The date was March 3, 2007. The Yellowjacket women's hockey team was hosting UW-Stevens Point in the championship game of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. With a win, the Yellowjackets, who were 8-3-2 at Wessman Arena in 2006-07, would advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
But it wouldn't be easy.
Twice in the contest the Yellowjackets fell behind, and twice they rallied, tying the game 1-1 on a goal by Brianne Mosher early in the second period, and again at 2-2 when Ashley Jenkins scored at 4:16 of the third. The Jenkins goal set the stage for overtime, and then a second, before the Pointers scored the winner, upsetting the Yellowjackets to move to college hockey's biggest stage.
"It was a pretty devastating loss for us. That core of players played a lot of hockey and did everything for us for four years and we wanted to send them out the right way, that loss was a tough blow," said Yellowjacket Head Coach
Dan Laughlin. "You start getting past the loss and then you realize how big of an impact that group had, and I'm sure there were a lot of people wondering, 'Now what?', and I don't blame them."
The core Laughlin is referring to included seven players, who in their careers played 717 games, and in 2006-07 accounted for 37 of the Yellowjackets' 83 goals (44.6 percent). Among the group was Erin Kegley, the program's all-time leading scorer who was a four-time All-American leading many to believe the roster had a gaping hole in it.
"There were a lot of questions surrounding us and what we would be able to do the next season, but that group sort of used it all as a rallying cry," Laughlin said. "They knew people had questions, and they basically said, let's go answer them."
And answer they did. Despite having one of the youngest rosters in program history (two seniors, four juniors), the 2007-08 Yellowjackets put together one of the most dominating seasons in program history. They won the NCHA regular season championship, but that wasn't news, as it was the fourth such title in program history. Playoff success, however, eluded Laughlin and the Yellowjackets.
Just under a year after the heartbreaker against Stevens Point, the Yellowjackets were back hosting the NCHA title game, but once again it looked as though heartbreak was on the menu. After a scoreless first period UW-River Falls took a 1-0 lead early in the second. It looked like that lead was going to hold up and the Yellowjacket dreams would be dashed once again.
Play entered the final minute of regulation and Laughlin pulled goaltender Rikki Nespor for an extra attacker. With 25 seconds to go, Brianne Mosher scored her eighth of the year to pull the 'Jackets even and send the game to overtime.
The teams went back and forth early in the extra session, but then just past the midway point, the Yellowjackets hit paydirt. Teagan Cassan scored just her third goal of the season, setting off a raucous celebration at Wessman arena and sending the Yellowjackets to their first NCAA tournament.
"I think a lot of people had that feeling that it was going to slip away again, but to the players credit, it never got to that point. They knew if they kept grinding away that things would go our way and it took until the last minute, but we got our break," Laughlin said. "Then in overtime we felt it was just a matter of time before we got the winner, and sure enough, Teagan scored that massive goal to push us on."
A week later the 'Jackets, with a record of 22-4-1, traveled to St. Peter, Minn. for a date with another NCAA Division III powerhouse, Gustavus. The Gusties, who came into the NCAA quarterfinal with a 25-2-0 mark, were the class of the MIAC, meaning the top two teams in the west would do battle to determine who would be headed to the final four.
Gustavus was anything but a gracious host, carrying the play for long stretches and holding the Yellowjackets to just nine shots on goal for the game. The Gusties scored first and led 1-0 after one period, but in the second, the Yellowjackets got all the offense they would need.
In the middle frame the Yellowjackets had five shots on goal, but they scored three times to take a 3-1 lead. Allie Pullar drew the Yellowjackets even with her third goal of the year at 11:26 of the second. Just over three minutes later Shana Katz scored the eventual-game winning goal, her tenth of the year, to make it 2-1. Then with just over a minute to go in the second Gina Baranzelli, who was in the midst of a career year, scored her 25
th of the year to give the Yellowjackets a two-goal edge heading to the third.
Gustavus poured on the offense in the third, outshooting the Yellowjackets 11-1, but it was all Melissa Kunzleman in this frame. The Yellowjacket goaltender was perfect, stopping all 11 shots and sending the Yellowjackets to Plattsburgh, N.Y. for the Frozen Four.
"Melissa was incredible that game, especially in the third period. Gustavus has put together some of the best teams in Division III over the last 20 years, so it was no small task to go in there and shut them down the way we did," Laughlin said. "You could tell early our defense was good and Melissa was completely on her game. We got up 3-1 heading into the third period, and even though there were 20 minutes left, the feeling in our room was that it was over."
In the national semifinals, the Yellowjackets dominated Manhattanville, outshooting the Valiants 37-19, but they ultimately fell 4-3 in overtime, taking the wind out of their sails on the way to a fourth-place finish.
Baranzelli closed out her Yellowjacket career with one of the best seasons in program history. She led the country in game winning goals (eight) and shorthanded goals (five) on the way to being named First Team All-American by the American Hockey Coaches Association, as well as being named NCHA Player of the Year.
In her lone season with the Yellowjackets, defender Kirsti Hakala was also named AHCA All-American.
In addition to Baranzelli and Hakala, team scoring leader Stacy Anderson and the goaltending duo of Kunzelman and Nespor were named All-NCHA First Team.
The two goaltenders split duties between the pipes all season and both were among the national leaders in multiple statistical categories. Kunzelman would lead the nation with a .959 save percentage.
Years later, both Kunzelman and Nespor would be inducted into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame. Now it's time for the team they provided the backbone for to do the same.
"It was a disappointing finish, but for the players, it was an amazing experience that they still talk about to this day," Laughlin said. "Not bad for a team that a lot of people didn't expect to do anything."
2007-08 Yellowjacket Women's Hockey Team
Stacy Anderson
Gina Baranzelli
Brittany Bembeneck
Chelsey Brodeen
Teagan Cassan
Heidi Chandler
Kayla Chilstrom
Brittany Dunkel
Kirsti Hakala
Amy Hasbargen
Shana Katz
Melissa Kunzelman
Lindsey LeGree
Jamie McClintock
Brianne Mosher
Rikki Nespor
Jasmine Pollock
Allie Pullar
Kim Schmeichel
Head Coach
Dan Laughlin
