CHA
RIT vs. Lindenwood
The Tigers won just their second game of the season thanks to Abby Davies’ hat trick. After a scoreless first, RIT went up 2-0 thanks to goals from Davis and Lindsay Maloney. Gigi Pora cut the lead in half and the teams headed to the locker rooms for the final time with RIT up 2-1. Davis scored twice in the opening few minutes of the third, including a short-hander to make it 4-1 RIT. Jordan Marchese scored to make it 5-1 Tigers before Val Caldwell and Sierra Burt cut the lead to 5-3. Athena Vasdani extended RIT’s lead to 6-3. Casey Adimey scored in the final minute to make it 6-4, but Lindenwood ran out of time to complete a comeback.
Mercyhurst vs. Penn State
Jordan Mortlock scored twice to lead Mercyhurst to a 4-2 win in the CHA semifinal. Her goal put the Lakers up 1-0 after the first. In the second, Amy Dobson and Olivia Wallin replied for Penn State in the second to put them up 2-1. Mary Kromer’s goal in the final minute tied the game at two. Mortlock scored again to open the third to give Mercyhurst the lead and Sara Boucher’s goal secured the 4-2 victory.
RIT vs. Syracuse
RIT nearly pulled off a massive upset on the back of rookie Sarah Coe’s 51-save outing, but Syracuse pulled out the 3-2 win in overtime. Abby Moloughney scored just 32 seconds into the game to put the Orange up in the first. In the second, Abby Davies scored on the power play and in the third, Kyla Bear added an extra attacker goal of her own to put RIT up 2-1. Moloughney scored early in the third to tie it up, but Syracuse could not break through in regulation. Moloughney was the star of the night, completing her hat trick on a game-winning, sudden-death overtime goal to send her team to the CHA tournament championship game.
Mercyhurst vs. Syracuse
Syracuse earned their second-ever NCAA tournament berth with a second-straight 3-2 overtime win on Saturday. Abby Moloughney scored her fourth goal in a row for the team to put the Orange on top late in the first. Sarah Marchand extended Syracuse’s lead in the second. Sara Boucher responded at the midpoint of the game to put Mercyhurst on the board. Alexa Vasko tied the game in the third to force the extra frame. Sarah Thompson scored the championship winner, burying a rebound to send Syracuse to the NCAA tournament.
ECAC
Cornell vs. Colgate
In the first game, Colgate outshot Cornell 44-27, but needed until the final seconds of the first overtime period to find the game-winner. Dara Grieg put away a rebound from Danielle Serdachny shot to give Colgate the win. On Saturday, Colgate came back from a two-goal deficit in the final 23 minutes to take a 3-2 win and advance to the ECAC semifinal. Gabbie Rud and Athena Song had Cornell up 2-0 until 17:08 of the second when Allyson Simpson scored. Katie Chan scored 44 seconds later and suddenly it was tied at two heading into the third. Kalty Kaltounkova’s third-period power play goal gave Colgate the win. They’ll face Quinnipiac on Friday.
Princeton vs. Harvard
In the first game of the series, co-captains Shannon Griffin and Sharon Frankel combined for three goals and Princeton never trailed as they took a 4-2 win off top ECAC seed Harvard. Annie Kuehl opened the scoring and Harvard responded with a goal from Brooke Jovanovich. In the second, it was Frankel to put Princeton up 2-1 early in the period. Kate Glover tied it up in the final minute of the frame. The Tigers pulled away in the third as Griffin scored twice to close out the win. On Saturday, Harvard’s first lead of the series came in overtime, as Kristi Della Rovere scored the game-winner to tie the series. Grace Kuipers had Princeton on the board in the second, but Shannon Hollands tied it up and forced overtime with a goal early in the third before Della Rovere won the game. In the rubber match, the Tigers made history, becoming the first 8th seeded team to win a series in the 20 years ECAC has used this tournament format. Becca Gilmore, Harvard’s top scorer, got on the board for the first time in the series, opening the scoring on Sunday. Frankel tied it up before the end of the first. After a scoreless second, Maggie Connors and Griffin each scored to put Princeton up 3-1. Harvard pulled their goalie with about three minutes to go and appeared to have scored quickly thereafter, but it was called off for goalie interference. The Crimson didn’t give up and did actually cut the lead to one with 1:10 to go, but ran out of time as Princeton took the historic 3-2 win.
