Bemidji State at (1) Wisconsin
BSU goalie Abbie Thompson surpassed her previous career high in saves (33) before the second intermission, keeping the top-ranked Badgers off the scoreboard. In the third, Wisconsin poured it on with 30 shots on goal. Casey O’Brien opened the scoring :50 into the third period. Katie Kotlowski, Britta Curl and Cassie Hall all also scored in the final frame to make it a 4-0 Badger win. On Saturday, Curl scored in the first minute, but Bemidji State got the goal back with about five to go in the first thanks to Hailey Armstrong. But Maddi Wheeler put UW back ahead for good a few minutes later to send the teams to the locker rooms with Wisconsin up 2-1. Wheeler scored again early in the second and then Kirsten Simms scored twice to make it 5-1. Cassie Hall, Kelly Gorbatenko and Vivian Jungels also lit the lamp, giving the Badgers an 8-1 win and the weekend sweep.
(2) Ohio State at St. Thomas
The first game of the series started out close, with Hannah Bilka scoring first for Ohio State. Cara Sajevic responded for the Tommies just a few minutes later to tie the game 1-1. But the Buckeyes took over from there, reeling off three goals in fewer than three minutes at the midpoint of the first to put OSU up 4-1 and they did not look back. Emma Peschel’s second-period goal extended it to 5-1 before Sajevic got her second of the game to make it 5-2. Bilka’s goal late in the third secured the 6-2 win for Ohio State. Kenzie Hauswirth’s goal two minutes into the game was the only tally until a very busy seventh minute of the second period in which OSU’s Olivia Mobley and Jenn Gardiner and then St. Thomas’ Allie Monrean scored all in a matter of 53 seconds to make it a 3-1 game. Once again, the Buckeyes pulled away, this time with two goals from Kiara Zanon and one each from Kelsy King and Cayla Barnes to give Ohio State the 7-1 win and sweep.
(13) St. Cloud State at (4) Minnesota
It took until the final minute of this game to decide a winner. Minnesota took a 1-0 lead at the midpoint of the second thanks to a goal from rookie Ava Lindsay, who lifted the puck over the glove of SCSU goalie Jojo Chobak. The Gophers extended their lead with an empty-net shorthand tally from Taylor Stewart to go up 2-0. The Huskies clawed one back with an extra attacker with seconds left on the clock, but ran out of time to complete the comeback as the Gophers took a 2-1 win.
(5) Yale at (14) Princeton
It took half a period for Yale to find their stride in the opening game of their season as Anna Bargman scored to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. Elle Hartje doubled the lead midway through the second and Bargman added an empty-netter to secure a 3-0 win for Yale.
(5) Yale at (6) Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac pressured Yale early and jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game, putting the Bulldogs at a deficit they were not able to come back from. Emerson Jarvis scored 1:20 into the game and then Kahlen Lamarche picked up a puck in the neutral zone and carried it in herself to score her first as a Bobcat just 28 seconds later. Maya Labad added a power play goal off a rebound and Sadie Peart got a pass from Lamarche in transition that she buried to make it 4-0. Yale started to climb back in the second, with a pretty wrister from Carina DiAntonio and then a deflection off a shot by Jordan Ray cut the lead to 4-2 at the second intermission. Stephanie Stainton scored her first collegiate goal to make it a one goal game, but the Bulldogs could not find an equalizer. Just three seconds after they pulled Pia Dukaric, Quinnipiac scored on the empty net. Forty seconds later, the Bobcats did it again, finding the net just nine seconds after Dukaric departed it to give Quinnipiac the 6-3 win.
Brown at (6) Quinnipiac
Despite being outshot 44-18 in the game, Brown held the Bobcats scoreless into the third frame. Nina Steingauf was able to put away a deflection from a Julia Nearis shot to get on the board and that would prove to be the game winner, as Quinnipiac eked out a 1-0 victory.
(7) Clarkson at Robert Morris
The Golden Knights attempted 40 shots in the first, but went into the first intermission up just 1-0 thanks to a goal from Anne Cherkowski four minutes in. Robert Morris tied the game early in the second with a goal from Alaina Giampietro. Two minutes later, Darcie Lappan scored what would prove to be the game-winner and from there Clarkson began to pull away. Cherkowski scored a second goal, Keira Hurry added a power play tally and Lappan scored a shorthanded empty netter to secure the 5-1 win. In the second game, it was all about special teams as Brooke McQuigge scored on the player advantage in the first and Alexie Guay doubled the lead on a power play in the third. The Colonials pulled within one when they pulled their goalie for an extra attacker and Giampietro lit the lamp, but could not complete the comeback as Clarkson took the 2-1 win and sweep.
(8) Minnesota Duluth at Minnesota State
Mary Kate O’Brien put UMD up 1-0 after the first period on Friday, but Mankato’s Jamie Nelson scored on the power play in the second to even the teams at one. Reece Hunt’s solo effort midway through the third put the Bulldogs up 2-1 and Hanna Baskin’s goal in the final minutes ensured the 3-1 victory. On Saturday, Gabby Krause got credit for a power play goal that deflected off her leg and into the net to put Minnesota Duluth 1-0. Charlotte Akervik tied the game for the Mavericks in the second, but it didn’t last long. O’Brien’s shot from the slot put UMD up 2-1 just 90 seconds later. Jenna Lawry picked an MSU pocket and quickly put the shot on net to make it 3-1 Bulldogs. Krause batted home a rebound a few minutes later to put the game out of reach at 4-1 and give UMD a sweep.
