November 06, 2008 @ 12:13 PM ET

Riggs, Bauer, and Skelly are CHA’s Best

Niagara senior forward Ashley Riggs along with her teammate, sophomore goalie Jenni Bauer, and Syracuse freshman forward Megan Skelly are the CHA’s offensive, defensive, and rookie players for the week ending November 2nd. On Friday, Riggs scored the game tying goal, and Bauer made 31 saves and was the first star of the game in Niagara’s 3-1 win over Clarkson.

Riggs scored back to back goals in the third period of Saturday’s game along with one assist, and was named the game’s first star; while Bauer made 27 saves in the 3-3 tie on Saturday. Riggs finished the weekend a +3, while Bauer had a 1.93 GAA, and 0.935 SAV%. For her efforts, she was also named the USCHO.com Offensive Player of the Week.

Skelly had a shorthanded goal on Friday in Syracuse’s 10-0 route of Sacred Heart and followed that up on Saturday with scoring the first two goals of the game and adding one assist in the 7-3 victory. For her efforts, she was named the first star of the game and finished the weekend a +3.

Ryabkina, Harrison, and Clemis Take ECAC Honors

Harvard sophomore defender Liza Ryabkina, Rensselaer freshman forward Alisa Harrison, and Dartmouth senior netminder Carli Clemis have been awarded the ECAC player, rookie, and goalie of the week awards.

Ryabkina netted her first career hat trick in Saturday’s 6-4 win over Princeton playing in the forward position. She scored in each period with two of them coming on the power play. On Friday, she was a key part of the Crimson’s defense that allowed only one goal on 23 shots and neither one on the power play in the 2-1 over Quinnipiac.

Harrison assisted on Whitney Naslund’s game-winner 14:32 into the first on Friday night, added another assist on Melissa Boik’s goal at the 13 minute mark of the same period, and netted a goal of her own with 2:49 left in the second period as Rensselaer beat Brown 4-1. She went on to add another assist on Allison Wright’s goal 4:20 into the second period of Saturday night’s 2-1 win over Yale.

Clemis made 34 saves as Dartmouth edged Princeton 3-2 on Friday and 14 in the 3-0 shutout of Quinnipiac. She finished the weekend with a 1.01 GAA, and 0.960 SAV%.

Hockey East Honors

Boston College teammates junior forward Allie Thunstrom and freshman forward Megan Shea and Boston College senior goalie Allyse Wilcox have received the Hockey East awards for player, rookie, and goalie of the week. In addition, a trio of Boston based players have received monthly honors as well as Boston College junior forward Kelli Stack, Wilcox, and Northeastern freshman netminder Florence Schelling are the player, goalie, and rookie players of the month for October.

Thunstrom assisted on Danielle Welch’s goal that gave BC a 4-1 lead and was the final goal of the game in the team’s 4-1 win over Vermont on Friday. She went on to net two goals in Saturday’s 5-0 shutout of Northeastern on Saturday and was the first star of the game.

Wilcox made 34 saves as New Hampshire tied Boston University 2-2 on Thursday and 19 in the 3-3 overtime tie on Saturday versus Providence. She also received the Goalie of the Month honors for October as well and she went 3-1-2 with a 1.95 GAA, and 0.931 SAV% as she led B to their first ever national ranking giving up two goals or less in every start. During October she made 30+ saves on three different occasions.

Stack scored seven goals and added eight assists in five games in October for a league-high 15 points. Two of her goals were game-winners, and four came on the power play. In her last two games, she netted six points and scored her 100th career point on October 11th versus Rensselaer.

Schelling went 3-0-1, had a goals-against-average of 0.74, and a 0.978 SAV$% in October. She made 133 saves and like Wilcox allowed two goals or less in every game. She was the Hockey East Player of the Week on October 13th and the Rookie of the Week on October 20th. Schelling is first among Hockey East goalies in save percentage.

WCHA Awards

Minnesota senior forward Gigi Marvin, Minnesota State junior defenseman Kathleen Russo, North Dakota freshman forward Alyssa Wiebe, and Ohio State freshman forward Laura McIntosh are the WCHA’s offensive, defensive, and rookie players of the week.

