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Championship
Mercyhurst vs. Penn State
The Nittany Lions earned their second straight CHA Tournament title and NCAA bid thanks to a 1-0 win on Saturday. Mercyhurst goalie Ena Nystrøm made 45 saves, but it was Mya Vaslet’s goal just four minutes into the game that proved to be all Penn State needed for the win. They will have the week off and find out their NCAA opponent next Sunday.
ECAC
Brown at (5) Colgate
On Friday, Danielle Serdachny led the Raiders with two goals and an assist while Kas Betinol, Kaitlyn O’Donohoe and Dara Greig each scored to give Colgate a 5-1 win. Kayle Doyle was stout for Brown through the first 30 minutes, but the Raiders kept pushing and finally broke through. Ava DeCoste was the goal scorer for the Bears in the loss. Saturday’s game was much the same as Brown looked to be headed to the third down just 1-0 on a goal from Elyssa Biederman, but Sydney Morrow scored with less than 30 seconds left in the second and that seemed to break things open. Doyle had 50 saves overall – 38 through the first two periods. Allyson Simpson, Emma Pais and Neena Brick added third period goals. Cameron Sikich had the power play goal for Brown.
(12) Princeton at (3) Clarkson
In Friday’s most entertaining game, Clarkson forced overtime after pulling their goalie to even the score with about 90 seconds to play. They had scored first on a Jenna Goodwin goal later in the first period, but Princeton immediately responded with a Sarah Paul power play goal. Kate Monihan’s goal in the second had the Tigers up 2-1 before Clarkson’s late heroics. After a scoreless first OT period, with plenty of chances for both teams, Alexie Guay knocked in a rebound to give the Golden Knights the 3-2 win. On Saturday, the Golden Knights left no doubt. The teams fought back and forth to a scoreless first, but then Clarkson came out firing. Dominique Petrie, Haley Winn and Anne Cherkowski all scored in a five minute span in the middle of the frame to put Clarkson up 3-0. Sara Swiderski scored a minute into the third to extend it to 4-0. Emerson O’Leary responded a minute later to get Princeton on the board, but Goodwin scored shortly thereafter to make it 5-1 and Winn extended it to 6-1 with about 10 to go. Sarah Fillier scored twice to bring the score to 6-3 but Princeton couldn’t close the gap further and Clarkson took the win and sweep.
(14) Yale at (7) St. Lawrence
Emma-Sofie Nordström made 31 saves and Julia Gosling scored twice to lead the Saints to a 4-1 win on Friday. After a back and forth first, Gosling’s power play goal gave SLU a 1-0 lead in the second. The game broke open in the third as Katina Duscio and Anna Segedi extended St. Lawrence’s lead to 3-0. Gracie Gilkyson scored for Yale to make it 3-1, but they couldn’t complete a comeback and Gosling’s empty-netter sealed the win. Nordström was once again huge in game two, making 41 saves to stymie Yale. SLU used a goal in each period – from Sarah Marchand, then Aly McLeod and then Gosling – to stake a 3-0 lead. Jordan Ray’s late power play goal was all the Bulldogs could find and St. Lawrence took the 3-1 win and series sweep. They will face Clarkson in the ECAC semifinals.
(9) Quinnipiac at (6) Cornell
The Big Red had a 2-0 lead after the first period Friday thanks to a rebound putback by Georgia Schiff and a shot from the slot by Lily Delianedis. But Quinnipiac pushed back in the second as Kahlen Lamarche and Madison Chantler each lit the lamp to tie the game 2-2. The two teams pushed each other in the third, but could not find an equalizer. Annelies Bergmann made several point-blank saves in the final minutes of regulation to help force overtime. Cornell killed an early OT penalty and then Karel Prefontaine took advantage of a mistake by Quinnipiac goalie Logan Angers when she left her crease. Prefontaine’s shot from a sharp angle won the game for the Big Red. In the second game, Cornell left no doubt as Schiff scored twice while Delianedis, Mckenna Van Gelder and Avi Adam each added a tally to give the Big Red a 5-0 win and sweep. They will face Colgate in the ECAC semifinals.
