DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's hockey team will make its third consecutive Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Slaats Cup Championship appearance this weekend and for the third straight time it will be against Adrian College (Mich.). However, for the first time, the finals site will be at Mars Lakeview Arena.
| #1 Seed The College of St. Scholastica Saints |
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#2 Seed Adrian College Bulldogs |
| 14-0-0, 8-0-0 NCHA |
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18-0-1, 7-0-1 NCHA |
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What You Need to Know:
-These will be the final games for St. Scholastica as part of the NCHA as the athletics department departs for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the 2021-22 academic year.
-CSS captured its first-ever NCHA regular season championship (men/women) with a perfect 8-0-0 conference record.
-The Bulldogs have won the last five NCHA Slaats Cup championships.
-The Saints carry the longest winning streak in NCAA Division III into this weekend at 14 games, while Adrian carries the longest unbeaten streak in NCAA Division III into this weekend at 19 games.
-The Saints rank third in the nation with a scoring margin of 4.86, while the Bulldogs rank fourth in the nation with a scoring margin of 4.47.
-Adrian has the top three scoring players in NCAA Division III in junior Jessica VonRuden (31 points), senior Brooke Schembri (26 points) and Une Bjelland (26 points).
-Adrian's VonRuden leads the country with 17 goals.
-CSS senior forward
Rachel Anderson (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) ranks fourth in NCAA Division III in scoring with 24 points.
-Anderson is two assists shy of tying the program record of 74 career assists held by both Nina Waidacher and Michelle Fischer.
-Anderson has been named to the Slaats Cup All-Tournament Team each of the last two seasons.
-Adrian's Brooke Schembri leads the nation with 18 assists, while CSS'
Taylor Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) is tied for second with Adrian's Une Bjelland and Kathryn Truban with 16 assists.
-Junior defenseman
Taylor Murray (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) and first-year defenseman
Lisa LaRoche (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka HS) are tied for third in the country averaging 1.00 point per game.
-Murray is also tied for the national lead with five power-play goals.
-St. Scholastica first-year forward
Allie Bussey (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) ranks fifth in the country among first-year players, averaging 1.21 points per game.
-CSS' Murray and Bussey and Adrian's VonRuden and Jocelin Hudanish have all scored a Division III-best four game-winning goals.
-CSS goaltender
Lori Huseby (Babbitt, Minn./Northeast Range HS) and Adrian goaltender Denisa Jandova each lead the country with four shutouts each.
-Huseby is 11-0-0, while Jandova is 10-0-0 this season.
-Jandova was named the Slaats Cup Tournament's Most Valuable Player last year.
-CSS Head Coach
Jackie MacMillan is one victory shy of guiding the program to its 150
th all-time win.
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Tale of the Tape
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| 5.86 |
Scoring Offense (Goals/Game) |
5.26 |
| 1.00 |
Scoring Defense (Goals Allowed/Game) |
0.79 |
| 6.7 |
Penalty Minutes/Game |
7.6 |
| .296 |
Power-Play Pct. |
.253 |
| .884 |
Penalty-Kill Pct. |
.928 |
Series Record: Adrian leads 21-3-4
(Last Meeting: 4-0 Adrian, 3/7/2020)
Series History: In the 2019 title game, CSS fell to the Bulldogs in double overtime … In last year's championship game, Adrian prevailed by a 4-0 margin … The only other time CSS and Adrian met in the postseason was in 2016, which resulted in a Bulldog sweep in the semifinals … Adrian is 16-0-3 in the last 19 meetings against the Saints … CSS' last win over the Bulldogs was January 31, 2014.