Marvin netted the game winner 12:38 into the third period on Friday night as Minnesota nipped St. Cloud State 2-1 and scored two goals and was the game’s second star as Minnesota completed the sweep on Saturday with a 6-2 win.

Rosso netted the game-winner with 27 seconds left in the game as Minnesota State nipped Bemidji State 3-2 on Saturday. She also assisted on Holly Snyder’s goal to open the scoring 13:29 into the first and Moira Connor’s goal with 8:05 left in the second to give the Mavericks a 2-1 lead. Rosso was also the first star of the game.
Wiebe and McIntosh are co-winners of the Rookie of the Week honors as Wisconsin swept OSU.

On Saturday night, Wiebe scored once to give her team a 2-1 lead 1:48 into the second and assisted on Stephanie Roy’s game tying goal with 5:03 left in the first period.
McIntosh assisted on Raelyn LaRocque’s goal 2:09 later to tie the game at 2-2 that same game. North Dakota won the game 4-2.

McIntosh assisted on Hayley Klassen’s goal 15:19 into the first to tie the game at 1-1 then followed that up with a goal of her own to give OSU a 2-1 lead with 2:31 left in the period. McIntosh’s assist on Morgan Marziali’s goal 5:42 into the third gave the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead, while her goal with 34 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 4-4 forcing overtime where Wiebe netted the game winner with 41 seconds left.

Vetter is USCHO.com Defensive Player of the Week

Wisconsin senior goalie Jessie Vetter has been named the USCHO.com Defensive Player of the Week. She made 24 saves on 25 shots in Friday’s 2-1 win over UMD and followed that up with 23 saves in Saturday’s 2-2 tie with the Bulldogs.

Vetter’s 0.858 GAA gives her the number two ranking nation wide and the highest by a wide margin among full time back-stoppers. Her 0.960 save percentage is the third highest in the NCAA and the best among netminders who have played more than four games. Her 629:15 minutes is the NCAA’s highest, and she is the overall leader in shutouts with four.

Four Nations Cup Gets Underway

The Four Nations Cup got underway this past weekend in Lake Placid, NY. On Wednesday, Jayne Hefford led Team Canada with a pair of goals in their 6-0 route of Finland, while Hilary Knight scored twice as Team USA beat Team Sweden 5-2; and Nina Tikkinen’s game-winner 2:19 into the third saw Finland nip Sweden 3-2.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com Polls

For the third consecutive week, Wisconsin was the unanimous choice as the winner of the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (19 first place votes) and USCHO.com (15 first place votes) polls. The order of the top five in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll remained the same as last week with Minnesota second, Harvard University third, Boston College fourth, and Dartmouth College fifth.

The top four also remained the same in the USCHO.com poll with New Hampshire moving from sixth to fifth, and Dartmouth dropping from fifth to sixth. Northeastern returns to the top 10 of the USA Today/USA Hockey poll for the first time since November 9, 2003.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

1) University of Wisconsin, 190 (19)
2) University of Minnesota
3) Harvard University
4) Boston College
5) Dartmouth College
6) University of New Hampshire
7) Boston University
8) University of Minnesota Duluth
9) St. Lawrence University
10) Northeastern University

Others receiving votes: University of North Dakota, 9; Mercyhurst College, 8; University of Connecticut, 6; Minnesota State University, 1; St. Cloud State University, 1; Wayne State University, 1.

USCHO.com Poll

1) Wisconsin (15)
2) Minnesota
3) Harvard
4) Boston College
5) Dartmouth
6) New Hampshire
7) Boston University
8) Minnesota-Duluth
9) St. Lawrence
10) North Dakota
10) Northeastern

Others Receiving Votes: Mercyhurst 7, Connecticut 2, Cornell 1, Minnesota State 1, St. Cloud State 1

Games This Week

In a Hockey East conference match on Thursday night, Jenelle Kohanchuk and Caroline Bourdeau scored for Boston University, and Sam Faber and Julie Allen replied for New Hamsphire in the teams’ 2-2 tie.

