Women's Varsity Appears in First Frozen Four: Falls in National Championship Game

After a record setting regular season that saw a new program record for wins and an NCHA best regular season record (18-0 in NCHA play), the Women’s Varsity team made their first Frozen Four appearance in program history this season, which was hosted at Arrington Ice Arena.

The Bulldogs first downed Elmira College 5-4 in a thrilling back and forth game at Arrington Ice Arena that ended with 1:00 remaining in the first overtime period when captain Kaylyn Schroka scored to send the Bulldogs to their first Frozen Four. Lexie Tzafaroglou would grab a single goal while Kristin Lewicki and Schroka would each grab two in the Bulldog victory.

Next up would be the Gustavus Adolphus College Golden Gusties, who reached the Frozen Four after an upset of Wisconsin River Falls in the quarterfinals. Kristin Lewicki would give the Bulldogs an early lead at the 3:00 mark of the first off of assists from Sydney Smith and Kelly O’Sullivan. The Gusties would tie the game at 1 a piece before the end of the first.

Sarah Shureb would break the deadlock at the 14:19 mark of the second period with assists from Courtney Tyll and Kristi Zink but the Gusties would once again tie the game four minutes later. A scoreless third period would send the Bulldogs to their second overtime game of the tournament. Lewicki would be the overtime hero this time, grabbing the game winning goal off of a nearly impossible pass through traffic from Captain Kaylyn Schroka to send the Bulldogs to the National Championship game.

The Bulldogs would face the top ranked Plattsburgh State Cardinals in their first National Championship game on Saturday night. The Bulldogs and Cardinals had met twice previously in the regular season with the Cardinals coming out on top both times.

The first period between the top two teams in the country would go by scoreless as both goaltenders stood on their heads. The Cardinals would strike first on the powerplay at the 18:00 mark of the second period. The Bulldogs would answer 53 seconds later on a powerplay of their own. Brooke Lupi’s first of the National Tournament would tie the two teams heading into the final frame. Sydney Smith and Kaylyn Schroka would assist on Lupi’s goal.

The Cardinals would go up 2-1 at the 5:23 mark of the third on an even strength goal. Five minutes later, Maggie Mitter would tie the game up once again for the Bulldogs off of assists from Lupi and Kristin Lewicki on the powerplay. Sarah Shureb would give the home team their first advantage of the game at the 15:08 mark of the final frame. The Bulldogs would hold onto the one goal lead for the next four minutes and were 21 seconds away from their first National Championship title until the Cardinals tied the game on a shorthanded goal at the 19:39 mark of the third period.

For the third time in three games, the Bulldogs were headed to overtime. After back and forth chances for both teams, the Bulldogs would be called for body checking at the 10:01 mark of the overtime period. The Cardinals would capitalize on the powerplay to spoil the Bulldogs hopes for a National Championship title.

The Women’s Varsity team posted their best record in program history this season with a 28-3 overall record. They also made NCHA history after completing the regular season with a perfect 18-0 record en route to their first Frozen Four appearance.