No. 8 Wisconsin-Eau Claire at No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus
In what is the longest game in NCAA D-III history, these two teams needed three overtimes to declare a winner. Kelly Knetter and Morgan Zirbel had the BluGolds up 2-0 deep in the first period, but Gustavus cut the lead in half thanks to a goal from Amelia Vosen just 30 seconds before the buzzer. That score held until a minute left in the game, when Vosen scored again to tie the game and force overtime. Gustavus outshot Wis.-Eau Claire, 60-29, but Emma Peterson won the game for the BluGolds in the third overtime period. Wis.-Eau Claire goalie Erin Connolly had a career night, stopping 58 shots. Gustavus was 0-for-8 on the power play.
No. 8 Wisconsin-Eau Claire at No. 7 Hamline
Coming off their spectacular win the night before, Wis.-Eau Claire had the tough task of taking on the Pipers. Hamline had a 3-0 lead before 22 minutes had passed thanks to two goals from Darby Dodds and one from Madison Gaffney, but the BluGolds weren’t done. Courtney Wittig’s power-play goal in the second and Mariah Czech’s short-handed goal in the third cut the advantage to one, but Hamline held them off and earned the 3-2 win. The BluGolds outshot Hamline, 25-20, but the Pipers proved too much for them as they continued their best season in program history.
No. 5 Adrian at No. 3 Elmira
Elmira got some revenge on an Adrian team that knocked them out of the postseason in the quarterfinals last season with a 2-0 win on Saturday. Kelcey Crawford pitched a shutout and is tied for most victories in D-III this season. She also tied the program record for single-season victories and will look to set a new record next week. This one was scoreless for 57 minutes before Sarah Hughson put the Soaring Eagles on the board. Maddie Evangelous secured the win.
No. 4 Middlebury at No. 2 Plattsburgh
The game was scoreless after one period despite Plattsburgh outshooting Middlebury, 18-5, in the opening frame. Erin McArdle put the Cardinals on the board first, but Maddie Winslow responded for Middlebury on a power play just a few minutes later. Ashley Songin scored the game-winner seven minutes into the third period, and Mackenzie Millen’s empty-netter gave Plattsburgh the 3-1 win. Lin Han made 35 saves for Middlebury in the loss.
Morrisville at No. 1 Norwich
The Norwich Cadets will host the national championship weekend for the first time in program history thanks to an 8-2 win over Morrisville. Alexziz Giannamore actually put Morrisville on the board first, but that seemed to shock the Cadets into action. They responded with three goals before the period was over, including two from Alyssa Hulst. Amanda Conway tallied a hat trick in the second period to make it 7-1. Shanley Austin scored for Morrisville to open the third, but Norwich was just too much. Nicole Goebel scored in the third to make it 8-2 and give Norwich the win.
