Wisconsin gets defensive
The No. 3 Badgers seemingly haven’t given up a goal since back in the days of captain’s practice. Wisconsin blanked Minnesota State twice to run its shutout string to eight games and take sole possession of first place in the WCHA. Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens backed both of the wins, making 16 saves in Friday’s 6-0 victory and turning away 18 shots on Saturday as the Badgers cruised, 7-0. She leads the country with seven shutouts.
Six different Badgers scored on Friday, and Sophia Shaver was the only UW player with two goals on Saturday. Courtney Burke, who scored in each game, was the top point getter for the weekend with five.
Shuffling at the top
No. 7 North Dakota jettisoned No. 1 Minnesota from the unbeaten ranks with a 4-3 win on Friday. UND gave the Gophers a taste of their own medicine, using a dominant second period to seize command, including a 17-7 advantage in shots. Meghan Dufault scored a pair of goals nine seconds apart with five-plus minutes remaining in the frame to give the hosts a lead they would not relinquish. Amy Menke also struck twice for UND, while Dani Cameranesi had a goal and an assist in a losing effort.
Minnesota took the first game of the series on Thursday, 5-1, by jumping out to a 3-0 lead with 16:48 elapsed. The Gophers got goals from Caitlin Reilly and Nina Rodgers on a reconfigured third line, and five others had two-point games.
All tied up
Half of the dozen ECAC games played went to overtime, and five ended in ties.
No. 4 Clarkson avoided its first loss, but the Golden Knights didn’t win either. In fact, they didn’t even score on Friday at No. 8 Harvard, as the two squads ground out a 0-0 draw. Clarkson’s Shea Tiley and Molly Tissenbaum of the Crimson both recorded 23-save shutouts.
The next day, No. 10 Dartmouth came from three goals down after one period to tie Clarkson, 3-3. Brook Ahbe, Kennedy Ottenbreit, and Lindsey Allen scored for the Big Green in the course of 8:36 of action that spanned the second intermission, erasing the lead provided by Savannah Harmon, Geneviève Bannon, and Cayley Mercer. Robyn Chemago came on in relief for Dartmouth and slammed the door, saving all 24 shots she faced.
The Union and Rensselaer travel pair visited Colgate and Cornell, with all four contests knotted after 60 minutes.
In the only ECAC action where overtime produced a decision, Lauren Wash converted a feed from Alexa Gruschow 2:34 into OT to lift Rensselaer over Cornell, 2-1. Kaitlin Doering scored the game’s first goal at 3:05 of the third period, but Wash set up Gruschow for the equalizer 80 seconds later on a five-on-three power play. Engineers’ goalie Lovisa Selander stopped 30 of 31 shots from the Big Red.
Also on Friday, Colgate’s Shelby Perry tallied an extra-attacker, power-play goal in the final minute of regulation to tie Union, 2-2. Melissa Black made 58 saves for the Dutchwomen, who got goals from Jacyn Reeves and Kathryn Tomaselli. Jessie Eldridge, who assisted the tying goal, had the other marker for the Raiders.
Black stayed busy on Saturday in Ithaca, saving another 39 shots, but she couldn’t prevent another lead from slipping away late when Pippy Gerace and Hanna Bunton dug Cornell out of a two-goal deficit. Kelli Mackey and Jessie Kaminsky scored 70 seconds apart in the first period to give Union a lead that lasted until 5:03 remained in regulation.
Colgate also lost a two-goal lead in the third period when RPI’s Katie Rooney scored twice, the second with 2:32 left, to produce a 3-3 tie. Amanda Kimmerle also hit the net for the Engineers. The Raiders’ goals were knocked in by Bailey Larson, Shelby Perry, and Shae Labbe.
That’s a lot of hats
Kendall Coyne netted her ninth hat trick as a Husky and second this season to provide No. 9 Northeastern all of the offense it needed to down Merrimack, 5-1. Brittany Bugalski made 21 stops for the Huskies, who also got scoring from Christina Zalewski and Hayley Scamurra. Paige Voight’s fourth tally of the season was the only damage done by the Warriors.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 2 Boston College and Connecticut played a home-and-home series, with the site making little difference as the Eagles posted twin 4-0 triumphs. Katie Burt ran her shutout total to five by making 15 saves on Friday and another 11 on Saturday. BC got goals from four players on Friday; Haley Skarupa with a goal and an assist led three multi-point games. Defensemen Kali Flanagan and Megan Keller each had a goal and two helpers as the Eagles completed the sweep. Elaine Chuli recorded an even 100 saves on the weekend for the Huskies.