Clarkson vs. Quinnipiac
Five different Bobcats scored and Corinne Schroeder made 36 saves in Quinnipiac’s 5-1 win over Clarkson on Friday. Kristina Schuler actually had Clarkson up 1-0 near the end of the first, but Olivia Mobley replied to make it 1-1 at period break. Renee Saltness and Alexa Hoskin scored in the second and Taylor House and Sadie Peart lit the lamp in the third to give the Bobcats the win. On Saturday, Maddy Samoskevich, Mobley, House and Nina Steingauf all scored and Schroeder made 39 saves to lead Quinnipiac to a 4-0 win and a berth in the ECAC semifinals.
St. Lawrence vs. Yale
St. Lawrence scored the upset in the first game of the series thanks to a two-goal performance from Brittney Gout. After a scoreless first, Gout scored early in the second. Anna Bargman responded for Yale to make it 1-1 after two. Just 73 seconds into the third, Abby Hustler put St. Lawrence up 2-1. Tabea Botthof tied it up a minute later, but then St. Lawrence took control as Rachel Bjorgan and Gout scored to close out the 4-2 win. In the second game, Emma Seitz scored twice in the opening ten minutes to give Yale a 2-0 lead and then Elle Hartje extended the lead. St. Lawrence made it 3-1 before the end of the period with a goal from Shailynn Snow. Nara Elia cut it down to one in the second, but the Saints couldn’t complete a comeback and Yale won 3-2 to force a game three. On Sunday, Yale qualified for their second-ever conference semifinal with a gritty 4-2 win. The Bulldogs came from behind twice before closing out the game. Elia scored for St. Lawrence first and then Seitz scored on the player advantage to tie the game at one heading into the first intermission. In the second, Aly McLeod put the Saints ahead one more time, but Seitz once again tied it up and then 13 seconds later, Anja Tummer gave Yale the lead for good, making it 3-2 at the start of the third. Charlotte Welch added a power play goal midway through the frame to complete the 4-2 win.
Hockey East
Merrimack vs. New Hampshire
The Warriors earned their first-ever program postseason win on Wednesday as they defeated New Hampshire 4-1. Sam Lessick and Gabby Jones scored in the second to put Merrimack up 2-0. In the third, Courtney Maud capitalized on the power play to make it a 3-0 lead. Chavonne Truter scored late in the third for UNH, but Teghan Inglis’ shorthanded tally in the final minute ensure the 4-1 win.
Holy Cross vs. Providence
Carlie Magier had Holy Cross up 1-0 at the end of the first, but Providence scored three unanswered to take this opening round playoff game. Caroline Peterson, Ashley Clark and KC Brooks all scored for the Friars in the 3-1 win.
Maine vs. Boston College
Boston College scored first with a lamp-lighter from Willow Corson, but were stymied from there on out by Maine’s defense and goalie Jorden Mattison’s 27 saves. Alyssa Wruble tied the game for Maine with 2.1 seconds left in the first period. Taylor Leech added a power play goal in the second and that was enough to end Boston College’s season. Maine advances to the Hockey East semifinal and will face Northeastern on Saturday.
Providence vs. Vermont
The Catamounts advanced to the Hockey East semifinal for just the third time in program history with a 4-1 win over Providence. Conference scoring champion Theresa Schafzahl put Vermont on the board first, scoring in the opening two minutes. Antonia Matzka scored her first goal as a Catamount for what would prove to be the game-winner to send the team to the locker room up 2-0. In the second, Lily Humphrey added a power play goal to extend the lead to 3-0. Lily Hendrickson scored on the player advantage for Providence in the third to make it 3-1, but Schafzahl scored again to close out the win.
