Women’s College Hockey: Week 5 NWHL Prospect Report

Week 5 saw the Ivy League NWHL prospects get off to a strong start while some big-name big-program scorers went cold; steady goaltending continued to prevail, and an injured player came back to lead her damaged team over a top-ranked foe.

Week 5’s Top Prospect scoring five goals in two games is Boston Pride prospect Sarah Nurse. Get the low down on Nurse’s play and the rest of the 2016 NWHL Draft prospects in this week’s review:

1. Kelsey Koelzer, D, Princeton — New York Riveters

· This Week: 2GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS – 9SOG – 0PIM

Princeton dominated Providence in their first games of the season, winning 4-2 and 7-3. Koelzer contributed on both offense and defense against the Friars with two points and five blocks. Koelzer’s stats have seen a steady increase during her time at Princeton, and she’s on the right path to continue that trend.

· Season To Date: 2GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS – 9SOG – 0PIM

2.     Lee Stecklein, D, Minnesota — Buffalo Beauts

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 0A - 0PTS - 5SOG - 0PIM

Stecklein wasn’t able to garner a point in either game this weekend as the Gophers saw an atypically low-scoring series against OSU. With consistent clutch efforts from the forward group, Stecklein has been able to focus on smart defending and puck moving from the back end.

·       Season To Date: 8GP – 0G – 5A – 5PTS – 16SOG – 6PIM

3.     Dani Cameranesi, F, Minnesota — Connecticut Whale

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 2A - 2PTS - 8SOG - 0PIM

The streaky Cameranesi picked up two primary assists in game one against OSU. She has now gone five games without a goal. It’s very possible that she and Potomak will take turns leading the offense over the course of this season. Two home games against unranked St. Cloud State might be just the right environment for her to break her scoreless streak.

·       Season To Date: 8GP – 4G – 5A – 9PTS – 41SOG – 8PIM

4.     Ann-Renée Desbiens, G, Wisconsin — Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP: 2W-0L-0T; 2GA - 28SV - 30SHOTS - .933SVS%

Desbiens picked up her third shutout of the season. An elite goaltending talent, an ‘off game’ for her this year has been when she allows two goals against. She saw a lower volume of shots this weekend, and even though the Badgers will be on the road that should continue against unranked Minnesota State.

·       Season To Date: 8GP: 7W-0L-1T; 8GA – 121SV – 129SHOTS – .938SVS% – 3SHO

5. Sydney Daniels, F, Harvard — New York Riveters

· This Week: 1GP – 3G – 0A – 3PTS – 7SOG – 6PIM

Daniels had a stellar game for Harvard last week, recording her second career hat trick in a win over Dartmouth. Daniels might need to work on staying out of the penalty box, but offensively she is off to her best start yet.

· Season To Date: 1GP – 3G – 0A – 3PTS – 7SOG – 6PIM

6. Cayley Mercer, F, Clarkson — Buffalo Beauts

· This Week: 2GP – 0G – 2A – 2PTS – 13SOG – 0PIM

Mercer took plenty of shots on net over the weekend during Clarkson’s wins over UNH, and she assisted on a goal in each game. After struggling in Clarkson’s loss to Wisconsin on the 15th it was good to see Mercer have two solid games.

· Season To Date: 8GP – 2G – 4A – 6PTS – 39SOG - 6PIM

7. Andie Anastos, F, Boston College — Connecticut Whale

· This Week: 2GP – 0G – 2A – 2PTS – 3SOG - 4PIM

Anastos returned to the BC lineup last week after missing a few games due to an injury. She recorded two assists as the Eagles skated to a tie and a win over Quinnipiac. Fans will hope to see her scoring more goals as the season continues, but she played well against a tough Quinnipiac team.

· Season To Date: 6GP – 1G – 3A – 4PTS – 11SOG - 4PIM

8.     Sarah Nurse, F, Wisconsin— Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP - 5G - 0A - 5PTS - 15SOG - 0PIM

Profiled as potentially breaking out offensively this weekend in last week’s Prospect Report, Nurse did just that. She recorded the WCHA’s 53rd ever 4+ goal game and first Badgers 4G game since Brooke Ammerman did so in 2012. Nurse had been steadily improving up until this recent explosion, and the expectation from here on out is that she will round out into one of the nation’s top forwards.

·       Season To Date: 8GP – 8G – 3A – 11PTS – 45SOG – 6PIM

9.     Jenny Ryan, D, Wisconsin— New York Riveters

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 1A - 1PT - 10SOG - 0PIM

With a bevy of ultra-skilled forwards to run the offense through, it is not a surprise Ryan remains on the lower end of scoring. She got a lot of shots through this weekend, though, and despite being tied with Channell for shortest D in height, leads the team in blocked shots with nine.

·       Season To Date: 8GP – 2G – 2A – 4PTS – 24SOG – 2PIM

10. Hayley Scamurra, F, Northeastern— Buffalo Beauts

· This Week: 2GP – 1G – 3A – 4PTS – 12SOG – 6PIM

Scamurra continued to struggle to find the back of the net during Northeastern’s lone game over the weekend, but she did record a season-high six shots. Scamurra fed off of that shot volume and picked up three points in the Huskies 4-3 win against BU yesterday.

