WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Fresh off their first NCAA Tournament win in program history, the No. 12 Wilkes University women's ice hockey team travels to Rochester for their NCAA Quarterfinals matchup with the No. 5 Nazareth University Golden Flyers.
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The Colonels advanced to the quarterfinals after a thrilling 2-1 victory over the No. 6 Adrian College Bulldogs last Saturday at the Toyota SportsPlex. They now boast an overall record of 25-1-1 and haven't lost a game since Nov. 14 against Lebanon Valley College.
In that first round game against the Bulldogs, Audrey Milne (London, ON) was Wilkes' brightest star on the ice. The junior goaltender finished with 32 saves, and held one of DIII's most explosive offenses to just one goal. Dating back to the MAC Championship Tournament, Milne has racked up 66 saves and a .985 save percentage in three postseason games.
Another instrumental piece to this postseason run has been first year forward Abby Bush (Ottawa, ON). After a respectable 10-point regular season, Bush has elevated her play over the past three games. She scored Wilkes' second goal against Adrian, scored in the MAC Championship Game against Arcadia, and had a two-assist outing against Alvernia in the MAC Semifinals. Overall, she's averaged 1.33 points per game so far in the playoffs.
While those two deserve a ton of credit for the team's success these past few weeks, it's been a complete team effort from top to bottom. Haylee Bouchard (Sioux Lookout, ON/), Nina Hudakova (Košice, Slovakia/Hoosac Prep School), and Drew Hayhurst (Breckenridge, CO/New Hampton School) have all averaged at least one point per game in the postseason, and eight other Colonels have scored a point as well during this stretch.
Bouchard was also just named as a finalist for the Laura Hurd Award. The award is presented by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) every year, and it's meant to recognize the top player in Division III women's ice hockey based on their skill and contribution to their team.
She certainly deserves to be in the conversation after a 53-point season (17G & 36A) thus far. That's a new single season points record by 16 points, and her 36 assists are another program record by 17.
Overall, Wilkes is still second in DIII in goals per game (4.81) and fourth in goals per game allowed (1.07) after the Adrian matchup, but have dropped slightly to 11th in power play percentage (23.26%) and to 26th in penalty kill percentage (88.66%).
On the other side of the ice, the Golden Flyers enter this game with a 25-1-1 record. They received the first round bye and the three seed in the NCAA Tournament, but failed to win the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) after a 4-1 defeat to Elmira in the championship game.
Despite settling for an at-large bid, Nazareth boasts one of the most formidable rosters in Division III as eight of their players were UCHC All-Conference selections. Their most dynamic player is sophomore forward Amy Laskowski, who was named UCHC Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference after a great individual season.
Laskowski ranks fifth in the country in points (49), fourth in goals (25), and ninth in assists (24). Joining her on the first team were forward Brooke Judkiewicz and defenseman Ella Konrad. Judkiewicz finished second on the Golden Flyers in points (31) and assists (21), and Konrad put together a 20-point season (3G & 17A) posting a +25 plus/minus and 14 blocked shots.
Defensemen Ave Meteyer and Allie Zack were both members of the second team. Zack led Nazareth in both plus/minus (+36) and blocked shots (35), while Meteyer finished third on the team in blocked shots (15) and had a 20-point season of her own.
Lastly, three Golden Flyers were named Third Team All-UCHC, Meredith Boettcher, Nikki Sharp, and Mia Gonsalves. Boettcher (30 points) and Sharp (26 points) were third and fourth on the team in points, while Gonsalves started the majority of games in net as a first year.
Gonsalves has posted a 23-1-1 record in her 25 starts this season, along with a .923 save percentage, 386 saves, 32 goals allowed, and a 1.30 goals against average. That 1.30 goals against average ranks her 11th in the country.
Behind the bench is head coach Chris Baudo in his eighth season at the helm. He was named UCHC Coach of the Year fifth time in his career, and has guided Nazareth to an impressive 162-34-9 since its inception in 2018.
The winner of this game will advance to the Division III Women's Ice Hockey Frozen Four for a clash against the winner of the Norwich vs. Hamline game.
