It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and you can’t spell “Christmas” without “an intriguing pile-up from 2nd to 5th place in The Ice Garden’s NCAA Fantasy Hockey competition!” (Dear Editor — please check my spelling! I think I got it right)

Standings, December 11

Amazingly, for a standings distribution with a standard deviation of 31.1, we have four managers within three points of each other in second to fifth place: Moose, Moves Like Giguère, I’m Going To Be Perfectly Frankel, and 1.21 GigaWatts. This is just Moose’s second week in second place — congratulations to Gregg Cockrill. I’ve also added a table in the Summary tab in the sheet that lets you track your position in the rankings over time, starting at cell H38. Here’s a graph of current points versus placement so you can see the clustering* — maybe someone better than me at Google Sheets can help me work out how to put the team names on the data points.

* Clustering does not include House of Seven Gabels.

What happened this weekend?

• Rochester Institute of Teachable Moments: BU, who EVERYONE ASSURED ME would be terrible this season, gave RIT a rehearsal smashing on Friday, 3-1, and then followed up with an official, witnessed, notarized smashing on Saturday, 8-0. On Saturday, six of BU’s eight goals came on the nine(!) power plays that they got, including three of the four third period goals. This suggests that RIT has not paid attention to the famous saying “When you’re in a hole, stop digging”, or to the less famous but equally true saying “When you’re RIT women’s hockey, don’t play BU”.  Of all the penalties in both penalty-strewn games, the last, and only the last, was for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, which is basically my favorite thing since Erin Connolly got a ten-minute misconduct for saying “That’s f*cking stupid” on the Jumbotron on Nov. 1.
  
  Jesse Compher (BU, $47.3, 32.7 SP, 7.2 WP, 7 picks) was the weekly leader in points by a massive margin, but even more impressively has taken over the points per game lead from Elizabeth Giguère. Abby Cook (BU, $35.2, 16.4 SP, 4.8 WP, 1 pick) and Sammy Davis (BU, $31, 22.5 SP, 3.2 WP, 1 pick), the other two BU players that our managers have picked, also had very solid weekends. RIT’s Terra Lanteigne (RIT, $40.9, 27.75 SP, 1.75 WP, 1 pick) didn’t exactly have a career weekend but is still in the top three goalies in points per team game (with Abigail Levy (Minnesota State, $37.3, 30.25 SP, 2.25 WP, 4 picks) and Lindsay Reed (Harvard, $27.5, 18.3 SP, 2.85 WP, 3 picks)). All three RIT goalies got a chance in net on Saturday, which was nice!
• Hurst come, Hurst served: Mercyhurst and Bemidji split their series, 3-0 Mercyhurst on Friday and 3-1 Bemidji on Saturday. Interestingly, both games were won by the team that was outshot. Sarah McDonnell (Mercyhurst, $28, 17.55 SP, 2.8 WP, 0 picks) played in goal both games and was the only one who picked up significant points.
• Rising to the PR CHA-llenge: Top marks for putting a good face on it, CHA! “Highlighted,” yes./

Four non-conference series over the weekend for CHA teams, highlighted by @HurstWHockey's shutout win over Bemidji State. Full weekend recap is here: https://t.co/pNhXMAlgjD