Another bookend sweep occurred in St. Cloud, where No. 6 Bemidji State skated past the Huskies twice by 3-1 scores. Stephanie Anderson converted twice in the third period on Friday to break open a scoreless game, with Brittni Mowat making 28 saves to best Katie Fitzgerald. Ciscely Nelson lit the lamp 2:45 into the final period to edge the Beavers ahead on Saturday. Molly Illikainen’s short-handed goal in the second period had tied the game for SCSU.
No. 5 Quinnipiac dropped from the unbeaten ranks when Yale’s Janelle Ferrara struck for goals 67 seconds apart late in the third period to give her team a 4-3 win. Cydney Roesler had put the Bobcats on top midway through the stanza on the power play, but Quinnipiac ultimately fell despite outshooting the Bulldogs, 26-9. The Bobcats enjoyed an even wider bulge in shots, 37-3, in their 4-0 win on Friday over Brown, with Taylar Cianfarano scoring twice.
Harvard got its first win of the year, 3-2, over St. Lawrence on Saturday. Haley Mullins netted the winning goal with 94 seconds remaining in regulation. Miye D’Oench potted a pair of second-period goals for the Crimson, both short-handed and on the power play. Harvard got a 28-save effort from Brianna Laing. Jenna Marks and Amanda Boulier provided the Saints’ scoring.
Dartmouth lost for the first time this year, falling to St. Lawrence, 4-2. The Big Green led 2-1 after Lindsey Allen and Ailish Forfar tallied power-play goals in the first period, but SLU flipped the decision with power-play goals of its own, by Kirsten Padalis in the first period and Alex Moore in the second. Megan Armstrong had opened the scoring in the first period for the Saints, and Amanda Boulier cemented the win into an empty net.
Other action
Princeton stayed perfect through four games, defeating Yale, 4-3, and Brown, 3-0. The Tigers took a see-saw affair over the Bulldogs on Friday when Kelsey Koelzer and Fiona McKenna scored third-period goals to earn the victory. Krista Yip-Chuck had given Yale a short-lived lead. The Tigers led throughout against Brown after Cassidy Tucker got them on the board 3:43 into the game. Alysia DaSilva earned the 16-save shutout.
Mercyhurst got its first wins of the year, sweeping RIT, 5-0 and 4-3 in overtime. Sarah Robello was the first of five Lakers to find the net on Friday, 7:26 into the middle frame. Sarah McDonnell needed only 11 saves to register her first shutout. Cassie Clayton gave the Tigers a lead 4:44 into the third period on Saturday on a power play, but Robello drew Mercyhurst even on its own power-play opportunity with 98 seconds to go. Jenna Dingeldein notched the winner 2:07 into the extra session. Rachel Smith and Sarah Hine had three-point games.
Host Lindenwood got a series win over Penn State, taking Friday’s game, 5-2. PSU took a 2-1 lead into the final period, but Shara Jasper broke loose with a hat trick for the Lions. Nicole Hensley made 33 saves to preserve the win. Micayla Catanzariti scored 4:02 into the third period to salvage a 1-1 tie for the Nittany Lions on Saturday. Lindenwood’s Britannia Gillanders opened the scoring back in the first stanza. Celine Whitlinger’s 35 saves and 31 from Hensley ensured a deadlock.
Syracuse had to settle for a split at Robert Morris. The Orange took the opener, 4-3 in overtime, when Jessica Sibley produced a winner after 62 seconds. Mikaela Lowater had tied the game for the Colonials. Alysha Burriss had two goals for Syracuse, as did Ashley Vesci of RMU. The Colonials came back on Saturday to win, 2-0, thanks to Brittany Howard’s goal at 12:59 of the final frame. She assisted on Vesci’s empty-net goal. Jessica Dodds saved all 23 Orange shots.
Maine continued the frustration for Providence, dropping the Friars in overtime, 2-1. Allyson Matteau knocked in the winning goal at 3:05, after Brooke Stacey forced overtime with an extra-attacker goal with 71 seconds left. Meghann Treacy made 29 saves for the Black Bears, allowing only Cassidy Carels’ goal.
New Hampshire got its first victory of the season, blanking Vermont, 4-0. Four different Wildcats scored in support of Vilma Vaattovaara’s 18-save shutout.
UNH was on the other side of the verdict on Sunday, falling to Boston University, 5-3. The Wildcats held a 3-1 win after goals by Julia Fedeski, Jonna Curtis, and Amy Schlagel, but a pair of goals by Sammy Davis set up Victoria Bach’s game-winner. Vaattovaara had stymied Bach on a first-period penalty shot.
Vermont came from behind to win a 4-2 battle of power plays over Maine on Sunday. Dayna Colang’s tally with 12:23 gone in the third period gave the Catamounts the win. Mackenzie MacNeil’s empty-net goal was the only scoring at even strength.
