The Gustavus women’s hockey team advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament held March 15-17 in Rochester, New York. They were one of four teams competing for the national championship. This marked the third straight year the Gusties qualified for the final four.
I am in my 12th year as the goalie coach for this team and had the opportunity to make the trip east.
We played the defending champions from Norwich University in the semifinals and lost a heartbreaker 4-3 in overtime.
The next day we faced off against Plattsburgh State for third place. After trailing most of the game, we rallied to take a 3-2 lead with just over a minute to play. Unfortunately, they pulled their goalie and scored the equalizer with ten seconds left and then won the game early in overtime.
Our team played well all weekend but lost two heartbreakers.
All in all it was a great year for the girls! They won their 9th straight MIAC playoff championship and finished the season with an impressive 24-4-2 record.