No. 1 Wilkes Women's Ice Hockey to Host No. 4 Alvernia in MAC Semifinals

WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes women's ice hockey team is set to host Alvernia at the Toyota Sportsplex on Saturday, March 1, for their semifinal matchup in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Tournament. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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The Colonels concluded their regular season with a 20-4-1 overall record and went 18-2-1 in conference play, ending with 57 points following a 7-1 win over Hood on Friday. 

The team outscored their opponents 96-31 and were .190 percent on power plays (16-for-84) while killing off penalties at .921 percent (70-for-76). Wilkes had a strong performance in the faceoff circle this season, winning at a .582 percent rate. 

Sophomore forward Haylee Bouchard (Sioux Lookout, ON) leads the team and is third in the conference in points with 27 total, averaging 1.08 per game. She is also third in the conference in goals with 16 total, averaging .64 per game. Nina Hudakova and Jordan Ferry (Bohemia, NY) are seventh and eighth in the conference in goals with 13 and 11. Renee Ng (Hong Kong, China/Mount Academy) is second on the team in points with 25 and is second in the conference in assists with 17. Ferry is third on the team in points with 23 and second on the team in assists with 12. Hudakova is tied with Ferry in points at 23 and Ferry leads the team in shots with 133 leaving her third in the conference. 

Gianna Pacilio (Franklinville, NJ) and Hannah Franz (North Bay, ON) lead the team and are tied in plus minus, with both sitting at plus-23 player rating and are ranked third and fourth in the conference. Tilly Wierdsma (New Hartford, CT/) leads the team and is sixth in the conference in blocked shots with 40 and Ferry leads the team in faceoff wins with 211 followed by Iida Laitinen (Jyväskylä, Finland) with 205. 

Ng and Hudakova lead the Colonels in power play goals with three apiece while Ferry and Laitinen each recorded a short handed goal. Bella Kaczorowski (Anchorage, AK/NAHA White), Megan Bell (Waterloo, ON/St. David Catholic), and Laitinen are eighth, ninth and 10th in the conference in game winning goals, each recording three.

Goaltender Audrey Milne (London, ON) started 22 out of the 25 games and had a 17-4-1 record. Milne ranked third in the conference with a .931 save percentage as well as in goals against average with a 1.28. She recorded 375 total saves while earning five shutouts. 

Wilkes swept Alvernia in the regular season, with the Colonels winning 2-1 and 5-1 at home and 6-3 at Alvernia. 

Alvernia went 14-9-2 overall and 10-9-2 in MAC play.

The Golden Wolves outscored their opponents by a 73-52 margin and were strong in shots percentage with 73 goals on 818 shots. Alvernia killed off penalties at a .870 percent rate (60-for-69) and won faceoffs .541 percent of the time. 

Julia Franklin led the Golden Wolves in points this season with 25 and is first in the conference in assists with 21. Emma Hart led the team in goals and is fourth in the conference with 15. Sydney Bradley had the team high in plus minus with a plus 24 player rating as well as Riley Hill with plus 19. 

Bradley is fourth in the conference in power play goals with four and Hart recorded two short handed goals and is ranked second in the conference. Three different players had game winning goals for Alvernia. Franklin had the team high in faceoff wins with 200.

Goaltender Stephanie Skorupa went 10-5 this season, making 15 appearances over 25 games.She is fourth in the conference in goals against average with a 1.69 average and has recorded four shutouts this season.

The winner of this game will play either No. 2 Arcadia or No. 3 Lebanon Valley in the MAC finals next Saturday, March 8.