(1) Wisconsin at (2) Ohio State
The top-ranked Badgers visited Columbus and came away with six points thanks to an outstanding weekend from goalie Ava McNaughton. On Friday, it took awhile for the scoring to start as the teams felt each other out and looked to gain an advantage. It looked like Ohio State was controlling things in the first, but they couldn’t get one past McNaughton and the Badgers seemed to find their footing more in the second, forcing a more back and forth game. It was a physical weekend – the teams combined for 11 power plays, though the infractions were often coincidental. Each team had just two power plays and Wisconsin got on the board late in the second on one of those advantages as Adéla Šapovalivová’s backhand right in front of the net deflected off a Buckeye and into the net. As OSU was pressing for the equalizer late in the game, the teams were four on four and the Buckeyes were caught too focused on offense as Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey started to breakout. Harvey won a foot race and took Edwards’ pass in stride, going in alone on Hailey MacLeod, beating her to put Wisconsin up 2-0. Ohio State pulled the goalie for an extra attacker and Jocelyn Amos capitalized with 36.3 left in the game, but OSU ran out of time and the Badgers took the 2-1 win. On Saturday, McNaughton made a season-high 35 saves while UW used a three-goal second period to pull away and earn the weekend sweep with a 6-1 victory. An early goal from Cassie Hall was wiped off the board for goalie interference, but Kirsten Simms scored on the power play with under three to play in the first to give Wisconsin the 1-0 lead. Harvey scored her second breakaway goal, this time just 48 seconds into the second, stealing the puck off a Buckeye stick at the blue line and heading down the ice to make it 2-0. Maggie Scannell added to the lead less than two minutes later on a buildup she started in the defensive zone. She tipped in a shot from distance by Edwards to make it 3-0. Kelly Gorbatenko found herself wide open in front of the net to one-time home Lacey Eden’s pass to extend the lead to 4-0 late in the second. OSU then had their own goal wiped out due to goalie interference. Gorbatenko cleaned up a rebound on the power play midway through the third to make it 5-0. Mira Jungåker’s goal with 4:02 left ruined the shutout and got Ohio State on the board, but Hannah Halverson’s power play goal in the final minute secured the 6-1 win for the Badgers.
St. Thomas at (3) Minnesota
Two goals in the final three minutes of the game Friday were the difference for Minnesota, who pulled out a 5-3 win. The Tommies seemed to have a response for everything they did before that. The Gophers went up 1-0 thanks to a beauty of a toe drag from Abbey Murphy about six minutes into the game, but St. Thomas tied the game later in the frame on the power play as Whitney Horton put away a loose puck in front of the net to make it 1-1. In the second, Kendra Distad scored off a bank pass from Gracie Graham off the boards to make it 2-1 UM, but St. Thomas quickly replied as Horton took off on a breakaway to tie the game 2-2. In the third, Allie Franco scored early with a great shot from above the circle. The Tommies took a little longer to find the equalizer, but made it 3-3 on a shot through traffic by JuliAnna Gazdik. With under three to play, Sydney Morrow unleashed a rocket from the blue line that beat everyone to give Minnesota the 4-3 lead. Josefin Bouveng scored her 50th career goal less than a minute later to put the game out of reach and give Minnesota the 5-3 win. The Gophers came out flying in the second game as Madison Kaiser scored just 1:11 in and that seemed to set the tone for Minnesota. Murphy scored on a perfect give and go with Nelli Laitinen to make it 2-0 minutes later. In the second, Bouveng one-timed a pretty pass from Morrow to make it 3-0 and later in the frame, Jamie Nelson followed her own rebound to push the lead to 4-0. St. Thomas ruined the shutout with a goal from Ellah Hause halfway through the third, but the Tommies couldn’t find any more and Minnesota took the 4-1 win and weekend sweep. Murphy’s goal in the 2nd proved to be the game-winner and it was her 26th career game-winning goal,which is now the most in program history.
(5) Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State
UMD have been slow starters this season and Friday was no different. The Bulldogs could not score and Bemidji State got on the board to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission with a goal from Olivia Dronen. But the Bulldogs started to wake up in the second. Rae Mayer tied the game at basically half time, picking her spot with a shot from down low. Late in the frame, Caitlin Kraemer’s backhanded pass ended up on Thea Johansson’s stick for an easy scoring chance to give UMD the 2-1 lead. In the third, Grace Sadura got a bit of a breakaway and did not miss to extend the lead to 3-1. Ida Karlsson’s short-handed empty-netter secured the 4-1 win. In the second game, Mayer scored early in the first with a low shot to make it 1-0. Neither team was able to get much going in the second, but in the third, Kraemer and Johansson connected again, to give UMD the 2-0 lead early in the frame. Madison Burr tipped in a shot midway through the third and Danielle Burgen added a tip-in of her own to close out the 4-0 win and weekend sweep.
