The University of Wisconsin-River Falls won their program's first ever NCAA Division III women's hockey national championship.
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls won their program's first ever NCAA Division III women's hockey national championship.
For the first time in program history, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls won the NCAA Division III women's hockey national championship.
The title capped off a perfect 31-0 season for the Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons, the most wins in a single season in NCAA Division III women's hockey history, and only the fourth undefeated season in DIII history.
In the championship game against Elmira, the teams played to a scoreless first before Wisconsin-River Falls broke out to capture the title with a 4-1 win.
To open the scoring in the second period, defender MaKenna Aure opened the scoring on the powerplay. Elmira's Emma Bradbury evened the game in the second to send the game to the final period tied 1-1.
"I thought we played a really good game, we came out and had the jitters, throwing pucks around and we needed to settle down. Once we settled down I think we played a good game," said Falcons head coach Joe Cranston. His team, however, would soon find their game.
In the third, Kenzie Dunn, Madison Lavergne, and Alex Hantge scored three unanswered goals for the Falcons to lift Wisconsin-River Falls to their first ever national title.
"We knew if we played our game we were going to get the job done," said Falcons captain Maddie McCollins.
"I don't believe this is real," said McCollins of winning the national title. "Every year we get so close and it's so frustrating because we have an amazing team, an amazing program, all the girls who have come through this program, we've had some studs, and to actually be in this moment and win a national championship, it's kind of just like everything we've been working for for so long, we finally got it. It's just the most amazing feeling ever."
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