Hockey East
Holy Cross at (11) Connecticut
Coryn Tormala’s power play goal had Connecticut up 1-0 after the first. Ashley Allard cleaned up a rebound from a Jada Habisch shot to put them up 2-0 midway through the second and then Habisch lit the lamp herself on a short-hander near the end of the frame to make it 3-0. After the power play expired but just five seconds before the intermission, Holy Cross pulled one back with a goal from Lilly Feeney. Brianna Ware tipped in a goal two minutes into the third to put the Huskies up 4-1. Reghan Chadwick narrowed the gap for Holy Cross, but they ran out of time to mount a comeback and Connecticut took a 4-2 win to advance to the Hockey East Semifinals on Wednesday.
Merrimack at (14) Northeastern
After a scoreless first, Merrimack opened the scoring with a goal from Alex Ferguson to go up 1-0. That seemed to shake things loose for Northeastern, who went on to score four unanswered to take the 4-1 win. Skylar Irving carried the puck in by herself to even the score 1-1 and Katy Knoll’s game-winner came later in the second. In the third, Ella Blackmore pushed the lead to 3-1 and Irving’s empty-netter secured the win.
Vermont at New Hampshire
Rookie goalie Sedona Blair made 15 saves, giving her 889 saves, which breaks the UNH program single-season saves record. She also earned the shutout as the Wildcats took a 3-0 win. Chavonne Truter deflected a shot in while screening the goalie to make it 1-0 New Hampshire midway through the second. Tamara Thiérus forced a turnover and wrapped the puck around the net to make it 2-0 and Annie Berry added an empty-netter to give UNH the win. They will travel to Northeastern to play the Huskies in the Hockey East semifinal on Wednesday.
Providence at Boston College
The Friars outshot the Eagles 47-35, but Boston College skated away with a 2-1 overtime victory on Friday. Grace Campbell made 46 saves for the Eagles to keep her team in the game as after a back and forth first, Providence took a 1-0 lead in the second on a goal from Audrey Knapp. In the third. Kate Ham pounced on a rebound in front of the net and hit away until it found the back of the net. The two teams needed overtime to find a winner and then Sammy Taber called game with an absolute snipe. BC will head to UConn for a Hockey East semifinal on Wednesday.
NEWHA
Stonehill at Saint Anselm
Two of the best games of the weekend happened in NEWHA. First, Stonehill took the win in overtime when Saint Anselm took back to back penalties. The second was a too many players infraction when the player left the box before the expiration of her first penalty. The Hawks killed the first penalty, but could not stop Alexis Petford’s shot from the slot that gave Stonehill their first ever berth into the NEWHA Championship game. Before the climatic ending, all the scoring came in the second frame. Natalie Tulchinsky put Saint Anselm up 1-0 four minutes in. Petford equalized a few minutes later with a slap shot after some gorgeous passing by her teammates. Brooke Schneiderhan put the Hawks up 2-1 on the power play, but the Skyhawks responded with a gorgeous backhander from Bailey Feeney.
Franklin Pierce at LIU
The postseason brings out the best in the Franklin Pierce Ravens. When they played LIU in the semifinal last season, they scored in the final 90 seconds to force overtime. On Saturday, that same resilience came back to serve them well. That and having Grace Schuck on their team. LIU opened the scoring on a goal from Ryane Kearns, who took a turnover straight to the net. But Schuck replied 22 seconds later with a turnover and goal of her own to make it 1-1. Ashley Morrow pushed LIU ahead with a gorgeous solo effort before the end of the first to make it 2-1 and Maggie Culp hit Mikayla Lantto with a stretch pass she turned into a goal to extend the lead to 3-1. But the Ravens don’t give up. LIU held the shot lead heading into the final frame 22-12, but FPU outshot them in the third and OT 21-15. Franklin Pierce pulled their goalie with three minutes left and Schuck scored twice in 33 seconds to tie the game and force overtime. LIU just missed on a shot from distance at the empty net that might have put the game out of reach. It took most of the overtime period that was chaotic and back and forth with stellar goalkeeping from both Jill Hertl and Tindra Holm keeping their teams in the game. The game winner from Claire Casey came as Holm made a stop at the post but the puck was uncovered. Casey kept hitting at it until it popped up and over Holm’s shoulder and into the net. The goal was reviewed for offside, but eventually called good. FPU advances to the NEWHA championship game to face Stonehill. FPU last won the NEWHA Tournament in 2021, the year before the conference received an NCAA autobid.
