Hockey East weekend roundup

The majority of teams in Hockey East are still playing out-of-conference opponents; out of a total 11 games played from Thursday to Sunday, only four were in-conference matchups. We’ll begin by taking a look at the nonconference games and how the Hockey East teams have stacked up against the rest.

Maine vs. RPI

The Black Bears travelled to Rensselaer for a two game series, and opened the weekend with a narrow 2-1 victory over the Engineers. Junior Cailey Hutchison scored her first goal of the season — the eventual game winner — just over five minutes into the third period. The following day, Maine completed the sweep with a 3-2 win; this time the game winning goal came from Lydia Murray. The goal was her second of the season, the first being the game winner against Quinnipiac last weekend.

Sophomore Tereza Vanišová scored three points over the two games, including an assist on each of the game winning goals.

The Black Bears have positioned themselves well, going into a tough weekend against reigning CHA champs Robert Morris, as they sit 3-1-0 on the season.

Providence vs. Quinnipiac

The Friars faced the Quinnipiac Bobcats in a home-and-home this weekend, with Providence taking the opener 3-1. Brooke Boquist scored the game winning goal in the second period, giving her goals in all of the first three games of the Friars season. Freshman defender Chloe Gonsalves assisted on Emily Landry’s opening goal for her first career point.

In the second game, the Bobcats blanked the Friars in a 1-0 victory. Quinnipiac goaltender Abbie Ives made 37 saves to hold off the surging Friars, and Abby Cleary’s goal was the difference maker in a tightly contested game. This was the first loss of the year for the Friars, who fall to 3-1-0.

Providence will play two at Syracuse next weekend.

Boston College vs. Minnesota–Duluth

The No. 3-ranked UMD Bulldogs travelled to Chestnut Hill to face the No. 4 Eagles for two games. Thursday’s game was a back-and-forth battle, with finish probably much closer than anyone on the BC bench would have liked. Duluth opened scoring late in the first with a tally from Sydney Brodt, but the Eagles came back and scored four unanswered goals, including two from sophomore Caitrin Lonergan, to enter the second half of the third period up 4-1. UMD would not go quietly, and scored two quick goals on a 5-on-3 PP, but fell short of the comeback.

On Friday the Eagles played a much more dominating game, and Daryl Watts scored her first career hat trick. Lonergan earned her own sort of hat trick, earning the primary assist on each of Watts’ goals. Katie Burt made 31 total saves to earn her second win of the series and complete the sweep.

This win was the 250th career win for Head Coach Katie Crowley, who has not skipped a beat despite losing some of her top performers this summer.

Vermont vs. Connecticut

The Catamounts and Huskies opened their conference schedules this weekend in Storrs, Ct. Leah Lum began the night with her first goal of the season just over two minutes into the game, but Catamount goals from Mackenzie MacNeil and Saana Valkama in the second frame pushed Vermont past Connecticut. Sophomore goaltender Sydney Scobee made 27 saves for her first win of the year.

Merrimack vs. New Hampshire

After an impressive few weeks for the Warriors, Merrimack finally cooled off against New Hampshire. Taylor Wenczkowski scored the first Wildcat goal of the night nine and a half minutes into the game, but the Warriors found the back of the net on a shorthanded goal from Katelyn Rae, her third of the year, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Léa-Kristine Demers made 30 saves and fell to 1-0-1 on the year.

New Hampshire was able to improve on Saturday’s game when Merrimack played Samantha Ridgewell in net. Ridgewell made 26 saves on 29 shots. The Wildcats scored twice in the first period, with Nicole Dunbar and Amy Schlagel earning their first goals of the year. Merrimack responded with a tally late in the second, but a third-period power play goal from Julia Fedeski would slam the door and give New Hampshire two big points.

Northeastern vs. Boston University

The Huskies and Terriers renewed their rivalry with cross-town home-and-home this weekend. On Friday at Walter Brown Arena, BU freshmen Nara Elia and Kristina Schuler each recorded their first collegiate goals against goaltender Brittany Bugalski. Northeastern would find the back of the net twice in regulation — when Kasidy Anderson scored her first of the season and when Taytum Clairmont scored her first goal since Jan. 10, 2016. The game would go to overtime, and Northeastern’s Matti Hartman sent everyone home with her first career overtime goal.

The series moved back to historic Matthews Arena on Saturday, and Northeastern found their stride in the second period. Tori Sullivan, Denisa Křížová, and McKenna Brand each scored their first goals of the season, and Veronika Pettey netted her first collegiate goal on an empty netter in the third period. Erin O’Neil made 34 saves but fell to 0-3-0 on the year. Senior defender Savannah Newton scored her first career goal in the second period.

Boston University is now winless through three conference games.

Three stars of the weekend

Third Star — Tereza Vanišová

Vanišová built on a strong weekend against Quinnipiac with three points against RPI. The sophomore is considered a big part of the future success of the Black Bear program, and this weekend was a big example of why. Vanišová spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and used her skating ability and hockey IQ to help her teammates net two goals in the series finale.

Second Star — Daryl Watts

Watts earned five total points this weekend, including her hat trick against Duluth on Friday. The freshman was able to find the back of the net in some pretty impressive manners for someone in their second collegiate game. Watts found open ice and took advantage of rebounds from shots her teammates took. BC has a history of recruiting well and getting the most out of their freshmen, and Watts looks to be no exception.

First Star — Katie Crowley

How could I not give the first star to Crowley, who won her 250th career game against the No. 3 team in the nation? Nothing seems to slow Crowley down, and she manages to find scoring from everyone on her team. This was a huge weekend to start a new season for the Eagles, who have some tough out-of-conference opponents and will be competing in a much tighter conference than in years past.