As the NC Women's Hockey season approaches its midway point, the games just keep getting more interesting. Teams fight to keep their playoff hopes alive, the scores get tighter, and the play gets better. Among the best matchups this week were the top-ten-ranked teams like Clarkson and St. Lawrence, and Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Take a look at the best stories of the week below!
[divider]OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Boston College[divider]
Courtesy Boston College Athletics
Against fellow Hockey East opponent, Providence, the Boston College Eagles started strong and never took their foot off the gas pedal, rocketing to a decisive 8-0 win.
The Friars found themselves in a hole early as BC's Toni Ann Miano tallied the game's first goal and eventual game-winner just 24 seconds into the contest. Midway through the first, Miano found the back of the net again on a power-play opportunity. With less than a minute left in the opening period, BC scored once again on a Ryan Little tally, entering intermission with a solid 3-0 lead on their New Englanders.
Through the next two periods, four more Eagles scored five more goals, including two for Erin Connolly, who also picked up an assist on Little's tally. Providence netminder Madison Myers did her best to stand up to an onslaught of shots, but was eventually relieved Clare Minnerath in the final period. In total, BC unloaded 45 shots on goal.
Eagles goaltender Katie Burt had a relatively slow day in comparison, stopping all 17 of the shots she faced to earn her third shutout of the season. With 74 career wins as a Boston College Eagle, Burt is now tied for second in the program's history, just six back of the record held by Molly Schaus.
[divider]DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Ohio State[divider]
Despite out-shooting the the Buckeyes 44-18, ninth-ranked North Dakota fell, 2-1, to Ohio State after a dominant performance by OSU goaltender Kassidy Sauve.
Both teams came out hot to start the game, but it wasn't until 19:31 into the first period that Ohio State's Rebecca Freiburger tallied a goal to put her team on the board first. The Fighting Hawks quickly matched the score with a goal of their own early in the second, with Sarah Lecavalier getting her team's lone goal past Sauve.
However, the game stayed tied for less than three minutes before the Buckeyes scored again, this time on a goal by Samantha Bouley. From there, neither team was able to score again.
Sauve was the best player on the ice, making 43 saves to backstop her team to an upset victory.
This has been a rough stretch for the Fighting Hawks, who have recorded just one win in their last eight games (1-3-4). They are now 0-6-2 when the opposing team scores first.
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“Today was a big game for us, it was hard-fought,” Freiburger said about the win. “North Dakota came in and played hard. Our team battled all the way through and we were rewarded for all our hard work.”
[divider]UPSET OF THE WEEK
Clarkson over St. Lawrence[divider]
Courtesy Clarkson University Athletics
The top two teams in the ECAC faced off this week as fifth-ranked Clarkson visited third-ranked St. Lawrence and handed the Saints their first loss of the season.
The first goal of the game came on a man-advantage opportunity for Clarkson. Despite being faced with the top-ranked penalty kill unit in St. Lawrence, the Golden Knights managed to convert on the power-play as Savannah Harmon tallied her seventh goal this season.
With the score at 1-0, the game remained tight as both teams failed to score another goal until Clarkson once again found the back of the net, this time with less than four minutes left in the second period. Cayley Mercer had the tally, which went down as the game-winner.
Clarkson continued to build its lead in the third, notching two more goals before St. Lawrence pulled goaltender Grace Harrison for an extra attacker. The attempt worked as Brooke Webster managed to get the Saints on the board for the first time in the game, but down 4-1 with just over 10 minutes left in regulation, it was too little, too late.
Golden Knights netminder Shea Tiley put in an impressive performance, making 23 saves with just one goal-against to help her team take sole control of the top spot in their conference.
[divider]GAME OF THE WEEK
Minnesota-Wisconsin[divider]
Who else but the defending champs to bring this season’s big dogs down a notch? In this week's Battle of the Titans, second-ranked Minnesota handed top-ranked Wisconsin its second loss this season in a 2-0 thriller. This is the first time the Badgers, whose offense has averaged a whopping five points a game thus far, have been shutout this season.
The feat certainly didn’t come easy for the Gophers, whose record improved to 14-1-2. Goaltender Sidney Peters recorded a career-high 37 saves to keep the Badgers off the scoreboard and seal her fifth shutout of the season.
Kate Schipper also helmed the effort, notching both goals for Minnesota. The first came late in the second period on a man-advantage opportunity. Schipper’s goal, which gave her team the tenuous lead, also marked her 100th career point as a Minnesota Golden Gopher. She tallied her 101st point on the net goal, an empty-netter to ice the game with just 23 seconds left in regulation.
Despite missing a handful of games recently due to an upper-body injury, Badgers goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens was impressive as ever, stopping 32 of 33 shots she faced and keeping her team in it until the end.
“[The win] felt good. I thought we all played well as a team,” Schipper told her team’s website. “Each and every person accepted and fulfilled their role, and I think that really helped us win the game.”
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