Gustavus vs. Adrian College
Date: Friday, March 17
Time: 7 p.m. (6 CST)
Location: Adrian, Mich. | Arrington Ice Arena
Live Coverage: Stats | Video
Gustavus vs. Plattsburgh/Norwich
Date: Saturday, March 18
Time: 3/7 p.m. (2/6 CST)
Location: Adrian, Mich. | Arrington Ice Arena
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team is set for the 2016-17 NCAA Division III Championship semifinals this weekend in Adrian, Mich., hosted by Adrian College. The Gusties will take on Adrian College Friday evening with the winner moving on to the championship game versus Plattsburgh State or Norwich University at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. Central) Saturday, while the loser will play in a third place game at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. Central).
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN’S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKET
Ticket Information: Tickets will be sold one hour before each game in the Arrington Ice Arena lobby. The cost is $8 for stadium-seating, $5 standing room, $5 student with valid college ID, $5 child (<12 years) and child (<2 years) free with paying adult. There is no advanced pre-sale available.
Last Time Out: Last Friday, Gustavus scored twice on the power play en route to defeating the University of Wisconsin-River Falls by a score of 3-2 in a NCAA Tournament first round matchup in River Falls, Wis. RECAP
Gusties Collect Postseason Awards: The Gusties had a strong showing in the 2017 MIAC Women’s Hockey Awards. Head Coach Mike Carroll was selected as the Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his 18-year career, highlighting the announcement. Three Gusties earned spots on the All-Conference Team in Amanda DiNella (So., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.), Kaitlyn Klein (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.), and Erica Power (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.). In addition, Emily Gustafson (Sr., Esko, Minn.), Laura Johnson (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn.) and Allie Lewis (Sr., Kearney, Neb.) were honorable mention honorees while Diana Draayer (Jr., Deephaven, Minn.) was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
Series Snapshot: Gustavus holds a 1-2 overall record against Adrian, 0-2 against Norwich, and 1-4-1 against Plattsburgh State. See page 5 of NOTES for full details.
Gustavus NCAA Tournament History: The Gusties will be making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in the program’s 20-year history, earning an at-large bid as the MIAC regular season champions. In 11 total NCAA Tournament appearances, Gustavus owns an 8-15 overall record, one second place finish and two third place titles along with seven semifinal appearances. This year’s postseason appearance marks the first time the Black and Gold has made a NCAA tournament berth since the 2012-13 season, in which the Gusties earned a quarterfinal victory before falling in the semifinals and the third place game to post a fourth place finish.
DiNella Denies: In her second season as the Gusties’ No. 1 goalie, Amanda DiNella has turned into a premier netminder among Division III counterparts. This season DiNella has played in 20 games with 17 starts (13-3-2), logging 1107:28 in net with a 1.08 goals against average and .943 save percentage. DiNella’s 1.08 GAA is lowest in the nation, while her save percentage is 13th best in Division III. The Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. Native has posted eight shutouts this season, which are most in the country and second most in a season in program history.
Comeback Kid: Last season, forward Kaitlyn Klein suffered a broken neck after sliding headfirst into the boards during a game vs. Plattsburgh State in Middlebury, Vt. After the injury, her hockey-playing career was in serious doubt, but she has since put all those questions to bed. This season, Klein has played in all 27 games, leads the team with 11 goals and is second in points with 19. Her seven game-winning goals lead the team and rank third in the nation. She also has a team-best six power play goals and a +10 rating.
About Adrian: The Bulldogs own a 27-2 overall record while finishing 18-0 as the champions of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, earning an automatic bid to appear in their third NCAA Tournament. Adrian most recently defeated Elmira College 5-4 in an overtime NCAA Tournament first round thriller to clinch its first NCAA Tournament victory in program history. The Bulldogs own an all-time NCAA postseason record of 1-2 as they are making their first semifinal berth.
Senior forwards Kristin Lewicki (30g-33a=63p), Kaylyn Schroka (29g-30a=59p), and Sarah Shureb (23g-34a=57p) lead the Bulldog offense as the second to fourth ranked scoring leaders in the nation. Lewicki’s 12 power play goals is the best in the nation while her eight game-winners is second best. Senior goaltenders Brooke Gibson and Jade Walsh have posted a collective effort between the pipes, splitting time as they each own a goals against average under one and a combined two losses. As a team, Adrian has the highest scoring offense in Division III, averaging 5.62 goals per game.
About Plattsburgh: The Cardinals are making their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in search of their fourth consecutive and sixth overall NCAA Championship. The Eastern College Athletic Conference Champions boast a 26-1-1 overall record and own an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 23-8. Plattsburgh State most recently took down the University of St. Thomas 4-2 in the first round of the tournament.
The Cardinals are led by the nation’s top goal-scorer in junior forward Melissa Sheeran (31g-13a=44p), as well as junior forward Kayla Meneghin (18g-26a=44p). The two rank as the sixth and seventh ranked scorers in Division III while Sheeran also leads the country with 10 game-winning goals. Plattsburgh is backstopped by senior goalie Camille Leonard, who owns the second best goals against average nationally at 1.09, while leading the nation in winning percentage at .958 with a record of 23-1-0. As a team, the Cardinals have the nation’s top defense, averaging just 1.1 goal against a game, along with the second best scoring offense, averaging 4.57 goals per game.
PLATTSBURGH STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY PAGE
About Norwich: The Cadets are an automatic qualifier to their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance as the New England Hockey Conference Champions, holding an overall record of 23-5-1. The one-time (2011) national champions have an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 10-6. Norwich most recently went into double overtime to eventually defeat Middlebury College 5-4 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Norwich junior Kim Tiberi is the nation’s leading scoring defenseman with 38 points (13g-25a) in 29 games played. Junior forward Sarah Schwenzfeier is the leading scorer for the Cadets, tallying 39 points with 19 goals and 20 assists on the season. Junior Laurie King leads the team in goal, averaging a nationally ranked fifth-best 1.19 goals against average with a record of 19-2-1 and seven shutouts. As a team, the Cadets own the third-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 4.38 goals per game along with the second-best power play unit (30.5%).