Ohio State at No. 4 Minnesota
The tides have turned in the WCHA. Minnesota is still struggling to find its footing and the holes in their defense were exploited this weekend. On Friday, junior Jacyn Reeves put Ohio State up 2-0 less than four minutes into the game, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Minnesota tied the game in the second, but North Dakota transfer Charly Dahlquist scored her first goal as a Buckeye to give them their first win over Minnesota since 2007. On Saturday, it was the Gophers who struck first, netting two before eight minutes had passed in a crazy first period that had five goals. OSU pulled ahead by scoring three straight, but Caitlin Reilly forced overtime with a late goal for Minnesota, tying it 5-5. Ohio State outshot the Gophers 41-31, including a 9-0 advantage in the extra frame. Julianna Iafallo and Tatum Skaggs scored in the shootout to give the Buckeyes an extra point.
No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 3 Boston College
On Friday, Kenzie Kent opened the scoring for BC before Ashton Bell answered for UMD. From there, the game belonged to Boston College freshman Daryl Watts, who scored three straight to give the Eagles a 4-1 win. On Saturday UMD outshot BC 31-26, but a pair of goals by sophomore Caitrin Lonergan was enough to lift Boston College over the Bulldogs. Bell and Catherine Daoust scored power-play goals midway through the third to pull the game close, but couldn’t find the equalizer as Boston College won 4-3 and a sweep on the weekend.
No. 8 Northeastern vs. Boston University (home-and-home)
Boston University jumped out to a 2-0 win with power-play goals from Kristina Schuler and Nara Elia on Friday, but Northeastern clawed back and sophomore Matti Hartman tallied the game-winner in overtime to give the Huskies a 3-2 conference win. Northeastern’s top line dominated on Saturday as McKenna Brand had two goals and an assist, and redshirt junior Tori Sullivan (a transfer from BC) and senior Denisa Krížová each had a goal and an assist en route to a 6-3 win.
Providence vs. Quinnipiac (home-and-home)
Providence jumped out to a 3-0 lead Friday thanks to goals from Emily Landry, Brooke Boquist, and Madison Sansone and Quinnipiac could not recover. The Friars extended their undefeated start to the season with a 3-1 win. Saturday, Providence outshot Qunnipiac 37-29, including 15-5 in the first period, but could not find the net. Abby Cleary netted the game’s only goal with about five minutes to go in the second and it would go on to be the game-winner as the Bobcats won, 1-0.
No. 1 Wisconsin at Syracuse 0
The Badgers swept Syracuse, 1-0 and 5-2. Friday, Abby Roque got what turned into the game-winner at 6:35 of the second, while Kristen Campbell made 20 saves in the shutout. Saturday, Lauren Williams broke the game open at 9:03 of the third, making it 4-2, and Mikeaela Gardner added insurance at 17:22.
Bemidji State at No. 2 Clarkson
The Golden Knights struggled in both games, but emerged with a sweep. On Friday, Avery Mitchell scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 2:33 of the third in a 2-0 shutout. On Saturday, the scoring came fast and furious, and Elizabeth Giguere’s goal for Clarkson at 9:36 of the third, appeared to seal the win, putting the Golden Knights up 5-2, but Bemidji rallied for two goals in the final 1:25 with an extra attacker, making the final 5-4.
St. Lawrence at Mercyhurst
No. 6 St. Lawrence earned a win and tie on the road against Mercyhurst, winning 4-1 on Friday and tying 1-1 on Saturday in a defensive battle, as Grace Harrison made 19 saves for the Saints and Sarah McDonnell made 18 for the Lakers.
Robert Morris at Minnesota State
No. 9 Robert Morris swept Minnesota State, winning the first game 2-1 in OT on Brittany Howard’s unassisted goal, and rolling to a 6-2 win Sunday.
