New Hampshire is Tops Again

The University of New Hampshire has once again reclaimed the number one spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. They received 18 of the 19 available first place votes when they swept previous winner Wisconsin in a two-game series this past weekend. St. Lawrence University (155) moved from fifth to second, and Wisconsin (148) fell from first to third. The University of Minnesota-Duluth (125) stayed at fourth, while Harvard University (119), who go the other first place vote, finished fifth. Entering the top 10 for the first time this season is Clarkson University who finished 10th.

Poll - #9 (first place votes in parenthesis)

1) University of New Hampshire, 188 (18)
2) St. Lawrence University, 155
3) University of Wisconsin, 148
4) University of Minnesota Duluth, 125
5) Harvard University, 119 (1)
6) University of Minnesota, 93
7) Mercyhurst College, 79
8) Dartmouth College, 60
9) University of Connecticut, 46
10) Clarkson University, 23

Others receiving votes: Boston College, 7; The Ohio State University, 2.

Boal, Moulson, and Scanzano are CHA’s Best

When the the CHA announced their top players for the week ending November 18th, it was Wayne State junior forward Melissa Boal, Niagara senior rearguard Shannon Moulson, and Mercyhurst freshman forward Jesse Scanzano receiving the honors. In Wayne State’s 1-0-1 weekend versus Rensselaer, Boal netted three goals while assisting on three others. She got a hat trick in game one for her second consecutive three-goal game and also had two assists. She added one more assist on the game tying goal in the second game of the series on Saturday. Boal performed very well defensively in the series as well finishing with a +3 rating.

Moulson was instrumental in her team’s sweep of North Dakota as she scored one goal while assisting on four others. She assisted on the overtime game winner in the first game of the series and netted a power-play goal in the 6-2 win on Saturday.

Scanzano netted one goal per game for Mercyhurst as they went 0-1-1 against Clarkson on the weekend. The goal tied Friday’s game at 1-1, and one of her assists came on another game tying goal in the third. Her second goal came on the power-play Saturday in another game tying goal. The goal was the first power-play marker of her career.

ECAC Honors Selina, Kessler, and Johnston

The ECAC has chosen Clarkson sophomore forward Britney Selina, Harvard sophomore goalie Christina Kessler, and Cornell freshman forward Rebecca Johnston as their player, goaltender, and rookie of the week. Selina, who is her team’s leading scorer, netted two goals and one assist in Clarkson’s 1-0-1 record against Mercyhurst. In the 2-2 tie on Friday, she assisted on the opening goal of the game and added an unassisted goal. In her team’s 3-2 win on Saturday, she got her second goal at the 19:25 mark of the first for a 1-0 Clarkson lead.

Kessler shut out Yale and Brown back to back as she is now 4-0-0 this season. She made 22 saves as Harvard beat Yale 3-0 on Friday and 14 in Saturday’s 2-0 win. Johnston recorded one goal and assisted on three others as Cornell swept Princeton and Quinnipiac. She assisted on the game winner in Cornell’s 7-4 win over Princeton as they came back from a three-goal deficit. This marks her second rookie of the week award this season.

Garland, Ciarletta, and Herman Receive Hockey East Honors

New Hampshire teammates senior defenseman Martine Garland and freshman goalie Kayley Herman, and Providence junior goalie Danielle Ciarletta received the player, rookie, and defensive player of the week awards in Hockey East. Garland and Herman were important cogs in their team’s sweep of former number one Wisconsin this past weekend.

Garland tied her career best with two goals as New Hampshire won 2-1 on Sunday, while Herman made 41 of a possible 43 saves this weekend. Her 22 saves on Sunday was one short of her career high. In the two-game series between Providence and Ohio State, Ciarletta made 56 saves. Thirty eight came on Friday with 18 in the first frame.

