St. Thomas at (1) Ohio State
This was a close game at the end of the first period, Jennifer Gardiner scored early for Ohio State and St. Thomas’ Maria Cooper evened things up to make it 1-1. Then the Buckeyes broke out with seven goals in the second frame. Makenna Webster, Jordan Baxter, Hannah Bilka, Gardner, Cayla Barnes, Joy Dunne and Sloane Matthews each lit the lamp to make it an 8-1 game. Bilka scored twice more in the final frame, including short-handed, while Dunne and Baxter each earned their second of the night to make it a 12-1 win for Ohio State. That is a program record for goals in a game by the Buckeyes. On Saturday, Ella Berger scored 17 seconds into the game to put St. Thomas up 1-0. It took another 12 minutes for Ohio State to tie it up, but Barnes goal made it 1-1 at the first intermission. In the second, Lauren Bernard scored short-handed and Kenzie Hauswirth found the back of the net to make it 3-1. Bilka’s power play goal in the fourth gave OSU the 4-1 win and weekend sweep. The Buckeyes secured the WCHA regular season crown with the wins.
(5) Minnesota at (2) Wisconsin
Read my full recap on game one, that Wisconsin won 4-3 in overtime. After a back and forth game on Friday night, the Badgers took a bit more control on Saturday. They blocked a season-high 22 shots and held Minnesota to just 17 shots on net, including four in the third period. Kirsten Simms scored two carbon copy goals four minutes apart to put the home team up 2-0. In the third, on the power play, Lacey Eden, who had a spectacular weekend winning pucks and fighting along the boards, made it 3-0 on a quick shot in front of the net. Simms got the secondary assist, making her the first player in the country to reach 60 points this season. Maddi Wheeler’s goal just 21 seconds later iced the 4-0 win.
Dartmouth at (3) Clarkson
The Golden Knights out-shot the Big Green 56-10 en route to a 9-0 drubbing on Friday. Clarkson scored on the very first shift as Clarkson’s offense scored 31 seconds into the game as Dominique Petrie earned her 100th career point to make it 1-0. Andie Proulx and Jaden Bodgen each scored twice while Nicole Gosling and Brooke McQuigge each had a goal and two assists in the win.
Harvard at (3) Clarkson
Clarkson clinched the No. 2 seed in the ECAC tournament with a 3-0 win over Harvard, finishing just .5 points behind Colgate for the championship. Anne Cherkowski, Bridget Stevenson and Dominique Petrie each scored in the win. The Golden Knights will have an off week, earning a bye and home ice in the ECAC Tournament.
(4) Colgate at (14) Yale
The Bulldogs earned their biggest win of the season and Colgate dropped their fourth straight on Friday. Avery Pickering scored first, putting Colgate up 1-0 midway through the first, but from there it was all Yale. Ella Bargman tied it up a few minutes later on a two-on-one rush with Elle Hartje. The bardown shot tied the game 1-1. In the second, Jordan Ray scored first on a deke and then with a tap-in on a pass from Bargman to make it 3-1 Yale. They kept Colgate off the board in the third and took the win.
(4) Colgate at Brown
The Raiders secured their third ECAC regular season Championship with a 6-0 win over Brown. Elyssa Biederman scored twice and had an assist while Kaitlyn O’Donohoe and Kristýna Kaltounková each had a goal and an assist to lead Colgate to the win.
(6) Cornell at Brown
The Big Red came out firing in the first, outshooting Brown 18-5, but the teams went to the first intermission in a scoreless tie. The Bears had five power plays in the second, but could only capitalize on one as Anna Gallagher’s power play goal put Brown up 1-0 heading into the third. With just more than five minutes left in regulation, Piper Grober’s shot from distance made it through traffic to tie the game and eventually force overtime. In the extra frame, Cornell got a 4-on-3 advantage and scored on the power play as Izzy Daniel won the game for the Big Red. Cornell outshot Brown 52-21, but Bears goalie Kaley Doyle set a career high with 50 saves and gave her team a chance.
