Eagles take round one
No. 1 Boston College edged No. 4 Boston University in the first of at least three meetings of the two clubs, 4-3. The Eagles came back from 2-0 and 3-2 holes, winning on Tori Sullivan’s second goal of the night. Emily Pfalzer had three assists, but she was injured in the final minute on a hit from behind by BU’s Kayla Tutino, a play that drew a one-game suspension from Hockey East. Marie-Philip Poulin led the Terriers with a goal and an assist.
BC concluded its week by pounding Northeastern in both ends of a home-and-home series, 7-3 and 9-1. In Saturday’s game at Northeastern, Megan Keller, Alex Carpenter, and Haley Skarupa all finished with a goal and two assists. Back in Chestnut Hill on Sunday, Pfalzer returned to the line-up with a goal and two assists, while Kate Leary and Meghan Grieves had two-goal games.
Gophers edge closer to Wisconsin in WCHA
No. 3 Wisconsin visited No. 2 Minnesota in a series that drew 5,169 fans and promised to go a long way to determining the outcome of the WCHA race. As in the first series in Madison, the Gophers took the opener by scoring the final three goals in a 4-1 victory. Hannah Brandt scored two of them and assisted on the third.
The Badgers ended a 14-game losing streak versus Minnesota with a 1-1 tie on Sunday. Karley Sylvester gave Wisconsin a lead late in the second period, but Brandt tied it at 13:28 of the third period. Ann-Renée Desbiens finished with 29 saves; Amanda Leveille stopped 32 shots. Brandt scored again in the shootout to give the Gophers five of a possible six points on the weekend and leave them one behind the Badgers.
The Gophers also defeated St. Lawrence, 5-1, on Tuesday, with Rachael Bona netting two goals and adding an assist.
Another power emerges
No. 6 Harvard continued to surge. The Crimson opened their week with an 8-2 thumping of Connecticut on Tuesday, followed with a 7-1 taming of Union, and finished by putting away Rensselaer, 4-1. Sydney Daniels scored in each period versus the Huskies to complete her hat trick. Lexie Laing tallied twice in each of the three games and had nine points for the week.
Final squad finds victory column
Minnesota State got its first win of the season on Wednesday at Lindenwood. Anna Keys gave the Mavericks a lead 9:47 in. A tally by Hannah Davidson and the first collegiate goal for Amanda Conway pushed the advantage to 3-0 early in the second period. Carrie Atkinson’s response for the Lions was negated by a power-play goal by Kathleen Rogan, yielding a 4-1 final. Erin Krichiver made 26 saves in earning her first victory of the campaign, and Nicole Schammel had a couple of assists.
After a day off, MSU made it two straight over Lindenwood with a come-from-behind, 3-2 win on Friday. Jordyn Constance struck early in each of the first two periods, her first goal coming with only 21 seconds elapsed. However, Conway and Davidson scored to tie the game heading into the second intermission, and Emma Wittchow’s marker with under 12 minutes to play proved decisive. Schammel was the only Maverick with multiple points for the second straight contest with two more helpers.
The Lions salvaged the final of the rare three-game series, 3-1. Lyndsay Kirkham scored twice, both assisted by Shara Jasper, who had the other Lions goal. Nicole Hensley made 26 saves.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 10 (tie) Ohio State celebrated moving into the rankings with a road sweep at St. Cloud State, 3-1 and 4-0. Julia McKinnon had the game-winning goal and an assist in the opener. Kari Schmitt scored twice on Saturday, giving her three for the series, as Kassidy Sauve picked up a 17-save shutout.
