RIVER FALLS, WIS. – The Elmira College women’s ice hockey team battled to a 1-1 tie through the first 46:50 of the Division III Women’s Ice Hockey National Championship on Monday afternoon, before a trio of goals from the #1 ranked Falcons from River Falls in a 5:11 stretch would seal the deal for the championship site host.
The game marked the eighth time the Soaring Eagles have advanced to the NCAA Championship contest, while today marked the second time the Falcons have advanced to the title game, capturing its first NCAA Championship.
Following the contest, Chloe Beaubien ’23, Claire Meeder ’23, and Madi Morton ’24 each earned a spot on the Championship All-Tournament team for their efforts.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 14 Elmira 1, No. 1 UW-River Falls
LOCATION: River Falls, Wisconsin | Hunt Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (23-8-1, 14-3-1 NEHC), UW-River Falls (31-0-0, 12-0-0 WIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Soaring Eagles and Falcons would battle to a 0-0 draw at the end of the first period, while in the first ten minutes of play, pace on both sides remained even with each team posting four shots a piece.
- With 8:11 remaining in the first, the Falcons would head out on a breakaway following a Soaring Eagle shot which was deflected, giving UW-River Falls its first opportunity of the contest before the shot was eventually swallowed up by Elmira netminder Beaubien. From there, high-intensity play would continue on both sides, with neither team able to find the back of the net in the period. After the first, the Falcons led the shot battle 15-6.
- In the second, the Falcons would earn its first power-play opportunity of the contest at the 3:26 mark after Mandy McCarrick ’26 was sent off following a cross-checking call. After successfully killing the penalty for 1:47, Emily Lenzen ’24 would be sent off for a five-minute major on a hit from behind, which gave UW-River Falls a 13-second 5-on-3 advantage.
- The Soaring Eagles would successfully kill the Falcons’ two-man advantage, but with just under two minutes remaining in their 5-on-4 opportunity, Makenna Aure would score to put the home squad ahead 1-0.
- After the penalty ended, the Soaring Eagles would be quick to knot the game at 1-1 as Emma Bradbury ’26 shot from just inside the blue line, scoring past Jordan O’Connor’s left side on an assist from Lenzen.
- As the period wound to a close, Elmira would earn its first power-play opportunity of the afternoon with 47.3 seconds remaining in the frame. After heading to the locker room tied at 1-1, the Soaring Eagles would see a 1:13 advantage to open the third, but were unable to find the back of the net.
- Just 3:45 into the third, the Soaring Eagles would see Holly Eckers and Aure (4:15) both sent off on two-minute minors, which opened the door for a 5-on-3 opportunity of its own for Elmira. After multiple attempts that were sent back down the ice, the advantage would come to an end.
- From there, the Falcons would regain momentum, seeing goals from Kenzie Dunn (6:50), Madison Lavergne (7:26), and Alex Hantge (12:01), securing victory for UW-River Falls.
- Beaubien would finish the contest with 32 saves for the Soaring Eagles.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
