Hockey East showdown upcoming in Beanpot
The top two teams in Hockey East will meet on Tuesday with the stakes being the Beanpot, rather than league points.
No. 1 Boston College got revenge on Harvard and then some for its loss to the Crimson in last year’s event final, scoring early and often in an 8-0 annihilation, as BC led by five after a period. Megan Keller keyed the carnage with two goals and an assist, Alex Carpenter also scored twice, and Makenna Newkirk added three helpers. Katie Burt made 12 saves to gain her 10th shutout.
Rebecca Russo and Boston University struck first against No. 5 Northeastern, but Kendall Coyne scored twice in a three-goal rally by the Huskies, who went on to a 3-2 victory. Lauren Kelly also scored for Northeastern, while Alexis Crossley added a late power-play tally while the Terriers had a six-on-three skater advantage to make the last couple minutes interesting. Brittany Bugalski made 30 saves to earn her first Beanpot win.
Both finalists tuned up with one league contest on Saturday.
Northeastern led all the way after Coyne opened the scoring five minutes in and added an assist on Denisa Krížová’s tally nine minutes later in a 3-1 win over Providence. Melissa Haganey added a goal for the Huskies; Christina Putigna netted her ninth for the Friars.
Haley Skarupa scored twice in the third period to lift the Eagles to their 29th win over a pesky Connecticut, 5-4. She added an assist, and Carpenter had two goals plus two helpers.
Badgers on the brink
No. 2 Wisconsin widened its lead in the WCHA to seven points with a sweep at Ohio State. The Badgers can clinch the regular season crown next weekend when they host Minnesota State. Jenny Ryan and Annie Pankowski scored in Friday’s 2-1 win, while Claudia Kepler became the first Buckeye to score against Wisconsin this season. On Saturday, Ann-Renée Desbiens was back in the shutout business, her 15th of the season, the most by a Badger and two shy of the NCAA mark. Baylee Wellhausen and Sam Cogan scored in Wisconsin’s 2-0 win.
Kessel not enough
Amanda Kessel rejoined No. 3 Minnesota and her presence sparked the Gophers to a 3-0 win over No. 8 North Dakota on Friday. Kessel assisted twice, as Minnesota got goals from Hannah Brandt, Sydney Baldwin, and Sophie Skarzynksi. Those were the only goals either team got all weekend. Amanda Leveille saved all 29 shots, and followed it up with a 28-save shutout the next night. Shelby Amsley-Benzie responded with a 25-save shutout of her own for the Fighting Hawks in the 0-0 tie. The goaltenders’ mastery continued into the shootout, where Amy Menke and Kessel were successful early, but the contest continued to the 11th round where Charly Dahlquist converted to win an extra point for UND.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 4 Quinnipiac lost for only the second time this season, 3-2, at No. 10 Colgate on Saturday. The Raiders led all the way after Annika Zalewski’s goal at 16:17 of the first period. Breanne Wilson-Bennett and Olivia Zafuto added goals for Colgate with Bailey Larson having the primary assist on both. The Bobcats twice cut the lead to one on goals by Meghan Turner and Alicia Barry but could not get the tying marker. Ashlynne Rando picked up the win with 32 saves.
Quinnipiac’s weekend started better, 4-1 over Cornell. Christian Higham gave the Big Red a lead 1:45 into the game, but Sydney Rossman saved the other 26 shots as the Bobcats’ offense took over. Kristen Tamberg and Taylor Cianfarano led with a goal and an assist.
Meanwhile, Colgate fell to No. 9 Princeton, 4-2, on Friday. Karlie Lund scored at 12:19 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and added an empty-netter in the final minute to complete her first collegiate hat trick. Kimberly Newell made 37 saves for the Tigers.
Princeton made it a four-point weekend with a 5-0 shutout of Cornell on Saturday. Newell saved all 30 shots, Kelsey Koelzer had three assists, and Hilary Lloyd and Morgan Sly had a goal with a helper.
No. 5 Clarkson got it done at both ends of the ice in winning over Rensselaer, 9-1, and Union, 4-1. Versus the Engineers, Lauren Lefler scored twice and had an assist, Geneviève Bannon and Renata Fast had a goal with two helpers, and Rhyen McGill assisted three times. Cayley Mercer scored twice on the Dutchwomen.
No. 7 Bemidji State got a series win at St. Cloud State. The teams played to a 3-3 tie on Friday, with the Beavers winning the shootout. Molly Illikainen and Alyssa Erickson scored third-period markers for the Huskies to erase a two-goal deficit. Illikainen and Brittney Anderson had a goal and an assist for SCSU, and Ivana Bilic did the same for Bemidji State. Kaitlyn Tougas led the Beavers to a 4-1 win on Saturday, with two goals and an assist. Bilic and Alexis Joyce had two helpers, and Brittni Mowat stopped 21 of 22 shots.
