Syracuse at No. 1 Wisconsin
On Saturday, 12 different Badgers tallied points en route to a 6-1 win. Britta Curl scored twice, and Sophie Shirley had a goal and an assist to lead Wisconsin in the win. The Badgers outshot Syracuse, 54-13. On Sunday, Emily Clark netted a hat trick, and Annie Pankowski had a short-handed goal and three assists while 14 Badgers earned points as the Badgers surged to a 9-1 win and weekend sweep.
No. 2 Minnesota at Yale
The game belonged to Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle, who scored three goals and added two assists to lead the Gophers to a 7-1 win. It was still close after one, as goals from Nicole Schammel and Taylor Wente put Minnesota up 2-0. Yale responded late in the period with a short-handed goal by Claire Denton to make it 2-1 at the first break, but Emily Brown scored on a power play 28 seconds into the second, and then Zumwinkle ripped off three in a row to put the game out of reach. It was a much closer game on Saturday. Abigail Boreen and Kippen Keller scored late in the first to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead. Tabea Bothoff narrowed the lead a few minutes into the third, but the Bulldogs couldn’t rally. Zumwinkle’s empty-net goal sealed the 3-1 win and weekend sweep for the Gophers.
No. 3 Clarkson at Colgate
The Raiders were out for revenge in the first meeting between these two since last season’s national title game. Tanner Gates scored on a power play less than four minutes into the game to give Colgate the lead after one. Shae Labbe tallied an extra-attacker goal of her own with less than a minute left in the second to double the lead. Labbe scored again a few minutes into the third to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead. Michaela Pejzlová put the Golden Knights on the board with a short-handed goal late in the third, but Clarkson couldn’t muster much more, and Malia Schneider sealed the 4-1 win with an empty-net goal.
No. 3 Clarkson at No. 7 Cornell
Maddie Mills scored on a power play to give Cornell a 1-0 lead heading into the first period break. Loren Gabel tied it up just before the second period buzzer. Jamie Bourbonnais tallied her own power-play goal for the game-winner, and Kristin O’Neill secured the win with an empty-net goal to give Cornell the 3-1 win. Cornell is now on their winter break and won’t resume play until January 8.
Boston University versus No. 4 Boston College
The Terriers upset the Eagles on Friday on the strength of their special teams. Nara Elia scored early in the first with a player advantage to give BU the 1-0 lead after one period. Daryl Watts tied the game midway through the second. Emma Wutrich scored on a power play early in the third, and Jesse Compher scored the eventual game-winner on the advantage with just more than five to go in the game. Makenna Newkirk cut the lead to one with less than three minutes to go, but the Eagles could not complete a comeback. BU was 3-for-7 on the power play, while BC was 0-for-6. Terriers freshman Kate Stuart made 42 saves in her first career road start, 15 of which came on the penalty kill. It was BU’s first win over BC since Nov. 5, 2016, and their first win over the Eagles at Conte Forum since Oct. 5, 2012. On Saturday, the teams played an even first period, with neither getting much of an advantage. BC scored first when Megan Keller netted a power-play goal 1:37 into the first, but BU responded by reeling off three straight in the second period. Abby Cook netted two straight power-play goals, and Deziray deSousa added an even-strength goal to give the Terriers a 3-1 lead heading into the final frame. Watts scored less than 30 seconds into the third period to cut the lead, but it would not be enough to lift the Eagles. Compher added an empty-netter to seal the 4-2 win and weekend sweep of their rivals. It was the first time the Terriers had ever completed a weekend sweep of the Eagles. The last time BU strung together more than one win in a row against BC was 2012.
No. 5 Northeastern versus Holy Cross
On Friday, Northeastern outshot Holy Cross, 37-17, but the Crusaders made the most of their opportunities, scoring multiple second-chance goals to earn their first Hockey East win, 5-3. It’s the first win of the season for Holy Cross, and the highest-ranked opponent they’ve ever defeated. The Huskies’ high-powered offense got them on the board first as goals from Alina Mueller and Veronika Pettey had NU up 2-0 at the end of the first, but Holy Cross scored the next four goals to put them ahead. Carlie Magier scored on a power play early in the second to cut the lead, and then Amanda Kewer scored an unassisted goal on a breakaway to tie the game in the second. Rachel Moore scored 25 seconds into the third, and Maeve Reilly scored with the player advantage to put Holy Cross up 4-2 with just more than 13 minutes to play. Chloe Aurard made the game close with a goal midway through the third, but Moore responded just a minute later to extend the lead to 5-3, and that’s how it would end. Freshman Jada Brenon made 34 saves for Holy Cross. Julie Matthias had four assists for Holy Cross in the win. Northeastern rebounded on Sunday. Pettey opened the scoring in the first, Maddie Hartman scored on a power play in the second, and Kasidy Anderson extended the lead in the third to earn a 3-0 win for the Huskies and a weekend split.
No. 6 Ohio State at Minnesota State
Freshman goalie Abigal Levy earned her third straight shutout, and Minnesota State achieved their longest win streak since the 2010-11 season as they took down Ohio State, 3-0. Levy had not allowed a goal in 210:34 minutes. Ohio State outshot MSU, 41-22, but the Mavericks bided their time, counted on Levy, and struck in the third period for three unanswered goals to earn the win. Anna Wilgren opened the scoring on the power play just 3:12 into the third. Megan Hinze extended the lead midway through the period and Brittyn Fleming scored on the empty net to secure the win. On Sunday, Ohio State scored twice in the first and controlled most of the game to earn a 2-0 win and the weekend split. Tatum Skaggs scored first, on a power play. Samantha Bouley was the other goal-scorer.
No. 9 St. Lawrence at No. 7 Cornell
Doug Derraugh won his 250th game as head coach of the Cornell women’s hockey team as the Big Red defeated St. Lawrence,4-0. The two teams were evenly matched for much of the first two periods. Cornell had a 1-0 lead after the second period thanks to a goal from Pippy Gerace, then the Big Red seemed to find something extra in the second half of the third period. Lenka Serdar, Paige Lewis, and Maddie Mills all scored over the course of about six minutes to give Cornell a 4-0 win.
No. 8 Providence at Connecticut
In game one, Catherine Crowley put Connecticut on the board with an unassisted wraparound goal, but that would be all the offense the Huskies could muster as Cassidy MacPherson and Maureen Murphy each scored twice to lead the Friars to a 4-1 win. On Saturday, Meaghan Rickard scored on a breakaway in the second period to give Providence the 1-0 lead, but Briana Colangelo scored twice in the third to give Connecticut the 2-1 win. With the win, coach Chris MacKenzie earned his 100th career victory.
No. 10 Princeton versus Quinnipiac
On Friday, Princeton jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one thanks to a goal by Maggie Connors. Claire Thompson scored consecutive power-play goals in the second to put the Tigers up 3-0 with just more than five to go in the third. Kenzie Lancaster responded for the Bobcats to cut the lead to 3-1. and Brooke Bonsteel made it a one-goal game with 1:29 to go, but it was not enough of a comeback and Princeton won, 3-2. On Saturday, Zoe Boyd put Quinnipiac on the board first, but that would be all the Bobcats could muster as Princeton scored four straight to earn a 4-1 win. Sarah Fillier scored twice, and Karlie Lund and Carly Bullock each added a goal in the win. Princeton remained unbeaten in conference play.
