Quinnipiac assumes ECAC lead
No. 8 Quinnipiac combined an impressive sweep in the North Country with minimal action in ECAC Hockey to take sole possession of first place in the league.
The Bobcats started the weekend by blanking No. 4 Clarkson, 3-0, giving them four straight wins over the Golden Knights. Quinnipiac’s Taylar Cianfarano was assessed a roughing minor just past the midway point of a scoreless game. Apparently, she used the two minutes of solitude to refocus and scored the game’s first goal 39 seconds after emerging from the penalty box. Coming in on a partial break, the sophomore snapped a wrist shot that Clarkson goalie Shea Tiley could only slow on its way into the net. Cianfarano doubled the lead a minute and a half later with a knuckleball that eluded Tiley’s glove and completed her pure hat trick at 9:15 of the final period with a slap shot under the crossbar. Nicole Connery had a pair of primary assists, and the Bobcats defense did the rest, as Sydney Rossman earned a 29-save shutout.
Rossman and Quinnipiac kept it rolling on Saturday with a 5-0 victory at St. Lawrence. The junior goaltender made 17 stops to garner another shutout. Melissa Samoskevich got the offense going 11:17 into the game when a blocked shot bounced to her and she buried the puck. Cianfarano added two goals, and freshman Randi Marcon netted the first two goals of her collegiate career.
Boston College takes first meeting over Northeastern
Kaliya Johnson’s first goal of her senior season at 12:43 of the third period held up as the game-winner as No. 2 BC overcame No. 5 Northeastern, 4-2. Tori Sullivan’s second goal of the game just beat the final buzzer into an empty net to provide the final margin. Sullivan set up Meghan Grieves for the other Eagles’ goal, and Andie Anastos had a pair of helpers. Kendall Coyne and Hayley Scamurra provided the markers for the Huskies, while Denisa Krížová assisted twice.
The win gives BC a two-point lead over Boston University for first place in Hockey East, with the Eagles having two games in hand. Northeastern sits another two points back in third place, but has three games in hand over the Terriers.
North Dakota settles for split with Minnesota-Duluth
No. 7 North Dakota won for the first time with its new nickname, the Fighting Hawks, by a 4-3 verdict over Minnesota-Duluth. A minute after UND’s Amy Menke completed her hat trick on a short-handed breakaway to tie the game at 3-3, Shannon Kaiser’s first goal of the season won it for the hosts. Menke was aided by a two assists from each of her linemates, Meghan Dufault and Becca Kohler. The Bulldogs’ top line of Ashleigh Brykaliuk, Michela Cava, and Lara Stalder all finished with a goal and a helper.
On Saturday, UMD sent the Fighting Hawks down to defeat, 1-0. Maddie Rooney saved all 32 shots to best Shelby Amsley-Benzie, who made 21 stops. The lone tally came at 9:46 of the third frame, when Michelle Löwenhielm took a pass from Katherine McGovern and threaded a shot inside the post for her first goal of the season.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 1 Wisconsin took both ends of a Friday-Sunday series from Lindenwood. Emily Clark scored twice in a 5-1 win in the opener as the Badgers enjoyed a 50-12 shot advantage. Sophia Shaver, Molly Doner, and Rachel Jones notched the other goals for the hosts, while Rachel Weich had the lone goal of the weekend for the Lions. Megan Miller needed only 11 saves to get the shutout as Wisconsin completed the sweep with a 58-11 bulge in shots. Sarah Nurse scored twice, and Clark and Shaver added single tallies.
No. 3 Minnesota swept visiting Yale, 6-3 and 4-1. Dani Cameranesi’s hat trick was the highlight of the opener, with Sarah Potomak and Hannah Brandt each contributing a goal and two assists. Brandt and defenseman Lee Stecklein scored a goal apiece with two helpers on Saturday. For the Bulldogs, Phoebe Staenz scored in each contest and Eden Murray finished the weekend with a goal and two assists.
Kennedy Marchment’s goal at 18:50 of the second period lifted St. Lawrence to a 3-2 triumph over No. 10 Princeton. Sonjia Shelly made 25 saves to get the win. The Saints broke on top with an unassisted goal by Amanda McClure, and Justine Reyes made it 2-0 nine minutes later. The Tigers struck back quickly on goals by Cassidy Tucker and Karlie Lund 33 seconds apart.
