(1) Wisconsin at (2) Ohio State
Having lost six straight games in Columbus, things did not look good for the Badgers early on Friday as Ohio State scored twice in fourteen seconds late in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. First Maddi Wheeler and Joy Dunne connected on a rush then Jenna Buglioni tipped in a shot from distance by Dunne to give the Buckeyes the advantage. But Wisconsin started chipping away at the lead early in the second when Casey O’Brien and Lacey Eden connected on a rush of their own to cut the lead to 2-1. Later in the frame, a missed cover up by Amanda Thiele left the puck for O’Brien, who tapped it in to tie the game. Wisconsin took the lead in the opening minutes of the third on the power play on a 4-on-2 that Eden buried to make it 3-2. KK Harvey would add an empty-netter to secure the comeback and win for the Badgers. Saturday started similarly, with the Buckeyes taking a 2-0 lead early. Makenna Webster scored the only even strength goal of the game, carrying the puck in and scoring on Ava McNaughton point blank. Wheeler scored her second of the weekend, placing a shot high to make it 2-0. Wisconsin would pull back within one when Kirsten Simms put back a rebound on an O’Brien shot on the power play to make it 2-1. After a scoreless second in which both goals were called on to make big saves, Kiara Zanon restored the two-goal lead on a short-handed breakaway to make it 3-1. Wisconsin responded 33 seconds later when Maggie Scannell put away a loose puck in the crease to make it 3-2. But the Badgers could not find an equalizer and OSU took the win and earned a split.
(3) Minnesota at (4) Minnesota Duluth
The Gophers outshot the Bulldogs 22-9 in the first period, but the teams were tied headed into intermission. Sydney Morrow scored on the power play to put Minnesota up with under four to play in the frame, but Hanna Baskin replied 90 seconds later for UMD. The teams continued to battle back and forth but Minnesota broke the game open later in the second as Abbey Murphy gave them the 2-1 lead and Ella Huber scored short-handed with just more than a minute left in the second to make it a 3-1 game. Huber added an empty-netter to secure the 4-1 win on Friday. Ève Gascon made 48 saves for UMD in the loss. The Bulldogs came out pressing on Saturday as Kamryn Davis scored just 3:54 into the game to put the home team up 1-0. Gracie Graham tied the game for the Gophers midway through the period and Peyton Hemp gave them the lead thanks to a power play goal with under two to play. Minnesota took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Despite seven minutes of power play in the second, the Gophers could not take advantage and the score was the same after two periods. Emma Connor extended the lead for Minnesota 3-1 late in the third, but UMD was able to bring the lead back to one on a power play goal from Nina Jobst-Smith with under four to play. The Bulldogs pulled the goalie, but the Gopher defense shut them down and the could not find the equalizer as Minnesota earned the 3-2 win and weekend sweep.
Dartmouth at (5) Colgate
Kalty Kaltounková scored just 13 seconds into the game, but Dartmouth quickly responded as Lauren Messier lit the lamp on the power play to make it a 1-1 game at the first intermission. Elyssa Biederman scored with a player advantage in the second to put Colgate up 2-1. But in the third, the Raiders pulled away as Alexis Petford scored in the opening few minutes, Madeline Palumbo added a power play goal and Sara Stewart closed out the scoring to give Colgate a 5-1 win. Freshman goalie Farah Walker picked up her first-career ECAC win in net for the Raiders.
Harvard at (5) Colgate
For the second straight game, Kalty Kaltounková scored early in the first to put Colgate up, this time on the power play to make it 1-0 before four minutes had elapsed. Alexis Petford doubled the lead late in the second and Elyssa Biederman added an empty-netter to secure the Raiders’ 10th-straight win 3-0.
St. Lawrence at (6) Clarkson
Thursday afternoon’s youth game was a chess match where neither team was able to pull away from the other. High-quality chances were at a premium as both teams racked up more than a dozen blocks and both goalies stood tall. Sarah Marchand broke the stalemate just 24 seconds into the third, cleaning up a rebound on a shot from Kennedy Wilson to put St. Lawrence up 1-0. Four minutes later Shelby Laidlaw picked up a clear attempt at the top of the zone and took advantage of a screen in front of the net to put a shot from distance into the net. Neither team was able to find the go ahead goal, even through overtime. Clarkson earned the extra point in the shootout as Nicole Gosling and Sena Catterall each scored. In the rematch on Saturday, the Golden Knights picked up their defense even more, blocking 17 shots while Julia Minotti made 27 saves. Anne Cherkowski was the difference-maker, going bar down with six minutes to go in the third to make it 1-0. Haley Winn added an empty-netter to secure the 2-0 win for Clarkson.
