Raiders Rallying?
At first glance, things don’t appear to be going very well for Colgate. The Raiders have been outscored 27 to 72 on the season. However, given the margin was 36-2 in four defeats inflicted by Minnesota and Cornell, the 36-25 deficit and 4-7-2 record in the rest of their games becomes much more respectable. Especially when one considers the team’s last three efforts, all on the road: the tie with Dartmouth a week ago, a 4-3 loss to St. Lawrence on Friday night in which the Raiders held a third-period lead, and a 2-1 shocking of No. 2 Clarkson on Saturday. Ashlynne Rando played the game of her young career, turning aside all but one of the Golden Knights’ 37 shots.
Streaking Catamounts
Vermont remembered to pack its defense for its trip to Connecticut. The Catamounts didn’t allow a Connecticut goal over 120 minutes as they swept a pair of games and ran their unbeaten streak to five games, the longest in program history since moving to D-I. Roxanne Douville stopped all 63 shots UConn mustered in notching the two shutouts, and Meghan Huertas and Erin Wente each struck for a pair of goals on the weekend.
Buckeyes attempt to bounce back
A week after being upset at Princeton and falling out of the top 10, Ohio State was back on the road, traveling to Minnesota State. Goaltenders Chelsea Knapp of OSU and Danielle Butters ruled on Friday. Each was perfect through 65 minutes, with Knapp recording 34 saves and Butters piling up 45. For the shootout to determine the extra point, the Mavericks replaced Butters with backup Erin Krichiver, a move that worked earlier in the season versus Minnesota-Duluth. This time the strategy backfired, as Krichiver was unable to reject any of the Buckeyes’ shooters: Hokey Langan, Ally Tarr, or Taylor Kuehl. Langan scored twice on Saturday, Julia McKinnon scored a power-play goal to break a 3-3 tie in the second period, and OSU returned home with five of a possible six points. While the Buckeyes did not quite sweep, none of the prior four visitors to Mankato for series fared any better.
How the top 10 fared
Judged by the polls, the key clash of the week occurred in Potsdam, N.Y. on Friday night when No. 3 Cornell challenged No. 2 Clarkson. An even contest saw each team put 30 shots on net and trade second-period goals, with Brittany Styner giving the hosts the lead and Lauriane Rougeau countering for the visitors. Ultimately, the Big Red were done in by penalties, committing nine infractions to four on the Knights. Shannon MacAulay capitalized on the game’s final power-play opportunity and Clarkson claimed a 2-1 win and a crucial two points in the ECAC standings. However, Cornell made that ground up on Saturday as it triumphed over St. Lawrence, 4-2, while Clarkson was falling to Colgate.
Another match of ranked teams occurred in Minneapolis. No. 10 Wisconsin crossed the border seeking revenge on No. 1 Minnesota for its defeat in the most recent NCAA title game. Instead, it was swept by the Gophers for the first time since January 2005. A total of 5,532 fans were treated to playoff-caliber hockey as Minnesota broke loose on Saturday for four second-period goals and won, 4-1. Goals proved more elusive on Sunday; it took 49 minutes and 14 seconds before Mira Jalosuo finally lit the lamp with 20 seconds remaining in a penalty on the Badgers. Amanda Kessel’s empty-net goal put the cherry on top of the weekend for the Gophers.
Two weeks after a six-goal drubbing of Providence, No. 7 Boston University found the Friars to be far less manageable in a home-and-home series. Three times the Terriers overcame Friar leads on Friday, the final equalizer coming off the stick of Shannon Doyle with just over five minutes remaining. Isabel Menard struck for the game-winner 40 seconds later in a 4-3 BU victory. Saturday’s game saw PC’s Nicole Anderson and BU’s Marie-Philip Poulin trade hat tricks with Jenelle Kohanchuk supplying a short-handed goal for a 4-3 BU lead. Rookie Molly Illikainen drew the Friars even with three and a half minutes to go, but Menard potted her second consecutive game winner with 87 second left. Kayla Tutino supplied an insurance score 29 seconds later, and BU had a 6-4 win and the sweep.
No. 5 Boston College had no such difficulty with Maine. The Eagles crushed the Black Bears by 7-2 and 10-0 verdicts. Sophomore Emily Field and rookies Dana Trivigno and Haley Skarupa all produced five-point games, with Trivigno and Skarupa celebrating hat tricks.
No. 9 Northeastern outscored opponents 10-7 over the course of three games. Unfortunately for the Huskies, most of those goals came in an 8-1 victory at New Hampshire on Saturday. In two games on home ice, NU managed just a goal apiece in 3-1 defeats at the hands of No. 6 Harvard on Tuesday and UNH on Sunday.
The Crimson also toppled Dartmouth, 6-0, on the strength of three-point games from Lyndsey Fry, Jillian Dempsey, and Hillary Crowe. Laura Bellamy turned in her third shutout in five starts.
Penn State and No. 4 Mercyhurst initiated their CHA rivalry, and the Lakers will likely have fonder memories of the series in Erie, Pa. The hosts outshot their guests 131 to 20 in taking down 5-0 and 7-1 decisions. Fourteen different Lakers contributed at least one scoring point on the weekend.
No. 8 North Dakota needed a power-play goal from Monique Lamoureux in the third period to gain a 3-2 win over RIT and avoid the upset on Friday. Saturday’s 8-2 thrashing by UND was far less captivating. Lamoureux and Michelle Karvinen each massed seven points over the series.
