by Joshua Weinreb
Plattsburgh State University of New York entered its Jan. 31 matchup against Elmira College as the defending national champion with an undefeated record.
By the end of that weekend, though, Plattsburgh State had been handed its first two losses of the season – both at the hands of its conference rival, Elmira.
Nearly two months later, when Elmira defeated the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in the semifinals to earn a spot in the Division III championship game against Plattsburgh State, the Cardinals were granted a chance at redemption. They had already knocked off Elmira in a conference championship clash and had a chance to pay them back for the second loss in the national championship final.
They made the most of that opportunity: Plattsburgh State defeated Elmira, 3-2, avenging their only two losses of the season and capturing the Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship. The national title marked the Cardinals’ fourth in program history, the most in Division III women’s ice hockey.
“I thought it was a tremendous hockey game that certainly could have gone either way,” Elmira head coach Dean Jackson told the Elmira Star-Gazette. “Our team fought all the way to the end and did everything we could, so I’m proud of them.”
Plattsburgh State head coach Kevin Houle, who took over the program in 2003, led the Cardinals to all four of their national titles, as well as five conference titles. Houle also has earned five National Coach of the Year citations and holds a 287-42-22 career record, best among all active women’s ice hockey coaches.
