The fourth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team battles third-ranked Amherst in the NCAA Semifinals on Friday at 4:00 p.m. ET. Top-ranked Wisconsin-River Falls is serving as the host and entertains #2 Augsburg at 8:00 p.m. with a trip to the national championship game on the line.
 
ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• Middlebury is making its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is looking to garner its fifth national championship. 
• The Panthers have reached the semifinals 11 times and have advanced to the title contest on six occasions.
• Middlebury won its fourth NCAA Championship in 2022, concluding the year with an unblemished 27-0-0 overall record. The program was the first women's ice hockey team across all three NCAA divisions to finish a season with an undefeated mark. 
• This year, the Panthers secured an at-large bid to the national tournament after finishing as the NESCAC Runner-Up with a 20-6-1 mark. Middlebury defeated Williams 2-1 in overtime during the conference quarterfinal round, before shutting out then-#9 Colby 4-0 in the semifinals. The Panthers dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision in the title contest to then-#6 Amherst.  
• Middlebury reached the NCAA Semifinals on Saturday afternoon, defeating #12 Nazareth 1-0, which marked the ninth one-goal decision of the campaign.
• The Panthers have played 14 nationally-ranked opponents this winter, owning a 9-4-1 mark. 
• Middlebury is ranked in the top-20 spots in multiple statistical categories this winter. The Panthers are fifth in scoring defense (1.00), 10th in winning percentage (0.768), 11th in team shutouts (8), 16th in power-play percentage (0.217), 17th in scoring margin (+1.75), 18th in assists (130) and 19th in team points (207).
• Heading into Friday's contest, the Panthers have allowed just two goals over the last four contests spanning the NESCAC Tournament and NCAA Quarterfinal. The program has only conceded more than one goal on six occasions this year.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• As a squad, Middlebury has 12 skaters with double-digit points. All-NESCAC First Team selection Cat Appleyard leads the Panther output with 11 goals. Forward Kate Flynn is just behind her teammate with 11 markers and eight assists, tallying the golden goal during the NCAA Quarterfinal triumph.
• Other top contributors include Olivia McManus (3G, 14A), Avery McInerny (4G, 12A) and all-conference second-team honoree Jordan Hower (9G, 6A). Hower had the primary assist on the game-winning score.
• Spearheading the defense has been the duo of Sabrina Kim and Cece Ziegler. An All-NESCAC First Team honoree, Kim leads the Panthers in plus/minus (+22) and assists (20), recording the secondary helper against Nazareth. Ziegler landed a spot on the league's second squad, blocking a team-high 53 shots, while contributing nine points (2G, 7A).
• Sophia Merageas and Sophia Will have split time in the crease for the Panthers. Merageas ranks in the top-10 nationally in goals against average (GAA) (second - 0.885) and save percentage (sixth - 0.957). Will has started the last three contests for Middlebury, tallying a combined 77 total saves. She stopped all 23 shots against the Golden Flyers for her fourth shutout and 10th victory this winter. Will is ninth among Division III peers with a .954 save percentage. 

ABOUT AMHERST

• Amherst enters the frozen four with a 22-5-1 overall record and is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 
• The Mammoths are attempting to win their third national title and first since 2010.
• The squad has reached the semifinal round four times and made it to the final on three occasions.
• Amherst advanced to the final weekend with a 4-1 victory over NESCAC foe #9 Colby in quarterfinal action.
• The Mammoths earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament after edging Middlebury 1-0 in the championship bout.
• Amherst is first nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 0.86 goals per game this season. The Mammoths are second in Division III in penalty-killing percentage (0.973) and team shutouts (11), while they are sixth in winning percentage (0.804) and 11th in scoring margin (+1.96).

MAMMOTHS TO WATCH

• Four players have registered over 20 points for Amherst this season. Maeve Reynolds leads the team in points (23) and assists (16), while Bea Flynn is second with 22 points (13G, 9A). Flynn tallied a pair of goals in the quarterfinal triumph. 
• Ayla Abban (14G, 7A) had a goal and an assist against the Mules in the quarterfinal, recording the game-winning tally. Gretchen Dann (9G, 11A) picked up the primary helper on Amherst's third goal.
• Defensively, Emily Hohmann has a NESCAC-leading 66 blocked shots and has tallied 11 points this year (4G, 7A).
• Natalie Stott has played a majority of the minutes in the crease for the Mammoths. She has started 27 contests, owning a 0.87 goals against average and a .960 save percentage, which are first and third in the country. Stott is second in Division III with 10 shutouts and eighth in winning percentage (0.796).

