2009 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 2009 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 tenth time a national championship tournament at the Division III level had been held and was the eighth 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, NCHA, and NESCAC received automatic bids to the tournament. Two at-large bids were also selected. This is the first year in which the NCHA earned its own automatic bid, as the conference was in its second full season with seven teams. Because of a geographical divide and NCAA first round travel restrictions, the top team in the eastern region received a bye into the semifinals, rather than the top overall seed (Gustavus). Thus, the Middlebury Panthers earned a bye to the semifinals and were named host for the semifinal and final rounds, as the highest seed in the eastern region. The first round games were held at campus sites on March 14. The semifinal and final rounds were held March 20 and 21, at Chip Kenyon `85 Arena of Middlebury College.
== Bids ==
=== Automatic Bids ===
* Eastern College Athletic Conference East champion: Norwich Cadets (1st appearance)
* Eastern College Athletic Conference West champion: Elmira Soaring Eagles (7th appearance)
* Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion: Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties (7th appearance^)
* New England Small College Athletic Conference champion: Middlebury Panthers (8th appearance^^)
* Northern Collegiate Hockey Association champion: Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons (2nd appearance)
=== At-Large Bids ===
==== Pool C (Non-champs from all conferences) ====
* Amherst Lady Jeffs - NESCAC (3rd appearance)
* Plattsburgh Cardinals - ECAC West (6th 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
== Misc. ==
* Five of the seven schools who earned bids appeared in the previous season's NCAA tournament
* This is the 10th of 10 consecutive national postseason appearances (AWCHA or NCAA) for Middlebury.
* This is the 6th of 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Gustavus.
* This is the 6th of 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Plattsburgh.
* This is the 3rd of 4 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Amherst.
* This is the 2nd of 3 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Elmira.
* This is the 1st of 9 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for UW-River Falls.
* This is the 1st of 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Norwich.
* Middlebury hosts the Frozen Four for the second time in program history, the first being in 2004.
*Norwich makes the tournament in just their second year as a varsity program.
== Seeds ==
East
# Middlebury (19-3-4)
# Amherst (21-5-0)
# Elmira (22-4-1)
# Plattsburgh (22-4-2)
# Norwich (19-8-1)
West
# Gustavus (22-1-4)
# UW-River Falls (19-5-3)
== Results ==
=== First Round ===
Held at campus sites
-Orr Rink- Amherst, MA
-Don Roberts Ice Rink- St. Peter, MN
-Murray Athletic Center Arena- Horseheads, NY
=== Semifinals ===
Hosted by Middlebury College: Chip Kenyon `85 Arena- Middlebury, VT
=== Third Place ===
Hosted by Middlebury College: Chip Kenyon `85 Arena- Middlebury, VT
=== Championship ===
Hosted by Middlebury College: Chip Kenyon `85 Arena- Middlebury, VT
== Bracket ==
== Tournament Notes ==
* Amherst wins their first-ever national championship as a program.
* Elmira finishes as national runner-up for the second time in program history, the first coming in 2005.
*This becomes the first national championship game in the tournament's history to be decided in overtime.
* Gustavus loses their third straight first round game, all on home ice.
* UW-River Falls, in its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, finishes in fourth place, the same spot it finished in the 2003 tournament.
* Plattsburgh can't complete the threepeat, falling in the first round for the first time as a program.
== Statistics ==
=== Skaters ===
Top Scorers
Player 	Team 	Pos.	Yr.	GP	G	A	P
Kayla Coady 	Elmira 	F 	Sr.	3 	5	0	5
Kate Dennett 	Amherst 	F 	Jr.	3 	3	2	5
Emily Vitale 	Amherst 	F 	Fr.	3 	2	3	5
Tarasai Karega 	Amherst 	F 	Sr.	3 	1	4	5
Jenna McCall 	Elmira 	F 	Jr.	3 	0	4	4
Molly Vitt 	Middlebury 	F 	Sr.	2 	2	1	3
Heather McCormack 	Middlebury 	F 	Jr.	2 	0	3	3
Julia Koch 	Amherst 	D 	So.	3 	1	2	3
Kayleigh Bell 	UW-River Falls	D 	So.	3 	1	2	3
Stefanie Schmitz 	UW-River Falls	F 	Jr.	3 	1	2	3
Lindsey Harrington	Amherst 	F 	Sr.	3 	0	3	3
=== Goaltending ===
Top Goaltenders (minimum 90 minutes played)
Player 	Team 	Yr.	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA 	SV% 	SO	TOI
Allison Cubberley	Elmira 	Sr.	3 	2	1	84	6 	1.87	.929	1 	192:22
Krystyn Elek 	Amherst 	Jr.	3 	3	0	79	6 	1.87	.924	0 	192:22
Cassi Campbell 	UW-River Falls	So.	2 	1	1	61	4 	2.00	.934	0 	120:00
=== All-Tournament Team ===
* F: Kayla Coady- Elmira
* F: Kate Dennett- Amherst
* F: Lindsey Harrington- Amherst
* D: Kirsten Dier- Amherst
* D: Jamie Kivi- Elmira
* G: Krystyn Elek- Amherst
Category:2009 in hockey