ADRIAN, Mich. — Hunter Reardon scored 2:09 into sudden-death overtime to lift No. 1-seeded Adrian to a 4-3 victory over St. Norbert in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Slaats Cup Championship on Saturday at Arrington Ice Arena.
The victory marks the Bulldogs’ 10th conference tournament title in program history. It was the second-consecutive overtime championship game between the two programs. With the win, Adrian earns the NCHA's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Tournament.
Reardon’s game-winner capped a sequence of three rapid-fire attempts in the St. Norbert zone. After a shot from the left side was turned away by Keira Markell and a second attempt was blocked, Reardon corralled the loose puck and found the back of the net to end the stalemate.
The game-winner was a masterclass in persistence, as the Bulldogs pushed deep into the zone during the second minute of the extra frame to ignite a home-ice celebration.
Adrian initially appeared to be in control after jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Tournament MVP Paige Pomerleau opened the scoring at the 10:13 mark, followed by an Ava Mattaliano goal four minutes later.
St. Norbert responded with a resilient power play. Maddie Madden cut the lead to 2-1 in the second period before Adrian’s Hannah Markovich restored the two-goal cushion on a power play of her own. The Green Knights narrowed the gap again before the second intermission on a goal by Hannah Grabianowski.
A defensive struggle defined the third period until St. Norbert’s Tristan Wicklund beat Adrian goaltender Kiera Stack with seven minutes remaining in regulation, knotting the score at 3-3.
Adrian (24-5-0) now awaits its seeding in the national tournament, while St. Norbert (18-9-2) sees its season likely come to a close.
Following the trophy presentation, the NCHA announced the All-Tournament team.
Slaats Cup All-Tournament Team
Forward: Riley Johnson (Adrian)
Forward: Courtney Ben (Adrian)
Forward: Emma Simon (Adrian)
Defense: Claire Healy (St. Norbert)
Defense: Sydney Zurawik (St. Norbert)
Goalie: Kiera Stack (Adrian)
MVP: Paige Pomerleau (Adrian)