Losing control
A couple of ranked teams were unable to take care of business on home ice, and in the process, lost control of their conference races.
No. 3 Clarkson surrendered third-period goals to Amanda Colin and Shiann Darkangelo of Quinnipiac and had to settle for a 3-3 tie. Carly Mercer had scored twice in the middle stanza to give the Golden Knights the upper hand. Saturday’s contest followed a similar script with a different opponent. Brittany Styner scored twice in the second period to give Clarkson a lead; Kelsey Koelzer and Fiona McKenna struck in the third to earn a 2-2 tie for Princeton. The two points lost leave the Golden Knights in third place and unable to catch Cornell if the Big Red win their remaining four games.
No. 9 Robert Morris continued its slump, losing a third-period lead of its own to Syracuse in a 3-3 tie, before falling to the Orange, 3-1. In the opener, Brittany Howard had scored twice in combination with a Katie Fergus goal to give the Colonials the lead. Syracuse got an equalizer from Brittney Krebs at 11:28 of the third period; Melissa Piacentini tallied the other two markers, and Margot Scharfe and Allie LaCombe assisted on all three. Game two was all Orange, as Julie Knerr scored twice in the second period and Jessica Sibley assisted on both after opening the scoring 26 seconds into the game. Jenesica Drinkwater saved 37 of 38 shots in the Syracuse net. RMU is now three points down in the CHA race.
Beanpot rematch
Northeastern and No. 7 Boston College won Beanpot semifinals over Harvard and Boston University respectively to set up a rematch of last year’s championship game.
Kelly Wallace scored twice as the Huskies took a 4-1 lead through two periods and held on for a 4-3 win over the Crimson, who got a two-goal effort from Mary Parker.
BC led 3-0 after a period in the second semi and BU was unable to challenge beyond a Sara Lefort goal. Haley Skarupa had a pair of tallies after earlier strikes from Taylor Wasylk and Emily Field for the Eagles in their 4-1 victory.
Too little, too late?
Brown attempted to get back into the race for an ECAC playoff spot with its first sweep of the season, taking down Rensselaer, 3-0, and Union, 2-1. The Bears patched together some offense to topple RPI: Kaitlyn Keon scored on the power play, Sarah Robson converted a penalty shot and Maddie Woo hit an empty net. Aubree Moore needed 51 saves to protect her shutout. On Saturday, Moore outdueled Shenae Lundberg as the Bears came back to win behind goals from Jessica Hoyle and Monica Masucci, her first of the year.
Fans of February
A season ago, Lindenwood celebrated the arrival of February with a seven-game unbeaten streak. This February has produced a three-game winning streak for a Lions team that was 2-21-2 entering the month.
This week’s wins came on the road at Penn State by scores of 2-1 and 4-3. On Saturday, Alyssa West and Caitlyn Post scored first-period goals for Lindenwood, and Jenna Welch pulled Penn State within a goal. That’s where the scoring stopped, as Nicole Hensley made 45 saves, including 21 in a final period dominated by PSU.
Sunday’s game required an overtime goal by Kendra Broad to earn Lindenwood’s win. Broad and linemates Jocelyn Slattery and Lyndsay Kirkham all had at least a goal and an assist, with Kirkham contributing an extra assist. Penn State’s line of Amy Peterson, Laura Bowman and Hannah Hoenshell countered with two-point games each. Hensley recorded another 44 stops.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
Cornell, tied for No. 5, swept a home-and-home series from Colgate, but the Big Red struggled a bit with the road game. Cassandra Poudrier scored with just over three minutes to play to force overtime; Jillian Saulnier netted a game-winning goal with just 19 seconds left in the extra session to give Cornell a 4-3 win. Caroline DeBruin scored on a penalty shot and Emily Fulton had three points to overcome a two-goal game from the Raiders’ Taylor Volpe. Back on home ice, Alyssa Gagliardi broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and Hayleigh Cudmore provided the insurance goal in a 3-1 Cornell win.
The other No. 5, Harvard, got a 4-1 ECAC win at Dartmouth to go with its Beanpot loss. Miye D’Oench and Hillary Crowe each scored twice.
No. 2 Wisconsin got a sweep at Ohio State, 3-0 and 3-2. Brittany Ammerman scored three goals and Alex Rigsby backstopped both games.
No. 1 Minnesota recorded a home sweep over Bemidji State, 10-0 and 5-3, with Hannah Brandt scoring twice in each game.
Meghan Dufault returned to the lineup for No. 4 North Dakota and her three assists helped her team rally from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Minnesota-Duluth, 4-3. Josefine Jakobsen had two goals and an assist, while Jamie Kenyon netted a pair for the Bulldogs. UMD staged the rally on Sunday from two goals down to a 2-2 overtime tie and a shootout win after Hannah Bramm tipped in the tying goal with four minutes to play in regulation.
Connecticut got goals from Kayla Campero and Stephanie Raithby, and Elaine Chuli was up to the task on all 45 shots she faced from No. 7 Boston College in a 2-0 triumph for the Huskies.
No. 8 Quinnipiac followed up its tie at Clarkson by falling 3-0 at St. Lawrence. The Bobcats were unable to best Carmen MacDonald in 24 shots. Kailee Heidersbach netted two goals early and Mel Desrochers added the third.
Only series with Penn State and Lindenwood stand between No. 10 Mercyhurst and yet another CHA crown after the Lakers swept RIT, 5-1 and 5-2. Jenna Dingeldein and Christine Bestland produced a goal and two helpers in the opener. Dingeldein, Christie Cicero, and Kaleigh Chippy had a goal and an assist in the second win.
