest seed since the 2016 playoffs.
-The Saints have played or advanced to the NCHA Semifinals each of the last four seasons, including advancing to the championship game for the first time last year.
-CSS has struggled to score in series openers this season averaging 1.9 goals per game in game one, but enhancing that to 2.9 goals per game in the second game of the series.
-Junior
Rachel Anderson (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) leads the team with 16 assists and 24 points.
-Anderson has six points in the last three games.
-Anderson is two assists shy of becoming the third player in program history to record 60 in a career.
-Fellow junior
Taylor Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) has a team-high nine goals and is second on the team with 23 points.
-First-year forward
Lauryn Hull (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly HS) is third on the team with 15 points and fourth among NCHA rookies.
-Hull has four points in the last three games.
-Senior
Greta Nundahl (New Brighton, Minn./Irondale HS) ranks third in the conference among defensemen with 12 points.
-Nundahl and fellow senior
Paige Forsman (Cokato, Minn./Dassel-Cokato HS) have appeared in the most games in program-history at 109.
-Senior goaltender
Lexi Thomeczek (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph Academy (St. Louis AAA Blues)) is second in the league with a 1.70 goals-against-average and a .948 save percentage.
-Thomeczek needs 34 saves to become the program's career leader for saves as she is two saves shy of 2,100.
-The Saints rank second in the conference, allowing just 1.64 goals per game.
-CSS is 10-2-1 when scoring first this season and is 10-0-1 when leading after two periods.
What You Need to Know about Aurora:
Record: 17-8-0, 11-5-0 NCHA
-The Spartans are making their first NCHA Slaats Cup Playoff appearance.
-Aurora clinched home ice for the first round on the final day of the regular season on Saturday with a 4-0 victory at St. Norbert College (Wis.).
-The Spartans were 7-1-0 at home in NCHA play during the year with the lone loss coming against Concordia University Wisconsin.
-Junior Nicole McKernan and freshman Marisa Trevino each recorded a team-best 11 goals during the regular season.
-McKernan also tied for the team-lead with 13 assists to pace the squad with 24 points.
-Junior Olivia Matson also added 13 assists during the regular season.
-Junior Chiara Pfosi played every minute in goal for the Spartans with a 1.71 goals-against-average and a .941 save percentage.
-Pfosi ranks third in the NCHA in GAA and fourth in save percentage.
-Aurora led the conference in penalty minutes at 10.2 minutes per game during the regular season.
-The Spartans are 13-3 when scoring first this season and 12-0 when leading after two periods.
Series Record: CSS leads 5-1-0
(Last Meeting: 4-2 CSS, 2/15/2020)
Series History: The Saints and Spartans split just two weeks ago at Mars Lakeview Arena with Aurora wining game one 2-0 and the Saints game two 4-2 … The only meetings in Illinois between the two programs was last year where the Saints swept the Spartans by a combined margin of 10-2.
Looking Ahead: The winner of this weekend's series will advance to championship weekend March 6-8 at the highest remaining seed. The top seed get a bye to the championship, while the other two lower seeds play in a semifinal on March 6.