Boston College vs. (6) Northeastern (home and home)
Friday was the Allie Lalonde show as the junior tallied her first career hat trick to carry the Huskies to a 3-1 win. She scored just 31 seconds into the second as she crashed the net just in time to tap in a cross-crease pass from Éloïse Caron. Five minutes later, she won a foot race up the boards before pinching in and beating Grace Campbell with a backhand to make it 2-0. Maxim Tremblay replied quickly to cut the lead to 2-1. In the third, Lalonde went right at the net and while her shot was initially saved, Campbell kicked it right back to Lalonde, who buried the rebound to complete her hat trick and give Northeastern the 3-1 win. On Saturday, the two teams played the final women’s hockey game in Matthews Arena. Boston College looked to spoil Northeastern’s Senior Night on home ice as Madelyn Murphy took advantage of a weird bounce on a rebound to put the puck in the wide open net and give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Ella Lloyd’s shot from distance made it through traffic to tie the game at the midpoint of the first period. With just 50 seconds left in the first and on the power play, Sammy Taber lined up her stick and hit a home run, batting the puck out of the air and into the net to give Boston College a 2-1 advantage. Early in the second, Stryker Zablocki did a great job to corral an errant pass and then find Jaden Bogen in front of the net for a tap in to make it 2-2. Zablocki hit another great pass, this time to Lily Shannon with 2:08 on the clock to put Northeastern ahead. Zablocki added an empty-netter to secure the win for Northeastern on a historic day.
Boston University vs. (7) Connecticut (home and home)
Game one was incredibly even as the teams ended the first scoreless and with 11 shots apiece. It wasn’t until the midpoint of the second when BU broke through. Sydney Healey took off short-handed and held off the defender before potting the puck to make it 1-0. A few minutes later, Ashley Allard showed off some strength and balance to get through the defense and got the puck to Claire Murdoch, who sniped it top corner to tie the game. Neither team could find a go-ahead goal in regulation or overtime. The game ended a tie, but the Terriers won the shootout, earning an extra point in the Hockey East standings. In the second game, the teams were once again scoreless after the first period. Lilli Welcke put Boston University on the board with a nice lifted shot from close range just four minutes into the second. Livvy Dewar redirected a pass from Julia Pellerin early in a power play to tie things for UConn near the end of the second. Allard gave the Huskies the lead two minutes into the second, crashing in from the blue line to put back a loose puck through traffic to make it 2-1. But the Terriers fought back again and Avery Supryka tied the game with 4:02 left in regulation. It looked like they were destined to head to overtime again, but Connecticut called game with just 7.3 seconds left on the clock. The Huskies held the zone and put two attempts to net, but it was a rebound from Allard’s shot that popped out on the far side to Meghane Duchesne-Chalifoux, who one-timed it back to the far top corner to win the game for UConn 3-2.
(9) Quinnipiac at (8) Cornell
Bobcat goalie Felicia Frank made a career-high 34 saves and earned her sixth shutout of the season to shut down Cornell and give Quinnipiac the win. After a back and forth first, Jade Barbirati made sure a faceoff win followed by a great shot from Aynsley D’Ottavio found the back of the net to make it 1-0 QU. Makayla Watson carried the puck down the boards from the neutral zone and cut across the goal mouth to beat Annelies Bergmann and make it 2-0 for the Bobcats at the midpoint of the game. A few minutes later, Emerson Jarvis used her speed and great puck handling to beat a defender and score the third game of the game to give Quinnipiac the 3-0 win.
(11) Princeton at (8) Cornell
The Tigers head into the winter break atop the ECAC thanks to their first weekend sweep of these travel partners since the 2015-16 season. The win was also their seventh in a row. Cornell had control of this game early, but scored just one goal in the first as Lindzi Avar had the Big Red up 1-0 at the first break. But Princeton regrouped and came out pushing in the second. Issy Wunder scored twice just 22 seconds apart to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. The first came on a tip in that was challenged for goaltender interference, but called a good goal. The second game when a rebound ended up right on her stick. Less than two minutes later, Riley Sorokan got her stick on a shot from Kuehl, redirecting it up and over the goalie to make it 3-1. Cornell pulled one back on a lofted puck that ended up at Mckenna Van Gelder’s stick as she was alone on the back post to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Big Red could not find an equalizer and Princeton earned the win.
(9) Quinnipiac at (14) Colgate
Sara Stewart scored her first career goal with 21 seconds remaining in overtime to give Colgate a 2-1 win on Saturday. The teams played cat and mouse for more than two periods, with neither able to solve the other. Quinnipiac carried a 23-15 advantage in shots into the third, but Colgate scored first as Emma Pais lit the lamp four minutes in. The lead lasted just two minutes as Kahlen Lamarche scored her nation-leading 22nd goal to tie things 1-1. In the extra frame, both teams were unable to convert on close opportunities. As the final minute counted down, Elyssa Biederman started a breakout and passed it to Stewart as she streaked up the middle. Stewart corralled the pass with her skates and got it up to her stick where she beat the goalie nearside to earn the 2-1 overtime win.
