Quinnipiac wins Nutmeg Classic
No. 4 Quinnipiac took home its second consecutive Nutmeg Classic Championship and the program’s sixth overall by dropping a couple of ECAC foes. In the title game, the Bobcats defeated No. 5 Clarkson, 3-1. After Taylar Cianfarano opened the scoring 8:32 into the contest, they held the lead the rest of the way. Emma Woods and Morgan Fritz-Ward had a goal and an assist, while Amanda Titus had the lone tally for the Golden Knights. Woods garnered MVP honors while Chelsea Laden was named Most Valuable Goaltender.
In the opener of the event hosted by Connecticut, the Bobcats handled Yale, 5-2, building a 3-0 lead through two periods on goals by Meghan Turner, Woods, and Fritz-Ward, and coasting home. Nicole Kosta and Erica Udén Johansson had multi-point games with a goal and an assist. The Bulldogs’ silver lining was being the first team this season to score more than once against Quinnipiac, as Stephanie Mock and Phoebe Staenz found the net.
Clarkson reached the final in more dramatic fashion, coming from behind to squeak by Connecticut in overtime, 2-1. Junior Shannon MacAulay produced both goals, giving her a new career high with 14. Those tallies overcame a determined effort by junior Elaine Chuli, who recorded 51 saves for the Huskies. Kayla Campero had opened the scoring just beyond the midpoint of regulation, before MacAulay finally got a puck by Chuli a period later.
Connecticut took third-place honors with a 3-1 triumph over Yale. Kelly Harris and Madison Badeau put the Huskies ahead after Staenz had scored on an early power play, and Emily Snodgrass added the exclamation point with a short-handed tally into an empty net. Chuli made another 32 stops to earn the win.
Eagles humble Harvard
No. 7 Harvard was able to match No. 1 Boston College goal for goal — for the game’s first 25 minutes. At that point, the Eagles cranked their offense to a higher gear, and the Crimson could only stand and watch. Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa turned in identical two-goal, four-assist gems to highlight the 10-2 trouncing. Kenzie Kent and Dana Trivigno also scored twice, and three-point games came off the sticks of Kate Leary, Tori Sullivan, and Kate Leary.
BC opened its week with a 4-0 shutout of Yale, thanks to 18 saves by Katie Burt. The Eagles unleashed a 56-shot barrage, and Emily Pfalzer, Emily Field, Meghan Grieves, and Skarupa scored.
A split, but only Brown gets a cup
Brown and Providence played a home-and-home series, with the hosts winning in comeback fashion each day, but the Bears earn greater bragging rights by taking the battle for the Mayor’s Cup. Blair Parent’s first collegiate goal gave the Friars a third-period lead, but Sam Donovan responded for Brown minutes later. Kaitlyn Keon netted the winning goal with just under three minutes left. Monica Elvin turned away 32 shots to backstop the 2-1 victory.
On Saturday, Maddie Woo opened the scoring for Brown, and then netted her second of the game while short-handed at 11:48 of the final period to level the game at 2-2. Cassidy Carels struck for Providence with 4:31 left, and Beth Hanrahan’s second goal of the day sealed the 4-2 win for the Friars into an empty net. Liv Halvorson had a goal and an assist.
Others doing the splits
No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth dropped the opener at No. 10 Bemidji State, 4-1, but salvaged the second game, 2-0. Brittni Mowat rejected 31 shots to aid the Beavers to the win; Kristine Grenier and Ivana Bilic answered with first-period goals after Brigette Lacquette gave UMD an early lead. Kayla Black made 19 of her 32 saves in a busy second period to enable Zoe Hickel’s goal just after the conclusion of an early power play to stand up. Meghan Huertas added an empty-net goal.
RIT visited Rensselaer, and the two teams traded wins by three-goal margins. RPI took the opener, 4-1, for just its second victory of the year. Ali Svoboda had a goal and an assist; Laura Horwood, Kathryn Schilter, and Whitney Renn each had a pair of helpers. Kelly O’Brien turned in 26 saves. The Tigers bounced back with a 3-0 win and a 20-save shutout for Jetta Rackleff. Celeste Brown sandwiched a pair of goals around one from Marissa Maugeri, with Lindsay Grigg contributing two primary assists.
Syracuse and Lindenwood remain deadlocked for second place in the CHA after splitting a series in St. Charles, Mo. Jessica Sibley scored with three minutes gone and Jenn Gilligan made 19 saves to give the Orange a 1-0 win in the first match. The Lions got goals from Shara Jasper and Brooke Peden and 32 saves by Nicole Hensley in a 2-1 response on Saturday.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
Quinnipiac started its week with a 2-0 blanking of Princeton, Laden’s national-best eighth shutout of the year. Shiann Darkangelo and Cydney Roesler provided the offense.
Ann-Renée Desbiens turned in a pair of 5-0 shutouts for No. 3 Wisconsin at New Hampshire, boosting her total to six for the season. She assisted on her team’s first goal of the weekend, one of a dozen Badgers to get into the scoring column in the opener. Sydney McKibbon and Annie Pankowski each netted a pair of goals to complete the sweep.
Amanda Makela kept herself in the middle of the shutouts race, helping No. 8 Mercyhurst whitewash Colgate twice, 3-0 and 1-0. In the first game, Emily Janiga furnished a goal and two assists, while her linemates Sarah Robello and Jenna Dingeldein both scored and assisted. Janiga scored the lone goal, her 13th of the season, with less than two minutes remaining in the second game.
No. 2 Minnesota recorded three wins on the week, defeating St. Cloud State on Monday, 5-0, and getting a road sweep at Princeton by 2-1 and 5-2 scores. Kelly Pannek had her first hat trick in the win over the Huskies. Maryanne Menefee and Hannah Brandt scored in both wins over the Tigers. Kelsey Koelzer earned points in all three tallies by Princeton.
No. 6 Boston University posted a road 4-2 decision over Dartmouth. Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice and added an assist. Sarah Lefort and Lillian Ribeirinha-Braga had a goal and an assist; Laura Stacey equaled that for the Big Green.
Harvard regrouped on Saturday with a 4-3 win at Northeastern. Hayley Scamurra capitalized twice on power plays to get the Huskies out of the blocks first, but Miye D’Oench and Lexie Laing had the Crimson even by the first intermission. After Denisa Krížová put Northeastern up once more to open the third period, Sydney Daniels and Hillary Crowe found the net to give Harvard the only lead that lasted.
Other action
Maine kept itself in the thick of the Hockey East race by sweeping Vermont, 3-0 and 2-1. On home ice, the Catamounts were able to restore some order defensively, only to discover that their offense had vanished. Meghann Treacy was a big reason why, stopping 69 of 70 shots on the weekend, including a 38-save shutout. Audra Richards had a goal and a helper in each win.
Ohio State defeated Robert Morris, 5-1, in a single game in Moon Township, Pa. The Buckeyes took a five-goal lead before Leah Carlson and goalie Jessica Dodds combined to deny Stacy Danczak a shutout. Kayla Sullivan had two goals and an assist; Melani Moylan and Sara Schmitt added goals in two-point efforts.
North Dakota celebrated its first sweep since the second week of the season, 6-1 and 3-1 over St. Cloud State. Josefine Jakobsen and Gracen Hirschy scored twice in game one. Becca Kohler’s five-point weekend included goals in both games.
