NCAA Roundup: 100 for Cara Morey, Kaltounková Takes Scoring Record, Beanpot! and More

It's a more ECAC-heavy roundup this week, as we have some awesome milestones to celebrate in the conference. I guess it can't be helped — we're pretty much at a dead heat between ECAC and WCHA in the top 10, while Hockey East makes a cameo appearance in the top 15. We have the Raiders holding strong, the Buckeyes asserting major dominance, and the Golden Knights making a late push up the rankings, so let's see where we're all at heading into mid-January.

Morey With 100 Career Wins for Princeton, Tigers Extend Unbeaten Streak

Eleventh-ranked Princeton has been on a tear lately. First, they swept Providence in the Friendship Series last weekend, and now, they've gone unbeaten for another two games, pulling up to .500 in the conference and going 5-1-2 in their last eight. Saturday's 4–1 win against Harvard made it 100 even for head coach Cara Gardner Morey, who is the second coach in program history now to hit that benchmark (Jeff Kampersal, Morey's predecessor, was the first).

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Sarah Fillier put up two goals, including an empty-netter, and one assist, and Stefanie Wallace added a goal and an assist of her own as the Tigers rolled to a 3-0 lead early and preserved it even after Gwynn Lapp got one back for Harvard. Fillier improves to 179 career points overall (81 G, 98 A), climbing steadily up the all-time top 10 in the program in her senior season and making a huge case for next year's PWHL draft should she declare (she probably will).

Bonus News: Tigers junior goalie Jennifer Olnowich set a personal record of her own Friday night against Dartmouth, stopping 36 shots to preserve a 1-1 tie with the Big Green. Her counterpart, fifth-year Hann Humphreys, was neck-and-neck with her all night with 34 saves of their own in a game that featured some excellent play on the back end. (And can I just say? Hann Humphreys is a cool-ass name. Okay, I'm done.)

Kaltounková Surpasses Murphy as Colgate's Leading Goal Scorer

After a red-hot start, No. 5 Colgate hit a tiny skid against UMD that knocked them out of the top three in the national rankings. However, they've seemed to get back on track in a big way, sweeping No. 8/9 Cornell by scores of 6-3 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday and getting some excellent performances from their top players. Friday's rout marked their first win on the road in Ithaca since 2009, marking tremendous efforts from Danielle Serdachny (2 G), Emma Pais (1 G, 2 A), and Dara Greig (2 A).

However, it's red-hot senior Kristýna Kaltounková we're here to highlight. The NCAA's leading scorer showed up with two goals on Saturday and three goals over the entire weekend, taking over from Heather Murphy for the program's goal-scoring record with 78. The Czechia-born forward has been a huge part of Colgate's power-play and overall scoring success, and it's clear that how she goes, the Raiders go. Excellent stuff as we get closer to do-or-die mode for the national tournament.

Clarkson Moving Into Top Four in a Near-Undefeated Season

Lil Wayne once eloquently stated, "Real Gs move in silence like lasagna," and I think that has definitely applied to Clarkson this season. Ranked fifth in the ECAC and ninth nationally in the preseason, the Golden Knights are now ahead of Colgate in fourth place in the entire nation. Their most recent weekend, featuring a 3-1 win against RPI and a 4-0 shutout against Union, has them with two fewer losses and a game in hand over the defending ECAC champion Raiders (a 1-0 win over them on Jan. 6).

In fact, the Knights' one loss this entire season has come at the hands of Cornell (3-2) in OT, ironically the night before their shutout of Colgate, and they have a wild number of players (10!) in double digits when it comes to points on the season, with six of them topping 20 points thus far. Their win percentage is highly reminiscent of where they were at in the mid-2010s when they won their three NCAA championships ... so honestly, anything is possible, though one could argue the strength of schedule is still in Colgate's favor (they've played more games against the WCHA, for one, and were able to hold the Knights to just one goal in that loss).

Beanpot Week Is Here

It's the most wonderful time of the year for those of us who pay attention to Massachusetts-area hockey – that being the time of the Beanpot tournament. Each year, the four major Boston-area schools — Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern, and Harvard — gather for bragging rights on both the men's and women's sides, with 2024 being the first time both men's and women's championships will be held in the same venue (TD Garden, home of the NHL's Boston Bruins). It's always fun, fast-paced, and tightly played, as — even with Harvard playing in a different conference — there's pride and regional turf on the line for at least the next year.

The championship game will feature BU, the team with the fewest tournament wins in history (2), against Northeastern, the team with the most (17). Northeastern secured its bid to the championship after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Harvard. Alex Pellicci was super sharp in net, stopping 39 shots and only allowing one, a bomb by Taze Thompson from the point midway through the first. From there, the Huskies dominated, giving Harvard no room to get through to Gwyneth Philips (9 saves).

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Meanwhile, earlier in the night the Terriers were able to hold out against bitter rivals BC in a shootout, 4-3, after BC battled back from three consecutive deficits (including one late in the third) to push overtime, where the Eagles dominated possession- and shot-wise but couldn't solve BU netminder Calle Shanahan. Lilli Welcke was the lone shootout goal scorer, sealing the deal for the Terriers in the final round, while Shanahan was perfect on all three attempts she saw in a thrilling end to a game many knew would go down to the wire.

Keep an eye out for more Beanpot coverage as the week continues right here at TIG, as my comrades who are local to the Boston area will keep you updated on who gets to call themselves Beanpot champions for 2024.

Check out the most recent USCHO.com poll here.

Scores, Jan. 12-16, 2024

Friday, Jan. 12:

Ohio State 7, Minnesota 0

Quinnipiac 8, Harvard 0

UMD 2, Bemidji State 0

Minnesota State 2, St. Cloud State 1

St. Lawrence 4, Union 0

UConn 2, Merrimack 1

BC 5, Holy Cross 0

Maine 1, Northeastern 0 (OT)

Stonehill 4, Assumption 3

UNH 4, BU 1

Mercyhurst 2, Syracuse 1

Penn State 4, RIT 0

Providence 6, Vermont 0

Post 4, Saint Michael's 2

Robert Morris 4, Lindenwood 1

Saturday, Jan. 13:

Ohio State 6, Minnesota 1

Wisconsin 7, St. Thomas 0

Quinnipiac 5, Dartmouth 3

UMD 7, Bemidji State 0

St. Cloud State 4, Minnesota State 2

St. Lawrence 3, RPI 0

UConn 5, BU 2

BC 2, UNH 2

Northeastern 1, Maine 1

Lindenwood 5, Robert Morris 3

Merrimack 2, Holy Cross 0

Mercyhurst 6, Syracuse 2

RIT 3, Penn State 2 (OT)

St. Anselm 1, Sacred Heart 0 (OT)

Post 2, Saint Michael's 1

Assumption 5, Stonehill 2

Providence 4, Vermont 3 (OT)

Franklin Pierce 4, LIU 3

Sunday, Jan. 14:

Wisconsin 5, St. Thomas 1

LIU 2, Franklin Pierce 1 (OT)

Tuesday, Jan. 16:

St. Lawrence 6, Syracuse 3