NCAA Women’s Power Rankings: Wisconsin remains No. 1, despite Minnesota closing the gap
As the calendar turns to November, the level of play is starting to rise across NCAA Women’s Hockey. While the stud programs of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State continue to pace the field, a few other teams are doing their part in making themselves known as potential Frozen Four contenders.
Last weekend, we saw a marquee battle between the Badgers and Golden Gophers, with Minnesota earning a split, defeating the defending national champions for the first time in almost two years. That series was one of many exciting battles in the week that was.
Check out where teams lie in this week’s Top 10:
1. Wisconsin
Record: 11-1-0
Last Week: 1st
The Badgers were back in full force last weekend, with Laila Edwards and Kirsten Simms in action for the first time in a couple of weeks. However, that didn’t help them in the series opener against the Gophers. That didn’t completely deter Wisconsin, as the team bounced back with a forceful 7-2 win on Saturday. Kelly Gorbatenko scored twice in the victory on Saturday, while Edwards and Simms posted multi-point efforts. Defender Caroline Harvey led the Badgers with four points on the weekend.
Wisconsin is off this week for the Rivalry Series. The team will be back in action on Nov. 14 when it begins a two-game set against St. Cloud State.
2. Minnesota
Record: 10-2-0
Last Week: 3rd
That’s right, Minnesota actually beating Wisconsin was enough to finally push the Gophers into the No. 2 spot on my list. Going into Madison isn’t easy…then again, playing the Badgers isn’t easy, regardless of where the game is. Could things have gone better in game two? Sure, but how Minnesota proved they aren’t intimidated by the Badgers will help them later in the season. Josefin Bouveng scored twice in Friday’s victory, while Abbey Murphy found the back of the net in both games, extending her lead as college hockey’s top goal scorer with 16 tallies thus far.
The Gophers also have this week off in observance of the Rivalry Series. They’ll be at home the following weekend for a series against Bemidji State.
3. Ohio State
Record: 9-1-0
Last Week: 2nd
I’m not going to go all Debbie Downer on the Buckeyes just because they almost lost to St. Thomas last Friday, but I think it gave Nadine Muzzerall’s team a kick in the pants, because they were sure to leave no doubt on Saturday, beating up the Tommies 8-0. Joy Dunne added another hat trick in the blowout victory, scoring four times for six points last Saturday, with Hilda Svensson also posting five points on the weekend.
Like the majority of the conference, the Buckeyes are off this week, before returning to play the following weekend with a couple of games against Minnesota State.
4. Penn State
Record: 12-0-0
Last Week: 4th
Ho-hum, Penn State wins some more. Honestly, the Nittany Lions shouldn’t lose until the holiday season, when the team faces the likes of Northeastern, Cornell and Ohio State. Against Robert Morris last weekend, Penn State swept the Colonials by a combined score of 8-0, giving goaltender Katie DeSa a nation-leading five shutouts thus far. Tessa Janecke scored a goal and an assist in the win on Friday, while Maddy Christian put up three points in game two.
The Nittany Lions are off this week, before resuming their AHA schedule with a couple of home games against Syracuse next weekend.
5. Cornell
Record: 7-0-0
Last Week: 5th
I was very close to bumping the Big Red up one more spot. Not necessarily because they are a more dominant team than Penn State, but Cornell just seems to be more efficient. They heavily outplayed Yale and Brown last week, outscoring their opponents 8-1 in the process. Annelies Bergmann posted her fourth goose egg of the young season against the Bulldogs, while Nora Curtis had a part in all three of the Big Red’s goals. Georgia Schiff scored twice in the 5-1 victory over the Bears on Saturday.
The Big Red can change my mind on them when they play next weekend, taking on rival Colgate in a couple of intriguing games.
6. Minnesota Duluth
Record: 8-4-0
Last Week: 6th
I was back and forth on whether the Bulldogs did enough against St. Cloud State to move up the charts, but, despite coming away with a road sweep, I think keeping the team where they are is fine for now. After getting swept by the Gophers the weekend prior, Duluth needed to take care of the Huskies to regain its confidence, even though they didn’t have forward Caitlin Kraemer or star goaltender Eve Gascon in the lineup. Thea Johansson was great, scoring thrice in the two wins, while Sophie Villanueva shined, picking up the first two wins of her college career, stopping 63 of the 68 shots she faced.
Like most of the WCHA, the Bulldogs are off this week, which makes sense with Gascon and Kraemer joining Team Canada for the Rivalry Series. UMD comes back next week with a couple of road games against St. Thomas.
7. Quinnipiac
Record: 11-1-0
Last Week: 7th
Quinnipiac played like a confident bunch last weekend, taking care of Union and RPI with relative ease. The Bobcats came up just 30 shots over the two games, keeping things pretty easy for Felicia Frank between the pipes. Tessa Holk scored a hat trick in Friday’s 6-1 win over the Garnet Chargers, totaling four goals on the weekend. Zoe Uens posted five points in the two contests, while Kahlen Lamarche’s hat trick against the Engineers was part of a six-point weekend.
Lamarche is tied with Murphy for the NCAA lead in scoring with 25 points. The Bobcats have a couple of statement opportunities this weekend, as they host St. Lawrence and Clarkson in arguably the biggest matchups this week.
8. Connecticut
Record: 7-2-1
Last Week: 9th
Not going to lie, I wasn’t all that impressed with the Huskies’ sweep against Holy Cross. Sure, they had to head up to Worcester for the second half of the back-to-back, but I just figured UConn had enough firepower to have beaten the Crusaders handily. They nearly gave up multi-goal leads in both games. Yet, thanks to Kyla Josifovic’s overtime winner on Friday and Tian Chen shutting the door on Saturday, the Huskies managed to come away with a couple of conference wins.
UConn now gears up for what could be an interesting weekend set with Boston College.
9. Clarkson
Record: 6-4-0
Last Week: 8th
The love-hate relationship with this Clarkson team continues…I was very close to chucking the Golden Knights out of the top 10 entirely after they were shut out by Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon. I get it, this team lost of talent compared to last year, but there’s still enough there to at least get one goal, right? Sure, Clarkson looked like the better team in both games last weekend, which saw them pull out a 2-1 win over Harvard, but if they want me to believe they can contend for the ECAC Championship, the Golden Knights need to be much better.
Clarkson has a couple of tough ECAC games this weekend, both of which are on the road. They visit Princeton on Friday night before taking on Quinnipiac on Saturday.
10. Northeastern
Record: 6-2-0
Last Week: NR
I’m liking what Northeastern is doing on the ice, both on the men’s and women’s teams. These Huskies have quietly had a strong start to the season, and are coming off walloping rival Boston University last week, outscoring the Terriers 10-4 in the home-and-home. That came a couple of weeks removed from losing two hard-fought games against Quinnipiac, on the road. Led by senior Lily Shannon and goaltender Lisa Jönsson, the Huskies are once again a threat to win the Hockey East.
Northeastern is home this weekend for a couple of games against Vermont.
Honorable Mention: Yale (4-2-0), Colgate (4-5-1), St. Cloud State (4-8-0)