The St. Thomas women’s hockey season came to an end Saturday as the Tommies lost 4-1 to the defending national champions, No. 1-ranked Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals move on to play in the Frozen Four Friday, March 20.
It’s the second consecutive season in which Plattsburgh has ended St. Thomas’ playoff run. The Cardinals defeated the Tommies 1-0 in last year’s national semifinals while outshooting St. Thomas 64-30. This year, the Tommies had the better of the play for large stretches of the game and finished with shots even for both teams at 29. St. Thomas defenseman Nuala Flood said she was pleased with the team’s performance.
“I think we played one of our best games today. We outworked them. In the first and second period they couldn’t play with us. We were taking the puck to the net and out-skating them. I really thought we played our game,” Flood said. “We were close. It just didn’t work out for us today.”
Despite giving up three third period goals, St. Thomas outshot Plattsburgh 22-18 in the final two periods while possessing the puck for the majority of the game. The lone Tommie goal came in the third period when defenseman Tori Bailey scored off a shot from the point. Flood received credit for the assist.
“We really came out and made a statement by holding them in the first and second period,” Bailey said. “We really came up big in our defensive zone. Just a little lapse in the third, but I’m really proud of what we did.”
The MIAC champion Tommies finished the season with an overall record of 14-10-4. Coach Tom Palkowski said although the season ended today, he thought they played well enough for a victory.
“We played a great hockey game,” Palkowski said. “We had the better of the play, and their goalie made a few unbelievable saves. They got that power-play goal in the third that kind of broke our spirits a little bit.”
After another solid postseason run for St. Thomas, the team only loses three seniors in the offseason – forwards Tara Baago and Paige Baldwin and defenseman Dani Lobejko. Palkowski said games like this are big for the program.
“It’s just experience. You get your kids to be able to see the best teams in the country. We hear about the teams out east, and they hear about the teams out west. Being able to match up and play each other in a big game is just huge for the kids’ confidence,” Palkowski said.
Bailey agreed and said she believes the Tommies made a statement with their performance.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year,” the junior said. “To come in with that big of a group of freshmen and that small of a senior class, it can be tough. We came out and proved to everyone that we deserved to be here and we deserve the season we had.”
The loss did nothing to diminish the confidence of Flood and Palkowski, who agreed the future of St. Thomas women’s hockey looks promising.
“We learned today that we can play with anyone in the country,” Flood said. “These teams out east aren’t better than us by any means.”
“That’s the No. 1 team in the nation, and we just held our own,” Palkowski said. “We’ve got a bright future.”
Andrew Frentz can be reached at fren2218@stthomas.edu.