Superior, WI – The Elmira College Women's Hockey team will take on Gustavus Adolphus College tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CDT in the NCAA Division III National Semifinals at Wessman Arena. Below is everything needed to get ready for the action.
Plattsburgh State University and Middlebury College will square off in the other semifinal at 3:30 p.m. CDT/4:30 p.m. EST. The losing teams in the semifinals will meet in the third place game on Saturday, March 16 at 3:30 p.m. CDT/4:30 p.m. EST and the winners will play for the right to call themselves national champions at 7:00 p.m. CDT/8:00 p.m. EST.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through www.NCAA.com. For ticket questions and more information please contact the UW-Superior Athletic Department at (715) 395-4693. All-session passes include all four games as a part of the championships, while day passes include two games on Friday or two games on Saturday. Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults
All-session: $20
Day: $12
Senior citizens (62 or older) and Students
All-session: $15
Day: $10
Children under 12
All-session: $7
Day: $4
For all fans traveling to Superior, there will be tailgate celebrations taking place before each contest on Friday and the championship game on Saturday. The Soaring Eagles tailgate session will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Last Time Out
Elmira defeated Bowdoin, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Four different players scored for EC, while
Ashley Ryan '15 paced the offense with a goal and two assists.
Where We Sit
The Soaring Eagles are currently 22-5-1 overall and are making its first NCAA Championship Weekend appearance since the 2009-10 season, the last time the team made the tournament.
Elmira College in the NCAA Tournament
Elmira College is currently in its ninth trip to the NCAA tournament in its 12th year as a program.
The Elmira College Women's Hockey program won back-to-back national championships in its first two seasons as a program in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
Elmira has made it to the national championship game four times in its previous 11 year history and is 2-2 in title games. The Soaring Eagles are 12-6 all-time in NCAA tournament contests.
Great Goaltending
Lauren Sullivan '13 has been one of the top goaltenders in the country this season as her 1.16 goals against average is the second best in Division III. She also leads the nation in shutouts with 10, despite playing in just 18 contests. Sullivan also boasts a .939 save percentage playing over 1,000 minutes between the pipes for EC this season. The senior has tied the single season EC record for shutouts with 10 and ranks second in Elmira history with 21 career shutouts.
Freshman Phenom
Olivia Nystrom '16 was named to the conference's All-Rookie Team. She led the conference in freshman scoring averaging 0.93 points a game and finishing with four goals, nine assists and 13 points in conference play.
All-Conference Selections
Defenseman
Brooke Wilgosh '15 was named to the ECAC Women's West All Conference First Team, while
Ashley Ryan '15,
Ashton Hogan '15 and
Madison Johnston '13 earned spots on the conference's Second Team.
Mary-Kate Gellerman '13 received Honorable Mention accolades.
How They Got Here
Elmira earned an at-large bid to the tournament as the runners-up in the ECAC West Tournament. The Soaring Eagles (22-5-1) fell to Plattsburgh 4-2 in the championship game.
An automatic qualifier as champions of the MIAC, the Golden Gusties (21-4-2) defeated Concordia College 4-1 in the championship game.
Scouting the Polar Bears
Gustavus (27-0-1) enters the NCAA Tournament unbeaten and on a nine game winning streak.
The Golden Gusties have three scorers who have tallied 24 or more points this season. Senior Lindsey Hjelm (13G, 15A, 28P), freshman Allison Eder-Zdechlik (14G, 10A, 24P) and senior Meagan Wanecke (12G, 12A, 24P) lead the attack for Gustavus.
Starting goaltender Lindsey Hibbard has a .922 save percentage and 1.33 goals against average this season. She has shut out opponents two different times throughout the year.
No Common Opponents
The Soaring Eagles and Golden Gusties have not played any common opponents throughout this season.
Last Meeting
The last time the two teams met was March 20th, 2010 in the NCAA Division III Third Place contest with Elmira earning a 4-1 victory.
Looking Ahead
The winner of Friday's semifinal game will advance to the national championship game Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CDT against the winner of Plattsburgh State and Middlebury College. The losers will play in the third place contest Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST/3:30 CDT.
Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Elmira College Athletics department by “liking” us on Facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/ElmiraCollegeAthletics) and “following” our Twitter account (
http://twitter.com/ECSoaringEagles).