— CHA (@CHAWomensHockey) December 10, 2018

• It’s not Andover till the fat lady sings: Merrimack put Léa-Kristine Demers (Merrimack, $11, 4 SP, 1.45 WP, 0 picks) in net for their game at BC on Friday afternoon. Demers made 49 saves on 45 shots in only her third game of the season, but BC rolled on 4-3 in a thrilling overtime game on the back of two goals each from Megan Keller (BC, $51.6, 30.3 SP, 3.5 WP, 9 picks) and Caitrin Lonergan (BC, $51.7, 16.8 SP, 2.2 WP, 7 picks). Keller is now in sixth place among skaters in points per game this season.
  At Merrimack on Saturday, Kelly Pickreign (BC, $8.5, 1.35 SP, 1.35 WP, 0 picks) got her first collegiate start for BC. At the other end of the ice, Samantha Ridgewell (Merrimack, $37.6, 24. SP, 3.3 WP, 0 picks) got her seventeenth start of the season and shut BC out for its first time this season on the back of 50 saves as Merrimack took the 1-0 win. Merrimack’s effort was so noteworthy it was commemorated in the Boston Herald. I picked up from the commentary on the Friday game that Demers was injured for the start of the season, so it’s conceivable that Ridgewell will get fewer games for the second half, which retrospectively justifies the EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who didn’t pick her. BC was missing Cayla Barnes (BC, $39.8, 18.5 SP, 0 WP, 4 picks) for both games. Barnes’ firepower from the blue line has been a bright spot in a season that’s been short on bright spots for BC offensively, and my understanding is her absence is temporary.
• Goalie duel!: Arguably the best goalie in the country went up against a challenger as Minnesota State took on Minnesota Duluth. Anyone who’s been paying attention knows of course that that arguably-best goalie is Minnesota State’s Abigail Levy (Minnesota State, $37.3, 30.25 SP, 2.25 WP, 4 picks) and the challenger is only Olympic gold medal hero Maddie Rooney (Minnesota-Duluth, $43.9, 22.2 SP, 1.35 WP, 12 picks). On Friday, it looked like Levy was having her first bad game of the season as she let in two goals on eight shots, only to lock down the net and have the game go to a 2-2 tie. Rooney and Minnesota-Duluth won the shootout of course, thanks to #narrative. On Saturday Minnesota-Duluth went with Emma Söderberg (Minnesota-Duluth, $10.1, 2 SP, 1.1 WP, 0 picks) in net and came away with the 2-1 win.
• Not goalie duel!: Vermont and Yale scored sixteen goals in two games in New Haven. On Friday, Quinnipiac transfer Abby Cleary (Vermont, $5.6, 3.5 SP, 3.6 WP, 0 picks) had a three-point game (and ended the weekend scoring more points for the weekend than she had for the whole season, thanks to penalties in previous weeks) and Vermont won 5-1. On Saturday, Yale led 4-3 after a six-goal second period and held on for almost all of the third. Then Vermont equalized with a power play goal with 2:32 left in the game, and then Yale went ahead 5-4 at 19:17 with a penalty shot (based on covering the puck in the crease, presumably with an empty Vermont net), and then Yale topped it off with an empty-netter at 19:59. Final score 6-4, good weekend for Claire Dalton (Yale, $23.3, 9.6 SP, 3.2 WP, 0 picks), bad weekend for goaltending. Shoutout to Vermont freshman D Sini Karjalainen (Vermont, $11.8, 4.9 SP, 4.3 WP, 0 picks) for a great weekend.
• The little engine that St. Couldn’t: Wisconsin beat St. Cloud 8-2 and 3-1, with the scoring led by the relatively unsung Maddie Rolfes (Wisconsin, $32.2, 17 SP, 4.3 WP, 0 picks), Mekenzie Steffen (Wisconsin, $33, 20.1 SP, 4.1 WP, 3 picks) and Abby Roque (Wisconsin, $38.3, 21.4 SP, 2.8 WP, 4 picks), though scoring was pretty well spread.
• Morris Minor: Minnesota beat Robert Morris by five goals both nights, 6-1 and 5-0. Amy Potomak (Minnesota, $33.7, 14.8 SP, 3.6 WP, 2 picks) finally had a weekend where she scored more than sister Sarah, and the Gophers’ scoring was led by more relatively unsung players, defender Emily Brown (Minnesota, $32.8, 23.7 SP, 4.6 WP, 0 picks) and Taylor Wente (Minnesota, $28.1, 16.3 SP, 4.1 WP, 1 pick). Wente’s line with Nicole Schammel (Minnesota, $39.7, 24.4 SP, 1.6 WP, 1 pick) and Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota, $42.4, 24.2 SP, 3.1 WP, 8 picks) is clearly Minnesota’s top line in all but name now, which is something I don’t think we’d have predicted coming into the season.
• Harvard yargh: Who would have predicted that the teams that worked out how to solve Lindsay Reed (Harvard, $27.5, 18.3 SP, 2.85 WP, 3 picks) would be Maine and UNH? Well, they basically were. Maine won 2-1, UNH tied 2-2. That has to count as a good result for both the Hockey East teams, which have somewhat underperformed so far this season.
• ECAC round-up: In The Ice Garden’s matchup of the week, Clarkson beat St. Lawrence 4-0 and 3-1, without the dominant performance from its top line that we’re used to seeing. The best Clarkson fantasy scorer was goalie Kassidy Sauvé (Clarkson, $51.5, 21.45 SP, 3.25 WP, 10 picks). Princeton beat RPI and Union easily, 5-2 and 4-0, with Karlie Lund (Princeton, $28, 15.4 SP, 4.1 WP, 0 picks) a big scorer. Former powerhouse Quinnipiac had a lot more trouble against the same two weak teams, handling Union 3-1 but losing 1-0 to RPI in literally the last second of the game.
• Hockey East round-up: Providence beat Holy Cross 5-1, back to business as usual for teams playing Holy Cross. Last year’s star Christina Putigna (Providence, $31.8, 18 SP, 3 WP, 1 pick), who still doesn’t seem to be quite back at top speed following her injury at the start of the season, led Providence’s scoring. Maureen Murphy (Providence, $49.9, 33.4 SP, 2.6 WP, 9 picks) pushed her points per game average up a tick and is in third place overall.
• Out of conference round-up: Colgate beat Syracuse 5-2 at Syracuse on Thursday last week, took a day off, and then had Syracuse travel the forty miles in the opposite direction for Colgate to win 4-2. Preseason favorite Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, $52.3, 26.2 SP, 4.7 WP, 8 picks) managed 4.7 points out of a 4-point game./