· Season To Date: 9GP – 3G – 5A – 8PTS – 34SOG - 14PIM

11.     Mellissa Channell, D, Wisconsin — Connecticut Whale

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 1A - 1PT - 0SOG - 0PIM

Channell is a smooth-skating first pairing D who plays a low-risk, low-reward game. She has been primarily involved in distributing, and with only 7SOG on the season, it’s not likely she will become a goal scoring threat from the blueline anytime soon. Channell is taking care of her defensive responsibilities, as she is tied for second in blocks with eight and plus/minus with ten.

·       Season To Date: 8GP – 0G – 4A – 4PTS – 7SOG – 8PIM

12.     Ashleigh Brykaliuk, F, Minnesota-Duluth — Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 2A - 2PTS - 8SOG - 0PIM

Brykaliuk suffered the same fate as teammate and fellow Pride prospect Stalder in failing to find the back of the net against BSU. She is tied for second on the team in points and first in power play goals. She and the Bulldogs offense might need to rely on the man advantage this upcoming weekend to take down a stingy OSU team.

·       Season To Date: 8GP - 5G - 5A - 10PTS - 25SOG - 0PIM

13.     Sydney McKibbon, F, Wisconsin — New York Riveters

·      This Week: 2GP - 0G - 3A - 3PTS - 4SOG - 0PIM

Part of a dynamic line with Nurse and freshman Norby, McKibbon has shown the instincts to be a hybrid goal scorer and playmaker. Heating up with seven points in her last four games played, you could say she isn’t even playing to her full capacity yet, which is a scary thought.

·      Season To Date: 8GP – 3G – 6A – 9PTS – 26SOG – 0PIM

14. Emma Woods, F, Quinnipiac — Buffalo Beauts

· This Week: 2GP - 0G - 0A - 0PT - 7SOG - 0PIM

Woods continued to increase her shots-on-goal numbers this week, but was unable to provide any offense as Quinnipiac tied with BC 0-0 and then fell to the Eagles by a score of 4-1. Quinnipiac started the season strong but has been struggling over the past two weeks, and the Bobcats need to see more offense from their captain.

· Season To Date: 8GP - 3G - 1A - 4PTS - 22SOG - 2PIM

15. Paige Savage, F, Northeastern — Connecticut Whale

· This Week: 2GP - 0G - 1A - 1PTS - 8SOG - 2PIM

After having a breakout week offensively last week, Savage struggled to produce against Dartmouth. She went pointless in Northeastern’s 3-0 win, although she did record two blocks, and registered a point vs. BU yesterday. Savage has been inconsistent offensively this season, tending to either record multiple points or none at all. She has always been a player that records a lot of assists, but it would be great to see her converting on more scoring chances now that the Huskies are without Kendall Coyne.

· Season To Date: 9GP - 2G - 6A - 8PTS - 24SOG - 6PIM

16.     Halli Krzyzaniak, D, North Dakota — Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 0A - 0PTS - 2SOG - 4PIM

Krzyzaniak had low shot volume and wasn’t able to reach the scoresheet, but there were positives. She remains a vital piece of NoDak’s defensive effort as a balanced defender, and proved this by finishing +1 in a game two that saw 5GA and only 2GF. Krzyzaniak has a chance to find herself in the offensive zone a little bit more against a comparable Bemidji State lineup next weekend.

·       Season To Date: 8GP - 1G - 2A - 3PTS - 14SOG - 4PIM

17.     Amy Menke, F, North Dakota — New York Riveters

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 1A - 2PTS - 5SOG - 11PIM

The Fighting Hawks leading point getter was stymied against the top-ranked Badgers. After having the door shut on her by Desbiens in the third period on a breakaway in game one, she took a five-minute checking penalty with nine seconds left in the match. Though it wasn’t enough, she put her fast break speed to use in the second game by assisting on a goal off a 3 on 2 rush.

·       Season To Date: 8GP - 1G - 6A - 7PTS - 29SOG - 15PIM

18. Maddie Elia, F, Boston University — Buffalo Beauts

· This Week: 1GP - 1G - 1A - 2PTS - 6SOG - 10PIM

Elia and the Terriers had the weekend off before a rematch with Northeastern yesterday. Elia had strong games against Penn State last week before struggling against the Huskies, but after a week off she came back rested and motivated. She remarkably found time to pick up a goal and assist last night while taking five minors against Northeastern.

· Season To Date: 7GP - 5G - 4A - 9PTS - 29SOG - 16PIM

19. Sydney Rossman, G, Quinnipiac — Connecticut Whale

· This Week: 2GP - 0W-1L-1T; 4GA - 53SV - 57SHOTS - .895SVS% - 1SHO

Rossman had a terrific game in Quinnipiac’s 0-0 tie with BC, stopping 38 shots and recording her fifth shutout of the season. She followed up that great performance with a rough game the next night when she allowed 4 goals on 19 shots. Rossman has been fairly solid overall this season, but has shown a tendency to get distracted once she allows a goal.

· Season To Date: 8GP - 5W-2L-1T; 11GA - 152SV - 263SHOTS - .933SVS% - 5SHO

20.     Lara Stalder, F, Minnesota-Duluth — Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP - 0A - 1A - 1PT - 13SOG - 4PIM

Though it wasn’t for lack of effort - as seen by her 6.5 shots on goal average - Stalder and the Bulldogs had trouble figuring out BSU’s star goaltender Brittni Mowat all weekend. Despite being one of the nation’s top scorers, it’s not a guarantee that she gets back on track next weekend against a similar lights out goalie in Kassidy Sauvé.

·       Season To Date: 8GP - 6G - 7A - 13PTS - 44SOG - 4PIM