(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) ST. PETER, Minn. – Shot efficiency proved to be key for St. Norbert College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Hockey Tournament, as the Green Knights defeated nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus 3-1 at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
The Green Knights (25-4-1), ranked No. 8 in the USCHO.com Division III poll, won their first ever NCAA tournament game in program history, scoring three goals off 13 total shots after falling behind early to the Golden Gusties in the first period.
St. Norbert will face No. 2 Augsburg University in a national quarterfinal at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis.
Gustavus took the lead just 2:18 into the first period off a Lily Mortenson goal, the only time that a shot beat freshman goalie Keira Markell (pictured), who had a career day in the comeback win. The Green Knights equalized at 12:22 on a power play, with Maddux Federici scoring her first goal of the season. Courtnie Hogan and Sydney Zurawik recorded the assists.
Kelsey Ross gave St. Norbert a 2-1 lead at 14:22 in the second period, with Zurawik adding a second assist to her tally on the goal. Emma Stebbeds made it 3-1 on an unassisted attempt at 3:24 in the third period as the Green Knights made the most of the opportunities given to them.
Zurawik recorded the lone multi-point game, finishing with two points on a pair of assists.
Markell made a career-high 45 saves in the win, 15 of which came in the third period.
St. Norbert only had 13 shots in the game, seven of which were in the second period. Gustavus outshot the Green Knights 46-13. Lily Timmons made 10 saves for the Golden Gusties.
St. Norbert went 1-for-1 on the power play, while Gustavus went 0-for-2.
Comments