Nearly 150 dog weeks into the season and Grant “like a pair, but wise” Salzano is extending his lead at the top of the standings.

Standings, 2019-02-25

What happened this weekend?

Top teams

A challenge for the #1 team: Wisconsin went into the weekend with two WCHA points over Minnesota and ownership of the tiebreaker. They needed only four points — a win and a shootout loss, or two shootout wins — to keep that lead. Instead they had two shootout losses, after a 1-1 tie (53-24 shots for Wisconsin) on Friday and a 2-2 tie (42-20 shots for Wisconsin) on Saturday in which Wisconsin needed to come from 2-0 down in the third. Goalie Andrea Brändli (OSU, $38.9, 36.25 SP, 4.3 WP, 0 picks) was obviously the star for Ohio State. In the WCHA tournament, Ohio State now face Minnesota State, who beat them once and took them to overtime once in the regular season. Wisconsin face St. Cloud, who they have outscored on aggregate 19-4 this season. However, this is a bummer for managers who were assuming that Wisconsin would get the WCHA bye and had held on to their Minnesota players for quarterfinal points, because...

A challenge — overcome! — for the #2 team: Minnesota went into the weekend having fought past a determined Minnesota State team last weekend, the second time in overtime. A determined Bemidji couldn’t prevent a Minnesota sweep, 6-3 4-3, including the second hat trick of the season for Kelly Pannek (Minnesota, $36.6, 31.9 SP, 3.0 WP, 5 picks). Minnesota now get the bye next weekend, which is good for them but a bummer for the 23 managers who have any Minnesota players on their fantasy teams. Patti Marshall (Minnesota, $36.3, 33.6 SP, 5.1 WP, 1 pick), Sarah Potomak (Minnesota, $24.5, 20.3 SP, 4 WP, 6 picks) and Amy Potomak (Minnesota, $30.6, 26.4 SP, 4.1 WP, 1 pick) all had great weekends. Extra stick taps to the Gophers for getting the win despite not being sure how to stand up on ice:

What a wild weekend to "wrap up" the WCHA regular season, demonstrated here by #Gophers @Taylorwente and @schamgoesham21. 😂 pic.twitter.com/LRC4l3HEnV

— Minnesota Women’s Hockey (@GopherWHockey) February 24, 2019

A challenge for the #3 team: Northeastern took down Merrimack at home, 3-0, and then stumbled slightly to a 4-4 tie against Merrimack at Merrimack in a game where no team was ever ahead by more than one. In the first game, Merrimack started Léa-Kristine Demers and, for senior night, Northeastern gave senior Brianna Storms her first collegiate start. Not only did Storms do well enough to stay in net the whole game, she actually got a 21-save shutout against Merrimack’s pretty decent offense and won Hockey East Defensive Player of the week. Her smile on the cover photo of this Northeastern story about the award says it all. Storms joins BC’s Molly Barrow as the only goalie this season to have played a full game and not have let any goals in, but Barrow only had to make sixteen saves so Storms is hereby declared Queen of Goalies Who Have Hardly Played Any Minutes At All. Alina Mueller (Northeastern, $48.8, 45 SP, 5.1 WP, 15 picks) had what is surprisingly only her second appearance in the Team of the Week.

A challenge for the #4 team: Clarkson handled Princeton tidily, see below, but then ran into three years’ ago’s Quinnipiac in this year’s Quinnipiac’s bodies. Quinnipiac were basically level on shots, 26-27, in a 1-1 tie, and outshot Clarkson 5-0 in overtime. The two teams now play each other again in the ECAC quarterfinals.

A challenge for the #5 team: After losing to RPI last weekend, Princeton came into this weekend still in best position to take the ECAC regular season championship. Instead they lost 5-2 to Clarkson and 2-0 to a previously struggling St. Lawrence. Princeton now faces St. Lawrence again in the ECAC quarterfinals.

In the Clarkson game, Princeton let up two goals in the first 1:13 of the first period and another in the first thirty seconds of the second to trail 3-0. Princeton pulled it back to 3-2, but Clarkson added two empty-netters to win 5-2. Looking at the box score, you may note that the second Clarkson goal was scored by NOT the Clarkson top line of Gabel, Giguére and Pejzlová and wonder if there was some, for example, goalie misstep that led to it:

Whoops.

