Bobcats maintain lead
ECAC leader and No. 4 Quinnipiac held its five-point advantage atop the conference by earning a pair of wins on home ice.
Freshman Melissa Samoskevich scored the game’s only goal 2:09 into the first period as the Bobcats held off Yale, 1-0. She elevated the rebound of Nicole Kosta’s shot over the leg pad of Bulldogs’ goalie Hanna Mandl, with Meghan Turner getting the second assist. Sydney Rossman made 29 saves to preserve the lead, while Mandl had some highlight reel saves among her 19 stops to keep Yale close. Both teams were without a key offensive contributor due to national team commitments. Yale’s Phoebe Staenz was playing for Switzerland at the Nations Cup, while Taylar Cianfarano was participating in USA Hockey’s winter training camp.
Cianfarano returned on Saturday with a goal and an assist in Quinnipiac’s 5-1 victory over Brown. The Bears took a lead into the first intermission on a power-play goal from Bridget Carey, but the Bobcats scored three times in the first 2:02 of the second period to reverse the advantage. Nicole Connery had a goal and two assists, Emma Woods contributed three helpers, and Samoskevich, Lindsey West, and Taryn Baumgardt also found the net as Quinnipiac enjoyed a 51-8 margin in shots.
Tigers keep pace
Princeton swept the same two opponents to remain five points behind Quinnipiac. Defenseman Kelsey Koelzer completed her first career hat trick with a wrist shot under the crossbar to wrap up a 6-1 defeat of Brown. The Tigers also got goals from Hilary Lloyd, Jaimie McDonell, and Cristin Shanahan, and three assists by Molly Contini. Sam Donovan had the lone tally for the Bears, her team-leading sixth of the campaign.
On Saturday, Princeton cruised by Yale, 5-1. Kimberly Newell made 23 saves, yielding only a Hanna Åström goal. Karlie Lund scored twice and added an assist as the Tigers’ power play converted on half of its six opportunities.
Short but dangerous
Kendall Coyne and Denisa Krížová scored short-handed goals on the same penalty kill to allow No. 8 Northeastern to seize control in a 5-2 win over Dartmouth. Each finished with three points, including combining on a give-and-go that Coyne tapped in from the goal mouth for the final margin. Kasidy Anderson and Shelby Herrington also tallied for the Huskies, who got a 28-save performance from Sarah Foss. Kennedy Ottenbreit and Tess Bracken scored for the Big Green.
Other action
Host Mercyhurst got a series win over Rensselaer. The Lakers scored in each period to down the Engineers, 3-1, in the opener. Jenna Dingeldein, Sarah Hine, and Megan Whiddon supplied the goals while Sarah McDonnell made 14 saves. RPI jumped out to a two-goal lead on Sunday on goals by Katie Rooney and Mari Mankey on their team’s first two shots of the game. Mercyhurst brought in McDonnell in relief and she prevented further damage by stopping all 16 shots she faced. Dingeldein and Samantha Fieseler scored to tie the game at 2-2 by the first intermission. That’s how it ended thanks to 36 saves by Lovisa Selander in the Engineers’ net.
Vermont got first-period goals from Dayna Colang, Rachael Ade, and Sarah Kelly in downing Union, 4-2. Alyssa Gorecki added an empty-net goal, and Madison Litchfield turned away 24 shots. Jamie Smith and Kathryn Tomaselli provided the offense for the Dutchwomen.
Penn State and Ohio State split a pair of one-goal games. The host Buckeyes took the opener, 2-1, when defenseman Jessica Dunne, playing in her first game of her sophomore season, scored the deciding goal at 13:32 of the second period. Hannah England had tied the game for the Nittany Lions less than two minutes before Dunne struck. Lauren Boyle, who had opened the scoring in the first period, assisted on the winning goal. Alex LaMere made 20 saves to earn the win. On Sunday, the Buckeyes jumped out to a quick lead on goals by Dani Sadek and Melani Moylan by the first intermission, but Penn State roared back in the second period on tallies from Emily Laurenzi, Laura Bowman, and Remi Martin. Hannah Ehresmann made 26 save as the Nittany Lions held on for a 3-2 win.
Robert Morris swept visiting Providence, 6-1 and 4-1. Jessica Dodds made 32 saves on Saturday and came back with 31 more on Sunday to backstop the wins. Mackenzie Johnston led a balanced Colonials attack in the opener with the game-winning goal and two assists. On Sunday, Jessica Gazzola tallied twice and had a helper, and Brittany Howard scored the game-winner on a penalty shot with three seconds left in the second period.
After squandering an early two-goal lead, Minnesota State got the deciding goal from Hannah Davidson to defeat Lindenwood and snap its 14-game losing skid. Katie Johnson and Savannah Quandt scored a minute apart to put the Mavericks on top, but a period later, Shara Jasper pulled the Lions with one and Britannia Gillanders knotted the score after another 51 seconds elapsed. Johnson netted the game-winner with just over five minutes left in regulation to give MSU a 3-2 verdict.
