“I needed to get that goal back. I needed redemption,” Yeager said.
The win left the Cadets at 7-2-1 and secured passage to the semifinals along with top-seeded Georgetown Visitation (9-0-1). Stone Ridge fell to 6-3 and will be the No. 3 seed.
“Having the extra day off … will be a pretty big advantage,” St. John’s Coach David Sauer said. “We can spend that time preparing instead of having to play.”
It’s possible the Cadets will be preparing for a rematch with the Gators, who will meet No. 6 seed St. Mary’s Ryken in the quarterfinals.
Stone Ridge controlled play in the first period but could not capitalize. St. John’s made the Gators pay when Woodhouse scored her first goal with the Cadets shorthanded.
St. John’s held Stone Ridge in check for most of the second period, but the Gators finally answered in the closing moments with Addie Shannon’s league-leading 21st goal.
Sauer told his team to stick with what had gotten it to that point.
“There’s a lot of hockey left. We just have to keep on going,” Sauer said. “The girls responded well.”
Key to that response was Cadets goalie Alejandra Neal, who stopped 25 of the 26 shots sent her way and was under constant pressure, especially in the final period.
“It’s definitely very nerve-racking, but you have to stay calm,” she said. “Even if a goal is let in, you have to [stay] collected.”
When the final buzzer sounded, the Cadets celebrated their seniors in front of the net while they pivot to what they hope will be a deep playoff run.
“We’ve really grown together [as a team],” Woodhouse said. “If we play how we played today — just with a little higher intensity. If we fix up the mistakes that we had, I think we can win.”