John Smillie

Women's Ice Hockey Faces Albertus Magnus In First-Ever UCHC Playoff Game

By Brianna Harzula, Athletics Communications Assistant

2/24/2026 9:11:00 AM

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No. 5 St. John Fisher (12-12-1, 7-6-1 UCHC)

Head Coach: Scott McDonald (1st season at Fisher, 13th overall)

Career Record: 217-166-30

No. 4 Albertus Magnus (15-9-1, 8-6 UCHC)

Head Coach: Steve Novodor (3rd season)

Career Record: 28-29-7

How They Got Here

No. 5 St. John Fisher: The inaugural season for the Cardinals showed strong potential for the young squad, as Fisher finished 12-12-1 overall and 7-6-1 in UCHC play. The Cardinals opened conference play with three losses and a tie against the league's top two teams, with the tie coming against Elmira. Fisher then put together a four-game conference winning streak in late January. Down the stretch, the Cardinals secured two key series splits and swept Hilbert to close out conference play, earning the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament.

No. 4 Albertus Magnus: With two losses from Nazareth this past weekend and Utica sweeping Chatham, the Falcons earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. Albertus Magnus finished 15-9-1 overall and 8-6 in UCHC play.

St. John Fisher vs Albertus Magnus History

Series Snapshot: The Cardinals are 1-1 against the Falcons, with their last matchup happening in the middle of February.

Postseason Meeting: Wednesday's contest will mark the first-ever postseason game for the Cardinals.

Last Meeting: The two teams met in mid-February and split the series. The Cardinals claimed game one with a 2-1 win, as Keira Reckley scored both goals. Brynn Bacak made 29 saves in the net, allowing just one goal. The following day, the Falcons took game two with a 4-1 victory. Molly Martin led Albertus Magnus with two points on a goal and an assist. Christmas Johnson earned the win in goal with 17 saves.

Matchup Notes

St. John Fisher leads the conference with a .937 save percentage.
Albertus Magnus ranks third in the conference in goals scored and goals per game with 64 goals (2.56 per game), with Fisher close behind at 55 goals (2.20 per game).
The Falcons are third in power-player percentage, converting 19 of 98 opportunities (.194).
The Cardinals have taken a league-high 110 penalties, averaging 4.40 per game.

St. John Fisher Players To Watch

Keira Reckley (St. John Fisher, Fr., Forward) – Reckley leads the team with 20 points and 12 goals … She ranks seventh in the conference in goals … She has recorded seven multi-point games this season … Reckley has scored four game-winning goals, tied for second in the conference.

Sophie Grant (St. John Fisher, Fr., Forward) – Grant has recorded 17 points on eight goals and nine assists … She leads the team with 270 faceoff wins, ranking fourth in the conference … She has scored three power-play goals this season, tied for seventh in the conference.

Brynn Bacak (St. John Fisher, Fr., Goaltender) – Rookie goaltender Bacak has made 652 saves with a .937 save percentage … She has recorded four shutouts … She has made 30 or more saves in 10 games this season … She ranks second in the conference in save percentage … Fourth in the conference in saves per game (29.64) … Fifth in the conference in goal-against average (2.03).

UCHC Tournament Central

The six-team 2026 UCHC Women's Hockey Championship Tournament will take place with first round action (3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5) on Wednesday, Feb. 25, Semifnals (1 vs. lowest seeded first round winner, 2 vs. highest seeded first round winner) on Saturday, Feb. 28 and the Championship game on Saturday, March 7. The UCHC Champion receives an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament.

Site: Higher Seeds for all games

Information:

For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the UCHC on X and Instagram (@UCHCHockey).

2026 UCHC Women’s Hockey Championship Participants

No. 1 – Nazareth (24-0-1, 14-0-0 UCHC, 42 points)

No. 2 – Elmira (17-5-2, 11-2-1 UCHC, 35 points)

No. 3 – Utica (9-15-1, 8-6-0 UCHC, 24 points)

No. 4 – Albertus Magnus (15-9-1, 8-6-0 UCHC, 23 points)

No. 5 – St. John Fisher (12-12-1, 7-6-1 UCHC, 22 points)

No. 6 – Manhattanville (5-19-1, 5-9-0 UCHC, 16 points)

2026 UCHC Women's Hockey Championship Tournament Schedule

Wednesday, February 25 (First Round)