Minnesota State at (8) St. Cloud State
Claire Vekich’s first-period goal put the Mavericks up 1-0. Jamie Nelson doubled the lead in the second, but St. Cloud quickly responded as Avery Farrell made it a 2-1 game at the second intermission. But it was Mankato’s day as they extended the lead early in the third on a goal from Bella Shipley. Taylor Otremba’s goal midway through the third secured the 4-1 win. MSU outshot SCSU 33-30 and dominated in faceoffs, 36-16, which helped power the win. It looked like Minnesota State might duplicate that result when Saturday’s game started with a second-period goal from JuliAnna Gadzik. But St. Cloud’s Emma Gentry tied the game before the end of the second. In the third, Mackenzie Bourgerie put Mankato up 2-1, but St. Cloud was once again able to respond with a goal from Farrell to force overtime. In the extra frame Sofianna Sundelin scored just after an MSU penalty expired to give the Huskies a 3-2 OT win.
Harvard at (10) Cornell
The Big Red pushed the pace early in this game and it finally paid off in the final minutes of the first period as Avi Adam, Lindzi Avar and Lily Delianedis each scored to put Cornell up 3-0. The final two goals came in the final minute of the period. Delianedis continued the onslaught just 20 seconds into the second period to extend the lead and then Karel Prefontaine scored to make it 5-0. Paige Lester spoiled the shutout but the Crimson could not cut further into the lead and the Big Red took the win.
Dartmouth at (10) Cornell
Lindzi Avar scored twice while Delaney Fleming and Mckenna Van Gelder each had a goal to lead Cornell to a 4-0 win on Saturday. Annelies Bergmann made 17 saves to earn her fifth shutout of the season.
(11) Boston College vs. (14) Boston University (home and home)
Friday’s game was one of streaks. Boston College owned the first period, outshooting BU 11-6 and skating away with a 1-0 lead thanks to Kate Ham. But the Terriers regrouped during the intermission and came out firing. Sydney Healey scored on the power play just 1:15 into the second to tie the game. Sixty-two seconds later BC took the lead again on a goal from Molly Jordan. And 90 seconds later, Julia Shaunessy tied it one more time for BU. The Terriers continued to control the puck for much of the second two periods, but Grace Campbell made 23 of her 29 saves in the second and third periods and the Eagles made 13 blocks in the game to keep the score tied. In overtime, Julia Pellerin carried the puck from the side boards into the slot and slid the puck five-hole to win the game for the Terriers. In the second game, BU held Boston College to just nine shots on goal. Kara Gouldin scored early for the Eagles, but once again the Terriers came alive in the second as Ani Fitzgerald and Lindsay Bochna each scored in the opening five minutes of the frame to give Boston University a lead they wouldn’t surrender. Healey added a goal in the third to secure the 3-1 win and weekend split for the Terriers.
Lindenwood at (12) Penn State
Lindenwood goalie Anna LaRose made 48 saves and the defense made 17 blocks as they pushed the Nittany Lions to the brink on Friday. Penn State outshot the Lions 50-10 but needed overtime to earn a 3-2 victory. Tessa Janecke opened the scoring, but Lindenwood responded soon after on a power play goal from Sidney Jackel to send the teams to the locker room tied 1-1. In the second, Maddy Christian scored an extra-attacker goal of her own to give PSU the 2-1 lead. With 2:29 left in regulation, Morgan Neitzke scored on the breakaway to tie the game 2-2 and force overtime. In the extra frame, Karley Garcia put home a feed from Alyssa Machado to salvage the win for Penn State. The Nittany Lions apparently felt they had something to prove on Saturday as they rallied to earn a 7-1 win. The game was close in the early going as Christian’s goal was the only tally of the first period. In the second, Grace Outwater doubled the lead before Josey Dunne made it a 2-1 game. But that’s as close as it would get for Lindenwood as the Nittany Lions seemed to find another gear as Tessa Janecke scored twice and Katelyn Roberts added a goal before the end of the second period to make it 5-1. Kendall Butze and Stella Retrum added goals in the third to secure the 7-1 win. Butzke led Penn State with six points on a goal and five assists.
(13) Connecticut at Merrimack
Friday’s game got off to a quick start as Maria Lindberg tipped in a puck under four minutes into the game to put the Warriors up 1-0. But UConn responded just 64 seconds later as Ashley Allard tied the game 1-1. Allard got the assist on the Huskies’ next goal as her stellar pass put Maya Serdachny in the perfect place to give them a 2-1 lead. Jada Habisch scored her third short-hander of the season to extend Connecticut’s lead to 3-1 midway through the second. Lindberg tallied her second of the game later in the third on the power play, but Megan Warrener prevented Merrimack from tying it up and earned UConn the 3-2 win. Kyla Josifovic and Brooke Campbell each scored and Tia Chan earned a 13-save shutout on Saturday as the Huskies took a 2-0 win and weekend sweep.
