Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Women’s Notes: Tight Matchups in Hockey East

Weekend Splits and One-Goal Games

There were five Hockey East matchups last weekend, and early-season results were tight with three of the five series seeing splits. Home ice prevailed in the home-and-home series between Boston College vs. Holy Cross and Boston University vs. Northeastern.

On Thursday night, Holy Cross defeated BC 4-1 at Hart Center Rink, but the Eagles wouldn’t be denied on their home ice, taking Saturday night’s tilt 5-1 at Conte Forum.

Across town, we saw a similar story between Boston University and Northeastern. Each team won by a score of 4-0, with the Huskies defeating the Terriers at Matthews Arena on Friday, and the Terriers returning the favor on Saturday at Agganis Arena.

Providence and Maine also split the weekend, with each game decided by a single goal. Friday night’s contest went to overtime.

Merrimack defeated Vermont on consecutive nights in 3-2 barn burners. UConn won both games against New Hampshire.

To see scores and upcoming games across the league, visit the composite schedule.

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Composite Schedule | Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

NEWHA’s New Helms

Three NEWHA coaches secured their first win as head coaches last weekend.

Pat Bingham earned his first win as head coach of the Post Eagles on Friday night with a 4-0 victory over St. Michael’s. Junior goaltender Hannah Saunders (Ottawa, Ontario) made program history and now leads the Eagles in career shutouts.

On Saturday, Meghan Sweezey earned her first win behind the bench for St. Michael’s Purple Knights. In a strong defensive effort, the Purple Knights blocked 21 shots to help freshman goalie Jordana DeMarinis (Beeton, Ontario) secure her first career victory.

Another coach added to the first win column, Sam Ftorek and the Saint Anselm Hawks took game one against Sacred Heart on Friday night. Four different goal scorers helped the Hawks overcome a two-goal deficit.

Border Battle:

The No. 1-ranked Badgers and No. 4 Gophers will face off this weekend at Ridder Arena in a top-ranked border battle. Wisconsin is 7-2-1 in the last 10 games against Minnesota.

Historically, the teams have been evenly matched, but the Gophers hold a slight lead in head-to-head wins, 57-52-16, since 1999.

To see more rivalry stats visit here.

Must Read & Hear:

Ohio State Buckeyes: Ice Breaker Tournament to be Played at the Schottenstein Center

Let’s Play Hockey: Women’s College Hockey Round Up

USCHO: Women’s DI College Hockey: Weekend Wrap

Yale News: Bulldogs Freeze Out McGill 5-1

Pickin’ Splinters: RIT Upsets No. 7 Colgate

The PodKaz: Ep 23. Thoughts on early weekend of nonconference & upcoming top 4 matchups

Puck Possession:

Hockey is a possession game, and these centers are drawing attention with dominant early-season faceoff percentages:

Jocelyn Amos (Ohio State) – 104-40, 72%
Casey O’Brien (Wisconsin) – 86-39, 69%
Tessa Janecke (Penn State) – 84-39, 68%
Evelyne Blais-Savoie (Vermont) – 57-26, 68%
Kathryn Karo (Stonehill) – 53-28, 65%

Fit To Print:

“…the girls came out ready to play and excited for the opportunity to take on a No. 2 team. Minnesota is always a great competitor, and it was in front of a fun crowd, especially a special moment to do it in front of our president and also in front of our alums.”

— Nadine Muzerall, after her 200th career win as head coach at Ohio State against her alma mater, Minnesota.

PWHL Note of the Week:

All six PWHL teams have announced their official training camp rosters in preparation for the 2024-25 season. Following training camp, rosters must be finalized by Wednesday, Nov. 27. Each team can carry a maximum of 23 active players, with three additional players signed to reserve contracts.

Of the 175 players invited to camp, 154, or 88%, are NCAA alums.

Official schedules were also announced with games beginning Saturday, November 30. To see the full 2024-25 schedule, visit here.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

Ohio State’s Nadine Muzerall won her 200^th game as head coach for the Buckeyes … St. Michael’s freshman D Ellie Newpower (Lino Lakes, Minn.) has an early NCAA lead in blocked shots with 23 in just six games … Holy Cross’ Thursday night victory marked the first program win over Boston College … RIT defeated No. 7 Colgate for its first win over a ranked opponent since 2013-14 … Wisconsin, Clarkson, and St. Cloud State all remain undefeated at 6-0 … St. Thomas has started the season 4-0 … Franklin Pierce junior goaltender Jill Hertl (Highland Park, Ill.) posted her first shutout of the season, seventh of her career, Saturday night against Assumption.

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