Syracuse at (9) Cornell
Katie Chan and Avi Adam each scored twice while Izzy Daniel, Rory Guilday, and Kaitlin Jockims each lit the lamp once to lead Cornell to a 7-0 win. Gabbie Rud also had four assists in the game for the Big Red.
(9) Cornell at Mercyhurst
In the first game, Cornell got on the board first as Georgia Schiff deflected in a puck from Ashley Messier to make it 1-0. It looked like that’s how the teams would go to the locker rooms, but Mercyhurst struck just before intermission, scoring twice in three seconds in the final minute of the first. Sydney Pedersen’s unassisted goal tied the game and Sofia Nuutinen came back right off the ensuing faceoff to put the Lakers up 2-1. The score carried into third when Izzy Daniel knotted the game 2-2 just 24 seconds into the frame. Midway through the third, Sara Boucher scored on a breakaway during a 4-on-4 to put Mercyhurst up 3-2. The Big Red pulled their goalie for an extra skater, which paid off when Daniel scored her second of the game to force overtime. Daniel received a penalty shot with two seconds left in the extra frame, but her shot hit the pipe and the game ended in a 3-3 tie. On Saturday, the Lakers once again scored first, this time when Thea Johansson put home a third-chance opportunity. Daniel tied it up early in the second with a shot from the slot. It looked like overtime might be necessary to decide game two, but Kaitlin Jockims made it 2-1 with five minutes to go and Daniel added an empty-netter to secure the 3-1 win.
(13) St. Cloud State vs (10) Northeastern – Ice Breaker
Junior defender Grace Wolfe tallied six of St. Cloud’s 18 blocks and Sanni Ahola recorded her fourth straight shutout to open the year as SCSU defeated their Husky counterparts at Northeastern. The game was scoreless into the third, where St. Cloud killed off a 5-on-3 while allowing just one shot while down two skaters and used that momentum to take the lead. Katie Kaufman scored with an incredible individual effort where she carried the puck behind the net before turning and perfectly placing her shot from a narrow angle to make it 1-0. Klára Hymlárová added an empty-net goal to secure the 2-0 win.
(10) Northeastern vs. Sacred Heart
Taze Thompson scored twice to open the game for Northeastern and Skylar Irving snuck a goal home with seconds left in the first to give the Huskies a 3-0 at the first break. Ella Blackmore made it 4-0 in the second. Sacred Heart ruined the shutout with a goal from Nicole Bessinger in the third, but Northeastern took the 4-1 win. Irving factored in all four Husky goals, adding three assists. Katy Knoll also had three helpers for Northeastern.
(13) St. Cloud State vs. Lindenwood
Junior defender Devyn Millwater scored her first collegiate goal just 11 seconds into this game to put SCSU up 1-0. CC Bowlby added a shorthander to make it 2-0 and then Klára Hymlárová tallied a hat trick and the Huskies took a 5-0 win and the Ice Breaker Championship.
RIT at (11) St. Lawrence
On Thursday, St. Lawrence jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a rebound goal from Suyeon Eom and a snipe from Abby Hustler. RIT pushed back in the second and third, as the Saints failed to put the game out of reach. Nicole Ness scored midway through the final frame to cut the lead to 2-1, but penalty trouble late kept them from pulling their goalie and making a final push as St. Lawrence escaped with the 2-1 win.
(12) Vermont at Merrimack
Krista Parkkonen scored her first career goal with a slap shot on the power play to put Vermont up 1-0 early on Friday. A period later, Evelyne Blais-Savoie went coast to coast and clanged a shot off the post and into the net to make it 2-0 Catamounts. The final few minutes of the second her busy, as Merrimack began to push back. Natalie Nemes scored on an odd skater rush to cut the lead in half and less than a minute later Allison Reeb received a pass off the faceoff to tie the game 2-2. With 60 seconds until intermission, Sara Levesque picked the top corner to put Vermont up 3-2. Blais-Savoie scored on the empty net to secure a 4-2 win for UVM. In the second game of the series, the teams played a back and forth, but scoreless first period. From there, it was a game of taking advantage of opportunities. In the second, Mary Edmonds scored on a third-chance opportunity for the Warriors to give them their first lead of the weekend. Celine Tedenby picked up a rebound a few minutes later to give Merrimack the 2-0 advantage. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Vermont kicked into gear from there. Rose-Marie Brochu scored her first career goal by cleaning up a rebound with a shot to the top shelf to make it 2-1 heading to the second intermission. Lily Humphrey collected her own rebound and carried to the opposite faceoff circle before wristing the puck home to tie the game 2-2. Natalie Mlynkova intercepted a pass to create a 2-on-1 where she gave Vermont the 3-2 lead. Kaylee Lewis scored her first career goal with a shot from the slot to ensure the 4-2 Catamount win and weekend sweep.
Brown at (14) Princeton
Rookie goalie Uma Corniea earned her second shutout in just her third career start to lead Princeton to a 3-0 win on Saturday. The Tigers outshot the Brown Bears 37-17. Emerson O’Leary continued her hot start, tallying the first goal of the night. Sarah Fillier doubled the lead in the second and ensured the win with an empty-netter.
