Impressive goaltender play was the theme of NC Women's Ice Hockey Week 11, as several netminders put on season-defining performances to hand out upsets and secure satisfying victories. Wisconsin continued its streak of domination while Minnesota State upset Minnesota Duluth for the Mavericks' fifth win of the season. Check out these stories and more below!
[divider]UPSET OF THE WEEK[divider]
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Just one game removed from a 5-1 defeat by Minnesota, Boston University handed the second-ranked Gophers their second loss in as many weeks, turning out an overtime thriller for the ages.
The Terriers came out ready to play from the get-go, scoring twice in quick succession, including a Victoria Bach lamplighter at 1:42 into the contest, to put themselves up 2-0 on the defending champs.
Two man advantage opportunities gave the Gophers the edge they needed to get back into the game. Sarah Potomak put Minnesota on the board first, finding the back of the net on a 5-on-3. Less than a minute later, Kate Schipper tallied her team’s second power-play goal to bring the score to a tie.
In the second period, Boston was quick to score again, this time notching a pair of goals in just under a minute to regain their two-goal lead. Not to be outdone, however, Minnesota began to claw back with another goal of their own just past the midway point of regulation.
Boston was able to go into the third with a 5-3 score on their side after Samantha Sutherland notched a goal on a man-advantage opportunity for her team late in the second.
The game seemed well in hand for Boston through much of the third, but at 14:52, Kelly Pannek recorded her third point of the game with a power-play goal. She also assisted on Minnesota’s first two goals.
With less than two minutes to go in regulation, Lee Stecklein scored the game-tying tally, bringing the score to 5-5 as the two teams headed into overtime.
Despite losing grip on the matchup at several points during regulation, the Terriers knuckled down for the home stretch, notching the game-winning goal less than two minutes into the extra period as Natalie Flynn found the back of the net for the second time.
Boston University’s goaltender Erin O’Neil stood out as her team’s most valuable player on the ice after she faced 49 shots. O’Neil recorded 44 saves, including a 19-save third period, to keep her team in the game.
[divider]OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK[divider]
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The first-ranked Badgers proved once again why they’ve stayed at the top of the standings with a 7-0 rout of WCHA opponent Ohio State. Wisconsin unleashed an offensive blitz on Ohio State, outshooting the Buckeyes 48-14.
Buckeyes starting goaltender Kassidy Sauve held firm through the first ten minutes, keeping the high-flying Badgers off the scoreboard, until Jenny Ryan, assisted by Emily Clark, tallied the eventual game-winner.
Clark recorded five points in the outing, marking a new career-high, including a goal and four assists.
Among the goal-scorers for Wisconsin were more familiar names such as Annie Pankowski, who is second on her team in goal-scoring, and Emily Clark, who leads the team in assists with 14.
Two Badgers, Ryan and Pankowski, tallied multiple goals in the game, while goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens posted her seventh shutout of the season with 14 saves on the night.
“I’m definitely happy with [my five-point game],” Clark told her team’s website. “It’s funny; some days the pucks go in a little easier than others, but it was a big team win and the scoring was spread out, so it’s good for us as a whole.”
[divider]DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK[divider]
Courtesy Minnesota State University Athletics
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Third-ranked Minnesota Duluth faced off against a familiar foe, Minnesota State, on Saturday. To the surprise of plenty, the Mavericks upset their in-state WCHA rival, earning their fifth win of the season.
The upset came at the hands of Minnesota State’s goaltender, Brianna Quade, whose 39-save performance backstopped her team to an improbable victory.
It was the Bulldogs that opened up scoring as Lara Stalder found the back of the net late in the first period. This was the only goal that Quade allowed as she doubled down, standing on her head for her team the rest of the way.
The Mavericks offense struggled to get anything going, with just three shots on goal in the first, and five more in the second. The team finally got on the board early in the third, when a power-play opportunity enabled Megan Hinze to bring the score to 1-1 on her third goal of the season.
On another man advantage, Hinze lit the lamp once more, tucking home the game-winner with a little more than five minutes to go in regulation.
Thanks to a 16-save performance by Quade in the third, the Mavericks held on for the 2-1 upset.
[divider]GAME OF THE WEEK[divider]
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Clarkson visited Syracuse looking to extend their unbeaten streak to 15 consecutive games, only to find that Syracuse didn’t plan on making it easy for the fourth-ranked Golden Knights.
Syracuse managed to score first, finding the back of the net six minutes into regulation. It took much of the rest of the period, but Clarkson evened up the game off of a Cayley Mercer goal, five minutes before the first intermission.
In the second, it was Clarkson that struck the first blow, with Ella Shelton tallying her team’s second goal at 5:27. From there, the game remained dead-locked, with both teams getting a handful of shots on goal but remaining unable to convert.
It wasn’t until very late in the third that Syracuse notched the equalizer, with Alysha Burriss sneaking a shot past netminder Shea Tiley. With less than two minutes left in regulation, neither team managed another goal, and the game headed into overtime.
Clarkson recorded three shots on goal in the extra time, while Syracuse had two, but neither team was able to find the back of the net, and the game finished with a 2-2 tie.
The non-conference opponents were evenly matched throughout the game. Syracuse outshot Clarkson 23-22 and neither team converted on the power-play. With the tie, Clarkson still hasn’t been beaten since its loss to first-ranked Wisconsin in October.