Boston University vs. Connecticut
Courtney Correia scored 43 seconds into the game, but that was all the offense BU could mount and Connecticut replied with three straight goals to take the win. Jada Habisch, Summer Rae Dobson and Morgan Wabick all lit the lamp to give the Huskies the win. They advance to play Vermont in the semifinals on Saturday.
Merrimack vs. Northeastern
Maureen Murphy notched her fourth hat trick of the season to lead Northeastern to an 8-0 win. Aerin Frankel became the sixth player ever to earn 100 wins in net, earning her 11th shutout of the season. Miceala Sindoris scored twice and Chloe Aurard, Mia Brown and Andrea Renner also scored in the win.
WCHA
Minnesota vs. St. Thomas
Audrey Wethington, Taylor Heise, Abigail Boreen and Amy Potomak all scored to leave Minnesota to a 4-0 win on Friday. In the second game, Heise scored her fifth short-handed goal of the season and Catie Skaja lit the lamp twice to lead the Gophers to a 5-1 win. Emily Oden and Wethington scored the other two goals for Minnesota. Jenn Hartung was St. Thomas’ goal-scorer. The Gophers will play Minnesota Duluth on Saturday in the WCHA semifinal.
Ohio State vs. St. Cloud State
On Friday, Paetyn Levis scored four times and had an assist to power the Buckeyes to a 6-0 win. Jenna Buglioni and Liz Schepers also scored in the win. In game two, OSU scored once per period to take a 3-0 victory and advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff. Gabby Rosenthal, Schepers and Lauren Bernard each found the back of the net. Ohio State will face Wisconsin in the WCHA semifinal on Saturday.
Wisconsin vs. Bemidji State
Graysen Myers scored in the final minutes of the first period to send the teams to the first intermission with Bemidji State up 1-0. Maddi Wheeler scored midway through the second to tie the game and Brette Pettet’s goal in the first minutes of the third would be the game winner. Kerigan Dowhy made 38 saves in the loss. On Saturday, Casey O’Brien broke out with a two-goal, three-assist game to lead Wisconsin to a 5-0 win and their 12th straight trip to the WCHA semifinal. She scored 66 seconds into the game, putting away a rebound for the game-winner. Nicole LaMantia scored from distance during a five minute major that saw Paige Beebe ejected for high sticking. Daryl Watts wove through the defense to make it 3-0. O’Brien potted her second on a perfect cross-ice pass from Chayla Edwards and Makenna Webster scored the final goal on a beauty of a drop pass from O’Brien. Wisconsin will play Ohio State in Minneapolis on Saturday evening.
Minnesota Duluth vs. Minnesota State
Minnesota State took a 3-2 lead after a fast-paced first period. Kelsey King scored in the first two minutes to put Mankato up 1-0. Elizabeth Giguere responded a few minutes later and Kylie Hanley gave the Bulldogs their first lead just 30 seconds after that. But Minnesota State responded, with a second goal from King and another from Brooke Bryant seconds before the horn to have the Mavericks in control after one. But Naomi Rogge scored a natural hat trick in the second period helped UMD pull away. Brittyn Fleming scored in the final minute to close the lead to one goal, but MSU ran out of time to complete a comeback and Duluth took game one 5-4. On Saturday, Fleming opened up the scoring to put Mankato on the board first once again. Gabbie Hughes responded later in the period to make it a tie game at the period break. Alexis Paddington scored on the power play in the second for what was the eventual game winner and Fleming scored again in the third to give the Mavericks a 3-1 win to force game three. On Sunday, Giguere scored her 26th career game-winning goal in one of the most crucial spots, using her superior vision and stick handling skills to beat Minnesota State in overtime and send UMD to the WCHA semifinal. UMD had a 2-0 lead after Anna Klein scored on the power play in the first and Taylor Anderson scored early in the second. Fleming continued her stellar weekend by cutting the lead in half and Jessica Kondas tied the game early in the third. But Giguere showed incredible patience and waited for the perfect time to place the puck past Chantal Burke.
