AHA Tournament
Championship
Mercyhurst vs. (8) Penn State
Penn State won their third straight conference tournament championship on Saturday with a 4-1 win. Maddy Christian scored with some fancy stickwork just 23 seconds in to set the tone for the Nittany Lions, whose only conference this year came at the hands of Mercyhurst. Later in the frame, Brianna Brooks’ snipe extended the lead to 2-0. Regina Metzler scored early in the second to cut the lead to 2-1, but the PSU defense shut down any chance the Lakers had to get closer and Katelyn Roberts and Brooks each added insurance goals to secure the victory for Penn State.
ECAC Tournament
Semifinals
(9) Clarkson vs. (3) Cornell
It took more than 100 minutes of hockey to find a winner in the first semifinal on Friday. Cornell goalie Annelies Bergmann made 54 saves while Clarkson’s Holly Gruber made 40 in a chess match of a game that featured just two goals in regulation. Lily Delianedis took advantage of a 4-on-3 power play to slap in a shot late in the first to give Cornell the 1-0 lead. Rhea Hicks tied the game for the Golden Knights early in the second, potting the puck after a flurry in front of the net. The teams would essentially play a whole game after that point until Delianedis ended things, scoring a second power play goal to send her team to the championship game.
(7) St. Lawrence vs. (5) Colgate
This game started two hours later than planned thanks to the extra overtimes in the first semifinal, but Colgate was not bothered by the delay and came out raring to go. Madeline Palumbo snuck a puck just inside the post six minutes in to get the Raiders on the board first. Emma Pais cleaned up the rebound after an Alexia Aubin breakaway and Georgia Sambrano scored her second career goal in the second to give Colgate a 3-0 advantage before the midpoint of the game. Coming out of the intermission, St. Lawrence put the pressure on the Raiders, scoring twice in under a minute as both Abby Hehl and Sarah Marchand each lit the lamp to cut the it to a 3-2 lead. Colgate held strong on defense over the final few minutes and Elyssa Biederman’s empty-netter secured the 4-2 win for the Raiders.
Championship
(5) Colgate vs. (3) Cornell
Despite their long semifinal game the day before, the Big Red came out with energy on Saturday and put the game out of reach before two minutes had elapsed. McKenna Van Gelder cleaned up a loose puck to make it 1-0 and then Lindzi Avar’s shot from distance 25 seconds later would prove to be the game-winner. Kaia Malachino cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the second, but that’s as close as it got. Karel Prefontaine potted a power play goal in the third to make it 3-1 and then Kaitlin Jockims and Katie Chan each found the empty-net to secure the 5-1 win for Cornell and their first ECAC Tournament Championship since 2014.
Hockey East Tournament
Championship
Northeastern vs. (13) Boston University
The Terriers proved they perform under pressure, winning all of their Hockey East tournament games in overtime, including a 3-2 victory over Northeastern on Saturday to earn their sixth conference tournament crown. BU last won the title in 2015. Tamara Giaquinto put Boston University up 1-0 with a goal in the opening minutes, creeping in from the blue line to redirect Lilli Welcke’s pass into the net. The Huskies responded later in the frame when Lily Shannon grabbed a rebound off to the side of the net and one-timed it back to make it a 1-1 game. She doubled the Northeastern lead late in the second, sending a cross-ice pass to Allie Lalonde to draw the defense’s attention that way on the power play before getting it back on open ice and one-timing it into the open back door. Five minutes into the second, Clara Yuhn lifted a puck across her body and placed it perfectly over the goalie’s shoulder in the top corner of the net to tie the game and eventually force overtime. In the extra frame, BU put pressure on in the offensive zone and on a 3-on-2, Lilli Welcke put the puck to net from the right wing. The rebound was there for Sydney Healey to tap it in, win the game and send the Terriers to the NCAA Tournament.
NEWHA Tournament
Championship
Sacred Heart vs. LIU
Carly Greene made 31 saves and four different Pioneers lit the lamp to lead Sacred Heart to the NEWHA Tournament Championship and their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. LIU had not conceded a goal through their first three tournament games and scored first on Saturday, lighting the lamp a few minutes into the second with a power play goal from Maggie Culp after a back and forth opening frame. But Paige McNeil’s goal just 16 seconds later tied the game 1-1. That energized the Pios, who scored twice more in the second to take a 3-1 lead into the final frame. Grayson Limke scored on the power play and then Isabella Chaput put home a loose puck after a scramble at the net front. The Sharks were not giving up and Grace Babington’s goal with about six minutes to play cut the lead to 3-2. But once again, Sacred Heart had the answer. Ella Holm found the back of the net two minutes later to put the game out of reach and secure the 4-2 win for the Pioneers. SHU won the very first tournament in 2018, before the league earned their autobid, so this is their second tournament crown, but first NCAA trip.
WCHA Tournament
Read the Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Duluth semifinal recap here
Read the Minnesota vs. Ohio State semifinal recap here
Read the Wisconsin vs. Minnesota final recap here
