Competition tightens up
The 28 teams that don’t belong to the Ivy League have played between two and six games apiece, and only two of them still have perfect records. One of those teams, No. 2 Wisconsin looks destined for the top spot in the poll after throttling Ohio State by a 9-0 composite in two games to improve to 6-0-0.
The Badgers got two goals from Brittany Ammerman and three points by Blayre Turnbull and Annie Pankowski in winning on Friday, 6-0. Ammerman added two more tallies in Sunday’s 3-0 whitewashing, and Ann-Renée Desbiens made 47 saves on the weekend to notch both shutouts.
OT solves nothing
Eight games were tied after regulation, and in each case, the deadlock remained after the five-minute overtime. Four ties involved an unranked team salvaging something from a home series with a ranked opponent that had defeated it the previous day.
Minnesota-Duluth took a two-goal lead on No. 1 Minnesota when freshman Michelle Löwenhielm scored early in the third period on Saturday, but the Gophers came back to tie with five minutes to go in regulation on Hannah Brandt’s fourth goal of the series. The Bulldogs won the WCHA shootout to gain an extra standings point. Dani Cameranesi had a point on each Minnesota goal in Friday’s 3-0 victory, and Amanda Leveille made 26 saves.
St. Lawrence slowed down the high-flying Eagles enough to tie No. 3 Boston College, 2-2, on senior Amanda Boulier’s goal with 4:08 left in the third period. Haley Skarupa and Andie Anastos had scored in the second period to put BC ahead after the Saints’ Kayla Raniwsky opened the scoring 10:57 into the game. Carmen MacDonald made 32 saves for SLU, after she stopped 41 shots in the Eagles’ 2-1 win on Friday. Alex Carpenter had a goal and an assist to lead the BC triumph.
Maine got a 39-save effort from Mariah Fujimagari to tie No. 7 Mercyhurst, 2-2. The Lakers needed a goal by Emily Janiga, her second of the game, with under five minutes in regulation to halve the contest. Jennifer More and Audra Richards scored for the Black Bears. On Friday, 41 saves by Maine goalie Meghann Treacy weren’t enough, as rookie Sarah Robello’s first goal as a Laker provided the 1-0 margin, and Amanda Makela turned in her third-straight shutout.
On Sunday, Penn State gained a 1-1 tie with No. 8 Quinnipiac on Amy Peterson’s third-period goal, answering an earlier short-handed effort by Shiann Darkangelo. The game matched the Bobcats’ Sydney Rossman and Hannah Ehresmann for the Nittany Lions, both former teammates of Peterson at Minnetonka (Minn.) High School; Ehresmann had the far-busier afternoon, called on for 45 saves. The tie was PSU’s best result versus a ranked team in its brief history. Quinnipiac had enjoyed an easier time in winning, 3-0, on Saturday. Taylar Cianfarano and Cydney Roesler had a goal plus an assist and Nicole Kosta contributed two helpers, while Chelsea Laden needed only 10 saves to earn the shutout.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 9 Clarkson and No. 10 North Dakota gained road sweeps, while No. 4 Harvard, No. 5 Cornell, and No. 6 Boston University were idle beyond an exhibition for the Terriers.
The Golden Knights blanked Providence twice, 5-0 and 3-0, with Shea Tiley stopping all 36 shots she faced. The Friars have yet to score in four defeats. Cayley Mercer and Geneviève Bannon had three-goal weekends.
Meghan Dufault’s hat trick and four assists from Becca Kohler highlighted UND’s 5-0 win at Minnesota State, as Shelby Amsley-Benzie made 15 saves. Elin Johansson gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead on Saturday on one of only nine MSU shots in the contest. The 47 saves turned in by Brianna Quade at the other end were ultimately not enough, as North Dakota got power-play goals by Kohler, late in the second period, and Amy Menke, midway through the third, to take a 2-1 verdict.
Save the puck!
Three coaches claimed their first wins with their current teams. St. Cloud State’s Eric Rud and Lindenwood’s Scott Spencer did so at each other’s expense. Rud’s Huskies took the series opener, 2-0. Lexi Slattery and Payge Pena were the only players to beat the Lions’ Nicole Hensley in 47 shots, and Julie Friend made 27 stops to get the shutout. Spencer got even on Saturday, 5-3, with a balanced attack that included five different goal scorers and 10 players with at least a point. Amanda Arbogast scored twice in the losing effort.
Hilary Witt got win number one at New Hampshire over RIT, 1-0, with a short-hander by Jonna Curtis proving decisive thanks to 32 saves by Vilma Vaattovaara. Curtis scored the tying goal the next day at Syracuse against former teammate Jenn Gilligan. Gilligan stopped 30 shots for the Orange, who got goals from Nicole Renault and Stephanie Grossi, with Vaattovaara denying 38 shots in the 2-2 draw. Amy Boucher had the other marker for the Wildcats.
Haven’t won, haven’t lost
Northeastern debuted by visiting the same two cities and tied Syracuse, 1-1, and RIT, 2-2. Against the Orange, Kendall Coyne’s goal matched an earlier one by Alysha Burriss. In Rochester, Hayley Masters and McKenna Brand put the Huskies up by two, but Christa Vulgar pulled the Tigers within one and Darcy Henderson notched an extra-attacker goal with 33 seconds left.
Other action
Colgate took the first game at Robert Morris, 6-3, with Miriam Drubel and Megan Sullivan netting a pair. The Colonials bounced back with a 2-1 win, backed by a 37-save effort by Courtney Vinet.
Connecticut won the opener from Union, 4-2, but the Dutchwomen responded with a 33-save shutout by Shenae Lundberg to win, 1-0, as Christine Valente scored.
Vermont claimed a 4-2 decision from Rensselaer as Brittany Zuback and Amanda Pelkey accounted for the goals. Bridget Baker’s second goal of the day allowed the Catamounts to tie the Engineers, 2-2, in the series finale.
