ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College NCAA women's hockey team returns to the NCHA Slaats Cup Playoffs after clinching the No. 1 seed and capturing the NCHA Regular Season title. The Bulldogs compiled a 20-5-0 overall record, including an impressive 17-1-0 mark in conference play. Their lone conference loss came on the road against Concordia Wisconsin, but Adrian responded the following night with a decisive win over the Falcons.
Adrian will host Trine University in a two-game quarterfinal series this weekend. It's a quick turnaround from last weekend's regular-season finale, when the Bulldogs swept the Thunder by scores of 10-0 and 5-1. Trine enters the postseason with a 7-16-2 overall record and a 3-14-1 mark in NCHA play, earning the No. 8 seed in the Slaats Cup Playoffs.
The Bulldogs have averaged 4.7 goals per game this season while allowing just 1.4. Riley Johnson leads the offense with a team-high 20 goals, 23 assists, and 43 points. Courtney Ben has added 19 goals, Paige Pomerleau has tallied 18, and Maddy Loe has netted 10. Emma Simon has contributed 22 assists, bringing her season total to 30 points.
Defensively, Adrian has been just as dominant. Parker Beyer leads the team with 33 blocked shots, followed by 25 from Sophia LaColla and Kaylee Simon, and 20 from Julia Richardson. In goal, Kiera Stack has started 22 games, posting a 1.30 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage to go along with seven shutouts.
Elsewhere in the NCHA Slaats Cup quarterfinals, No. 2 Concordia Wisconsin will host No. 7 Aurora, No. 3 St. Norbert will host No. 6 MSOE, and No. 4 Lake Forest will host No. 5 Marian. The quarterfinal round is a two-game series, with the first team to three points advancing. A regulation win is worth two points, while an overtime or shootout loss earns one point. If the series is tied after two games, a 20-minute mini-game will determine who moves on.
The Bulldogs will take the ice at 7:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday as they look to advance to the NCHA Semifinals with a strong showing on home ice.
