NCAA week 23 preview: Conference tournaments launch

With all conferences except the CHA starting their tournaments this weekend, every team is looking to extend their season. Merrimack will participate in the post-season for the first time in program history, facing juggernaut Boston College. Freshman netminder Léa-Kristine Demers will backstop the Warriors while Mikyla Grant-Mentis will lead them upfront. The Eagles will look to Katie Burt in net and Makenna Newkirk at forward to win it for them.

John Mazza previews Week 23:

Merrimack @ No. 6 Boston College, Thursday Feb. 23, Friday Feb. 24, and Sunday Feb. 26 (If Necessary)

• With a split series again against Vermont and a little luck, Merrimack will enter its first ever Hockey East tournament.
• Down 4-2 late in the third, the Warriors went on the power play. Katelyn Rae (Courtice, ON) took a bouncing puck and found the back of the net cutting into Vermont’s lead. However, the score would stay 4-3.
• With a career-high 48 save game, Léa-Kristine Demers (Repentigny, QC) backed the Warriors to a 3-2 win, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
• Playing Providence, the Eagles split the series and enter the Hockey East playoffs as the number one seed.
• Delaney Belinskas (Port Orange, FL) scored the lone goal for BC early in the second, as her team was defeated 4-1 on Saturday.
• With two goals, freshman Caitrin Lonergan (Roslindale, MA) led the Eagles to a 3-1 victory on Senior Day. /

No. 10 Colgate @ No. 7 Cornell, Friday Feb. 24, Saturday Feb. 25, and Sunday Feb. 26 (If Necessary)

• Colgate dropped both games last weekend, finishing sixth in the ECAC.
• Megan Sullivan (Toronto, ON) and Bailey Larson (Sycamore, IL) scored for the Raiders in the 5-2 loss to Clarkson.
• In their last regular season game, Colgate could not find the back of the net, losing to St. Lawrence 3-0. Netminder Julia Vandyk (Cambridge, ON) made 14 saves in the loss.
• Claiming the third seed in the ECAC tournament, Cornell is hoping to bounce back from it’s tie and loss to claim the ECAC trophy.
• Entering the third period down two goals to St. Lawrence, Cornell needed something to come away with a point. Freshmen Jamie Bourbonnais (Mississauga, ON) and Amy Curlew (Goose Bay, NL) each scored, forcing a tie between the two teams.
• Again needing a late goal, the Big Red relied on their freshmen. Grace Graham (Island View, NB) scored the game-tying goal with under five minutes left in regulation. This time, Cornell fell 5-4 to Clarkson in overtime. /

Ohio State @ North Dakota, Friday Feb. 24, Saturday Feb. 25, and Sunday Feb. 26 (If Necessary)

• After splitting the series with North Dakota last week, the Buckeyes will face them again in the best-of-three series this weekend.
• With two goals, Maddy Field (Oakville, ON) led Ohio State to a 4-2 win over the Fighting Hawks.
• With a 26 save performance in the 3-2 loss, Kassidy Sauve (Whitby, ON) has cracked the Top 20 in single-season saves. She looks to break the record over the course of the tournament.
• Looking for revenge after the split series, the Fighting Hawks want to take it all this weekend.
• Down 3-1 at the end of the second, Ryleigh Houston (Winnipeg, MB) scored cutting the deficit to one, before the Buckeyes took a 4-2 victory.
• Charly Dahlquist (Eden Prairie, MN) had the game-winning goal for the Fighting Hawks on Saturday, with her team defeating OSU 3-2. /

No. 8 Quinnipiac @ No. 9 Princeton, Friday Feb. 24, Saturday Feb. 25, and Sunday Feb. 26 (If Necessary)

• Quinnipiac finished their season strong with two blank slates against RPI and Union.
• Five different players scored for the Bobcats, including leading scorer Melissa Samoskevich (Sandy Hook, CT) and Taylar Cianfarano (Oswego, NY) in the 5-0 win.
• Senior Day saw senior netminder Sydney Rossman (Excelsior, MN) break the program shutout record. With nine saves, Rossman recorded her 26^th career shutout and is now in sole possession of the record.
• Princeton’s two wins last week secured them home ice for the first round of the ECAC tournament.
• Molly Contini’s (Arthur, ON) two-goal performance led the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over Union.
• Senior Day was also poetic for the Tigers. Seniors Kelsey Koelzer (Horsham, PA), Molly Strabley (Yarmouth, ME), and Cassidy Tucker (Plymouth, MI) all scored in route to the 4-2 victory over RPI. /

Robert Morris @ Lindenwood, Friday Feb. 24 and Saturday Feb. 25

• With the CHA not starting their tournament until next week, Robert Morris still has two games to play to secure their number one spot in the conference.
• Senior captain Rikki Meilleur (St. Adolphe, MB) gave the Colonials an early lead, but they could not hold off Penn State, falling 3-2.
• Looking to bounce back against the Nittany Lions, Robert Morris recorded its first shutout of the season behind Jessica Dodds (London, ON) and her 22 saves.
• Lindenwood sits last in the CHA standings but hopes to move up to fifth with victories this weekend.
• Down 2-1 in the final period, Courtney Ganske (Killarney, MB) found the back of the net with 7:11 left in the third. However, Mercyhurst managed to score again, defeating Lindenwood 3-2.
• Only Cierra Paisley (Shawnigan Lake, BC) of Lindenwood scored as they lost the second game of the series 5-1. /

Note: All rankings listed are from Week 22’s SB Nation’s Women’s College Hockey Division 1 Poll.