SERIES HISTORY

• Middlebury and Amherst face off for the fourth time this season and the 69th time overall with Middlebury holding a 39-13-16 advantage in the series. 
• The sides skated to a 1-1 tie on January 17 with the Panthers winning the shootout 2-1, while Middlebury recorded a 3-1 triumph the next day. Amherst slipped past the Panthers 1-0 in the NESCAC Championship game on March 9
• The programs have met just once in the NCAA Tournament with the Mammoths earning a 3-2 win in the 2009 semifinals.

ABOUT WISCONSIN-RIVER FALLS

• The Falcons reached the NCAA Tournament with a 4-1 victory against Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) O'Brien Cup Title game. 
• Wisconsin-River Falls is making its 16th appearance in the national tournament and seventh in the semifinal round. The defending national champions have reached the NCAA Title bout twice before, falling to Plattsburgh State 5-1 in 2016 before winning the crown 4-1 over Elmira to complete a 31-0-0 season last year. The Falcons became the second team to finish with an unblemished record.
• Wisconsin-River Falls has been dominant this season, boasting a 24-3-2 overall record, while riding a nine-game winning streak entering the championship weekend.
• The Falcons claimed their spot in the frozen four by defeating Elmira 4-1 in the NCAA Quarterfinal.
• If Middlebury and Wisconsin-River Falls face off in the NCAA Championship, it would be the fifth matchup between the two programs, with the Panthers holding a 3-1-0 advantage. The teams have met just once in NCAA Tournament action, with Middlebury earning a 3-2 triumph in the third-place game in 2009.
• Bailey Olson and Megan Goodreau have been an offensive tandem for the Falcons. Olson spearheads the nation's highest-scoring offense that has found the back of the net 178 times this winter. She has accounted for 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points, leading Division III in points per game (1.93) and ranking second in goals per game (0.90) and assists per game (1.03) with a +41 rating. Goodreau is second in points (48) and goals (23), ranking second nationally behind Olson in points per contest (1.66).
• Alexa Niccum (7G, 26A), Madison Kadrlik (21G, 11A), Kylie Jones (8G, 24A) and Ellie Brice (16G, 15A) are all above the 30-point plateau, while Kadrlik is tied for the national lead with six game-winning tallies.
• In the crease, Jordan O'Kane has started 20 contests with a 17-2-2 record with 334 saves. Her .857 winning percentage is third among Division III peers.

ABOUT AUGSBURG

• Augsburg earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament by defeating #5 Gustavus Adolphus 3-2 in overtime to claim the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) title. 
• The program is making its first appearance in the national bracket.
• This season, the Auggies own a 24-3-1 overall mark and went 16-2-0 in conference play.  
• Augsburg punched its ticket to the NCAA Semifinal with a 4-2 victory over #8 St. Norbert in the quarterfinal round. 
• If Middlebury and Augsburg play in the national championship, it would be the fifth meeting between the programs with the Panthers winning each of the last four contests. The sides played a two-game series in the 2000 American Women's College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) Championship, as Middlebury won 5-1 and 8-1.
• Nora Stepan paces a balanced output that features seven Auggies who have more than 16 points. She leads the squad in points (28), goals (16) and game-winning goals (four), while her 12 assists are tied for second. 
• Emily Kronkhite has contributed a team-best 14 assists to go alongside 10 goals, while Emma Abrahamson has 22 points (13G, 9A). Tenley Stewart leads Augsburg with 37 blocked shots while earning 12 points (2G, 10A).
• In between the pipes, Kayla Simonson and Marissa Paaske have split time this winter. Simonson is 15-3-0 with five shutouts, a .945 save percentage and a 1.45 GAA. Paaske leads the country in winning percentage (.950) with a 9-0-1 record in 11 games played with four shutouts and a .939 save percentage. Her 1.09 GAA is sixth nationally. Simonson has started the last six contests, going 5-1-0 with 192 saves and allowing during that stretch

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

• Tickets
  • Tickets will be $15 for adults and $10 for students/seniors. Youths age three and under are free. 
  • All tickets will be sold online only and there will be no walk-up sales. Please click on the link for instructions on how to purchase tickets in the Middlebury allotment.
    • Ticket Instructions
  • General admission tickets for the semifinal games have already sold out!
  • The ticket allotment which is set aside for Middlebury will be available until 12:00p (CST) on Tuesday. At that time if there are any unclaimed tickets, they will be pulled back into the general admission pool of tickets available for anyone to purchase.
• Tournament Bracket
• Championship Central

The winner of Friday's game will face the winner of #1 Wisconsin-River Falls and #2 Augsburg in the NCAA Title tilt on Sunday, March 30 at 4:00 p.m.