NCAA Women’s Power Rankings: Minnesota slumps, Ohio State rises to the occasion
As we head into the holiday season, the cream of the crop continues to stay near the top of the national polls, with a few teams trying to show that they have what it takes to be in the upper echelon.
We saw some thrilling battles across the country, but not more so than what we saw in the WCHA. While Wisconsin continued to stay the course, Ohio State continued to prove its worth on the road against Minnesota Duluth, while Minnesota had a stunning result against an in-conference foe.
Let’s see who is in the Top 10 on this American holiday:
1. Wisconsin
Record: 14-1-1
Last Week: 1st
Like what happened two weeks ago against St. Cloud State, the Badgers had both a convincing victory and a narrow result in WCHA play. After beating up St. Thomas, 8-0, last Thursday night, Wisconsin needed Cassie Hall’s overtime winner on Friday to complete the sweep. Make no mistake, the Badgers were by far the better team, heavily outplaying St. Thomas in both games. However, if letting lesser teams keep things close in the second half of these weekend series becomes a habit, UW might get clipped one of these days.
Lacey Eden and Caroline Harvey each had five points on the weekend for Wisconsin. Harvey now sits second in the country in scoring with 30 points. The Badgers head to the Music City this weekend for the Smashville Women’s College Hockey Showcase in Nashville, taking on Mercyhurst on Friday before facing Stonehill on Sunday.
2. Ohio State
Record: 13-1-0
Last Week: 3rd
The Buckeyes kept things simple against Duluth this past week, controlling the pace of play for the most part and letting Joy Dunne do her thing. The junior forward had a hand in five of the team’s seven goals over the road sweep against the Bulldogs. After scoring a pair of goals on Friday, she followed that up with three points on Saturday, giving her seven points over the past three games. Even as good as Duluth is, and the effort Eve Gascon delivered, OSU proved that it’s still one step ahead of the pack.
Ohio State heads to Washington, D.C. to play in the D1 in DC showcase, taking on Clarkson on Friday before facing Colgate on Saturday.
3. Minnesota
Record: 12-4-0
Last Week: 2nd
Probably the biggest upset(s) over the past couple of seasons took place last week in the State of Hockey. The Golden Gophers were swept by Minnesota State in a home-and-home and…I still don’t know how it happened. Granted, Mavericks forward Mercury Bischoff was on another level, but Minnesota, with all of its weapons, wasn’t able to finish. The team outshot Mankato, 68-52, but was outscored 7-2. Credit, where credit is due, the Mavs put together the perfect game plan against one of the best in the nation, but I think we all wonder how the Gophers are going to respond.
Minnesota will have a week off to recuperate before taking on crosstown rival St. Thomas next weekend.
4. Penn State
Record: 16-0-0
Last Week: 4th
“Just win, baby.” – Al Davis.
It wasn’t the prettiest of weekend sweeps for Penn State, but they managed to grab a couple of road wins over RIT to stay undefeated. The Nittany Lions needed three unanswered goals to pull out a 5-3 last Friday against the Tigers, before Danica Maynard’s third-period tally helped complete the sweep on Saturday. It was the first time during the AHA Season that Penn State stumbled, but they used the power of Maynard, Tessa Janecke and Abby Stonehouse to stay undefeated.
Now, we’ll start to see what caliber of team the Nittany Lions truly are. They head to Boston for a pair of games against Northeastern, with looming matchups against Cornell and Ohio State in the future.
5. Cornell
Record: 9-2-1
Last Week: 6th
I was very hesitant to move Cornell over Minnesota Duluth. Yes, the Big Red picked up four of a possible six points in its ECAC action against Union and RPI, but a 2-2 tie against Syracuse on Tuesday left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Not to mention that the usually stout Cornell defense gave up 34 shots on goal to the Garnet Maroons on Friday, and another 37 shots to the Orange a couple of days ago. Annelies Bergmann certainly had her hands full over the past week. Alysaa Regalado was exceptional last weekend, potting two goals and four points for the Big Red.
Cornell heads up to Burlington for a pair of games against Vermont this weekend.
6. Minnesota Duluth
Record: 10-6-0
Last Week: 5th
I really had hopes for the Bulldogs to make some noise last weekend. A home series against the Buckeyes with a healthy roster, they were primed to at least grab a point against OSU. However, they hardly had time to create any offense on Friday night, and even when they created chances on Saturday, they struggled to beat Buckeye netminder Genny Klein. Gascon did everything she could to give UMD a chance to win. Even though she gave up seven goals on the weekend, the scores wouldn’t have been nearly as close had she not started both games, even making 50 saves in a 3-1 loss on Friday.
Duluth is off for the holiday weekend before looking to get back on the winning track against Bemidji State.
7. Northeastern
Record: 12-2-0
Last Week: 8th
Like the song by Limp Bizkit, the Huskies are rollin’, rollin’, rollin’.
For over a month, the best team in Hockey East, men’s or women’s, has been this Northeastern squad. The team has reeled off eight consecutive wins, giving up just nine goals along the way. They went up to Orono last weekend and pulled out a sweep over Maine, keeping their spot at the top of the conference standings. Senior Lily Shannon was the star of the weekend, scoring four of the team’s five goals, while Lisa Jönsson was solid between the pipes, making 27 saves in Friday’s 2-1 win. Freshman Renna Trembecky, in her third start of the season, stopped 30 shots in Saturday’s victory.
The Huskies have a chance to show their stuff on home ice this weekend in a marquee matchup against Penn State.
8. Connecticut
Record: 10-3-1
Last Week: 9th
I was really impressed by how UConn came ready to play last week. After a rather disappointing split against Boston College, the Huskies managed to come away with a solid sweep on home ice over the Catamounts. Julia Pellerin’s hat trick powered her team to a 4-0 win on Friday, before Maya Serdachny’s three-point performance helped the Huskies complete the sweep. With this team, confidence is crucial, and if UConn wants to be in the conference championship conversation, they need to play with it all season long.
UConn is hosting the Nutmeg Classic this weekend. The Huskies will have a tough battle against Quinnipiac on Friday, before facing either Sacred Heart or Yale the following day.
9. Quinnipiac
Record: 12-3-1
Last Week: 7th
Speaking of the Bobcats, they had almost two weeks to rest up and get ready for Princeton. However, when the puck dropped, they didn’t look like the best team in the ECAC. There were times they showed their scoring prowess, but their ability to finish was up and down over the weekend. It didn’t help that Princeton managed to keep Kahlen Lamarche off the scoresheet for both games, including Quinnipiac being shut out on home ice on Saturday. I think is more of a bump in the road for the Bobcats, and they have a great chance to show their worth this weekend in Storrs.
The Bobcats will face off with the Huskies at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.
10. Clarkson
Record: 9-5-1
Last Week: NR
Hey! Look who’s back in the Top 10.
Since some rough results earlier this month, including back-to-back shutouts at the hands of Dartmouth and Princeton, the Golden Knights have started to pick up steam, thanks to coming out on top in some close battles in ECAC play. Along with a shootout win over Quinnipiac, Clarkson has reeled off four straight wins, including beating Brown and Yale last week. Janelle Evans had a great weekend, scoring twice and totaling three points, with Manon Le scodon also putting up three points in the two wins.
Clarkson is in tough this weekend in the U.S. capital, facing Ohio State on Friday before taking on St. Cloud State on Saturday in the D1 in DC showcase.
Honorable Mention: Brown (8-3-1), Princeton (8-4-0), Colgate (8-7-1)