Another weekend of college hockey is in the books, and for many teams, this weekend was the final one of the semester. Here's a look at how the ranked teams fared, except fourth-ranked Colgate and ninth-ranked Cornell, who have been intentionally omitted because they didn't play this weekend.
1. Ohio State
Ohio State hosted 10th-ranked St. Cloud State for a two-game set in Columbus on Friday and Saturday, and the weekend started shaky for the Buckeyes. On Friday night, the Huskies upset the Buckeyes 2-1 after scoring two goals in the second period and holding off Ohio State's offense thanks to goalkeeper Sanni Ahola, who finished with 46 saves.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes rebounded by defeating the Huskies 6-2. 11 different Buckeyes tallied points in the game, and the team outshot the Huskies 43-16; a four-goal second period provided the catalyst that Ohio State needed to retain the first overall ranking despite the earlier loss.
2. Wisconsin
On Saturday and Sunday, second-ranked Wisconsin hosted sixth-ranked Minnesota Duluth, and the two teams split their two games. On Saturday, Wisconsin beat the Bulldogs in a shutout, 3-0, where the Badgers scored two in the second period, one in the third, and outshot Minnesota Duluth by a tally of 51-20.
On Sunday, the Badgers fell by a score of 3-2 to the Bulldogs in a game where all five goals were scored in the third period. Wisconsin fell behind 2-0 early in the third before scoring with 12 minutes left and again with three seconds left in the game, with the goals coming courtesy of Cassie Hall and Casey O'Brien.
3. Minnesota
Minnesota faced an easy test at home on Friday and Saturday, as they hosted Bemidji State, who is one of the bottom two teams in the WCHA, along with St. Thomas. Minnesota won the two games by a combined score of 18-3, with a 9-2 win on Friday and a 9-1 win on Saturday.
On Friday, Lauren O'Hara, Ava Lindsay, and Abbey Murphy tallied two goals apiece and the Gophers outshot the Beavers 49-20; on Saturday, Murphy and Peyton Hemp tallied two goals each while Murphy added three assists of her own, while Lucy Morgan saved 24 shots on net. After the weekend, Minnesota overtook Wisconsin for second place in the USCHO rankings, which was well deserved.
4. Colgate
The Raiders didn't play this weekend, but they did enough early in the season to ensure they still walked out with their lead in the ECAC intact. At 8-0-0 in conference and 14-2-1 overall, this Colgate team can definitely make some noise in March. After Tuesday's game against Syracuse (which they won 9-0 after Neena Brick scored four goals and Hannah Murphy stopped all 11 shots she faced), the Raiders won't play again until December 29, when they will play against Maine in the first round of the Battle at the Burgh.
5. Clarkson
Clarkson played two of the ECAC's bottom feeders over the weekend in Dartmouth and Harvard, the Golden Knights won the two games on the road by a combined score of 14-1 and remained undefeated on the season. On Friday, Clarkson defeated the Big Green in a 5-0 shutout, and on Saturday, they followed it up with a 9-1 win over the Crimson in a game where the Golden Knights outshot the Crimson 48-13.
On Friday, Darcie Lappan scored a hat trick, and Julia Minotti saved 21 shots in her third shutout of the season and second straight. On Saturday, nine Golden Knights scored goals and fifteen tallied points; they were led by Haley Winn, who had three assists from defense, and Michelle Pasiechnyk, who allowed one goal on 13 shots.
6. Minnesota Duluth
As mentioned, the Bulldogs traveled to Madison to face second-ranked Wisconsin on Saturday and Sunday. Minnesota Duluth was shut out by the Badgers on Saturday in a 3-0 game that was never very close. On Sunday however, they beat the Badgers 3-2 to ensure they left the weekend with points.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs were outshot 51-20, and the lone bright spot was their goalkeeper, Éve Gascon, who tallied 48 saves in the game. On Sunday, Minnesota Duluth was outshot again 44-26, but they managed to sink three of their shots in the third period to blow the scoring open before surviving a late comeback attempt by the Badgers.
7. Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac was another school that faced a somewhat easy test this weekend, as they faced Union and RPI, two teams in the bottom half of the ECAC, in Hamden. On Friday, the Bobcats beat Union 4-1 before returning to the arena Saturday and defeating RPI by a 4-2 score.
On Friday, goalkeeper Logan Angers was excellent, as she allowed only one goal on 17 shots from the Garnet Chargers, and Jess Schryver added two goals of her own in the win. On Saturday, Angers was great again, tallying 28 saves on 30 shots from the Engineers while four different Bobcats scored.
8. St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence mirrored Clarkson's schedule on the weekend, playing Harvard on Friday and Dartmouth on Saturday, with both games being played on the road. On Friday, the Saints fell to the Crimson in a major upset by a 1-0 score in overtime, and on Saturday, they beat the Big Green in a high-scoring affair, 6-5.
