We're only at the beginning of the NC Women's Hockey season, but things are already starting to get interesting. Let's talk about some of the biggest moments of the fifth week of the women's college hockey season.[divider]
OFFENSIVE GAME OF THE WEEK
Check out some highlights from yesterday's 7-0 win over Sacred Heart! pic.twitter.com/WzW2bDq6Tn
— Brown Women's Hockey (@BrownWHockey) October 23, 2016
Through their first two games of the season, the Brown University Bears are 2-0 with consecutive wins over Sacred Heart. On Saturday, in the second of the series, Brown blanked the Pioneers, 7-0.
At the helm of the victory was Brown’s Sam Donovan, who recorded her first hat trick of the season to help power her team over their opponents. This was the junior’s second-career hat trick.
In addition to Donovan’s impressive performance, several of her teammates had multi-point nights as well, including Bridget Carey with two goals and Alley Rempe with a goal and a pair of assists.
In goal for Brown were Julianne Landry and Calla Isaac, serving as a tandem. In the game’s first two periods, Landry made nine saves, while Isaac, a freshman, recorded eight of her own in the final 20 minutes.
So far, Brown’s statistics are impressive, notching a total of 13 goals in two games for a goals-per-game average of 6.50 and over 43 shots per game.[divider]
DEFENSIVE GAME OF THE WEEK
In Friday’s top-ten matchup between third-ranked Quinnipiac and sixth-ranked Boston College, the two goalies on either end of the ice put on a clinic to keep the affair a zero-score game.
Four periods passed without either team scoring a goal as Quinnipiac’s Sydney Rossman knocked aside 38 total shots, including six on the penalty kill. Meanwhile, BC’s Katie Burt had 23 saves to stymie the Bobcats. In total, the teams failed to convert ten power-play opportunities, including a 90 second 5-on-3 man advantage for BC.
This was Burt’s first shutout of the season, and the first time her team’s offense had been blanked since Feb. 2014.
Despite the scoreboard, Eagles head coach Katie Crowley seemed encouraged by her team’s play.
“I was really impressed with how hard we went and that we played BC hockey again, which was nice to see,” Crowley told the team website.
Following a subsequent loss to BC on Saturday, Quinnipiac moves to a 5-2-1 record, while BC stands at 4-2-2.[divider]
MARATHON: St. Cloud State vs. Minnesota State
Following eight shootout rounds, the winner of St. Cloud State’s Friday matchup against Minnesota State was finally decided after Mavericks forward Hannah Davidson failed to convert a shot against Janine Alder to head into the ninth round.
In regulation, both teams notched two goals apiece. Heading into the second period, they were tied at zero, but 10:15 into the second, St. Cloud’s Kayla Friesen tallied her first goal of the season to give her team the lead. 32 seconds later, the Mavericks countered with a goal by Demi Gardner to put everything even once again.
In the third, St. Cloud’s lead lasted longer, with Payge Pena scoring at 11:47. The game seemed in hand before, with just two minutes left in regulation, Minnesota State’s Emily Antony lit the lamp, lifting the Huskies back.
Both goalies stayed perfect through five minutes of overtime, as St. Cloud’s Janine Alder and Minnesota State’s Brianna Quade each shut down a couple of looks. Quade in particular had a strong second period, recording 17 saves on 18 attempts. Alder, a freshman, had 26 saves on the night.
Though the game remains tied officially, Saelens secured another point for the Huskies with her shootout goal.
So far this season, the Huskies are 3-4-1, while the Mavericks fall to 2-5-1.
: Kelsey Saelens' eighth round goal gave #SCSUWHK a 2-1 win in the shootout and an extra point in the @WCHA_WHockey standings. pic.twitter.com/akZI80vbVu
— Huskies Hockey (@SCSUHUSKIES_WHK) October 22, 2016
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ONE-TWO PUNCH
The NCAA’s alpha dogs proved once again why they’re at the top of the heap this weekend, as first – and second-ranked Wisconsin and Minnesota both pulled out wins against tough competition.
The Badgers blanked ninth-ranked North Dakota on Saturday, unleashing an offensive onslaught to overwhelm North Dakota’s elite goaltender Lexie Shaw.
Shaw was forced to defend against 39 shots on goal, allowing just one 6:54 into the final period after fending off 29 shots in the first forty minutes. Wisconsin finished the game 2-0 after notching an empty-netter ten seconds before the final buzzer.
Emily Clark and Sarah Nurse tallied the goals for the Badgers, with Annie Pankowski recording assists on both.
In goal, Ann-Renée Desbiens faced 16 shots and stopped them all for her 41st career shutout.
“[Desbiens] was able to make a couple nice saves,” Badgers head coach Mark Johnson told the team’s website. “She seemed to be zoned in, focused, and it was certainly another great shutout for us.”
Over in Ohio, the second-ranked Golden Gophers forced Ohio State goaltender Kassidy Sauve to put on the performance of her life, unleashing 57 total shots on goal as they clambered to a 2-1 victory.
Despite facing over 40 shots in the first 40 minutes, Sauve managed to keep her team in the game, keeping Minnesota off the scoreboard entirely in the first. Ohio State actually managed to take the lead eight minutes into the second on a Dani Sadek goal, but Minnesota managed to even it up before the start of the second intermission after Taylor Williamson put her team on the board.
It wasn’t until the third that Minnesota managed to grab the lead as Sarah Potomak tallied the game-winner with more than thirteen minutes to go.
Gophers netminder Sidney Peters made 18 saves on the day, allowing just one goal. With the win, Minnesota improves to 7-1-0 this season, while Ohio State goes to 3-4-1.[divider]
TOP TOP-10 MATCHUP
Bemidji State visited WCHA conference rival Minnesota-Duluth in a strong matchup between two top-ten ranked teams.
The Bulldogs’ Katerina Mrázová tallied her team’s two goals, first getting on the board early in the second, and then notching the game-winner four minutes into the third.
Bemidji State’s goal scorer was Madison Hutchinson, who recorded her third lamp-lighter of the season.
In goal, Bemidji’s Brittni Mowat had 39 saves, including a 17-for-17 first period. Her team unleashed 21 shots on goal, but only managed to convert a single shot against Maddie Rooney.