A kind of challenge for the #6 team if you look closely: Cornell steamrollered RPI, finishing 8-2 on only 36 shots for, and chasing Lovisa Selander (RPI, $50.7, 50.7 SP, 1.75 WP, 1 pick) for only the second time this season after she let in five goals in 27:13. (The first time, against Penn State in November, was also a relatively low-shooting game). Cornell then went a little up the road to Union and trailed them! For nineteen seconds. Union’s late-season hero Katie Sonntag (Union, $5.3, 5.3 SP, 1.7 WP, 0 picks) took Union’s second shot of the period from a wicked angle on the goal line to put Union up at 18:46 of the second and get a huge reaction from the Union crowd on Senior Day. Cornell leveled at 19:05 with a slightly lucky deflection through the five hole that took all the air out of the room, and forty seconds into the third Cornell took the lead with the last goal of the game. Union goalie Amelia Murray (Union, $27.6, 27.55 SP, 3.8 WP, 0 picks) made 60 saves, a season high by some margin. The win was enough to bring Cornell up to top of the ECAC, with their prize a quarter final against RPI.

A challenge for the #7 team: BC led UNH 2-0 and managed to have to come from behind to tie it up 3-3. What a baffling season for BC.

A challenge for the #8 team: BU eased past UConn on Friday, 3-1, in a game where Jesse Compher (BU, $60.4, 58.3 SP, -0.2 WP, 11 picks) registered only one shot on goal, and then fell 2-1 to a Providence team that also beat Northeastern last weekend. The Providence/Merrimack Hockey East quarterfinal series looks likely to be a barnburner.

No challenge for the #9 team: Colgate was the highest-ranked team to have an easy-ish weekend, beating Union 5-2 and RPI 4-2. The dagger in the RPI game was two goals at 18:45 and 19:58(!) of the second period. The second of those goals was BC transfer Caroline Ross’s first goal of the year, first goal for Colgate, and second career collegiate goal.

GOALLLLL! Caroline Ross scores on a funky bounce for her first goal as a Raider to make it 3-1!#WePlayFree #GoGate pic.twitter.com/eyaEafzsyd

— Colgate Women’s Hockey (@ColgateWIH) February 23, 2019

The result put Colgate, Clarkson and Princeton in a three-way points tie for second place in the final ECAC standings, but Colgate’s unexpected season sweep over Clarkson seems to have been enough to give them the second seed in the ECAC tournament and a quarter-final against Harvard.

A challenge successfully met for the #10 team: Ohio State got its two ties (or, in WCHA-speak, shootout wins) with Wisconsin, see above.

Elsewhere

In the CHA:

• Syracuse had two five-goal games in a 5-4 (OT), 5-1 series sweep of Lindenwood. Emma Polaski (Syracuse, $11, 10.6 SP, 5.1 WP, 0 picks) and Canadian U18 veteran Abby Moloughney (Syracuse, $19.3, 17.6 SP, 5.0 WP, 0 picks) had big weekends.
• Penn State and RIT split, 3-0 RIT and 2-1 Penn State. In the game RIT won, Penn State outshot them 50-18. It was yet another great weekend for Terra Lanteigne (RIT, $57.5, 55.05 SP, 6.85 WP, 1 pick), who broke the record for goalie points in one week set by Lovisa Selander four weeks ago. It’s all the more impressive because Selander made her 6.7 points in three games, while Lanteigne made her 6.85 points (including an assist in the Friday game) in only two.
• In a silly series, Mercyhurst beat Robert Morris 5-2, and then Robert Morris beat Mercyhurst 4-1. Emilie Harley (Robert Morris, $10.9, 10.7 SP, 5.3 WP, 0 picks) had a hat-trick in the second game to nearly double her season fantasy points. Robert Morris also won the Twitter .gif game decisively. #DraintheLakers indeed. (This one is good too). They then ended the weekend in a light-hearted Twitter spat about whether the Keystone Cup was a thing, so it was a good weekend all round for them./

Quite the "turn" of events from Friday, eh?

ROBERT.

MORRIS.

WINS!!!

Your Colonials #DrainTheLakers by a score of 4-1 on the Island today!!!#ColonialPride 🔵🏒🔴#TogetherWeWill pic.twitter.com/gDgWgJ9dEz

— RMU Hockey (@RMUWHockey) February 23, 2019

In the ECAC:

• In the Harvard/Dartmouth v Yale/Brown series, every single game went to overtime. Harvard had a bit of a disappointing end to their regular season, tying Brown 3-3 and Yale 2-2 in a series where they must have expected at least one win. Harvard’s travel partners Dartmouth lost 1-0 to Yale in the only game that saw a win, and tied Brown 1-1. It was the end of the season for Brown, Dartmouth and Yale./

In Hockey East:

