WACHA Shuts Out Michigan State for Second Straight CCWHA Playoff Title
Photo courtesy of @ACWomensACHA on Twitter
After winning the regular season with no losses to CCWHA opponents, the Women's ACHA D1 team took on the CCWHA playoffs as the top seeded team in the tournament.
The Bulldogs first took on the Miami University RedHawks Friday evening for a semifinal matchup between the two teams who battled for the CCWHA championship last season. Kaillie Hardy would score the lone goal of the first with assists from Britt Levasseur and Katrina Robinson for a 1-0 lead through twenty minutes of play.
Kelly Rae Zdan would snag a pair of goals back to back in under a minute and a half to give the Bulldogs a comfortable three goal lead in the second period. Zdan's goals would come at the 7:34 and 8:48 marks of the middle frame. Maddy Arnold would grab the lone assist on the first while the second would come unassisted. Hardy would grab her second of the evening at the 14:45 mark of the second period and the Bulldogs would lead 4-0 going into the final twenty minutes of play.
The RedHawks would score a powerplay goal at hte 12:39 mark of the third to make things 4-1 in favor of the Bulldogs. The 4-1 score would hold through the end of the final period and the Bulldogs would be on their way to the CCWHA Playoff Championship game once again. Dana Columbo would pick up the win in net, stopping 10 of 11 shots.
The Bulldogs would face the Michigan State Spartans in the CCWHA Championship game on Saturday afternoon in Kalamazoo.
Celina Clark would start things off in the first period, scoring the first of the game at the 15:25 mark of the first period. Erika McDonald and Tanya Candido would assist.
There would be no scoring through the second period and the Bulldogs would hold a 1-0 lead going into the final twenty minutes of action. Nicole Paradis would score at the 4:31 mark of the third to give the Bulldogs a more comfortable 2-0 lead. The Spartans would have a goal called off late in the third and Dana Columbo would stop every shot she faced to propel the Bulldogs to a 2-0 victory and their second straight CCWHA Playoff title.
With the win, the Bulldogs receive a bid to the 2019 ACHA Women's DI National Tournament in Dallas, Texas at the end of March. This will be WACHA's 6th appearance at the National Tournament in their seventh season in program history.