Bemidji State at (1) Wisconsin
With most of their senior class heading to Italy for Olympic play, the Badgers held their senior celebrations this weekend in Madison. And the highly-talented class delivered, scoring 15 of the team’s 16 goals on the weekend. The Beavers gave the Badgers all they could handle in the first period on Saturday. BSU scored first as Isa Goettl made it 1-0. Wisconsin responded to take the lead on goals from Kirsten Simms and KK Harvey. Bemidji pushed back, tying the game and taking the lead on goals from Hailey Armstrong and Morgan Smith. The Badgers tied things at three in the final minute of the frame on a power play goal by Laila Edwards. But the home team pulled away in the second. Harvey completed her first career hat trick – and the first from a Badger defender since Feb. 12, 2000 and Simms scored again to make it 6-3 after two. Simms earned a hat trick of her own in the third and she and Harvey each ended the game with six points. McKayla Zilisch, Lacey Eden and Claire Enright – also seniors – also scored in the third to close out the 10-3 win. On Sunday, Harvey and Eden scored in the first to give UW a 2-0 lead. Simms pushed it to 3-0 before Smith scored for BSU to make it 3-1. Kelly Gorbatenko – the lone non-senior to score for Wisconsin all weekend – made it 4-1 and Simms scored again in the final minute of the period to make it 5-1 at the second intermission. Enright lit the lamp in the third to secure the 6-1 win and weekend sweep.
St. Thomas at (2) Ohio State
The Buckeyes outshot St. Thomas 47-10 on Friday, but needed overtime to earn a 2-1 win. Whitney Horton struck first, putting the Tommies up 1-0 midway through the second. But Jocelyn Amos put back a rebound eight minutes into the third to tie things up. It took just 38 seconds into the overtime period for Amos to light the lamp again and give OSU the win. St. Thomas had a season-high 26 blocked shots while goalie Julia Minotti had a career-high 45 saves. In the second game, five different Buckeyes scored to lead Ohio State to a 5-0 win. Jordan Petrie, Amos, Joy Dunne, Maxine Cimoroni and Sloane Matthews each had a goal in the win.
(15) St. Cloud State at (3) Minnesota
The Gophers earned a 1-0 lead late in the first on Friday thanks to Jamie Nelson and that’s how the teams headed to the locker rooms. Then Minnesota broke things open in the second, scoring seven goals to put the game away in fewer than 20 minutes. Nelson scored twice to complete her first career hat trick and net her 50th career goal. In addition, Josefin Bouveng, Abbey Murphy, Kendra Distad, Bella Fanale and Ava Lindsay each found the back of the net to make it 8-0 at the second intermission. Sofianna Sundelin ruined the shutout, scoring for St. Cloud in the third but Minnesota took the 8-1 win. In the second game, Murphy scored twice to tie now-Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall for the all-time Gopher goals record with 139. Murphy’s first goal was the lone goal of the first to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Sydney Lamb scored with 2:04 left in the second and that looked like how the teams would head to the locker rooms, but Distad gave the Gophers a 2-1 lead with 49 seconds left in the frame. In the third, Minnesota got separation thanks to a goal from Murphy 11 seconds in and subsequent goals from Chloe Primerano and Tereza Plosová to earn them the 5-1 win.
Delaware at (4) Penn State
Coach Jeff Kampersal earned his 500th career win when Penn State defeated Delaware 5-0 on Friday. Grace Outwater, Kendall Butze, Mikah Keller, Maddy Christian and Taya MacDonald each scored in the win. On Saturday, the Nittany Lions clinched their fourth-straight AHA regular season title with a 7-0 win over the Blue Hens. The shutout was the 21st of Katie DeSa’s career – a new program record. Butze led the team with a goal and three assists. Tessa Janecke had two goals while Outwater, Abby Stonehouse, Nicole Hall and Taylor Lum each added a tally.
(8) Northeastern at (5) Connecticut
Northeastern opened up a 12 point lead atop Hockey East thanks to a weekend sweep of Connecticut. On Friday, Éloïse Caron started things off after a steal from Stryker Zablocki. Then replay showed Jaden Bogden beat the buzzer by 0.3 seconds to make it a 2-0 game. Kyla Josifovich got UConn on the board and cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the second, but Northeastern responded a minute later when Holly Abela made it 3-1. Zablocki scored her own buzzer beater – though not as dramatic as Bogden’s – scoring with 2.2 seconds left in the second to make it 4-1. Josifovich scored on the power play in the third, but UConn couldn’t mount a comeback and NU took the 4-2 win. In the second game, Lisa Jönsson made a career-high 45 saves and Northeastern continued their flair for the dramatic as Ella Lloyd scored with 15.2 seconds left in regulation to give NU a 1-0 win and weekend sweep.