St. Lawrence vs. (10) Clarkson (home and home)
The first game of the weekend was designated as non-conference. Clarkson outshot the Saints 37-24, but St. Lawrence carried a 1-0 lead into the final minutes of regulation thanks to an early power play goal from Alexia Côté. But Clarkson put the pressure on in the third and it paid off with four minutes left as a third-chance came to Rhea Hicks and she buried it to tie the game. Overtime didn’t settle the game and despite it being a non-conference matchup, the teams took penalty shots, which Clarkson won. The second game was studded with penalties and special teams. It started with a long 5 on 3 for Clarkson, but a hit post and some big saves from Kassidy Lawrence kept them off the board. But the Golden Knights scored on the 5 on 4 as Sena Catterall got the puck after it hit the post and put it in to make it 1-0. In the second, St. Lawrence seemed to find their stride, scoring just as a power play expired on a tip-in from Rylan Haslem. Less than two minutes later, the Saints got their first lead with a great shot out of transition from Meghan Crowley. Haslem scored her second with a tight angle shot to the far post that put SLU up 3-1. Jaela Carter’s shot through traffic before the end of the second cut into the lead for Clarkson, sending them to the third down 3-2. Sara Manness scored on the power play in the third when her shot went off a SLU defender and into the net to make it a 3-3 game and force overtime. In the extra frame, Clarkson brought pressure in waves in order to win as Manon le Scodan and Megan McKay both dropped passes and Manness finished things to give Clarkson the 4-3 win.
(11) Princeton at (14) Colgate
A four-point night from rookie Mackenzie Alexander that included her first career hat trick led Princeton to a 6-1 win on Friday. Emerson O’Leary also had a goal and two assists. The Tigers started off the scoring on some good puck movement in close to the net that O’Leary rifled home. Shortly after, Alexander scored her first on O’Leary’s strong forecheck where she stole the puck and went on net, dropping a pass to Alexander who sniped it for the 2-0 lead. Emma Pais got Colgate on the board midway through the second to make it a 2-1 game. A long pass from Angelina DiGirolamo put Alexander in alone and she made it 3-1 late in the second. Jane Kuehl put home a turnover on the power play early in the third to extend the lead to 4-1. Sawyer Fleming’s snipe made it 5-1 quickly after and Alexander tapped in a pass in the final seconds of the game to secure the hat trick and 6-1 victory for Princeton.
(13) St. Cloud State at (12) Minnesota State
The Huskies used a three-goal first period and a 28-save shutout from Emilia Kyrkkö to cruise to a 4-0 win on Friday. Payton Holloway opened the scoring in the second minute, taking the puck the length of the ice and scoring from behind the net on a puck that bounced off goalie Hailey Hansen and into the net. Sofianna Sundelin doubled the lead with five to go in the first thanks to a lucky bounce that put the puck right on her stick with the goal open in front of her. She made it 2-0. As the final minute counted down, Laura Zimmerman hit Avery Farrell with a perfect pass and Farrell scored to make it 3-0. Svenja Voight cleaned up a rebound in the second and that would be enough to give SCSU the 4-0 win. On Saturday, Minnesota State struck in the opening minute of each of the first two periods as first Zoe Lopez and then Mercury Bischoff lit the lamp to have the Mavericks up 2-0. But the Huskies started to push back. Farrell’s power play goal in the closing minutes of the second cut the lead to 2-1 and Sundelin scored less than three minutes into the third to tie the game. The teams could not find a game-winner in regulation and headed to overtime. Midway through the extra frame, Taylor Otremba did a spin and backhanded a pass to Kamryn Van Batavia, who one-timed it into the net to win the game and get the weekend split for Mankato.
(15) Yale at Brown (home and home)
In Friday’s game, the scores came in pairs. Brown opened things up with two goals in 19 seconds early in the first. First India McDadi picked up her own rebound and cycled back up top where she shot from the top of the circle to put the Bears up 1-0. Right after, Martina Accardi tipped in a shot from Zoe Li to double up the lead, making it 2-0 Brown. In the second, Carina DiAntonio scored on the power play to cut the lead in half for Yale and then Stephanie Stainton scored on an odd-player rush to tie the game. But Brown took back over in the third. Jade Iginla scored while falling to give the Bears the lead and shortly after Sam Broz scored from the slot to make it a 4-2 game. The Bears made 23 blocks in the game and Anya Zupkofska made 41 saves to help secure the win for Brown. In the second game, Iginla had Brown up 1-0 at the end of the first. Hannah Weyerhaeuser tied things on the power play early in the second with a beauty of a wrister. Li’s goal two minutes into the third put Brown ahead again. Just three minutes later Stainton tied things up on the power play, one-timing the puck at the back door to make it 2-2. DiAntonio added a power play goal of her own midway through the third that would prove to be the game-winner, giving Yale the 3-2 win and earning the Elis the split.