Kourtney Kunichika

Transcription

>>For the second straight year, Rochester, N.Y., was the site of the Division III women's ice hockey championships. Last year on this ice, Norwich University won its first women's national hockey title. Back in town, the Cadets looked for the repeat and they faced Gustavus Adolphus again in the semifinals. Tied at 3 in regulation, the game was settled for minutes into overtime. Senior Julie Fortier directed the shot past the goalie to send the Cadets back to the title game. The other semifinal was also in overtime thriller. On their home ice, Rochester Institute of Technology skated against their New York rivals Plattsburgh State. The game-winning goal came two minutes into the extra period. Ariane Yokoyama hit Lindsay Grigg with a perfect pass, and the freshman put the puck home to set up the title game rematch with Norwich. For Yokoyama, the 2-1 win was a moment to savor. >>CROWD: R-I-T! R-I-T! >>ARIANE YOKOYAMA: It's an honor to be a final four contestant but also playing against your rival team, it just ups the level of the competition so much more. And winning it is just the best thing that can ever happen pretty much. >>A Tigers team captain, Yokoyama's assists are not just limited to the ice. The junior forward helped RIT recruit two friends from California. Forward Kourtney Kunichika and goalie Laura Chamberlain. >>ARIANE YOKOYAMA: I brought my best friend. I played with her since I was 8 in roller hockey. She was actually getting recruited by a couple of DI schools, but I persuaded her to come to RIT. And Laura, she also played roller hockey with us, me and Kourtney kind of worked on her to come to RIT with us. >>KOURTNEY KUNICHIKA: My best friend Ariane, she got the assist today on the winning goal. We just get along really well. There's a connection that we have, and it's amazing to play with my best friend. >>LAURA CHAMBERLAIN: I was about 14 years old and I switched over and started playing with them, so it's kind of nice to be on their team instead of playing against them. >>COACH SCOTT McDONALD: With Ariane coming in first during her freshman year, she was telling me about her friends back home and that were dynamite players that weren't getting the looks that they were looking for, and we went and pursued them aggressively and they ended up coming. >>Now RIT must aggressively pursue Norwich, the team that once again stands between the Tigers and a first national championship. The relaxed defending champions feast on big challenges. With another RIT title showdown on the menu, Norwich's NCAA Division III Player of the Year Julie Fortier gets ready for the final game of her stellar college career. >>JULIE FORTIER: I couldn't ask for a better senior year. The team's playing well. We came all together. We have good team chemistry and we have a lot of talent. So I'm not worried for next year. They're going to have a good team for a couple years to come. >>Last year, Norwich defeated RIT 5-2 in the championship game to win its first national hockey crown but that was then, this is now. >>CROWD: RIT, RIT, RIT, RIT, RIT >>The vocal tiger fans had their game faces on, the Ritter roar was in full force and the RIT players matched the energy of their fans, creating a flurry of chances that tested Norwich goalie, Kelly Fisk. But Fisk denied the tigers early visage. At the other end of the ice, tigers net minder, Laura Chamberlain was also at the top of her game. Midway through the first period, RIT broke the deadlock. All American defenseman Kristina Moss scoring on the power play put the tigers up 1 to nothing. >>[cheering] >>The celebration was short lived though, division 3's highest scoring team, the cadets soon demonstrated why. Jackie Perez charging the net to Julie Hall for the rebound to tie the game at 1. In the second period, the Cadets offense could only get off 4 shots as RIT dominated. But Fisk in the Norwich goal makes 12 saves to keep her team in the game. But the Fisk dam finally broke just over a minute into the third period. Celeste Brown took a perfect feed from Kourtney Kunichika to put the tigers ahead 2 to 1. Midway through the third, Brown returned the favor, her hustle, setting up the chance for Kunichika to double the tiger's lead. Norwich's Julie Fortier tried to rally her team but the RIT defense kept the nation's lead scorer bottled up all night. For the All American senior, her final game was a frustrating experience. For the high-flying tigers it was anything but frustrating. RIT's historic evening was capped by Ali Hills, this senior slamming home a rebound from the slot to extend the tigers lead to 4-1. The only thing left was for the scoreboard clock to completely the countdown to history. And when it did, RIT's first ever women's national hockey title celebration got underway. >>[cheering] >>It was a moment of jubilation many of these players had waited a year for, including the tiger's ice cold California sisterhood. >>KOURTNEY KUNICHIKA: I mean everyone scored today, it wasn't just us, it was the whole team we all looked out for each other, it was great. >>COACH SCOTT MCDONALD: We worked so hard for that, I'm kinda at a loss for words. It was just so fun watching our girls play tonight.