Canadians Victorious at Four Nations Cup

Jennifer Botterill and Hayley Wickenheiser scored the Team Canada goals as they beat Team USA 2-0 on Sunday to capture the Four Nations Cup in Leksand, SWE for the fourth straight year. Team Finland won the bronze medal with a 1-0 win over Sweden.

In tournament games earlier in the week, Canada beat Finland 4-1, while the USA shutout Sweden 4-0 on Wednesday. On Thursday, Canada doubled the USA 6-3, and Finland shutout Sweden 3-0.

After an off day on Friday, Canada and the USA continued their inevitable march to the final as the Americans edged the Finns 2-1, and Canada beat Sweden 5-3.

CHA’s Best For This Week

Wayne State junior forward Sam Poynton, Niagara freshman defenseman Marie Linander Henriksen, and Robert Morris freshman forward Sara O’Malley are the CHA’s offensive, defensive and rookie players of the week for the week ending November 11th.

This past week Poynton had four goals and five assists as Wayne State swept Northeastern. Three of her goals came on Friday for her second career hat trick. She also had two assists for a team and game high five points in the 6-2 win. On Sunday, she had four points with the game-winner among them while adding three assists. She was a +7 for the weekend.

Linander Henriksen had one assist in Friday’s 2-2 tie versus Bemidji and led the Purple Eagles’ defense to two goals and a 0-6 power play mark.

O’Malley was the team leader in points scored against Maine this weekend with two goals and one assist. She now has eight points this season. In Friday’s game, she tied the score with an unassisted tally and added an assist as the Colonials came from behind to win 3-2. On Saturday, she netted the game’s first goal burying a rebound for her seventh of the season. Robert Morris won that game 3-2 in overtime.
Henriksen and O’Malley won the award for the second consecutive week.

ECAC Honors

Colgate junior forward Sam Hunt, Princeton junior goalie Kristen Young, and Yale freshman forward Bray Ketchum are the ECAC’s best for this week. In winning the player of the week award, Hunt had one goal and three assists as Colgate beat Brown and Yale last week. She netted her second game-winning goal with 39 seconds left in overtime as Colgate broke Yale’s undefeated streak with a 3-2 win Saturday. She also helped on two other goals in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Brown.

Young stopped 48 of 51 shots she faced this past weekend as Princeton swept Boston University and New Hampshire. She made 26 stops in Saturday’s 4-2 victory over Boston University and 22 in Sunday’s 2-1 win over New Hampshire.

Ketchum scored two goals and added one assist at Cornell and Colgate. Her goal with the man advantage kick-started a five-goal outburst as Yale beat Cornell 5-2 and extended her point-scoring streak to four games with the game tying goal versus Colgate.

Hockey East Honors

Hockey East announced that New Hampshire junior forward Sam Faber, Connecticut goalie Jennie Bellonio, and Providence freshman forward Alyse Ruff have won the offensive, defensive, and rookie players this past week. Faber had seven points (3G,4A) in New Hampshire’s two conference victories over Boston College and Connecticut. Her best game came on Saturday as she netted two goals and helped on three others in the 8-2 win over Connecticut.

Bellonio made 15 saves last week and posted her fourth win this season as Connecticut beat Vermont 4-1 Sunday. Ruff netted three goals in two games this past week. Two of them came in the 4-2 win versus Vermont on Friday.

WCHA Awards

St. Cloud State freshman forward Sammy Nixon, Ohio State senior rearguard Tessa Bonhomme, and Minnesota State freshman forward Lisa Edman were awarded the WCHA’s offensive, defensive, and rookie awards. Nixon netted three power play markers versus North Dakota at home this past Friday and Saturday. Two of them came in the 3-3 overtime tie on Friday night and the other in Saturday’s 3-1 win. She had seven shots total on the weekend. She is now tied for second in the League in power play goals.

Bonhomme became the fourth Buckeye to reach the 100-point milestone with her three points in two conference losses to Minnesota State Friday and Saturday. She now has 101 career points to become the fourth WCHA rearguard to achieve that honor and is also the second Buckeye to do so, joining her former defense partner Amber Bowman who has 102. Bonhomme was a major part of Ohio State’s specialty teams with a four of eight mark with the extra man and 10 of 12 shorthanded.

Edman had an assist in each game and was +3 in the Mavericks’ sweep of Ohio State. It was their first ever sweep of their conference rivals.

Carlton New Brown Assistant Coach

Brown head Coach Digit Murphy has announced that former McGill defenseman Julia Carlton is joining Brown’s coaching staff. Carlton graduated from McGill University in Montreal and played four season for the Martlets who play in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport league. After her career with McGill, Carlton played for the NWHL’s Quebec Avalanche and was the assistant captain her first season there. While playing for the Avs she was instrumental in starting a girls' summer league with Team President Vinnie Matteo and former Brown defenseman Ashlee Drover.

In 2006, she was the bantam team’s head coach and the Avalanche Midget team in 2007. Over the winter, she coached the girls’ team at a sport study program and was the assistant with boys' teams from grades 7-11. In her final year, Carlton was named McGill’s outstanding defensive player. She has a psychology degree with a double-minor in Educational Psychology and Sociology.

Wisconsin Tops Again in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

With 10 of 19 first place votes, Wisconsin reclaimed the number one spots on the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll. The Badgers, who have held the top position six out of eight weeks this season, were idle last weekend.

Still in second was Mercyhurst with five first place votes, while New Hampshire, who fell two spots to third, received three. Minnesota-Duluth and St. Lawrence rounded out the top five. Receiving the final first place vote was Harvard; they remain in sixth. Dartmouth College returned to the poll in ninth after a two-week absence.

