The Yellowjacket women's hockey team cruised through the first round of the O'Brien Cup Playoffs last weekend, sweeping St. Norbert College out of the derby and putting an end to the Green Knights' season. They did it by striking early and often.
On Friday, they scored three goals in a span of 2:56 to build an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the first period. Then on Saturday afternoon they scored twice in 36 seconds and were up 2-0 after one.
"On Friday we were struggling to get going but those three quick goals really gave us confidence. We know that when we score that many, chances are we are going to win," Head Coach Dan Laughlin said. "We're a good team defensively so we know if we can limit the other team's chances we'll be in good shape and that was the case on Friday.
"Saturday we did the same thing and got out to 3-0. But give St. Norbert credit, they fought back into the game and made things tough on us."
Things will be a little bit tougher from here on out.
The Yellowjackets, who are the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, will face Adrian College in the semifinals, a team that they have seen limited success against over the years. And they'll have to do it with a roster that has been decimated by injuries.
"Injuries are part of the game, but our team hasn't used it as a crutch all season," Laughlin said. "We have a good group of players that have worked extremely hard and fought through everything. If they keep working hard, they know that good things will happen for them."
All-time the Yellowjackets have won just two of the 11 meetings with Adrian, and are winless in the last seven.
"We've had our troubles with them in the past, but in the playoffs its a new season," Laughlin said. "We've had tight games with them this year and I think we match up well with them. It should be a good game because both teams are of the thinking that they have to keep winning to get into the NCAA tournament. Losing anytime in this tournament isn't going to get it done so both teams will be playing with urgency, playing good, competitive hockey."
Complete O'Brien Cup Playoff coverage is available here.
By The Numbers
|
|
Yellowjackets |
Bulldogs |
|
Overall Record |
17-7-3 |
15-9-2 |
|
NCHA Record |
13-5-2 |
12-6-2 |
|
Home Record |
10-5-2 |
7-3-0 |
|
Road Record |
7-2-1 |
8-6-2 |
|
Goals For (Average) |
90 (3.33) |
82 (3.15) |
|
Goals Against (Average) |
49 (1.81) |
61 (2.35) |
|
Penalties/Minutes (Average) |
119/238 (4.4/8.8) |
168/366 (6.5/14.1) |
|
Power Play |
24.6% |
27.1% |
|
Penalty Kill |
88% |
82.8% |
|
Overtime Record |
1-2-3 |
2-0-2 |
|
Record When Scoring First |
13-2-1 |
14-3-1 |
|
Record When Allowing First Goal |
4-5-2 |
1-6-1 |
|
Record When Leading After First Period |
10-0-0 |
9-0-0 |
|
Record When Trailing After First Period |
1-2-2 |
0-5-0 |
|
Record When Tied After First Period |
6-5-1 |
6-4-2 |
|
Record When Leading After Second Period |
14-0-0 |
12-0-1 |
|
Record When Trailing After Second Period |
0-1-1 |
0-6-0 |
|
Record When Tied After Second Period |
3-6-2 |
3-3-1 |
|
Record In One-Goal Games |
4-7-0 |
3-4-0 |
|
Record When Scoring 2 or Fewer Goals |
2-6-1 |
0-7-2 |
|
Record When Scoring 3 or More Goals |
15-1-2 |
15-2-0 |
|
Record When Allowing 2 or Fewer Goals |
14-4-1 |
9-2-2 |
|
Record When Allowing 3 of More Goals |
2-4-2 |
6-7-0 |
The Coaches
Laughlin is in his ninth season with the Yellowjackets. He has an overall record of 162-63-23. All-time in the O'Brien Cup Playoffs he has a record of 11-9-0. All-time versus Adrian he has a record of 2-7-2.
The Bulldogs are coached by Chris Davis, who is in his first season. He has an overall record of 15-9-2 and a 1-1-0 record in the O'Brien Cup Playoffs. His all-time record versus the Yellowjackets is 1-0-1.
All-Time Series
The Bulldogs hold a 2-7-2 lead in the all-time series.
2011-12 Meetings
November 11 at Superior: Game tied 1-1, OT
November 12 at Superior: Adrian won 3-2
Playoff History
2011: NCHA Semifinals: Adrian won 3-0
Yellowjacket Quick Facts
1) Senior Ashlee Olson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) is on a five-game scoring streak.
2) Kaiti Graham (Middleville, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg) has five points over her last five games.
3) Only three times this season the Yellowjackets have started the same goaltender in back-to-back games, including last weekend's playoff series, and all three times Shanley Peters (Gnadenthal, Manitoba/Garden Valley Collegiate) has gotten the consecutive starts.
Bulldog Quick Facts
1) Adrian has the top power play in the NCHA.
2) The Bulldogs are the most penalized team in the NCHA.
3) Adrian had five players score 20-or-more points, with only River Falls and the Yellowjackets having more.
Series Quick Fact
In 2011, their only playoff meeting, Adrian scored with six seconds to play in the first period to grab the lead. They then scored twice in the final 2:56 to make the final score 3-0.
The Other Matchup
The other O'Brien Cup Semifinal features Lake Forest College vs. UW-River Falls. The teams will meet on Friday, March 2 at 7:05 p.m. The winner will advance to the O'Brien Cup Finals to play the winner of the UW-Superior/Adrian contest.
About the Falcons
UW-River Falls enters the semifinals as the top seed in the playoffs, after having won the NCHA crown for the second consecutive year. They cruised through their first round playoff series, sweeping UW-Eau Claire 5-0 and 3-0.
Yellowjackets vs. Falcons in 2011-12
December 2 at River Falls: Yellowjackets win 2-1, OT
December 3 at River Falls: River Falls wins 2-1
Overall Record: 21-4-2
NCHA Record: 17-2-1
Head Coach: Joe Cranston - 13th season (215-106-32)
Top Scorer: Katie Batters (18-11-29)
Top Goaltender: Melissa Deardorff (19 games, 15-3-0, 1.58 GAA, .928 SV%)
Goals For/Against: 116/46
Power Play/Penalty Kill: 16.9%/89.9%
About the Foresters
Lake Forest, who placed fourth in the NCHA in 2011-12, had little trouble in advancing to River Falls, following a first round sweep of St. Scholastica. On Saturday the Foresters won 4-2, then on Sunday closed out the series with another two-goal win, 3-1.
Yellowjackets vs. Foresters in 2011-12
November 4 at Superior: Yellowjackets win 3-2
November 5 at Superior: Yellowjackets win 3-1
Overall Record: 15-9-2
NCHA Record: 12-7-1
Head Coach: Carisa Zaban - 7th season (94-67-25)
Top Scorer: Kim Herring (13-9-22)
Top Goaltender: Stacey Dierking (17 games, 9-5-2, 2.05 GAA, .927 SV%)
Goals For/Against: 73/53
Power Play/Penalty Kill: 12.7%/80%