Cornell, the other newcomer at No. 10, played back-to-back ties on home ice. The Big Red had to come from two down to salvage a 3-3 draw with St. Lawrence, winning the special teams battle with two power-play tallies by Brianne Jenner and a short-hander from Hanna Bunton. The Saints offset that with even-strength goals from Jacqueline Wand, Kailee Heidersbach, and Ellie Williams and 33 saves by Brooke Wolejko. Cassandra Poudrier gave Cornell a third-period lead over No. 8 Clarkson, but Erin Ambrose netted an equalizer on a power play. The game ended 1-1. Paula Voorheis (40 saves) was kept twice as busy as Shea Tiley, who stopped 20 for the Golden Knights.
Clarkson started its week with a 3-1 defeat of Colgate. Shannon MacAulay, Olivia Howe, and Christine Lambert scored, the last into an empty net.
No. 5 Quinnipiac rattled off three wins. The Bobcats outlasted Princeton, 3-1. Lindsey West and Emma Woods forged a lead. Molly Contini cut it in half for the Tigers, but Shiann Darkangelo provided a dagger into an open net. Chelsea Laden needed only nine saves for her 11th shutout, 3-0 over Brown. Erica Uden Johansson, Cydney Roesler, and Darkangelo had goals. Taylar Cianfarano had her first hat trick as a Bobcat and the team’s first of the season in a 4-1 victory over Yale.
Boston University defeated Maine, 5-3. Victoria Bach led the effort with a goal and two helpers.
No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth split with visiting Bemidji State. The Beavers took the opener, 4-1. Kaitlyn Tougas led all scorers with a goal and an assist, and Brittni Mowat made 37 saves. She made another 37 stops on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs bounced back with a 2-1 win, thanks to Kayla Black’s 23 saves. Brienna Gillanders scored the winning goal in the final minute of the second period.
Other action
Providence had its best week of the season, tying Rensselaer, 3-3, on the road, and sweeping a home-and-home series with New Hampshire. Versus the Engineers, Beth Hanrahan assisted on one goal and scored the other two, including the tying goal with less than five minutes remaining. She scored in both games versus the Wildcats and added two more helpers. Allie Morse stopped 43 of 45 shots in the 3-1 and 4-1 victories.
Connecticut also got a key Hockey East sweep, stopping Vermont by 5-1 and 4-3 scores. In the opener, Elaine Chuli matched the program single-game record with 55 saves. Emily Snodgrass scored twice. On Sunday, Chuli got the day off and Annie Belanger made 37 stops to earn the win as the Huskies came from two down. Sarah MacDonnell scored the winning goal with just over five minutes to play.
Melissa Kueber and Lauren Wildfang scored second-period goals in support of Ashlynne Rando’s 29-save shutout as Colgate dropped Syracuse, 2-0.
Syracuse earned a split at North Dakota with a 2-1 win on Sunday. Jenn Gilligan came through with 44 saves as the Orange took a 2-0 lead and held on. Melissa Piacentini and Stephanie Grossi figured in both goals. Layla Marvin scored twice in UND’s 4-1 win in the opener.
Robert Morris split at RIT, taking the first game, 2-0. Jessica Dodds had a 34-save shutout and Rebecca Vint scored the winning goal. The Tigers jumped to a quick lead on goals by Marissa Maugeri and Cassie Clayton on their way to a 3-2 win.
Dartmouth took road games at Rensselaer, 3-0, and Union, 3-1. Robyn Chemago’s 20 saves and Kennedy Ottenbreit’s pure hat trick dropped the Engineers. Ottenbreit tallied again and Sam Zeiss had a goal and an assist to overcome the Dutchwomen.
Princeton took two ECAC games on home ice. Jaimie McDonell and Ali Pankowski scored early goals, Kimberly Newell made 31 saves, and the Tigers cruised to a 4-1 win over Yale. Maddie Woo opened the scoring for Brown, but Princeton took over from that point and won, 5-1. Alysia DaSilva made 23 saves in earning her third win in as many starts, and Molly Contini and Kelsey Koelzer had three-point games.
St. Lawrence wrapped up its busy week with a 3-1 win at Colgate, leading all the way after Kayla Raniwsky’s goal 3:57 into the game.
