Women's Ice Hockey Courtesy of Amherst Athletics

UW-River Falls Downs Amherst in NCAA Women's Ice Hockey National Championship Game, 3-1

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The Amherst College women's hockey team's national championship dreams died two goals short Sunday afternoon as the University of Wisconsin-River Falls scored three times in the second period and held on to defeat the Mammoths, 3-1, at Hunt Arena for its second consecutive national championship. 

Amherst season concludes with a 23-6-1 record that included a NESCAC Championship, its sixth overall, and NCAA victories over Colby and Middlebury. Sunday's loss ended a nine-game win streak for the Mammoths and was the first time in five games the Mammoths lost a game to River Falls. 

In recognition of their outstanding performances, Natalie Stott, Alyssa Xu, and Gretchen Dann earned spots on the NCAA All-Tournament Team.

 GAME HIGHLIGHTS: 
  • The first period ended up scoreless, but it took a couple of Stott saves late to keep in that way. River Falls' Megan Goodreau set up Makenna Aure with a paced puck, allowing her to skate onto it in Amherst's zone. Aure carried it to the left faceoff circle and fired a shot into the pads of Stott. Tracking the rebound, Aure wrapped around the net and sent the puck back to Kailey Niccum at the blue line. Brice Ellie got a stick on Niccum's shot, but Stott made the save, freezing the puck and halting play with 3:49 left in the opening period, stalling the Falcons' offensive momentum.
  • Minutes later,River Falls' Goodreau sent an across-the-ice pass to Kylie Jones. Jones controlled the puck, out-maneuvering her defender, but Stott made another clutch save with just 2:02 remaining in the first period. 
  • Just 40 seconds into the second period, UWRF's Makenna Aure pivoted behind her net, sending the puck to Kailey Niccum on her left for a centering pass to Madison Kadrlik. Pressured by the Mammoths' defense, Kadrlik lost control, but Aure jumped on the loose puck and slipped it up to Bailey Olson before skating up with her. Olson carried the puck toward the right post and, in a quick exchange, fed it back to Aure on her left, allowing her to tap it into the back of the net.
  • With 7:08 to go in the second stanza,  Olson controlled the puck in the Mammoth's zone and sent a wrist shot toward the net, where Kadrlik was able to get a touch on it by the left post. The replay showed Kadrlik's skate getting the brunt of the puck, angling it over Stott, but was ultimately called fair for UWRF's second goal of the game.
  • The Mammoths got back into the contest with 11:53 left in the second period, Amherst's Ayla Abban fired a shot just wide left of the post, which the Falcons briefly recovered. However, Abban quickly regained possession behind the net and sent a precise pass to the slot, where Annabel Raffin skated onto it and ripped a shot on goal. UWRF's goaltender, Jordan O'Kane made the initial save, but Flynn capitalized on the rebound, tipping the puck into the net while the goaltender was down, bringing the Mammoths within a one-goal reach.
  • However, with three minutes remaining in the second period.Weaving her way down center ice, Olson collected the puck behind the Mammoth's net after getting it poke-checked away from her. Olson quickly changed directions, pivoting to the right side of the net for a wrap-around goal.
  • With 4:42 remaining in regulation, Falcon Madison Lavergne passed up to Niccum, who then relayed the puck down the ice into the Mammoth's zone to Katherine Bell for a one-on-one against Stott, where Stott was able to make the save.
  • The Mammoths were limited to six shots over the final 20 minutes, with many coming from the perimeter. 
BY THE NUMBERS:
  • The Falcons outshot the Mammoths 26-17. 
  • Amherst went 0-3 on power plays, and the Falcons went 0-1. 
  • In goal, Stott made 23 saves of the 26 shots she faced on net.