Colgate at (6) Quinnipiac
Sophomore defender Makayla Watson tallied her first career hat trick on Friday to lead the Bobcats to a 5-1 win over Colgate. Kahlen Lamarche added two goals and an assist while Emerson Jarvis and Ella Sennick each added two assists. It was the first hat trick from a QU defender in 15 years. Elyssa Biederman scored a late goal to ruin the shutout, but that’s all the Raiders could manage as Quinnipiac took the victory.
(12) Cornell at (6) Quinnipiac
Cornell absolutely peppered the net, forcing Felicia Frank to make a career-high 39 saves, including 21 in the second. But they could not find the twine. On the other end of the ice, Quinnipiac scored twice in 24 seconds at the end of the first and with Frank’s solid play in net, that pretty much put an end to things. Bryn Prier and Laurence Frenette made it 2-0 at the end of the first. Then Prier added a short-hander in the second and Kahlen Lamarche added a goal in the third to give Quinnipiac a 4-0 win.
(12) Cornell at (7) Princeton
The Tigers carried a 13-game win streak into Friday’s game, but that did not intimidate Cornell, who scored more goals than they had in any game this season to take a decisive 6-1 win. The teams felt each other out over the first frame and the teams went into intermission in a scoreless time. Issy Wunder opened the scoring, putting Princeton up 1-0 with a power play tally 1:24 into the second. Rose Dwyer’s goal midway through the second tied the game at one before Delaney Fleming’s power play goal gave Cornell the lead with six to go in the middle frame. Piper Grober extended the lead with a pair of goals, one near the end of the second and another early in the third to make it 4-1. Alyssa Regalado added an empty netter with more than three to play. Princeton put the goalie back in and Georgia Schiff closed out the scoring to make it a 6-1 win.
Colgate at (7) Princeton
Alexis Petford’s goal on a cross-ice pass from Emma Beauchamp in overtime secured a 3-2 win for Colgate on Saturday. Colgate took an early lead in the game on a goal from Emma Beauchamp and doubled it to 2-0 midway through the first on a power play goal from Sara Stewart. Princeton responded in the third with goals from Mackenzie Alexander and Riley Sorokan to tie the game and force overtime where Petford won it. Colgate goalie Brooke Davis made 41 saves to help earn the win.
(9) Minnesota Duluth at (13) Minnesota State
After a long, hard-fought 60 minutes and overtime period, neither team could find the back of the net. Ève Gascon made 21 saves for UMD while Hailey Hansen made 28 and both earned shutouts. In the shootout, Gascon didn’t allow a goal and Caitlin Kraemer scored for Minnesota Duluth to earn the extra league point. On Saturday, Thea Johansson scored late in the first to put the Bulldogs on the board first. Zoey Krock scored early in the second to make it 2-0 and Madi Burr scored later in the second to secure a 3-0 win and weekend sweep for UMD.
(11) Clarkson at Dartmouth
On Friday, Clarkson outshot Dartmouth 42-12, but barely eked out a win as Sara Manness scored with 4.4 seconds left in overtime to secure the 2-1 victory for the Golden Knights. Izee Powell scored late in the second for Dartmouth on a shot that looked like an easy save for Arianne Leblanc that then trickled into the net. Clarkson pushed back immediately in the third as Manness stick-handled up the boards and sniped a goal just :29 seconds into the third. Neither team broke through and the game headed to overtime. Dartmouth had two dangerous chances, but couldn’t beat Leblanc. Clarkson held the puck for most of the final minute before Manness buried the game winner just before the buzzer.
(11) Clarkson at Harvard
Clarkson won their fifth straight while Kate Manness’ assist on the first goal extended her point streak to 10 games (2 goal, 16 assists) and Sara Manness set a program record with a goal in her 10th straight game as the Golden Knights took a 3-1 win. Lara Beecher was the beneficiary of Kate’s assist on the first goal midway through the second. Sara’s goal was two minutes later. Morgan McGathey scored for Harvard 30 seconds into the third, but Sara added another tally to secure the win.
(14) Holy Cross at Providence
Holy Cross racked up 21 blocks and Emily Crovo scored twice to lead the Crusaders to a 2-1 win Friday night. Jessie Pellerin scored late in the third for Providence but they ran out of time and Holy Cross took the victory. On Saturday, Abby Hornung made 35 saves while Reghan Chadwick, Alexia Moreau and Charlotte Sonntag each scored to lead Holy Cross to a 3-0 win. It was the team’s 10th conference victory of the season, the first time it has ever reached double figures in Hockey East wins. It was also their first win at Providence’s arena, their first shutout of Providence and their first sweep of the Friars.