Friday’s non-conference play saw Melissa Hall net the game-winner 11:51 into the third gave RIT a 2-1 win over Robert Morris. Julie Rising led Syracuse with two goals and two assists as they thumped Sacred Heart 10-0; Autumn Stuntz scored one goal and add one assist in Niagara’s 3-1 win over Clarkson; and Colgate edged Mercyhurst 4-3 with Elin Brown banging home the game-winner with 5:23 left in regulation.

ECAC Conference play kicked off Friday night with four games that began with Alisa Harrison leading Rensselaer with a goal and two assists in their 5-1 win over Brown; Genny Ladiges picked up her first win of the season making 12 saves as Yale blanked Union 4-0; Sarah Parson’s goal 16:09 into the second was the game winner as Dartmouth nipped Princeton 3-2; and Kate Buesser scored two goals and was the first star of the game as Harvard skated past Quinnipiac 2-1.

Boston College defeated conference rivals Vermont 4-1 in the lone Hockey East tilt with Megan Shea scoring twice.

Brooke Ammerman netted the game-winner seven seconds past the midway point of the third as Wisconsin nipped Minnesota-Duluth 2-1 in the Friday afternoon WCHA game; while Giga Marvin and Emily West provided Minnesota’s offense in their 2-1 win over St. Cloud State; and Minnesota State skated to a 3-2 win over Bemidji State as Kala Buganski added one goal and assisted on Christina Lee’s game winner 9:55 into the third frame.

Robert Morris nipped Cornell 2-1 on Brianna Delaney’s game-winner at the 4:12 mark of the second; Mercyhurst gained a split with Colgate with a 4-3 win with Geena Prough adding a goal and assist; Megan Skelly’s two goals and one assist gave her the first star of the game honors and led Syracuse to a 7-3 win over Sacred Heart and a series sweep; and Clarkson and Niagara skated to a 3-3 tie as Marie-Joe Gaudet and Juana Baribeau scored once and added an assist each for Clarkson, with Ashley Riggs leading the way for Niagara with two goals and one assist.

ECAC action began Saturday afternoon with Paige Pyatt scoring twice and Sasha Van Muyen and Skyelar Siwak adding a goal each as Brown skated past Union 4-1; Allysen Weidner’s game-winner at the 12:34 mark of the third saw Rensselaer nip Yale 2-1; Carli Clemis get a shutout making 14 saves in Dartmouth’s 3-0 win over Quinnipiac; and Cori Basset was the game’s first star with two goals and two assists in Harvard’s 6-4 win over Princeton.

Three games in Hockey East afternoon action saw Boston College blank cross-town rivals Northeastern 5-0 with Allie Thunstrom scoring twice and adding two assists, and Kelli Stack and Danielle Welch scoring once and adding an assist each; while their other Boston rivals Boston University skated to a 3-3 overtime tie against Princeton as Laura Veharanta and Mari Pehkonen added a goal and assist each for Providence, with Gian Kearns leading the way for BU with a goal and assist; and first star of the game Sam Faber led New Hampshire to a 4-1 win over Vermont with one goal and two assists.

In the WCHA, Elin Holmlov and Sara O’Toole scored for UMD with Angie Keseley and Brooke Ammerman replied for Wisconsin as the teams skated to a 2-2 tie; Sara Dagenais and Alyssa Wiebe scored once and added an assist each as North Dakota doubled Ohio State 4-2; Kathleen Rosso netted the game-winner with 27 seconds left in regulation as Minnesota State nipped Bemidji State 4-3 to complete the two game sweep; and Jocelyne Lamoureux scored twice and added one assist, and Gigi Marvin added two goals in Minnesota’s 6-2 win over St. Cloud State in St. Cloud to sweep the home and home series.

There was just one game on Sunday as Wiebe netted the game-winner 4:19 into overtime as North Dakota swept Ohio State with a 5-4 win.

The Leaders

Robert Morris is the only CHA team to play any conference games and have a 2-0-0 conference record. They are tied with Mercyhurst for the overall conference standings as both are 4-4-0.

