Like last year, UD entered last weekend's tournament as the No. 1 seed. They played No. 4-seeded Maryland in a hard fought semi-final match that was filled with excitement and uncertainty. Maryland outplayed UD for most of the game, as displayed by Maryland out-shooting UD 38-24, but UD's goalkeeper, junior Katie Keeports, made enough saves to keep UD in the game.
UD had a 2-0 lead in the second period, with goals by Center Brittney Sheldon, a sophomore, and Captain Kristin Uhlemeyer, a senior, but two goals by Maryland tied the game and they entered the third period deadlocked at 2-2. A scoreless third period caused the game to head into an 8-minute overtime period, but that overtime period was short-lived as sophomore Erin McAuliffe scored less than one-minute into overtime to send the Hens to the championship game.
In the championship game, UD faced off against the University of Pennsylvania, a team UD had defeated twice in the regular season. UD went up 1-0 in the first period with a goal by McAuliffe, before a flurry of goals in the second by both teams. Sophomore Kim LaBella assisted by Sheldon and senior Denise Campbell scored for UD, which tied the game 3-3 entering the third period.
After an ice-resurfacing break between the second and third periods, UD came out with an offensive barrage that saw them score five unanswered goals in less than six minutes. UPenn answered, however, with 24 total shots in the third period alone, and they soon scored four goals of their own. The four goals weren't enough, though, and when the final buzzer sounded, UD had secured a 9-7 victory and their first ever DVCHC championship.
The scoring was well-distributed among the Hens. McAuliffe had a hat trick with three goals, Sheldon had two goals and an assist, LaBella had a goal and an assist, and Campbell and Amy Christinzio and Bethany Allik each tallied one goal, while Dana Gasper, Dani Lavety and Uhlemeyer each had an assist. Goalie Keeports stopped an impressive 51 of 58 shots in the final game and 87 of 96 shots for the weekend, earning her the tournament's Most Valuable Player honors.
By virtue of their regular season record and regional ranking, UD received and accepted an invitation to compete in the ACHA National tournament in Chicago, which will take place March 6-9.
For more information on the Blue Hen's Women's Ice Hockey Club team, visit [www.udwomenshockey.com].