Clarkson bounced back with a 3-0 win over Princeton. Josiane Pozzebon gave the Golden Knights an early lead, and Olivia Howe added a couple of empty-net goals. Tiley saved all 20 shots the Tigers sent her way. Kimberly Newell was a hard-luck loser after stopping 48 of 49 shots on goal.
Northeastern also got right back into the win column on Saturday, defeating Vermont, 5-2. Coyne and Kasidy Anderson scored twice, and Shelby Herrington added a goal and two assists. Mackenzie MacNeil and Victoria Andreakos found the net for the Catamounts.
Brittni Mowat stopped 38 of 40 shots on the weekend to back No. 6 Bemidji State to a pair of 3-1 wins over Minnesota State. Kristin Huber and Alexis Joyce gave the Beavers a lead in the opener, and after Amanda Conway closed the Mavericks to within one, Summer Thibodeau hit an empty net. Kaitlyn Tougas tallied twice as BSU completed the sweep, with Hanna Moher also scoring. Defenseman Lena Düsterhöft notched her first goal for MSU.
No. 9 Harvard defeated New Hampshire, 4-0, on Wednesday. Emerance Maschmeyer turned aside all 26 shots from the Wildcats to back the shutout. Miye D’Oench led the attack with a goal and two assists.
Other action
On Tuesday, Cornell rallied twice in the third period to tie Colgate, 3-3, on the first goals of the season for Christian Higham and Jess Brown, the latter with an extra attacker. Hanna Bunton of the Big Red and Megan Sullivan of the Raiders had a goal with a helper.
Syracuse took down RIT, 5-1, as Jessica Sibley netted a pair of goals. Brooke Baker’s first goal as a Tiger thwarted the shutout bid.
On Friday, Colgate held off Syracuse, 2-1. Jessie Eldridge and Nicole Gass staked the Raiders to a lead, and a late extra-attacker goal by Megan Quinn of the Orange only denied a shutout to Julia Vandyk, who made 35 saves for Colgate.
Cornell and Mercyhurst split a series. The Lakers took the opener, 5-1, with 20 saves from Sarah McDonnnell. Jaclyn Arbour’s first goal of the year at 11:05 of the middle stanza broke a 1-1 tie. Mercyhurst pulled away with three goals in the third period, including a conversion of a penalty shot by Hannah Bale. Bunton poured in a hat trick and added an assist as the Big Red skated to a 6-1 rout on Saturday. Paula Voorheis returned to Cornell’s net with 24 saves.
Brown salvaged a split at RIT. After the Tigers took the first game with big offensive performances by Logan Land with two goals and an assist, Regan Rust with a goal and two helpers, and Carly Payerl with a pair of tallies, the Bears struck back with a 2-1 win. All three goals came via the power play, with Brown’s Leah Olson netting the winner at 16:58 of the final period. She and Maddie Woo finished with a goal and an assist. Cassie Clayton had RIT’s lone tally. Julianne Landry made 22 saves to pick up her first win of the season.
St. Cloud State swept Ohio State, 3-2 and 4-1. Molly Illikainen’s second goal of the game broke a 2-2 tie with under four minutes left on Friday. Earlier, she assisted on Alyssa Erickson’s goal. Kendall Curtis led the Buckeyes with a goal and an assist. Katie Fitzgerald made 33 saves and the Huskies’ power play clicked on three of five chances on Saturday, with defenseman Brittney Anderson leading the way with a goal and two assists.
Boston University swept a home-and-home series from Merrimack. Victoria Bach pounded in a hat trick in a 5-1 win on Friday. Back on home ice, Sarah Lefort had three helpers in a 4-2 victory.
Theresa Knutson gave Connecticut a lead 46 seconds into its game versus Vermont, and the Huskies led throughout in winning, 3-2. Justine Fredette assisted on that goal and also scored twice.
Elaine Chuli made 38 saves as Connecticut shut out Maine, 2-0. Leah Buress scored in the first period and defenseman Kayla Mee added her first collegiate goal.
Providence earned at split a New Hampshire. The Wildcats used three power-play goals, two by Amy Boucher and another from Nicoline Jensen, to build a 3-0 advantage, and they held off a rally by the Friars when Brooke Boquist struck twice. Madison Myers made 21 saves to help Providence rebound with a 4-1 win. Christina Putigna gave the Friars a lasting lead and later added an assist.