Other action
Minnesota-Duluth swept at Minnesota State. Michela Cava completed her hat trick at 3:54 of overtime to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 win on Friday. Lara Stalder assisted on all three tallies. The Mavericks got third-period goals from Savannah Quandt and Amanda Martin to force the extra session. On Saturday, Ashleigh Brykaliuk supplied the hat trick and an assist in UMD’s 5-2 triumph. Kayla Black picked up both wins.
Meghann Treacy and Maine shut out Merrimack for the weekend in gaining a sweep, 4-0 and 1-0. Jess Vallotton powered the offense in the opener with a hat trick. In game two, Victorial Hummel broke a scoreless tie at 5:44 of the third period. Treacy made 31 saves to win a duel with Samantha Ridgewell, who turned aside 35 shots.
Vermont surprised New Hampshire with a sweep in Durham, 2-1 and 3-2. Taylor Willard scored the winning goal with 72 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Catamounts the victory on Friday, thanks to 30 saves from Madison Litchfield. The same duo struck again in the second game. Willard potted the game winner midway through the final frame after Cassidy Campeau had tied it up for UVM five minutes earlier. Litchfield came up with 28 more stops.
Connecticut took advantage of New Hampshire’s losses to widen its lead for the final home playoff spot. The Huskies defeated Providence, 3-1, on Sunday. Rebecca Lindblad and Justine Fredette scored in the first period to give Connecticut the lead, and Elaine Chuli made 29 saves, yielding only a power-play goal by Christine Putigna. Leah Lum sealed the win into an empty net.
Mercyhurst had its most successful trip to Robert Morris in recent years, coming home with a sweep by scores of 4-0 and 6-3. Jessica Convery got the start on Friday and came through with a 31-save shutout. Hannah Bale’s first-period goal was all the Lakers needed, but Rachael Smith, Brooke Hartwick, and Sarah Robello hit the net in the second stanza. Down a goal after a period on Saturday, Mercyhurst scored five times in the middle frame. Six different Lakers scored, and Smith and Hartwick added a helper to their strikes.
Syracuse kept pace with a sweep at Penn State. On Friday, the Orange got a tying goal from Morgan Blank late in regulation, and Jessica Sibley won it on a power play with seven seconds left in overtime, 3-2. Syracuse came back with a 2-1 win on Saturday on the strength of Megan Quinn’s power-play goal in the second period. Laura Bowman, who scored both days for the Nittany Lions, had tied it a couple minutes earlier. Jenn Gilligan made 19 saves in the 2-1 Orange victory.
RIT took the first game at Lindenwood, 3-2, but the Lions bounced back with a 2-1 win on Saturday to salvage a split. Jenna de Jonge made 36 in the Tigers’ victory, with goals coming from Carly Payerl, Maddie Grisko, and Brinna Dochniak. Sarah Bobrowski had both Lindenwood goals, with helpers from Shara Jasper. The roles reversed on Saturday, with Jasper putting two in the net and Bobrowski assisting twice, as Nicole Hensley made 30 saves. For RIT, 35 saves from Jetta Rackleff and a power-play tally by Jess Paton weren’t enough.
Harvard’s struggles continued when it settled for a 3-3 tie with Brown. Erin Conway scored the tying goal on a power play with under five minutes left for the Bears, who got a 51-save performance from Monica Elvin. Sydney Daniels scored a pair of goals for the Crimson.
The Crimson finished their week on a high note, stopping Yale, 4-1. Karly Heffernan scored twice and added an assist.
Yale won on Friday at Dartmouth, 4-3, when Jamie Haddad netted a goal at 3:17 of overtime. The Big Green had rallied from two goals down behind goals from Eleni Tebano and Ailish Forfar.
On Saturday, Dartmouth got its first win since November, 5-0 over Brown. Robyn Chemago turned in a 13-save shutout. Laura Stacey scored twice, including a short-handed tally, and Forfar had three points, one being a goal.
St. Lawrence shut out Union, 2-0, as Grace Harrison made 13 saves, and Kennedy Marchment and Kayla Nielsen found the net. Brooke Webster assisted on both. Melissa Black made 38 stops for Union.
Rensselaer and St. Lawrence ground out a 1-1 tie. Laura Horwood put RPI ahead just 26 seconds into the game, but Hannah Miller tied it up in the second period. Lovisa Selander held the Engineers in it with 48 saves, and Grace Harrison stopped 25 shots for the Saints.
