The No. 1 St. Thomas women’s hockey team clinched the 2019 MIAC Championship title for the second year in a row after a 3-2 comeback victory over No. 4 rival Hamline Friday at St. Thomas Ice Arena.
The Tommies (22-0-2 overall, 15-0-2 MIAC) received the top seed for league playoffs and extended their unbeaten streak to 37 games.
The MIAC title is an honor in itself, but the team’s hard fought comeback was just as significant.
“Comeback victories are pretty special. They don’t happen all that often and against a good team,” coach Tom Palkowski said. “We were down two tonight against a really good team and we found a way, so I’m pretty proud of this group.”
The Pipers (19-2-3 overall, 13-2-2) and Tommies battled from the first whistle to the last buzzer.
Neither team scored in the first period, but the Pipers took control in the second, scoring off of two power plays from Bre Simon and Dani Perry to gain a 2-0 lead over the Tommies.
The Tommies gained momentum in the third period after forward Alyssa Wallace scored with 11:25 to go.
“I think it really just shifted the energy. People started going harder and we knew we had to finish it off,” Wallace said.
The Tommies continued to rally and were able to capitalize off Hamline’s penalties.
Forward Maddy Fiedler scored with 7:43 left and forward Anna Solheim scored the game winner off a power play goal in the final 52 seconds of regulation.
With Hamline ranked second behind St. Thomas in conference and No. 4 nationally, the game was destined to be a good test for both teams.
“Hamline is a big rival. Coming into this game we knew we had to get the job done, so everyone came into this game focused and ready to go,” Wallace said. “I’m really glad our team could pull it off.”
It is likely the Pipers will be seeking revenge going into tomorrow’s match up, but the Tommies are up for the challenge.
“Emotionally it’s going to be tough for both teams, but you gotta find a way. We don’t want our streak to end and I’m sure they want to break it so it’s going to be a battle again,” Palkowski said.
The Tommies finish their regular season play with a rematch against Hamline Saturday at the TRIA rink in St. Paul at 2 p.m.
Carly Noble can be reached at nobl1781@stthomas.edu