ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women’s hockey team (26-1-1) will host the 2012 NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship with the semifinals on Friday, March 16, and championship/third place games on Saturday, March 17 at Ritter Arena. RIT will host SUNY Plattsburgh (19-6-3) in the first semifinal at 3:30 p.m. EST, while Gustavus Adolphus (24-2-2) will face defending National Champion Norwich (26-2-1) in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. EST. The third placegame will take place at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, with the championship getting underway at 7 p.m. EST.
RIT advanced after defeating Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) 5-2 in first round action on Saturday, March 10. Norwich defeated Amherst 5-0, while Plattsburgh rallied to defeat Middlebury 4-2, and Gustavus Adolphus defeated Wisconsin-River Falls 4-2, all on March 10.
Gustavus Adolphus, the 2010 NCAA National Championship host, is making its eighth straight NCAA Appearance and 10th in 11 seasons. It has advanced to the national semifinal weekend for the sixth time in program history. The Gusties have won at least 22 games in nine straight seasons and are 246-50-20 over the last 11 seasons. Gustavus Adolphus won the MIAC Championship and defeated Wisconsin-River Falls 4-2 in a NCAA first round game on March 10. Allie Schwab scored a pair of goals to lead the Gusties.
The Gusties are outscoring their opponents 131-to-42 this season. In goal, senior Danielle Justice is 18-0-2 with a 1.19 goals against average and .927 save percentage. Offensively, Schwab leads the way with 24 goals and 43 points, while Mollie Carroll has 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points, and Carolyn Draayer has 18 goals. Schwab is tied for second nationally with her 24 goals and is fourth in points.
The Norwich-Gustavus Adolphus contest is a rematch of the 2011 NCAA National Semifinal, won by the Cadets 5-4. If RIT and Norwich advance, it will be a rematch of the 2011 NCAA National Championship game, also won by the Cadets.
All vital information on the NCAA Tournament can be found in the Gustavus Game Notes posted below. The press kit includes 20 pages of NCAA Championship information, detailed game notes, player profiles, statistics and much more.
NCAA Division III Women’ Hockey Championship Website
The NCAA Tournament will be broadcast online with live audio, video and stats. Use the links below to follow the action. Gustavus Interim Sports Information Director Ethan Armstrong is in Rochester, N.Y. and will be posting a daily blog to give a detailed account of the Gustavus women’s hockey team’s experience at the NCAA Championship.
RIT Sports Information Director Joe Venniro contributed to this release.