Giant killers
For the second time this season, No. 9 North Dakota ruined the perfect record of a top-ranked team, in this case, No. 1 Wisconsin. Goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie shut the Badgers out for the series, making 26 saves on Friday when the Fighting Hawks won, 3-0, and thwarting another 41 shots as the teams played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
UND got first-period goals on Friday from Layla Marvin and Vilma Tanskanen, held Wisconsin off the board in the second period as the Badgers controlled play, and Becca Kohler put the game away with a goal 6:17 into the final period. Tanja Eisenschmid had a pair of assists.
Ann-Renée Desbiens turned in a 17-save shutout in the tie on Saturday, her 10th of the season. Wisconsin won the shootout to salvage two points from the weekend.
Gliding into the break
No. 2 Boston College had no such difficulty scoring in handling Syracuse, 7-2, as Alex Carpenter scored four times, including a natural hat trick. She wasn’t even tops in points for the game, as Haley Skarupa contributed five assists. Melissa Piacentini netted both Orange goals.
More natural ability
Minnesota-Duluth swept Ohio State, 4-2 and 5-2, and Lara Stalder finished the second win with a natural hat trick of her own. She had four assists on the weekend, including three on Friday, giving her a seven-point weekend, matched by linemate Ashleigh Brykaliuk. Brykaliuk scored twice with two helpers, a feat repeated on Saturday by Michela Cava, the duo’s center.
Still no win
Union battled, but the Dutchwomen end 2015 without a victory. Maine’s Meghann Treacy made 17 saves to shut them out, 1-0, on Friday. Nicole Arnold’s second-period goal made a hard-luck loser out of Melissa Black, who saved the other 27 shots. On Saturday, Union found its offense but had to settle for a 2-2 tie. The Black Bears struck first with a short-handed goal from Allyson Matteau, but Lizzy Otten answered on the same power play. Brooke Stacey put Maine back on top late in the second period, but Alli Devins got a third-period equalizer.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 4 Quinnipiac was the only other ranked team to play an official game, and the Bobcats throttled New Hampshire, 6-0. Sydney Rossman needed only seven saves to shut out the Wildcats. Nicole Connery scored twice and added an assist; Taylar Cianfarano matched her three points and tallied once.
Other action
UNH won its other two games of the week, starting with a 3-2 win over Dartmouth on Tuesday. Kyra Smith made 30 saves to preserve the victory, and Margo Lund, Cassandra Vilgrain, and Devan Taylor provided the goals. Lindsey Allen and Ailish Forfar countered for the Big Green.
New Hampshire finished its first half on Sunday defeating Yale, 5-2. Lund, Jonna Curtis, and Vilgrain scored second-period goals; Phoebe Staenz had given the Bulldogs the early 1-0 lead. Kate Haslett and Jenna Rheault added late markers for the Wildcats, after Janelle Ferrara had pulled Yale within one.
Victoria Bach and Sarah Lefort each found the net twice in Boston University’s 6-0 shutout of Providence. Erin O’Neil saved all 27 shots from the Friars.
Providence bounced back with a 4-3 decision over Merrimack. Lexi Romanchuk, Brittney Thunstrom, and the Warriors’ Paige Voight turned in two-goal performances.
Princeton swept visiting Penn State, 4-0 and 3-2. Kimberly Newell denied all 22 shots in the opener, and Jaimie McDonell had three primary assists, while four different Tigers scored. On Saturday, Kelsey Koelzer, Morgan Sly, and McDonell tallied for Princeton, trumping the two-goal game of the Nittany Lions’ Hannah Bramm.
Robert Morris took three of four points at Lindenwood. The teams skated to a 3-3 stalemate on Saturday, thanks to Brittany Howard’s late power-play goal; Sarah Bobrowski knocked in two for the Lions. Jessica Dodds made 27 saves on Sunday in the Colonials’ 4-1 win. Mikaela Lowater scored on a power play, as well as short-handed.
Vermont triumphed, 3-2, to end its six-game losing streak and extend Dartmouth’s skid to six. Molly Depew made 31 saves to allow the visiting Catamounts to come out on top despite being outshot, 33-17. Mackenzie MacNeil and Casey Leveillee gave UVM an early lead, and Victoria Andreakos’ goal 40 seconds into the second period wound up as the game-winner.
