It was a busy week on the NCAA women’s hockey schedule.
Most of the women’s Beanpot championship took place in Boston, with the home of the Boston Bruins hosting the final two games on Tuesday. Boston College takes on Northeastern in the third-place game at 4:30 p.m. ET, while Harvard and Boston University will battle for the championship at 7:30 p.m. ET.
All of the nation’s top programs were in action this past week as well.
While the WCHA’s top three teams maintained their dominance, Minnesota-Duluth was this week’s biggest dropper in the women’s college hockey power rankings. The Bulldogs have gone winless in six straight games. The Yale Bulldogs, meanwhile, are on the rise.
Here’s a look at the top 10 NCAA women’s hockey programs this week.
Women’s college hockey power rankings
1. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
This team continues to mow through the competition. Since being left of USA’s Olympic roster, Lacey Eden has been a force to be reckoned with. She scored two goals in each of Wisconsin’s 5-1 wins over St. Thomas this weekend. Every weekend, a new leader steps forward in Wisconsin, which makes them such a difficult team to plan for and beat.
2. Ohio State University (WCHA)
The Buckeyes swept through conference rival Minnesota State with ease. A four-goal performance from Joy Dunne and a four-point night from Jocelyn Amos powered Ohio State’s offense on Friday, while Swedish Olympian Hilda Svensson continued her spectacular rookie season. If there’s one question mark remaining for Ohio State, it’s in net where they’ve played three different goaltenders this season. None has emerged as a clear difference-maker.
3. University of Minnesota (WCHA)
It’s a broken record at this point, but Abbey Murphy has become unstoppable. Murphy recorded her fifth and sixth straight multi-point games this weekend. She notched eight points in two games, boosting her nation-leading totals to 33 goals and 58 points in 24 games. Uniquely, she also leads the nation in penalty minutes. Minnesota showed no mercy to Bemidji State this past weekend, outscoring them 16-4 in a series sweep.
4. Penn State (AHA)
Penn State is a difficult program to judge. They keep winning, but they haven’t looked as dominant lately, and many of their wins continue to come against weaker opponents with thinner margins. They beat Syracuse 3-2 and 4-1, with captain and American national team member Tessa Janecke continuing to lead as Penn State’s top scorer and best player. The question is: where would Penn State rank if it played in the ECAC or the WCHA?
5. Princeton (ECAC)
Princeton’s best continue to get better as Issy Wunder and Mackenzie Alexander lead the way. The Tigers’ depth, however, also stepped forward in wins over Harvard and Dartmouth. One significant change since last season is the return of Uma Corniea in net. She’s been the consistent and reliable factor Princeton needed, stopping 33 of 34 shots faced over the weekend.
6. Quinnipiac (ECAC)
Felicia Frank has been the busiest goaltender in NCAA women’s hockey this season, and she may be the best as well. She only bettered her numbers this past week, winning both starts while turning aside 37 of 38 shots faced in wins over Dartmouth and Harvard. Kahlen Lamarche continues to add to her career-best season totals, including nearly doubling her goal output from last season as she now sits at 27 in 26 games.
7. Northeastern (Hockey East)
With more midweek action approaching to close out the Beanpot, Northeastern won its only matchup of the weekend, a 2-1 decision over New Hampshire. Eloise Caron scored both for the Huskies, which looked out of sorts after failing to punch their ticket to the Beanpot final. They fell 2-1 in an emotional overtime upset at the hands of Boston University last Tuesday.
8. Yale (ECAC)
Watch out, top 10, Yale is hot. Yale beat higher-ranked Colgate and Cornell this weekend, with goaltender Samson Frey picking up the Bulldogs’ third shutout in four games and captain Carina DiAntonio continuing to power their offense. Yale even beat Providence College 4-2 on Monday, with Hannah Weyerhaeuser recording a hat trick. It’s not just the results, but how they’re achieving those wins that have them moving up the rankings.
9. Cornell (ECAC)
Cornell fell to Yale but beat a red-hot Brown team. Annelies Bergmann remains their deciding factor in net. When she’s at the top of her game, this team doesn’t lose. But their continued struggles to score put a lot of onus on Bergmann’s play. Sometimes, even making at least 30 saves isn’t enough for a win, which was the case in Cornell’s loss to Yale.
10. University of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA)
January hasn’t been kind to Minnesota-Duluth. Since their sluggish start overseas in Northern Ireland, the Bulldogs haven’t been themselves. They tied St. Cloud State in the first game before losing the extra point in a shootout, and they lost to them again in the second game, 5-2. This team is spiraling, having not won a game in its last six.