Emma-Sofie Nordström saved 18 pucks, but she couldn't save Gwynn Lapp's final shot of the game; Alex Pellicci saved 52 shots from the Saints. On Saturday, the Saints decided to place a higher focus on the offense after the previous night's shutout and scored three goals in the first eight minutes of the game; Abby Hustler scored a hat trick, Julia Gosling added two goals, and Anna Segedi added another of her own to get to the 6-5 final score.
9. Cornell
The Big Red didn't play this weekend, but they finished the first semester with an 11-3-1 record and are in contention for the top seed in the ECAC. Cornell currently sits sixth in the conference standings, but in a conference where the top six teams are separated by six points after eight games. Any of the top seven teams could still win the conference. When the Big Red return from their break, they'll immediately dive into a six-game stretch that will go a long way in determining their chances at the ECAC regular season title and a postseason nod. Their first three games are at home against Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Colgate, before they play consecutive road games against Colgate (again), Princeton, and Quinnipiac.
10. St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State played two games at the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and took one on Friday night 2-1. On Saturday, they couldn't replicate the win, as they fell to the Buckeyes by a score of 6-2.
Sanni Ahola was the star of the show on Friday night, saving 46 shots; Greta Henderson and CC Bowlby added goals in the win. On Saturday, there wasn't much to speak of for the Huskies, as Jojo Chobak allowed six goals, and the team only totaled 16 shots to the Buckeyes’ 43.
11. UConn
UConn hosted two games that went into overtime on Friday and Saturday, with the Huskies beating Merrimack 2-1 on Friday and tying fifteenth-ranked Boston College 2-2 on Saturday.
Tia Chan saved 25 shots on Friday for the Huskies Camryn Wong scored the game-winner in overtime; Brianna Ware scored the other goal for UConn. On Saturday, Megan Warrener saved 22 shots while Riley Grimley and Jada Habisch both scored in the third period to take the game to overtime, where the game would finish in a tie; Habisch's goal game with 35 seconds left in regulation.
12. Princeton
Princeton mirrored Quinnipiac's schedule by facing RPI and Union at home on Friday and Saturday. On Friday evening, Princeton crushed the Engineers in a 6-0 shutout, and on Saturday, the Tigers tied the Garnet Chargers 1-1.
On Friday, Sarah Fillier and Sarah Paul tallied two goals each, while Issy Wunder and Emma Kee added one goal apiece, and Jennifer Olnowich had 22 saves in the shutout. On Saturday, Princeton scored three minutes into the game off of the stick of Jane Kuehl, but despite tallying 45 shots, they couldn't find the back of the net for the remaining 62 minutes of the game; Olnowich totaled 23 saves in the 1-1 tie.
13. Vermont
Vermont went on the road to Maine and New Hampshire over the weekend, and they wound up walking away with no points. On Friday, the Catamounts lost 3-2 to the Black Bears, and they followed it up on Saturday with a 1-0 loss to the Wildcats.
In Friday's game, Maine jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never looked back, with Vermont's second goal coming as time expired. Vermont's goals were scored by Lara Beecher and Kaylee Lewis. On Saturday, the game against New Hampshire was scoreless for the first 57 minutes before the Wildcats scored with 127 seconds left in the game, and the Catamounts couldn't return serve
14. Yale
Yale played Brown in a home-and-home series on Saturday and Sunday, with the Bears at home on Saturday and the Bulldogs at home on Sunday. On Saturday, the Bulldogs won 3-1; on Sunday, they followed it up with a 4-2 victory.
In the Bulldogs’ 3-1 victory on Saturday, they only allowed the Bears to fire 10 shots on net, and they pulled away early, scoring their three goals in the first two periods. On Sunday, it was more of the same, as Brown was only able to fire 15 shots on net to Yale's 37, and the Bulldogs were able to score three goals in the first 12 minutes and put the game away almost before it started.
15. Boston College
The Eagles played on Friday at Providence and on Saturday at UConn this weekend, and they came away from the weekend with a win and a tie. On Friday night, the Eagles beat the Friars 5-1 despite being outshot in the game, and on Saturday, the Eagles and Huskies skated to a 2-2 tie.
On Friday, the Eagles scored two goals in each of the first two periods and jumped out to a 5-0 lead halfway through the third before allowing the Friars’ lone goal of the contest with nine minutes left in the game; Caroline Goffredo and Sammy Smigliani scored two goals each, while Gaby Roy added the fifth, and Grace Campbell tallied 33 saves. On Saturday in Storrs, BC jumped out to a 2-0 lead halfway through the second period before allowing the Huskies to return and tie the game with 35 seconds left in regulation. Smigliani scored her third goal of the weekend in the game, and Katie Pyne added a goal of her own, while Campbell added 28 saves.
Main Image via Ohio State Athletics