Adrian Women's Hockey Heading to Minnesota for Frozen Four
ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College women's hockey team is heading to Mendota Heights, Minn. this weekend for the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Frozen Four. This is the second time in program history the Bulldogs have advanced to the Frozen Four, with the first time being in 2017 when Adrian hosted the event.
Adrian entered the tournament as the #4 seed and drew the #2 seed Elmira Soaring Eagles in the quarterfinals, due to the NCAA's 500-mile restriction in preliminary rounds. It was the fourth time the Bulldogs and Soaring Eagles have met in the postseason and it did not disappoint. The Black and Gold took an early two-goal lead before Elmira's top-ranked power play went to work in the second and tied the game. Neither team scored in the third, so the game needed overtime. It's only the second time the two teams have gone to overtime against each other, and it was Adrian's third-straight game to go to overtime.
The Bulldogs won thanks to freshman Jessica VonRuden's goal with 2:24 left in overtime. The goal was her second of the night and second game-winning overtime goal on the year, as she scored the game-winner as time expired in overtime in Adrian's season-opening win over Wisconsin-River Falls.
Her performance on Saturday was equaled, if not surpassed, by freshman Denisa Jandova in goal. Jandova was called upon often in the game and she delivered, making 50 saves in the contest for the win. Her performance puts her second all-time for most saves in a game in program history. Saturday's performance also was enough to put her atop the list for best save percentage in the country, with a .957. Jandova also has a 0.84 goals against average, good for second in the country.
Adrian's opponent in the semifinals on Friday, March 15 will be a familiar one as the Black and Gold will faceoff with #3 Plattsburgh State for the third time this season. The Bulldogs got the better of the Cardinals for the first time in school history earlier this season, when they defeated then No. 2-ranked Plattsburgh State 1-0 in the semifinals of the Panther/Cardinal Classic on Nov. 24. A win in the championship game the next day then gave AC its first No. 1 ranking in program history. Adrian held that title for the rest of 2018 and then lost it after a defeat at those same Plattsburgh State Cardinals in the East-West Hockey Classic in early January.
The Bulldogs are 1-6 against the Cardinals heading into this weekend's matchup, with that lone win still in both team's recent memory. Friday's 4 p.m. ET game is also another rematch of the 2017 National Championship game. Plattsburgh State won the title that year, beating Adrian on its home ice, 4-3 in overtime to win the hardware.
St. Thomas entered the tournament as the #1 seed and won its quarterfinal game meaning it is the host of the Frozen Four. The Tommies will play #5 Hamline at 8 p.m. ET in the other semifinal game. The two teams that lose on Friday will play in the third-place game on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET and the winners will play for the NCAA Championship later that night at 8 p.m. ET.
Tickets are available only at the door and not in advance. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday, an hour and a half before Adrian's semifinal game. Single-day ticket prices will be $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and $7 for youth under age 12. Fans can also choose to purchase tickets for both days, which are $25 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.
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-Preview courtesy of Adrian College Sports Information Office