(6) Cornell at (14) Yale
Cornell’s Saturday victory secured the 16th Ivy League Championship in program history. In the first, Yale outshot Cornell 20-7. But the Big Red pushed back, winning the shot battle in the second, 15-5. McKenna VanGelder scored on the power play just 43 seconds into that frame by poking the puck in to give Cornell the 1-0 lead. Midway through the frame, a breakout led by Izzy Daniel led to a goal by Karel Prefontaine to make it a 2-0 game. Elle Hartje pulled one back for Yale to tie the program record for career points, but they couldn’t complete a comeback and Cornell took the 2-1 win. They finished fourth in the ECAC and will have a first round bye in the conference tournament.
Harvard at (7) St. Lawrence
The Crimson jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to goals from Jenna MacDonald and Maria Pape. But St. Lawrence came roaring back in the second, scoring three goals to take a 3-2 lead. Katina Duscio scored on a one-timer from the faceoff dot, then Kristina Dahl scored on the power play and finally Melissa Jefferies’ wrister from the slot to give SLU the lead. In the third, Anna Segedi’s backhander secured the 4-2 win.
Dartmouth at (7) St. Lawrence
Julia Gosling scored twice and had an assist while Abby Hustler added a goal and an assist to lead St. Lawrence to a 5-0 win to end the regular season. Aly MacLeod and Sarah Marchand also scored in the win. The Saints finished third in the conference and will have a first-round bye in the ECAC Tournament.
(10) St. Cloud State at (8) Minnesota Duluth
UMD goalie Hailey MacLeod made 39 saves and earned her fifth shutout of the season and Clara Van Wieren scored the game’s only goal to ensure the Bulldog win and clinch home ice in the WCHA on Friday. The goal came early in the third period as Van Wieren scored from the slot on a pass from Olivia Wallin. The second game was even more tightly contested. Ève Gascon tied a program record for shutouts in a rookie season and Mannon McMahon became the Bulldog program’s consecutive games played leader, skating in her 166th straight game. St. Cloud’s Jojo Chobak made 30 saves, while Gascon stopped 39, including a penalty shot with a minute left in overtime. In the shootout, Emma Gentry, Sofianna Sunderlin and Laura Zimmerman all scored for the Huskies in the shootout to give St. Cloud the extra conference point.
(11) Connecticut at Merrimack
The Huskies scored three times on the power play to power past Merrimack on Friday. Christina Walker’s extra attacker goal in the first had Connecticut up 1-0 after one. Kathryn Stockdale’s power play goal extended the lead to 2-0 early in the second. Mary Edmonds cut the lead in half, getting Merrimack on the board and making it 2-1 heading into the final frame. Ainsley Svetek’s power play goal midway through the third gave Connecticut a cushion and a minute later Megan Woodworth extended the lead to 4-1. Brooke Campbell’s goal with under four to play secured the 5-1 victory.
(11) Connecticut at Vermont
Brooke George scored her first career goal midway through the first to give Vermont a 1-0 lead. Kaylee Lewis put a rebound away a few minutes later to extend the lead to 2-0. Krista Parkkonen extended the lead to 3-0 in the third and the Catamounts took the win in their final regular season home game.
(15) Boston College vs. (13) Northeastern
Northeastern made things interesting in the race for the Hockey East regular season title, closing the gap to Connecticut in first to five points with two games left in the regular season. On Friday, the teams played an even first period. Katy Knoll opened the scoring on the power play late in the second. But BC’s Sammy Smigliani replied with an extra attacker goal of her own with just 6.7 seconds left in the period. Julia Pellerin gave the Terriers a 2-1 lead with under four to play after a spectacular save by Grace Campbell turned into a chance the other way. The Huskies pulled their goalie for the extra attacker and equalized the game with a goal from Megan Carter. In overtime, BU held the puck early, but at the first chance, Peyton Anderson ended the game for Northeastern, giving them a 3-2 win. On Saturday, five different Huskies scored to lead Northeastern to a 5-1 win that put them four points clear of Boston College for second place. Skylar Irving, Tory Mariano, Allie Lalonde, Carter and Knoll each lit the lamp in the win. Katie Pyne was the goal scorer for the Eagles in the loss.