Jaques, Martin, and Schoullis Receive WCHA Nod

North Dakota junior forward Melissa Jaques, Minnesota-Duluth sophomore goalie Kim Martin, and Minnesota freshman forward Jen Schoullis received the WCHA offensive, defensive, and rookie player of the week awards.

Jaques had a particularly strong weekend versus Niagara this past weekend as she netted four goals as her team lost 3-2 in overtime, and 6-2 for her second and third multiple goal games of her career. It also marked the first time that she had multi-goal games consecutively. Her 30th career point came Friday with her second period goal. She is her team’s leader with six goals and four assists.

Martin shattered the Minnesota-Duluth team record for game saves when she made 50 saves Saturday for her sixth career shutout. She made 45 saves in 40 minutes of action that eclipsed the team’s old record of 44 despite the fact that UMD played shorthanded for 12 minutes of the second period. Martin made another 30 saves Sunday in the 3-0 loss.

Schoullis netted Minnesota’s third goal in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Minnesota. The goal came on the second shot. Schoullis was also a +1 and has now netted two goals in the last three games. Her second goal came against then number-one Wisconsin in a 3-2 win. She is tied for fourth in team scoring with eight points in 12 games.

WCHA is Commissioner’s Cup Leader

The WCHA took three of four games this past weekend to take the overall lead in the Commissioner’s Cup series. They are now 4-3-0 in the series with the ECAC second with 3-1-0. The CHA has a record of 3-4-0 for third, while Hockey East is fourth with two wins, four losses, and no ties.

Games This Week

Non-Conference

On Friday, Mercyhurst and Clarkson played to a 2-2 overtime tie at Clarkson, Wayne State got by Rensselaer 5-3 at home, Niagara traveled to North Dakota and squeaked by the home team 3-2 in the extra frame, Bemidji State was at home to Robert Morris and beat them 3-2, St. Cloud State shutout Boston University 5-0 in Boston, and Providence traveled to Columbus and came out on the short end of a 2-1 score at Ohio State.

On Saturday, Clarkson beat Mercyhurst 3-2 at home, Rensselaer and Wayne State played to a 1-1 overtime tie, Robert Morris nipped Bemidji State 1-0, Niagara was all over North Dakota 6-2, St. Cloud State beat Boston University 3-1, Ohio State beat Providence 4-1, and New Hampshire edged Wisconsin 2-1.

Sunday’s action saw New Hampshire get by Wisconsin 2-1.

Conference Games

Friday’s all conference match-ups saw Dartmouth shutout Brown 2-0 in Rhode Island, Princeton welcomed Cornell by beating them 7-4, Cornell traveled to Quinnipiac and came away with a 5-2 win, and Harvard shutout Yale 3-0 in New Haven in the ECAC.
The two Hockey East match-ups saw Connecticut double Maine 4-2 in Orono, ME; and Boston College welcome Northeastern by beating them by the same score.

On Saturday in the ECAC, Brown was once again on the losing end of a 2-0 shutout, this time to Harvard, Princeton traveled to Hamilton, N.Y. and came away with a 2-0 blanking of Colgate, Quinnipiac were gracious hosts in Hamden, CT as they hosted Cornell letting the Big Red out of town with a 4-3 win, and Yale did likewise with Dartmouth as the Big Green won 4-1.

The lone WCHA game saw Minnesota travel to state rival Minnesota-Duluth as the Bulldogs won 5-0. They completed the series with a split as Minnesota won 3-0 on Sunday.

The Leaders

In the CHA conference standings, Mercyhurst continues their dominance in both the conference and overall standings as they are 2-0-0 in conference play and 8-2-2 overall. As Mercyhurst is the leader overall, it’s not surprising that sophomore forward Meghan Agosta tops the conference scoring stats with four goals and one assist in two games. Her teammate, senior goalie Laura Hosier, leads in every goaltending category with a 1-0-0 record, 0.00 GAA, and a 1.000 SAV %. Based on goals-against-average, she is also the overall leader with five wins, two losses, and two ties, a 1.94 GAA, and a 0.909 SAV %.

