The 2004 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament was a tournament to determine the Division III national champion in women's ice hockey. This was the fifth time a national championship tournament at the Division III level had been held and was the third one sanctioned by the NCAA.
Format[]
Seven teams qualify for the single elimination tournament. The conference tournament champions of the ECAC East, ECAC West, MIAC, and NESCAC received automatic bids to the tournament. Three at-large bids were also selected, two of which come from the aforementioned automatic-qualifier conferences. The Manhattanville Valiants were the top seed, earning a bye to the semifinals. However, Manhattanville was not eligible to host the semifinal and final rounds, as their arena, Playland Ice Casino, did not meet NCAA hosting standards. The first round games were held at campus sites on March 12 and 13. The semifinal and final rounds were held March 19 and 20 at Chip Kenyon '85 Arena of Middlebury College, the highest remaining seed in the tournament, after Manhattanville.
Bids[]
Automatic Bids[]
- Eastern College Athletic Conference East champion: Manhattanville Valiants (3rd appearance)
- Eastern College Athletic Conference West champion: Elmira Soaring Eagles (3rd appearance)
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion: Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties (2nd appearance^)
- New England Small College Athletic Conference champion: Bowdoin Polar Bears (3rd appearance)
At-Large Bids[]
Pool B (Teams from non-AQ conferences)[]
- Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers - NCHA* (1st appearance)
Pool C (Non-champs from all conferences)[]
- Middlebury Panthers - NESCAC (3rd appearance^^)
- Plattsburgh Cardinals - ECAC West (1st appearance)
^^ = Middlebury appeared in the 2 AWCHA tournaments that predated the NCAA tournament
^ = Gustavus appeared in 1 of 2 AWCHA tournaments that predated the NCAA tournament
* = NCHA did not receive an automatic bid with only five teams, making them a pool B conference
Misc.[]
- This is the 5th of 10 consecutive national postseason appearances (AWCHA or NCAA) for Middlebury.
- This is the 3rd of 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Manhattanville.
- This is the 3rd of 5 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Elmira.
- This is the 3rd of 4 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Bowdoin.
- This is the 1st of 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Gustavus.
- This is the 1st of 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Plattsburgh.
- This is the 1st of 4 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for UW-Stevens Point.
- This was the first Women's DIII Frozen Four where the top seed did not host.
Seeds[]
East
- Manhattanville (23-2-2)
- Middlebury (21-4-0)
- Plattsburgh (20-5-2)
- Bowdoin (20-4-1)
- Elmira (18-7-2)
West
- Gustavus (22-5-0)
- UW-Stevens Point (17-6-4)
Results[]
First Round[]
Held at campus sites
-Chip Kenyon `85 Arena - Middlebury, VT
| Friday, March 12, 2004 7 PM ET |
||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| E5) Elmira | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| E2) Middlebury | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
-Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena - Plattsburgh, NY
| Saturday, March 13, 2004 3:30 PM ET |
||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| E4) Bowdoin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| E3) Plattsburgh | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
-Don Roberts Ice Rink - St. Peter, MN
| Saturday, March 13, 2004 7 PM CT |
||||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | OT2 | Final | |
| W2) UW-Stevens Point | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| W1) Gustavus | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Semifinals[]
Hosted by Middlebury College: Chip Kenyon '85 Arena- Middlebury, VT
| Friday, March 19, 2004 3:30 PM ET |
||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| W2) UW-Stevens Point | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| E1) Manhattanville | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Friday, March 19, 2004 7 PM ET |
||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| E3) Plattsburgh | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| E2) Middlebury | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Third Place[]
Hosted by Middlebury College: Chip Kenyon '85 Arena- Middlebury, VT
| Saturday, March 20, 2004 3:30 PM ET |
||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| E3) Plattsburgh | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| E1) Manhattanville | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Championship[]
Hosted by Middlebury College: Chip Kenyon '85 Arena- Middlebury, VT
| Saturday, March 20, 2004 7:00 PM ET |
||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| W2) UW-Stevens Point | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| E2) Middlebury | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Bracket[]
Tournament Notes[]
- Middlebury wins their first (NCAA) national title as a program, though they had previously won the 2 AWCHA national championships that were held.
- The UW-Stevens Point @ Gustavus First Round game was the first game in Division III women's ice hockey NCAA tournament history to go to double overtime.
- This was the first NCAA tournament in which a western team reached the title game.
- As of 2021-22, the 2004 tournament remains UW-Stevens Point's highest national finish. (2nd)
Statistics[]
Skaters[]
| Player | Team | Pos. | Yr. | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jenn Clarke | Plattsburgh | F | So. | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Lorna Gifis | Middlebury | F | Jr. | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Kim Linneborg | UW-Stevens Point | F | So. | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Elizabeth Gibson | Plattsburgh | F | Jr. | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Liz Yale-Loehr | Middlebury | F | So. | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ann Ninnemann | UW-Stevens Point | F | Jr. | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Andrea Peterson | Gustavus | D | Fr. | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Melissa Hawkins | Manhattanville | F | Sr. | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Jean Butler | Middlebury | F | Sr. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Abby Kurtz-Phelan | Middlebury | F | Fr. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Liz Goergen | UW-Stevens Point | F | Jr. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Ashley Howe | UW-Stevens Point | F | Jr. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jackie Schmitt | UW-Stevens Point | F | Jr. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Chantalle Rye | Plattsburgh | D | So. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Emily McNamara | Middlebury | D | Fr. | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tracy Truckey | UW-Stevens Point | F | So. | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Goaltending[]
| Player | Team | Yr. | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kate Kogut | Middlebury | So. | 3 | 3 | 0 | 61 | 3 | 1.00 | .951 | 0 | 180:00 |
| Amy Statz | UW-Stevens Point | Fr. | 3 | 2 | 1 | 97 | 5 | 1.46 | .948 | 0 | 205:51 |
| Carolyne Roy | Plattsburgh | Jr, | 3 | 2 | 1 | 51 | 5 | 1.68 | .902 | 0 | 178:30 |
All-Tournament Team[]
- F: Jenn Clarke- Plattsburgh
- F: Lorna Gifis- Middlebury
- F: Ann Ninnemann- UW-Stevens Point
- D: Rose Babst- Middlebury
- D: Jean Butler- Middlebury
- G: Amy Statz- UW-Stevens Point