NCAA Week 8 Preview: Fresh off of Byes

Well rested with both teams having the week off, fans will get to see No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth take on No. 9 North Dakota on the road in a matchup that might see the home team put up a strong fight. Will the Bulldogs overpower a Fighting Hawks squad hungry to keep it’s place in the national ranking? In the ECAC, every matchup - save for Yale at Cornell - is a battle of ranked vs. unranked. No. 8 Quinnipiac continues their see-saw season performing well against weak opponents, and poorly against top tens. This weekend there’s a lot of pressure for wins after last weeks two losses to ranked teams. In exhibition play, the Minnesota Whitecaps head to Bemidji to take on the Beavers. The Whitecaps are 1-2-1 against NCAA teams, including a recent tie against unranked Lindenwood, hinting that the Beavers have a chance at surprising the pro squad at home.

John Mazza previews Week 8:

No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth @ No. 9 North Dakota, Saturday, Nov. 12, and Sunday, Nov. 13

• With a week off, Minnesota-Duluth looks to continue its momentum against North Dakota.
• In their last series, the Bulldogs swept Ohio State. In Friday night’s game, UMD came away with a 6-0 shutout. Senior forward Katherine McGovern (Scottsdale, AZ) led the team with her two goals and two assists.
• Saturday’s game was closer but the Bulldogs pulled off a 3-2 win. Defenseman Sidney Morin (Minnetonka, MN) scored the game-winning goal. With 4:35 left in the game she found the back of the net giving the Bulldogs the lead.
• North Dakota also had a bye week last week after sweeping Bemidji State two weeks ago.
• With a strong freshman showing, the Fighting Hawks pushed past the Beavers on Oct. 28. Freshmen Hallie Theodosopoulos (Brookings, SD), Emma Nuutinen (Vantaa, Finland) and Abbey Stanley (St. Louis, MO) all scored in the 5-2 win.
• The next day UND shut out Bemidji with a 2-0 victory. Netminder Lexie Shaw (Troy, MI) made 21 saves en route to the shutout. /

Union @ No. 4 St. Lawrence, Saturday, Nov. 12

• Last weekend, Union suffered two losses at the hands of Brown and Yale.
• On Friday, the Dutchwomen lost 3-1 to Brown. Freshman Haley Shugart (Toronto, ON) scored for the Dutchwomen late in the third to keep them from being shut out.
• In their next game Union faced Yale. Yet again Shugart had the lone goal for the Dutchwomen, as the Bulldogs defeated them 5-1 on Saturday.
• St. Lawrence won both their games against top-10 opponents Princeton and Quinnipiac. These wins propelled them from No. 7 to No. 4 in the polls.
• In the 3-1 victory on Friday, freshman Dakota Golde (Rolling Meadows, IL) scored her first collegiate goal giving the Saints an early 1-0 lead.
• On Saturday against the Bobcats, St. Lawrence scored early to lead them to a 1-0 shutout. Brooke Webster (Aurora, ON) scored the lone goal of the game at 4:53 in the first period. /

Vermont @ Providence, Saturday, Nov. 12, and Sunday, Nov. 13

• With no games last week, Vermont is looking to get some conference wins against Providence.
• On Oct. 28, UVM faced New Hampshire and were handed their first Hockey East lost. Casey Leveillee (Delanson, NY) and Victoria Andreakos (Aurora, ON) scored but were unable to make up the 2-0 deficit set in the first period and the Catamounts fell 4-2.
• The following Sunday, Oct. 30, Vermont defeated Maine, improving to 2-1-0 in Hockey East. Midway through the third period, junior forward Kourtney Menches (Greer, SC) leading the Catamounts to a 3-2 win.
• After being handed two losses against Hockey East opponents last weekend, the Friars hope they can get back on track against UVM.
• Friday’s game against UNH saw a lot of back and forth. With just over nine minutes left, Christina Putigna (Grimsby, ON) put the Friars within one but they eventually fell 4-3 to the Wildcats.
• After allowing two shorthanded goals in the first, Providence could not come back. Although Putigna scored a shorty of her own, the Friars still fell 2-1 to the Huskies. /

Robert Morris @ RIT, Friday, Nov. 11, and Saturday, Nov. 12

• Robert Morris played Syracuse last weekend, coming away with a tie and a win.
• In the penalty-filled game on Friday, the Colonials and the Orange ended in a 2-2 tie. Defenseman Kirsten Welsh (Blackstock, ON) scored late in the third to force the game to overtime. Even with two power-play opportunities a piece in overtime, neither team could find the back of the net and the game ended in a tie.
• On Saturday, RMU defeated Syracuse, keeping them undefeated in CHA play. Freshmen Aneta Ledlova (Kadan, Czech Republic) and Jaycee Gebhard (Plenty, SK) scored for Robert Morris as they just edged out Syracuse 2-1.
• RIT is looking to bounce back from being swept by Colgate last weekend.
• Kendall Cornine (Kinnelon, NJ) and Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS) scored on the power-play on Friday. These goals were not enough, however, as the Tigers fell 6-2 to Colgate.
• The next day the Tigers suffered a 4-1 loss against Colgate. Kathryn Kennedy (Hamilton, ON) scored the lone RIT goal, while Jenna de Jonge (Abbotsford, BC) made a season-high 38 saves. /

Yale @ No. 5 Colgate, Friday, Nov. 11

• Yale won twice last weekend, defeating both RPI and Union.
• Phoebe Staenz (Zurich, Switzerland) earned a hat trick on Friday’s 7-2 rout of the Engineers.
• The scoring did not stop on Saturday against Union. Staenz picked up another pair of goals and led her team to a 5-1 victory over Union.
• With a sweep of RIT last week, Colgate entered the top-5 and hopes to stay there.
• With her first career hat trick, Shae Labbe (Calgary, AB) led her team to a 6-2 win on Friday.
• With their 4-1 victory on Saturday, the Raiders extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games, the most in program history. They are hoping this streak continues against Yale. /

Note: All rankings listed are from Week 7’s SB Nation’s Women’s College Hockey Division 1 Poll.