We’re getting back to a full slate this weekend in D-III Women’s hockey, meanwhile we had a few games played this week coming off the great weekend featuring four games down South in Charleston, SC. Here’s a brief recap of some midweek non-conference games, which featured an upset in Vermont!
Trinity upsets #8 Norwich (Trinity 2-0)
Norwich entered this game unbeaten in their last nine games (8-0-1), 8-2-1 overall, meanwhile Trinity entered 4-3-1 overall.
The Cadets handed Plattsburgh their only blemishes on the record, tying and beating them in two games played. Trinity’s highlight so far this season was a 1-1 tie vs Hamilton who’s been starting off strong after the departure of their former head coach Emily McNamara to her alumnus Middlebury.
In this game, the Bantams shutout the Cadets 2-0, scoring both goals in the 2nd period. The first coming at the 8:52 mark (Ava Gosnell) and the second came in the last minute of the period at 19:24.9 (Anne Levia).
It was a very low shooting night in Norwich, with the Cadets outshooting Trinity a slim 21-18, penalties were low, two for Norwich and one for Trinity.
We’ll have to see what momentum this gives Trinity headed into this weekend vs the NESCAC’s finest, Amherst.
#7 Hamilton defeats Canton 2-0
Hamilton entered this one 5-2-1, while Canton has gotten off to a hot start with a 9-4-0 record. In this one, like our first game, the lone goals were scored in the same period, with the Continentals scoring both goals in the final period. Katie Allen scored at 9:54 just before the halfway mark, while her teammate Claire McGennis doubled the lead at 15:04 of the period to seal it for Hamilton.
Hamilton outshot the Roos in this one 36-21, while penalties were kept to a minimum, only one on Hamilton.
Goaltender Teagan Brown made 21 saves in the shutout victory, while Molly Lenihan made 34 in the loss.
#10 UW-Eau Claire defeats Lake Forest 8-0
UW-Eau Claire’s looking to stack some wins after a few rough losses to begin their season, shutout Lake Forest in commanding fashion, winning 8-0 as they await St. Norbert this weekend for a two-game series in Eau Claire, WI.
Sophie Rausch led the way with three points (2G, 1A), and goaltender Josie Mathison got the shutout, making 12 saves on 12 shots.
UWEC led 3-0 after the 1st, 7-0 after the 2nd, and then finally won the game 8-0.
#11 Colby defeats Plymouth State 9-0
Colby handled business here as they should’ve, shutting out the Panthers o Plymouth State 9-0 on the road.
Colby is off to a 7-1-0 start after their easier start to the season, their first test is this weekend with a pair of games vs #7 Hamilton, then in two weeks, a pair of road games in Middlebury to face the current #4 Panthers.
It’ll be interesting to see how Colby fares, coming off their first-ever NCAA tournament win last year.
#3 Amherst defeats Castleton 3-0
Amherst continues to win, now 8-0-2, granted, Castleton isn’t a powerhouse of a non-conference game, but the Mammoths have two wins over #7 Hamilton, a tie and win over #4 Middlebury, and recently, a 2-1 win over Oswego.
In this one, Amherst outshot Castleton 47-16, shockingly, Natalie Stott had the night off, so goaltender Maleigh Tittel started and got the 16-save shutout victory. Despite the loss, Kirsten Dicicco made 44 saves in the loss.
Amherst has a pair of games with Trinity this weekend who’s looking to grab another upset, this time against a conference opponent.
Univ. Southern Maine defeats Univ. New England 5-3
Southern Maine and Univ. New England are two solid teams in their respective conferences, neither at the top, but solid teams in conference play so far. USM has a big weekend ahead, hosting #8 Norwich who’s coming off a loss to Trinity, so they couldn’t overlook the Nor’easters of New England.
Meanwhile, UNE entered 5-5-3, but held a better conference record, sitting in 3rd place in the CCC.
The 3rd period of this game was when things got crazy, it was 2-1 UNE headed into the final period, but then the floodgates opened… USM’s Amanda Crowley scored a rapid 38 seconds into the period (00:38), then UNE came right back on the powerplay (Eliana Kane) and took the lead back, making it 3-2 with 15:20 left in the game.
Shannon Murphy scored the tying goal an entire 28 seconds later after UNE went back up a goal. USM’s Caroline Thompson, to which Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jim Ward began singing the Neil Diamond classic “Sweet Caroline” when she scored the eventual game-winner at the 8:01 mark of the period. Then Saige Macleod ended it with an empty netter with eight seconds remaining in the game (19:52).
Morrisville defeats Alvernia 5-0
The pair of Cortland Red Dragon alums Head Coach John Briggs and Assistant Coach Monica Cahill have their Mustangs looking vastly improved from last season, most recently picking up a shutout win over Alvernia who entered the game a solid 8-1-1, one of the best starts in program history.
In this one, Morrisville dominated, outshooting Alvernia 49-11, while penalties were 4 for 8 on Morrisville and 3 for 6 on Alvernia.
Three goals came in the 2nd period, the first, also the eventual game-winner, was scored by Madison Tomkins, who also happened to score their next goal as well to give her Mustangs a 2-0 lead early in the 2nd period (2:55 & 4:54), both of her goals came in the first five minutes of the period.
Morrisville tacked on three more and got out of Pennsylvania with a win. Goaltender Emma Plett made 11 saves in the shutout victory.
Wesleyan & Connecticut College tie 2-2
This game was even on goals and almost on shots, with Wesleyan holding a small advantage 29-28. Penalties were common, six by the Camels and four for the Cardinals.
Connecticut hopped out to an early 2-0 lead, scoring near the midway mark of the opening period, Casey Chesner (8:51) & Casey Godfrey (10:20), both on the powerplay.
It took all the way until the 3rd period, but Wesleyan found a way to tie it up, Amelia Molin cut the lead in half at the 1:07 mark, very quickly into the period. Her teammate Christina Tournas tied the game and forced a tie after scoring at the 12:06 mark of the final period. The rest of the way and overtime was close, but scoreless.
