UWRF Women's Hockey to compete in Frozen 4

Written by Joe Payne

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls women's ice hockey team competed in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in River Falls on Saturday, defeating last year's national champion Gustavus Adolphus Gusties 2-1.

High bidder River Falls has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs thanks to a perfect 28-0 record so far this season.

It was a fast first period with UWRF and the Gusties in a dead heat at the halfway point with shots on goal. But the Falcons quickly got up to speed as Aubrey Nevin punched it in to give River Falls a 1-0 lead.

The Gusties had a chance to tie the score. That meant he outplayed the Falcon defenders on the breakaway and flicked one to the far side of the goal, but UWRF goaltender Jordan O'Connor had the perfect position to fire the shot out of the air. Keep the leash in place. Bayley Olson came close to putting River Falls up 2-0 late in the frame, and people started celebrating as she evaded a defender and fired a shot close to the goal.

In the end, time expired in the first period, and the Falcons went into intermission with a one-point lead.

The first period was all River Falls, but momentum shifted to Gustavus early in the second, and by the second intermission it was an all-out dogfight.

The puck dropped and the Gusties came out hot. At 2:00, they took a good position and circled the net for a backdoor goal. There was a scramble for the puck in front of the net, and in the confusion, he slipped in and tied the score.

Gustavus kept up its up-tempo play and kept River Falls at bay for much of the first half of the second period. Slowly but surely, shots on goal evened out and the Gusties took the lead in that category in the closing stages.

River Falls' skaters created several chances to regain the lead behind Maddie McCollins, the nation's No. 1 scorer, and Megan Goodrow and Alex Hange, two of the top five scorers. The Falcons continued to lead the game with their offense's timely puck handling and quality goaltending, and at the end, they made a series of shots to regain SOG's lead at 19-17, but the score remained tied going into the break. It happened. The score is 1-1 going into the final period.

The final frame moved forward at a fast pace, raising the question of whether it would be the Falcons' best three and the Gusties' best three in sudden-death overtime. However, the draw will end with plenty of time to spare.

At the 13:50 mark, Hantge's excellent skating sent her a shot wide, but Madison LaVergne made a shot moments later to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead. Contrary to expectations, the fans did not score a goal in this harrowing match, and that's when things got even more interesting.

A minute later, leading 2-1 with most of what had been a very clean third period remaining, the Blackbirds were cited with 2:00 for defensive interference for interfering with the Gusties' attempts to overwhelm them. A penalty was imposed. Falcons defense in front of the net.

The Falcons gave the Gusties a great chance to tie the game with a power-play goal, as the momentum seemed to change at this moment. River Falls implemented the penalty kill with the methodical and careful attitude of a craftsman. As a fan, it's unsettling to see the game hanging in the balance, but UWRF put in a great performance, allowing only two shots on goal in the entire 2:00, but still making it to the other end unscathed. I won.

Gustav finally pulled the goalie as time neared zero. Unfortunately for them, with 2:00 left in the game, he was also given a 2:00 penalty, which resulted in him playing shorthanded 5-on-5 instead of a man advantage. I did. This strategy failed, and the Falcons held on for a 2-1 victory, advancing to the Frozen Four.

In the final 10 minutes of the game, River Falls showed why they are 29-0 on the season, as the defense tightened up and blocked any chances for the Gusties to score on O'Connor's attack alone. Make one more stop before time runs out. In fact, Gustavus only had three shots on goal in the entire third period.

This is the fourth time this season that River Falls has defeated the reigning champions. River Falls entered the tournament with an at-large bid due to its smaller conference size, but still entered as a 1 seed with the best record in the country.

This was McCollins' first time playing for the Gusties since his freshman year.

“We beat them and then COVID happened. So just to be able to actually beat them in the last eight games and get into Frozen 4 is surreal. ” McCollins said. “As a program, we haven't done this in a long time, and I can't believe we're actually getting to do it. I'm so excited and so proud of our team that it's even more exciting. I can’t wait to play.”

Logically, it would make sense for them to play Gustav (3rd seed) in the first round, but one of them would have to lose, and both were getting lower-ranked opponents. It's a shame that these two talented teams will be facing each other so soon.

Speaking of other opponents, while certainly not inferior, River Falls advanced to the Frozen Four and will host the Adrian Bulldogs, who won 28-2 this Friday, and will be the 2016 This is his first chance to play in the championship game since winning the championship. They advanced to the championship, but lost to New York University at Platteburg.

Head coach Joe Cranston said this is a big bonus for his players, who have never had the opportunity to host an entire tournament in all of their previous appearances in the postseason.

“It's great to be able to host Frozen 4. The girls can sleep in their own beds and go about their daily lives, which is the biggest advantage. It's going to be a great tournament. “It should be,” Cranston said.

They have yet to win a championship, although they have had 24 straight winning seasons and are off to a perfect start this season with a 29-0 record.

While pursuing that goal, goaltender O'Connor said his goal is to prepare for the next game just like any other.

“Honestly, I don't want anything to change. Every day in practice I challenge myself. We have the best offense in the country. It's a goaltender's worst nightmare, but it's great. That's true,” O'Connor said. “I think the important thing for our girls is that we believe in each other and we believe in the girl next to us. We believe in her going to score goals. I'm not relying on her and I believe she can go score goals. I think it's going to be great for next weekend.”

Coach Cranston says he could not be more proud of his team, his assistant coaches, and especially his six seniors.

“It's been an incredible season so far. They're just finding ways to win, and every time it looks like sledding is going to be tough, we get the job done,” Cranston said. “The last couple of weeks I've been asking the girls, 'What's our record? 0-0. How many games left? One.' So, one at a time. You take it one game at a time and that's it. And that's what these great girls have done.”

If the Falcons win this Friday, they will host the NCAA Championship game at Hunt Arena next week, which Cranston believes is inevitable.

“It'll be here,” Cranston said. “It hasn’t been decided yet, but it will definitely be here.”

That determination will take place this Friday night in River Falls, when the Falcons host the Adrian Bulldogs.Puck drops on Frozen home ice at 7 p.m.