WCHA
Bemidji State at (1) Ohio State
OSU scored three times in the first six minutes of game one, which set the tone for the series. Jenna Buglioni led the Buckeyes with two goals and two assists while Cayla Barnes added two goals and an assist. They put 62 shots on net and cruised to a 10-1 win. The victory secured their third-straight 30-win season – the third in program history. An 8-0 win on Saturday secured the sweep. Jenn Gardiner had two goals and an assist while Joy Dunne added a goal and two assists and Kiara Zanon had three helpers in the win.
St. Thomas at (2) Wisconsin
A quiet first period had the teams scoreless at intermission. Kirsten Simms opened the scoring less than a minute into the second. Lacey Eden tapped in a rebound to double the lead midway through the frame, but St. Thomas’ Lauren Stenslie had a gorgeous solo effort to cut the lead to 2-1. In the third, it was again Simms that put the Badgers ahead, but Stenslie had another special play to close the gap to a single goal. The junior had an outstanding game and kept her team in it throughout. But it was Simms’ game, as she set up Britta Curl with just more than six to play to push the lead to two goals. Wisconsin won 4-2. On Saturday, the Badgers came out with more power to take down the Tommies 9-1 and sweep the weekend. Britta Curl and Casey O’Brien each scored twice, while Lacey Eden, Anna Wilgren, Vivian Jungels, Laila Edwards and Katie Kotlowski also lit the lamp. Maddie Jurgensen was the goal scorer for St. Thomas in the loss.
Minnesota State at (4) Minnesota
On Friday, the Gophers skated to a 2-0 lead by midway through the 2nd thanks to goals from Lauren O’Hara and Ella Huber. Just 17 seconds after Huber, Kennedy Bobyck knocked in a rebound from Alexis Paddington’s shot off the post and that set the tone for the rest of the game. Jamie Nelson tapped in a back door pass from Kamryn Van Batavia to send the teams to the third frame tied 2-2. Mankato’s third line in particular was relentless in this game. Madison Mashuga gave the Mavericks their first lead on a breakaway. Huber responded for Minnesota to tie the game 3-3 with just under 15 left in the 3rd. Nelson got her second with some pretty puckhandling through the defense to make it 4-3 MSU, but Huber completed a hat trick with about six to play, tying the game 3-3. The Mavericks showcased more speed on the game-winner as Charlotte Akervik and Van Batavia took off and Van Batavia put home a rebound from Avervik’s shot to give Minnesota State the 5-4 advantage and eventual win – her first career game-winner. On Saturday, the Gophers came back with a decisive 7-1 win led by Josefin Bouveng’s two goals and three assists. Madeline Wethington, Abbey Murphy, Madison Kaiser and Huber also scored in the win. In the deciding third game, Huber put her team up 1-0 early in the first, but Mankato was tough on defense, blocking 24 shots. They struggled to get much going on offense, getting just 11 shots on goal. Bouveng scored with five to play to extend the lead to 2-0 and added an empty-netter a few minutes later to secure the 3-0 victory and series win. The Gophers will face Wisconsin in the WCHA semifinal.
(10) St. Cloud State at (8) Minnesota Duluth
Reece Hunt was involved in all five Bulldog goals (1g, 4a) to lead UMD to a 5-0 win over St. Cloud State on Friday. In the game, Mannon McMahon became UMD’s all-time games played leader with 169 games. Mary Kate O’Brien, Clara Van Wieren, Olivia Wallin and Ida Karlsson also scored in the win. On Saturday, Ève Gascon put up a 27-save shutout and McMahon scored twice to lead Minnesota Duluth to a 2-0 win and weekend sweep. The Bulldogs will play Ohio State in the WCHA semifinal.
