Another week has come and gone for NCAA women’s hockey. The second week of action featured a number of cancelled and postponed games, but there were still some big battles that took place on the ice. In fact, we saw a WCHA team send a big statement, and the top team in the country start their season off with a loss.
Here’s our weekly spin around the women’s college hockey world!
Hockey East
Friday, November 27th
Providence 3 @ Boston College 2
Providence and Boston College were the only show in town for Hockey East this past weekend. The UConn V. Maine series was postponed, as was the UNH and Holy Cross home-and-home set.
Providence got goals from Lauren DeBlois, Claire Tyo and Annelise Rice, while Sandra Abstreiter made 34 saves to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season.
Saturday, November 28th
Boston College 2 @ Providence 3
New day, new location, same result. The Eagles took a 2-1 lead into the third period thanks to Savannah Norcross’ third goal of the season at 19:17 of the second period, but could not hold the lead. Sara Hjalmarsson scored just 48 seconds into the third period to tie it, while DeBlois scored her second in as many days and third of the season at 13:19 on the powerplay. That goal stood as the winner, as Providence completed an impressive sweep and earned their third win in four tries.
The Friars finished 15-10-2 in Hockey East last season, and 18-14-4 overall on the season. They were third in Hockey East, behind Northeastern and Boston University, but dropped their Quarterfinal series against UNH on home ice.
With star forward Maureen Murphy transferring to Northeastern, many thought the Friars would be in for a rebuilding season. That may still be the case, but their 3-0-1 start has caught the eyes of many.
WCHA
Friday, November 27th
Wisconsin 2 @ Ohio State 3
Minnesota 4 @ Minnesota-Duluth 2
Minnesota State 0 @ St. Cloud State 1
The WCHA had a more full schedule this weekend than other conferences, playing six games between Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, Ohio State sent a message to the hockey world that their 2019-20 season was not a fluke. The Buckeyes outshot the Badgers 36-24, and got goals from Sophie Jaques, Madison Bizal and Jenna Buglioni to pull off the victory.
Abby Cherkowski scored the game-winner for Minnesota in their second win of the season, while Sanni Ahola made 37 saves in St. Cloud State’s shutout victory. Allie Cornelius had the lone goal in the game, coming 2:51 into the second period.
Saturday, November 28th
Wisconsin 5 @ Ohio State 0
Minnesota 2 @ Minnesota-Duluth 1
Minnesota State 4 @ St. Cloud State 2
Wisconsin got their revenge in the back half of this series, dominating the Buckeyes for their first victory of the season. The Badgers held a 30-28 advantage in shots, and got goals from Maddi Wheeler, Britta Curl, Sophie Shirley (2) and Dara Greig. Kennedy Blair made 28 saves for the shutout, while Andrea Braendli made 25 saves in the loss.
The Buckeyes are 2-2-0 on the season, having earned impressive splits against both Minnesota and Wisconsin. All things considered, it’s a strong start to the season in Columbus.
Minnesota swept the weekend and improved to 3-1-0 on the year thanks to Ashton Bell, whose second goal of the season at 9:24 of the third period pushed the Golden Gophers over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
ECAC
Saturday, November 28th
Colgate 3 @ Clarkson 1
Colgate started the season 2-0-0 with a sweep over Syracuse last weekend. This past weekend, it was a top-ten showdown against Clarkson that would give us a better idea of what this Colgate team is all about. The #9 Raiders sent a statement with their 3-1 decision over #5 Clarkson.
Kalty Kaltounkova scored twice, while Sammy Smigliani added a tally as the Raiders exploded for three goals in the second period on Saturday. Avery Mitchell did light the lamp at 17:24 of the third period for Clarkson, but it wasn’t enough as round 1 of this home-and-home went to the Raiders.
Monday, November 30th
Clarkson @ Colgate 5:00 pm
After a day off on Sunday, Clarkson will visit Colgate later today to complete this home-and-home series.
CHA
Friday, November 27th
RIT 1 @ Syracuse 7
0-2-0 Syracuse opened the CHA portion of their schedule on Friday night. This outing went decidedly better than both tightly-contested losses last week against Colgate. The Orange erupted in the first period, scoring four goals and never looking back. Senior Emma Polaski scored twice in the win, while junior Lauren Bellefontaine had four points (1 g, 3 a) in the effort.
Sunday, November 29th
Lindenwood 0 @ Penn State 3
RIT @ Syracuse PPD
RIT and Syracuse were unable to play their series finale in Syracuse on Sunday afternoon. According to the Orange, the game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. A new date for the game will be announced when both schools confirm it.
Penn State and Lindenwood opened their 2020-21 seasons yesterday at University Park. Carrie Byrnes scored a powerplay goal just 9:36 into the contest to give the Nittany Lions a lead they would not lose. Natalie Heising scored twice, including a powerplay goal at 2:49 of the second period, to give Penn State their insurance. Josie Bothun made 23 saves in the shutout victory.
Monday, November 30th
Lindenwood @ Penn State 2:00 pm