Among skaters, Wayne State junior forward Melissa Boal is the overall leader with 19 goals and 14 assists over a 12-game period.

There is a three way tie for the conference lead in the ECAC with Dartmouth, Harvard, and St. Lawrence all with a 4-0-0 record. Overall, based on win percentage, Harvard is the leader with the same record and win percentage that they have in conference play.

Dartmouth sophomore forward Jenna Cunningham, who has five goals and six assists in four games, leads all conference scorers. Clarkson freshman Lauren Dahm leads all conference goalies with her 2-0-0 record, 0.50 GAA, and 0.958 SAV %. She also leads in all categories overall among goalies as she has a 5-0-0 record, a 0.40 GAA, and a 0.970 SAV %.

Sabrina Harbec, a senior forward at St. Lawrence, leads the overall scoring race as she now has six goals and 12 assists in ten games.

In the Hockey East standings, New Hampshire with their 7-0-0 conference record and 11-2-0 overall record, lead both the conference and overall standings. Six goals and nine assists over a seven game period gives New Hampshire junior forward Sam Faber the lead among all conference skaters. Teammate and freshman goalie Kayley Herman leads all back-stoppers with her 6-0-0 record, 1.00 GAA, and 0.918 SAV %. Herman also leads all goalies overall with ten wins, one loss, and no ties, 1.10 GAA, and 0.930 SAV %.

Thirteen is the lucky number for Connecticut sophomore Dominique Thibault as she leads all scorers overall with 11 goals and 11 assists in the 13 games that she has played.

Minnesota-Duluth leads the WCHA conference and overall standings with seven wins, three losses, and no ties in the conference and an 8-3-1 overall record.

There is a new leader in conference scoring as UMD sophomore forward Saara Tuominen leads the way with six goals and nine assists. Wisconsin junior Jessie Vetter leads all netminders as she enjoys a 5-2-1 record, 1.37 GAA, and 0.951 SAV %. She also leads the overall standings with her 8-4-1 record, 1.23 GAA, and 0.925 SAV %.

Overall Ohio State senior rearguard Tessa Bonhomme’s seven goals and 12 assists gives her the overall scoring lead.

The Coming Week

Non-conference

Quinnipiac and Northeastern will kick off the week Tuesday night as Quinnipiac travels to Northeastern.

Friday night’s play will see Brown host Robert Morris, Wayne State travel to Hamilton to take on Colgate, and Princeton take on Mercyhurst at home.

On Saturday, Niagara goes into Durham for a game against New Hampshire, Mercyhurst travels to the Garden State for a rendezvous with Princeton, Colgate hosts Wayne State, Providence hosts crosstown rival Brown for the Mayor’s Cup game, and Yale is at home to Boston College.

Sunday will see Niagara and New Hampshire complete their series,while Robert Morris travels to Princeton.

Conference

Hockey East conference action will resume on Tuesday night with one game as Boston University travels to Orono, ME for a tilt versus the Black Bears.

There will be a pair of games in ECAC conference play Friday night as St. Lawrence travels to Dartmouth and Harvard is at home to Clarkson.

Friday’s all WCHA match-ups will see Wisconsin make their way to Bemidji, MN for a game against Bemidji State, Minnesota State take on interstate rivals Minnesota-Duluth at the DECC in Duluth, and St. Cloud State take on Ohio State in Columbus, OH.

Saturday’s ECAC action will feature two games as Harvard takes on St. Lawrence at home, and Clarkson goes to Dartmouth.

The lone game in Hockey East action will see Vermont host Maine.

Saturday’s WCHA action will see the conclusion of three series and the beginning of another.

Wisconsin, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State will wrap up the series that began on Friday with Bemidji State, Ohio State, and UMD respectively. North Dakota travels to Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN to take on Minnesota for a two-game series that finishes up on Sunday.