• Providence beat Holy Cross 3-0 in the last game of Holy Cross’s season. Christina Putigna (Providence, $27.5, 25.3 SP, 3.7 WP, 0 picks) was Providence’s highest scorer for the week. Something is up with Maureen Murphy (Providence, $46.3, 43.7 SP, 0.8 WP, 9 picks)’s scoring: she had 31 (goal + assist) points in the 2018 part of the season, but only 13 so far in 2019. If she can wake back up for the playoffs, Providence still have a shot at making the national tournament./

Related

NCAA Bracketology: Quarterfinals

• Vermont took on Maine in a game where a Maine win would put Maine through to the Hockey East tournament, and a tie or a Vermont win would put Vermont through. Vermont toughed out the 2-2 tie, including getting no shots in overtime, in front of a Maine home crowd./

In the WCHA:

• I had a dream that Abigail Levy (Minnesota State, $45.3, 44.85 SP, 1.85 WP, 7 picks) and Maddie Rooney (Minnesota-Duluth, $47, 43.6 SP, 2.45 WP, 11 picks) both let in five goals in a game. Then I had another dream where they both let in three goals. Minnesota Duluth were outshot in both games and won both shootouts. Player of the week was UMD defender and USA U18 player, freshman Maggie Flaherty (Minnesota-Duluth, $29.3, 27.2 SP, 7 WP, 0 picks)./

Weekly Awards

Individual Awards

Most points: Maggie Flaherty (Minnesota-Duluth, 7 points this week (WP), 27.2 points this season (SP)), from Terra Lanteigne (6.85 WP) and Jessie Eldridge (6.8 WP)

Most overlooked (highest scoring player that no-one picked): Maggie Flaherty (Minnesota-Duluth, 7 WP, 27.2 SP)

Biggest boost (highest scoring player that only one manager picked): Terra Lanteigne (RIT, 6.85 WP, 55.05 SP)

Biggest contribution (highest value of points this week * number of teams they’re on): Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, 6.8 points * 12 picks = 81.6 total contribution)

Best Freshman: Maggie Flaherty (Minnesota-Duluth, 7 WP, 27.2 SP)

Best Sophomore: Emilie Harley (Robert Morris, 5.3 WP, 10.7 SP)

Best Junior: Terra Lanteigne (RIT, 6.85 WP, 55.05 SP)

Best Senior: Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, 6.8 WP, 56 SP)

Best D: Maggie Flaherty (Minnesota-Duluth, 7 WP, 27.2 SP)

Best F: Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, 6.8 WP, 56 SP)

Best Goalie: Terra Lanteigne (RIT, 6.85 WP, 55.05 SP)

Team of the week

Roster: Maggie Flaherty (Minnesota-Duluth, D, 7), Terra Lanteigne (RIT, G, 6.85), Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, F, 6.8), Emilie Harley (Robert Morris, F, 5.3), Patti Marshall (Minnesota, D, 5.1), Alina Mueller (Northeastern, F, 5.1), Emma Polaski (Syracuse, F, 5.1), Abby Moloughney (Syracuse, F, 5.), Andrea Brändli (OSU, G, 4.3), Amy Potomak (Minnesota, F, 4.1), Sarah Potomak (Minnesota, F, 4), Elizabeth Giguère (Clarkson, F, 3.8), Amelia Murray (Union, G, 3.8), Christina Putigna (Providence, F, 3.7), Ellie Larson (RIT, D, 3.6)

Score: 73.55

Cost: 533.20

Coming up

This is the last week where you have only one trade. The sheet should be updated by the time this posts: costs are on the Cost tab.

This weekend sees the start of the playoffs in all the conferences but the CHA. Each conference organizes the quarterfinals as a best-of-three series. You may want to trade for players who you think are likely to be involved in three-game rather than two-game series, but you also may think that that’s unnecessary micromanaging. The matchups are:

• ECAC: Cornell v RPI, Colgate v Harvard, Clarkson v Quinnipiac, Princeton v St. Lawrence
• Hockey East: Northeastern v Vermont, BC v Connecticut, BU v New Hampshire, Providence v Merrimack
• WCHA: Wisconsin v St. Cloud, Ohio State v Minnesota State, Minnesota-Duluth v Bemidji State. Bye for Minnesota./

In the CHA, we have two-game series where your guess is as good as mine: Penn State at Lindenwood, RIT at Mercyhurst, Syracuse at Robert Morris.

And that’s it! Trades to tigFantasyHockey@gmail.com by 11:59 pm Eastern on Thursday February 28th please!