Tate Senden

Tate Senden of Palmer gets props for her jersey number alone – she wears her Alaska pride on her back as No. 49 for the Colby College women’s hockey team.

She’ll get to pull on that jersey at least one more time.

Senden, a senior right wing, furnished an assist and a game high-tying plus-3 rating Wednesday night, when Colby beat Norwich, 5-2, in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Division III hockey championships.

Colby (18-7-0), which extended its program record for wins and won an NCAA tournament game for the first time, advances to play at Amherst (24-3-0) in a quarterfinal game Saturday.

Colby on Wednesday scored in the opening minute, racked three first-period goals and led 5-0 in the third period before Norwich responded.

Senden, who fired two shots on goal, leads Colby this season with a plus-30 rating. Also, with 9-14—23 totals in 25 games, she is tied for second on the team in goals and is solo second in assists and points.

Back surgery limited Senden to 10 games as a freshman in 2019-20 and COVID-19 reduced Colby to just two games in her sophomore season of 2020-21. Thus, her junior year in 2021-22 amounted to her first full season of college pucks, and she responded with 7-3—10 totals in 18 games to rank fifth on the team in goals and seventh in points.

In 43 games this season and last, Senden has generated 16-17—33 totals.

Senden is on pace to graduate with a bachelor’s of science in geology, with minors in physics and data science, and has been accepted into UAF’s master’s program in geophysics, according to her father, Ty.

In other NCAA women’s D-III action Wednesday, Nazareth (22-6-1), which features three Alaskans, was eliminated, 3-1, by Hamilton in the first round.

McKinley Hoff

Golden Flyers goaltender McKinley Hoff of Anchorage stopped 24 of 27 shots. The junior finished the season 16-5-1 with a 1.15 goals-against average and .937 save percentage, and eight shutouts.

Nazareth sophomore defenseman Sydney Swanson of Anchorage , who earned an even rating Wednesday, closed the campaign with 1-12—13 totals and a plus-16 rating in 22 games. And freshman forward Corsica Skibinski of Anchorage finished 4-8—12 and plus-12 in 26 games.

Meanwhile, in the men’s Division I Hockey East tournament Wednesday, senior defenseman Cam McDonald of Eagle River and Providence (15-13-7) advanced by beating visiting New Hampshire, 2-1 in overtime. The Friars have gone into OT 13 times this season, which leads the nation.

McDonald fired two shots and delivered a plus-1 rating. He owns 1-5—6 totals and a plus-7 rating in 35 games. He’s also been credited with 48 blocked shots to rank second on the team.

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