Weekly Awards

Individual

• Most points: Jesse Compher (BU, 7.2 points this week (WP), 32.7 points this season (SP)), from Abby Cook (4.8 WP) and Jessie Eldridge (4.7 WP)
• Most overlooked (highest scoring player that no-one picked): Emily Brown (Minnesota, 4.6 WP, 23.7 SP)
• Biggest boost (highest scoring player that only one manager picked): Abby Cook (BU, 4.8 WP, 16.4 SP)
• Biggest contribution (highest value of points this week * number of teams they’re on): Jesse Compher (BU, 7.2 points * 7 picks = 50.4 total contribution)
• Best Freshman: Sini Karjalainen (Vermont, 4.3 WP, 4.9 SP)
• Best Sophomore: Jesse Compher (BU, 7.2 WP, 32.7 SP)
• Best Junior: Abby Cook (BU, 4.8 WP, 16.4 SP)
• Best Senior: Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, 4.7 WP, 26.2 SP)
• Best D: Abby Cook (BU, 4.8 WP, 16.4 SP)
• Best F: Jesse Compher (BU, 7.2 WP, 32.7 SP)
• Best Goalie: Lovisa Selander (RPI, 3.6 WP, 24.3 SP)/

Team of the week

• Roster: Jesse Compher (BU, F, 7.2), Abby Cook (BU, D, 4.8), Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, F, 4.7), Emily Brown (Minnesota, D, 4.6), Sini Karjalainen (Vermont, D, 4.3), Maddie Rolfes (Wisconsin, D, 4.3), Taylor Wente (Minnesota, F, 4.1), Karlie Lund (Princeton, F, 4.1), Mekenzie Steffen (Wisconsin, D, 4.1), Meaghan Rickard (Providence, F, 4), Ève-Audrey Picard (Vermont, F, 4), Amy Potomak (Minnesota, F, 3.6), Lovisa Selander (RPI, G, 3.6), Samantha Ridgewell (Merrimack, G, 3.3), Kassidy Sauvé (Clarkson, G, 3.25)
• Score: 63.95
• Cost: 506.00/

Housekeeping / Trade tips

The only games this weekend are the two between Mercyhurst and Ohio State. Consider that a trade tip!

Christmas trades

As I mentioned, over the holidays I’m going to let you do FOUR trades. Total buying costs and selling costs must add up, and you must end with a legal team, but otherwise you can go for it — importantly, this means you can (if you like) sell an expensive skater to buy an expensive goalie or vice versa, which would otherwise take a couple of weeks.

Since we still have games to play this weekend, I’m allowing two different approaches.

1. You can do the normal trade this weekend, and then a group of FOUR before December 29th.
2. You can do FIVE trades before this weekend’s games, but with the constraint that no more than one sell and no more than one buy can be for either one of OSU or Mercyhurst. (In other words, there can be no more than one buy and one sell that affects this weekend’s games).

Trades (for this week, or for all of the break) to tigFantasyHockey@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday December 13th please. I hope to have some posts during the break but I may be SICK or RUBBISH. If I don’t post before the next game, have a great break everyone!