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The Takeaway: Jerseys to the rafters

Mark Johnson, Molly Schaus recognized; Beanpot and Ivy League champions crowned

It’s time for another edition of The Takeaway, our bi-weekly NCAA women’s hockey column. We will fill you in on some deserved recognition for two of the best in the women’s game, a couple of championship performances, and other notable happenings in Division I women’s hockey.

5 Things to Know

Recognizing all-time greats: We’ve got two jersey retirements to celebrate this week. Wisconsin women’s hockey head coach Mark Johnson had his number 10 retired by the Badgers in a ceremony before Saturday night’s men’s game. Johnson played for Wisconsin and remains the men’s team’s all-time leading goal scorer. As coach of the women’s team, he’s led the Badgers to four national championships and seven WCHA titles. Johnson also recently became the winningest coach in NCAA Division I women’s hockey history. For Sunday’s game against Minnesota State, the Wisconsin women donned the number 10 in warmups to honor him as well.

This Friday, Boston College will retire Molly Schaus’ jersey at Friday afternoon’s game against Maine. Schaus is the program’s all-time leader in saves (3,428), and was twice named an All-American and a top-10 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist during her tenure with the Eagles. Schaus was also recently inducted into the Women’s Beanpot Hall of Fame.

Champions crowned: It’s still early yet and the postseason isn’t quite here, but that didn’t stop two teams from locking down championships this past week. Princeton, who had its 20-game unbeaten streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to Clarkson, bounced back to sweep Brown and Yale and clinch the 2018-19 Ivy League title. And on Tuesday, Boston University won its first Beanpot title since 1981 in thrilling fashion—a 3-2 overtime win over Harvard in which the Terriers put up over 50 shots on goal.

BU made its way to the Beanpot championship after knocking off Northeastern in a shootout the week prior. The Crimson, who hosted this year, earned somewhat of a surprise berth into the title game after defeating Boston College 4-1 in the semifinals. Harvard goalie Lindsay Reed stopped 103 shots between the two games, but BU’s Sammy Davis took home tournament MVP honors.

All-time milestone reached in Bemidji: Head coach Jim Scanlan made Bemidji State history these past couple of weeks. When the Beavers upset No. 1 Wisconsin on Feb. 1, he tied predecessor Steve Sertich on the all-time wins list with 81. He then broke that mark last Friday, recording his 82nd career victory as BSU took down a ranked Ohio State team.

Intrigue in the ECAC: It’s been a fun couple of weeks in ECAC play. As mentioned above, Clarkson handed Princeton its first loss since opening weekend, so the Tigers weren’t able to take full control of the ECAC top seed in that game. They did, however, earn all four points the next weekend, while the Golden Knights fell to Colgate in overtime and Cornell lost three of four points to Colgate and Clarkson. That puts Princeton three points ahead of both the Golden Knights and the Big Red in the standings with four games to play.

Late push from the Orange: In the College Hockey America standings race, Syracuse is also adding some intrigue. The Orange are 8-18-2 overall, but all eight of their wins have come in conference play, including a 4-2-1 stretch in their last seven games to end a 10-game losing skid. Most recently, Syracuse notched a big sweep over Mercyhurst on the road, taking valuable points from the Lakers and moving just one point behind them in the standings. As of now, Robert Morris sits atop the CHA with 22 points. Mercyhurst is second with 18 points, and Syracuse third with 17. The top two seeds get a bye in the CHA playoffs, so that Orange sweep could have big implications for the postseason tournament in a few weeks.

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Top Performers

Lovisa Selander, Senior, Goaltender, RPI: Selander broke the NCAA Division I career saves record in a 54(!)-save effort against Harvard on Saturday. She now has 3,811 in her career, which bests the previous record set by 2009 Robert Morris graduate Brianne McLaughlin.

Loren Gabel, Senior, Forward, Clarkson: Gabel had a five-goal, six point weekend two weeks ago against Quinnipiac and Princeton, and added another goal in last Friday’s win over Cornell.

Maggie Connors, Freshman, Forward, Princeton: Connors notched four goals in a game against Brown on Friday, and added another assist and 10 shots on goal on the night.

Janine Alder, Sophomore, Goaltender, St. Cloud: Alder made 51 saves as the Huskies staved off a furious Minnesota Duluth advance on Saturday, earning the upset in a 3-2 victory.

Brooke Jovanovich, Sophomore, Forward, Harvard: Jovanovich tallied two goals and an assist as the Crimson upset Boston College and moved on to the Beanpot championship game.

Allie Munroe, Senior, Defender, Syracuse: Munroe has been a big presence over the last couple of games for the Orange. She had a goal and five assists in last weekend’s sweep over Mercyhurst, and those six points are good enough to lead all defenders nationwide in scoring since Feb. 1 despite playing just two games in that time span.

Sammy Davis, Junior, Forward, Boston University: Davis scored the overtime winner to take home the Beanpot for BU. It was a great finish and a really nice set-up from Jesse Compher, too.

Don’t Miss It

Upcoming games to watch for:

Wisconsin at Minnesota Duluth (Friday, Feb. 15, and Saturday, Feb. 16): The Bulldogs have been a lot to handle for top teams down the stretch and I’d expect the same effort in this series against the WCHA’s best. Their top-six is really clicking, and Wisconsin has a star cast of its own to match.

Mercyhurst at Robert Morris (Friday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, Feb. 23): The Lakers can’t afford to look too far ahead after dropping games last weekend. This series will be a critical one in the CHA race between the league’s top two teams, as it stands now.

Princeton at Clarkson (Friday, Feb. 22) and at St. Lawrence (Saturday, Feb. 23): The ECAC regular season will wrap up with the current No. 1 seed visiting two other top-five teams in the conference. The last outings between the Tigers, Saints, and Golden Knights were exciting matchups, and there should be even more on the line when they face off again to close out the season.

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