Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Women’s Notes: First Conference Tourneys Set to Begin

UConn Nearing Hockey East Regular-Season Title

Women's Notes: First Conference Tourneys Set to Begin
Saint Anselm senior Natalie Tulchinsky won the NEWHA conference scoring title (Photo: Jim Stankiewicz).

The “second season” has arrived for three of the five conferences in NCAA Division I women’s hockey.

While one week of regular-season hockey remains in both Hockey East and the WCHA, conference tournaments begin this weekend in the CHA, ECAC Hockey and NEWHA.

Penn State enters the CHA Postseason as the No. 1 seed after capturing a second-consecutive regular-season conference championship. The Nittany Lions will host No. 4 seed RIT in a best-of-three semifinal series, while No. 2 Mercyhurst will host No. 3 Robert Morris in the other semifinal. The two winners will meet in the CHA championship game March 2.

  • Click HERE to view the CHA Postseason bracket.

Colgate secured the ECAC regular-season championship – and No. 1 playoff seed – last Saturday. The Raiders join Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Cornell as teams receiving byes into the ECAC quarterfinal round. Seeds six through 12 will meet in the single-elimination opening round on Saturday.

  • Click HERE to view the ECAC Hockey Championship bracket.

Top-seeded and two-time regular-season champion Long Island will host No. 8 seed Saint Michael’s in one of three best-of-three NEWHA quarterfinal series. The other two matchups feature No. 2 Saint Anselm versus No. 7 Post, No. 3 Stonehill against No. 6 Assumption, and No. 4 Sacred Heart facing No. 5 Franklin Pierce.

  • Click HERE to view the NEWHA postseason bracket.

2023-24 Conference Champs (reg. season)
CHA: Penn State (second in a row)
ECAC Hockey: Colgate
Hockey East: TBD
NEWHA: Long Island (second in a row)
WCHA: Ohio State (second in a row)

Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

Must Read:

Boston Globe: Senior Raice Szott epitomizes the community work of Merrimack women’s hockey
Columbus Dispatch: Joy Dunne becomes impact freshman for Ohio State women’s hockey
Onward State: Penn State women’s hockey entering CHA postseason with hefty challenger in way
The Hockey News: St. Lawrence Star Abby Hustler Could Someday Soon Be PEI’s First PWHL Player
The Rink Live: Avery Farrell pushes her way into key role for SCSU
Times Union: Goalie Rampado the ‘backbone’ of RPI women’s hockey program
USCHO: Weekend wrap

Must Hear:

Inside College Hockey America: Featuring Syracuse Head Coach Britni Smith 
Inside ECAC Hockey: Featuring Clarkson senior D Nicole Gosling
Inside Hockey East: Featuring Northeastern graduate D Meg Carter
Inside the NEWHA: Featuring Post Head Coach Gretchen Silverman, senior G Grace Glasrud
The PodKaz: The postseason begins (for some), USA Hockey’s Katie Million joins the show

Must Watch:

NCAA.com: WCHA champs remain atop Power 5 heading into final weekend of regular season
WCCO News: Gopher hockey’s Skylar Vetter has big goals, with eyes set on turning pro

It All Comes Down to This:

With three league tournaments about to begin, and Ohio State having clinched the WCHA regular-season title last Saturday, the last champion to be crowned is in Hockey East, where No. 11 UConn carries a five-point cushion over Northeastern into the final weekend.

UConn travels to Boston University on Friday before hosting the Terriers on Saturday. Northeastern hosts Vermont on Friday and Saturday.

Statistically Speaking:

The end of the regular season in the CHA, ECAC Hockey and NEWHA also meant the crowning of the individual scoring champions for those respective leagues:

  • Penn State sophomore F Tessa Janecke (Orangeville, Ill.) claimed the CHA scoring title with 35 points in 20 conference games. She was the runner-up in the scoring race as a freshman one year ago.
  • In the ECAC, Cornell’s Izzy Daniel (Gr., Minneapolis, Minn.) edged St. Lawrence’s Abby Hustler (Jr., St. Louis, Prince Edward Island) to win the league scoring title by a single point. Daniel finished with 38 points in 22 conference contests.
  • Saint Anselm senior F Natalie Tulchinsky (Clifton Park, N.Y.) took home the NEWHA scoring title, amassing 35 points in 28 conference games.

Fit To Print:

“These are the moments I live for. I mean, every game is important but these in particular, there’s so many emotions and a lot of pressure. And pressure’s a privilege, so I try to take advantage of that privilege and do what I can to help the team win.”  

— Wisconsin sophomore D Laila Edwards (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) after scoring the OT winner in the Badgers’ 4-3 victory over Minnesota on Friday (source: USCHO.com)

PWHL Note of the Week:

Toronto F Natalie Spooner (Ohio State, 2008-12) became the PWHL’s first player to reach 10 goals when she registered a Valentine’s Day hat trick at Boston. It was the third game in a three-game stretch during which Spooner exploded for seven goals on 19 shots.

In 11 games on the season, Spooner has 10 goals and one assist. She has a league-leading three power-play tallies.

Spooner was a second-team All-American and a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist at Ohio State. She also won Olympic gold with Canada in 2014 and 2022.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

When Wisconsin and Ohio State meet Saturday in Madison, both teams will put their respective 15-game winning streaks on the line. They are the longest winning streaks this season in NCAA Division I women’s hockey …. OSU won its 24th WCHA game of the year Friday against St. Thomas, a new single-season school record for conference victories … Janecke is the first Nittany Lion to score 50-plus points in a single season. Her next point will be the 100th of her career … Long Island’s 3-2 overtime win over Saint Michael’s in Saturday’s regular-season finale was the 26th victory of the year for the Sharks, a new program record.

CONFERENCE WEBSITES
 CHA | ECAC | Hockey East | NEWHA | WCHA


Did you know? 97% of NCAA Division I women’s hockey players earn their degree!