Poll - Nov. 13, 2007 (first place votes in parentheses)

1. Wisconsin 172 (10)
2. Mercyhurst 165 (5)
3. New Hampshire 152 (3)
4. Minnesota-Duluth 129
5. St. Lawrence 114
6. Harvard 100 (1)
7. Minnesota 93
8. Connecticut 51
9. Dartmouth 36
10. Boston College 22

Others receiving votes: Princeton, 6; Clarkson, 3; Colgate, 1; Ohio State, 1.

Game This Week

In non-conference action Wednesday night, Boston University was all over Quinnipiac 6-1. Hockey East action saw New Hampshire beat Boston College 4-1.

Non-conference action Friday night saw Robert Morris edge Maine 3-2, and Bemidji State and Niagara skate to a 2-2 OT tie.

ECAC action saw Clarkson nip Rensselaer 2-1 in overtime, St. Lawrence blank Union 7-0, Colgate beat Brown 4-1, and Yale over Cornell 5-2.

North Dakota and St. Cloud State skated to a 3-2 overtime tie, while Minnesota State demolished Ohio State 8-3 in WCHA play.

Robert Morris swept Maine by the same score that they did on Friday night in a 3-2 non-conference win in overtime Saturday night. In other non-conference play, it was Wayne State 6 - Northeastern 2, Niagara 2 - Bemidji State 1, and Princeton 4 - Boston University 2.

The ECAC saw two games go to the extra frame as Colgate edged Yale 3-2, and Cornell and Brown finished in a 3-3 tie. In the other two games, Rensselaer was blanked by St. Lawrence 3-0, while Clarkson beat Union by the same score.

In Hockey East, New Hampshire was all over Connecticut 8-2. Providence doubled Vermont 4-2.

Minnesota State finished their series sweep of Ohio State with a 3-2 victory, and St. Cloud State beat North Dakota 3-1 in WCHA play.

Sunday’s action saw Wayne State skate all over Northeastern 7-2, Princeton edge New Hampshire 2-1, and Dartmouth nip Providence 2-1 in non-conference action.

In Hockey East play, Connecticut beat Vermont 4-1, while WCHA action saw Minnesota State edge Ohio State 3-2; and St. Cloud State beat North Dakota 3-1.

The Leaders

Mercyhurst remains the top team in the CHA in both conference and overall play. They have a 2-0-0 record in the CHA and 8-1-1 overall. In conference scoring, it comes as no surprise that with her four goals and one assist, Mercyhurst sophomore forward Meghan Agosta is the top point getter. On the overall side, Wayne State junior forward Melissa Boal leads all scorers with 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points.

Agosta’s teammate Laura Hosier leads all conference netminders with one win, no losses or ties, a 0.000 GAA, and a perfect 1.000 SAV %. She is also tops overall with her 5-1-1 record, 1.82 GAA, and 0.931 SAV %.

St. Lawrence leads all ECAC teams in conference play with a record of 4-0-0. Overall, Clarkson is the leader as they are 9-2-1.

In the conference, St. Lawrence senior forward Chelsea Grills leads all scorers with two goals and seven assists in four conference games. With a 0.50 GAA, Clarkson netminder Lauren Dahm leads the conference. She also has a 2-0-0 record and a 0.958 SAV %. She is also the overall leader as well with her 5-0-0 record, 0.40 GAA, and 1.000 SAV %.

Grills’ teammate Sabrina Harbec leads all skaters in points overall with six goals and 12 assists over a 10-game period.

New Hampshire leads the way in Hockey East as they have 14 points (7-0-0), while Connecticut with the 10-2-0 record leads the way overall.

Sam Faber, a junior forward at New Hampshire, is the conference leader in points with six goals and nine assists over the seven games that she has played. Her teammate freshman Kayley Herman leads all netminders with her 6-0-0 record, 1.00 GAA, and 1.000 SAV %. Herman also leads the way overall as she has an 8-1-1 record, 1.12 GAA, and a 0.922 SAV %.

As Connecticut is the overall leader in the ECAC standings, it is no surprise that sophomore forward Dominique Thibault is the overall leader among skaters with 11 goals and 10 assists.

Minnesota-Duluth is the top team in the WCHA conference standings with their 6-2-0 record over an eight game period for a total of 12 points. Wisconsin leads the overall WCHA standings as they have nine wins, two losses, and one tie.

Ohio State rearguard Tessa Bonhomme leads both the conference standings and overall standings with five goals and nine assists in 10 conference games, while she has seven goals, and 11 assists for 18 points in 12 games.

UMD goalie Johanna Ellison leads all WCHA conference goalies with her 3-0-0 record, 0.948 SAV %, and 1.27 GAA. Wisconsin’s Jessie Vetter is the overall leader with eight wins, two losses, and one tie, a 1.09 GAA, and 0.927 SAV %.

Coming Up

Friday’s non-conference play will see Mercyhurst at Clarkson, Rensselaer at Wayne State, Niagara at North Dakota, Robert Morris at Bemidji State, St. Cloud State at Boston University, and Providence at Ohio State.

In ECAC conference play, Princeton is at home to Cornell, Colgate is at Quinnipiac, Dartmouth visits Providence, RI takes on Brown, and Yale hosts Harvard.

Hockey East play features Connecticut at Maine and Boston College at home to Northeastern.

Non-conference play on Saturday will see Rensselaer, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, Niagara, St. Cloud State, and Providence finish up their series with Wayne State, Clarkson, Bemidji State, North Dakota, Boston University, and Ohio State respectively. Wisconsin is also at New Hampshire for the first of a two games series that will conclude on Sunday.

Over in the ECAC, Colgate travels to Princeton, Quinnipiac hosts Cornell, Dartmouth takes on Yale in New Haven, and Brown is home to Harvard.

The lone WCHA game will see Minnesota take on their long time state rival UMD for a two game series Saturday and Sunday.