There is no change in the conference scoring stats with Robert Morris teammates Megan Picinic, Kathryn Stack, and Brianna Delaney, and Syracuse teammates Lisa Mullan and Megan Skelly all have one goal and one assist each in the conference scoring race with Robert Morris netminder Brianna McLaughlin leads all netminders conference wise as she was the goalie in both Robert Morris wins, with a 1.00 GAA, and 0.955 SAV%.

Niagara senior forward Ashley Riggs regains the overall lead among conference scorers with five goals and six assists, while Wayne State junior Lindsey Park leads all netminders with her 2-1-1 record, 1.71 GAA, and 0.929 SAV%.

Three teams are tied for the lead in ECAC conference play with Dartmouth, Harvard, and Rensselaer all having 2-0-0 record; and Rensselaer and Colgate having 5-4-0 records to lead the overall conference play.

With two goals and two assists each, Harvard sophomore forward Amanda Trunzo, Harvard junior defender Cori Bassett, and Yale sophomore forward Bray Ketchum all lead the ECAC scoring race.

Rensselaer goalie Sonja van der Bliek leads all ECAC conference netminders as she has won both conference games that her team has played, while she has a GAA of 1.00 and an 0.935.

Among overall ECAC point getters, Colgate senior defenseman Kiira Dosall has two goals and 10 assists in nine games played with Yale freshman Genny Ladiges having a 1-1-0 record, 0.98 GAA, and 0.949 SAV% to lead all netminders overall.

Boston University tops the Hockey East conference standings winning four games (two in a shootout), while losing none in regulation, and none in a shootout loss. Their crosstown rivals Boston College leads overall as they are 6-0-2.

Boston College junior forward Kelli Stack has three goals and six assists to lead the Hockey East scoring race and eight goals and 10 assists in the overall race.
Northeastern rookie netminder Florence Schelling has one win, no losses, and no ties to lead all conference back-stoppers while her 3-0-1 record, GAA of 0.74, and 0.978 SAV% puts her first overall.

Wisconsin occupies the top spot in the WCHA conference standings as they have won six times (1 shutout win), losing none, and tying two, and top the overall standings with their 10-0-2 record.

Ohio State freshman Laura McIntosh replaces Wisconsin freshman forward Brooke Ammerman as the top scorer among conference point getters three goals and nine assists, while Wisconsin sophomore forward Hilary Knight (13G, 6A, 10 GP) is the top point getter overall.

Wisconsin senior Jessie Vetter’s 6-0-2 record, 1.15 GAA, and 0.952 SAV% puts her in the driver’s seat in the conference standings among netminders. She also enjoys a 9-0-2 overall record to go along with her 0.86 GAA and 0.909 SAV% to get the nod for first place overall as well.

The Coming Week

Play resumes Wednesday with a non-conference tilt as Dartmouth hosts Boston College.

On Friday, in non-conference play, Vermont hosts Wayne State; Robert Morris is at home to Providence in series that will conclude on Saturday.

In ECAC conference play, Colgate takes on Quinnipiac in Hamilton, NY; Harvard and Rensselaer face each other in Cambridge, MA; Cornell is at home to Princeton; Dartmouth faces Union at home; Brown welcomes Clarkson; and Yale and St. Lawrence play in New Haven, CT.

Harvard hosts Union; Dartmouth faces Rensselaer at Dartmouth; Cornell hosts Quinnipiac; Clarkson is in New Haven to face Yale, Brown hosts St. Lawrence; and Princeton is in Ithaca, NY to face Colgate on Saturday.

The lone Hockey East tilt has Maine at Connecticut.

There is only one series in WCHA action this weekend as St. Cloud State hosts Ohio State Saturday and Sunday.

Northeastern is at home to Maine in the only Hockey East game on Sunday.

At the Four Nations Cup on Thursday, the marquee match-up will see long time rivals Canada and the USA face each other; while on Friday Canada takes on Sweden, and the USA plays Finland.

After an off day on Saturday Sunday’s action will kick off with the fourth place team playing the third place team, with the gold medal game taking place at 2:30 EST.