Another D3 women’s hockey season is in the books. With commanding wins in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the national championship tournament, BR-1 Plattsburgh St. pulled out their final, most important win of the season over the weekend and were crowned the national champions for the third straight year in a row.
Claiming their spot next to BR-7 Middlebury as the only D3 school to have three consecutive national championships, Plattsburgh defeated BR-4 UW-River Falls 5-1 at the Ronald B. Stafford Arena.
The River Falls Falcons were the first to score about halfway into the first period. Carly Moran scored her 22nd goal of the season to put her team up 1-0. Later in the first period, the Cardinals took advantage of a 4-on-5 power play when junior Jordan Lipson scored against River Falls’ goalie, Angie Hall. Not satisfied with only one goal to begin the game with, Kayla Meneghin and Giovanna Senese teamed up to assist tournament MVP Melissa Sheeran, who scored the Cardinals’ second goal of the game with less than two minutes left in the first period.
The second period is where Plattsburgh St. really shined, though. Ashley Songin scored around the 12 minute mark, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. Senese and Sheeran teamed up again to score goal #4 for their team. The Falcons had their work cut out for them headed into the third, as Plattsburgh St. had outshot them 28-12 thus far.
Unfortunately for River Falls, the only action in the third period was by Plattsburgh St. junior Katelyn Turk who scored the fifth and final goal of the game. A national championship was nothing short of the cherry on top for the Cardinals, who finished the season tying the best record in school history, 29-1-0.
