Hamilton scores upset and splits with No. 2 Middlebury
Hamilton has been one of my dark-horse teams, a team that I’ve always felt that you can’t take lightly. This weekend, the Continentals lived up to that, upsetting Middlebury, 2-0, in the first of a two-game set on Friday. Missy Segall scored both goals, including one short-handed at 18:54 of the third with Middlebury rallying. Kate Piacenza assisted on both tallies. Sidney Molnar made 29 saves in the win.
Saturday, the Panthers got revenge, winning 3-0. Katie Hargrave opened the scoring at 8:26 of the second, and Claudia Vira doubled the lead 2:29 later with a power-play strike. Lin Han made 26 saves in the win.
Hamline ties, beats Gustavus
The MIAC is shaping up to be possibly the most competitive conference in the country. This weekend, No. 9 Hamline tied and beat No. 5 Gustavus Adolphus in a home-and-home, a result that moved the Pipers to fifth in the USCHO.com poll and dropped the Gusties to sixth. In Friday’s game, hosted by the Pipers, Hamline took a 2-1 lead into the third period thanks to a power-play goal by Molly Garin at 18:46 of the second period. Garin also opened the scoring in the first period with a short-handed tally. With time running out however, Jordyn Peterson tied it, scoring with just 27 seconds to play. The OT was scoreless, and it ended in a 2-2 tie. Gusties goalie Katie McCoy made 34 saves.
Saturday, Hamline earned a 5-3 win. The Pipers were up 2-0 less than two minutes into the game, but the Gusties started chipping away. Emily Olson scored a power-play goal at 15:34 of the first to make it 3-2 Hamline, and the Gusties tied it in the second when Molly McHugh scored at 4:16. Taylor Davis scored her second of the night for Hamline at 14:16 of the second to reestablish the lead, and she completed her hat trick with a goal at 12:01 of the third. McKenna Hulslander came on relief of Jaela O’Brien after the first period and made 25 saves over the final 40 minutes.
Lake Forest upsets No. 6 Adrian
A series between the two teams at the top of the NCHA standings ended in a split, with identical 3-1 scores. Adrian earned the win Saturday, but it wasn’t easy. Lake Forest took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but Reaghan Pietrowski’s goal at 16:03 of the second tied it, and Neysa Miller scored the game-winner at 2:45 of the third, then added an empty-netter to seal the win at 19:55. Jacque Rogers made 37 saves in the losing effort.
Sunday, Lake Forest again opened the scoring, but Adrian tied it with six seconds left in the first period. The Foresters outshot the Bulldogs in the second, 15-12, but it remained scoreless. Sydney Simone’s short-handed goal at 16:12 was the game-winner, and Stokli Ashcraft added an empty-netter at 19:06. Rogers was again kept busy, making 40 saves, while Denisa Jandová made 32 saves for Adrian. It was Adrian’s first conference loss of the season.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point ties No. 3 Wisconsin-Eau Claire
It’s been an interesting season for the Pointers, who are 7-9-4 overall but 1-6-1 in the WIAC. Friday, they earned an impressive 1-1 tie with the No. 3 Blugolds. The Pointers got on the board first at 10:15 of the first period on a goal by Mary Kremer, but the Blugolds tied it on a power play at 14:09 on a goal by Abby Roeser. Pointers’ goalie Olivia Schultz made 13 saves over the final two periods and two in the OT to preserve the tie.
Saturday, the Blugolds came back with a more solid offensive performance, winning 4-0. Hannah Zavoral had a goal and two assists, including the game-winning goal, and Emma Peterson had a goal and assist. Schultz made 17 saves through the first period and early part of the second before being replaced by Marit Larson, who made 22 saves the rest of the way in the losing effort.
