NCAA Roundup: A Michigan Goal! Plus an Upset at Clarkson, Huge Wins in New York, and More

By now, I'm sure you all have seen it: the goal that took social media and ESPN SportsCenter's top plays by storm this past weekend. Michigan goals are becoming less rare these days, it seems, but they are no less impressive when you consider the skill, timing, and coordination involved in a play like that – and Brown University's Margot Norehad made it look like cake against Quinnipiac as she rifled the puck past Logan Angers in the third period to break a 1-1 tie Saturday afternoon.

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Not sure what was better: the goal itself, or the celly from Norehad, like, "Are you not entertained?" To say nothing of her teammates' reactions, which the social media team dutifully zoomed in on in a separate reel and are completely worth a watch or five.

Brown went on to win the game 4-1, by the way, in a massive upset of a nationally-ranked contender and top team in the ECAC. Norehad's goal proved to be the game-winner. Overall, it was a pretty successful weekend for the Bears, who went undefeated with this win and a 1-1 tie against ECAC rivals Princeton the previous night. Jade Iginla had a monster weekend with three points (2 G, 1 A) and a combined eight shots over two games.

Meanwhile, it's been a bit of a rough ride these past couple of weeks for the Bobcats, who had dropped two straight last weekend to Colgate and Cornell and added another overtime loss to Yale prior to this game with Brown.

Bonus: Check out this interview with freshman Norehad, who's getting a ton more attention now in the wake of her virality with that sweet goal.

#8 St. Lawrence With a Massive Win, Split Weekend Against the Golden Knights

When it comes to ECAC Hockey, St. Lawrence has been a little more toward the middle of the pack, especially against major fellow top-10 rivals like Colgate, Cornell, and Clarkson. But they have managed to put together a nice season, sitting at 19-8-0 overall and pulling off a tremendous upset win against third-ranked Clarkson on Friday evening.

It was a massive showdown between Emma-Sofie Nordström (for the Saints) and Michelle Pasiechnyk (for the Knights) in net, as well as a tough test for the Saints' penalty kill which had to withstand two big power plays by Clarkson in the second period. In the end, it was Nordström and the Saints who were able to stand taller, as it took just one power-play tally by junior forward Abby Hustler to break the stalemate in the third. From there, the Saints held off the Knights through an entire 6-on-4 situation late in the final frame, sealing the deal and giving a very important win to a team that's been low in the top-10... but rarely out of it.

Kudos to Nordström in particular for a strong 30-save performance, one she then replicated and outdid with a huge 43-save effort in Clarkson's revenge win 6-4 on Saturday. After getting shut out Friday evening, the Golden Knights came back with a vengeance, busting the floodgates wide open in the second period with four goals (including two within 1:01 late in the middle frame). Jaden Bogden and Sena Catterall made up the bulk of the scoring for Clarkson, each tallying two goals. For their part, the Saints were able to capitalize on two power plays, but couldn't catch up in the end even after boldly pulling their goalie midway through the third.

Double-Digit Wins for Both Colgate and Cornell on Friday

It's unreal sometimes to see a team fully dominate the way these two teams did on Friday night. Sometimes, you wonder if the other team even put in a goalie (and then you get sad thinking about the poor kid or kids who had to withstand that onslaught). That was the case with No. 3 Colgate and No. 6 Cornell, who each completely decimated their respective competition.

Harvard was able to get at least one goal past Kayle Osborne, off the stick of Brooke Manning early in the first to actually open the scoring for the game. But from that point forward, it was all Raiders, as they scored 10 unanswered goals. Danielle Serdachny was all over the scoresheet, scoring two goals and four assists, and Dara Greig (2 G, 3 A) and Neena Brick (1 G, 2 A) weren't far behind.

Kristyna Kaltounkova, meanwhile, had just one goal and no assists, which should strike terror in the hearts of any opponents left this season – that on a team with the NCAA's leading scorer (or one of them), she could have a more quiet night and still her team can find a way not just to win, but to win big.

Meanwhile, the Big Red had two players (Karel Prefontaine and Kaitlin Jockims) tally hat tricks in their absolute rout of Dartmouth, 14-0. Jockims added two assists, while Izzy Daniel had a four-point night as well (1 G, 4 A). Special teams were firing on all cylinders, with Cornell tallying two shorties and three power-play goals in the melee.

Both schools went on to sweep the weekend, swapping opponents as Colgate shut out Dartmouth again 5-0 and Cornell rolled to a 7-2 win over the Crimson. Five different Raiders scored in their shutout, while Avi Adam and Grace Dwyer each tallied a pair of goals for Cornell against Harvard.

Bonus News: Junior netminder Hannah Murphy took sole control of Colgate's shutout record, passing Rebecca Lahar for the most SO wins with 14 after her 20-save effort on Saturday.

Janecke Shines, Penn State Takes Hold of CHA With Two Big Wins

The Nittany Lions are on a three-game win streak after putting together two big wins this weekend, routing Lindenwood by scores of 10-1 and 6-1 and securing the top spot in CHA for now with their performance.

Tessa Janecke not only broke the fastest opening-goal record Friday night, scoring her first just 14 seconds into regulation, but she added two goals and two assists in a banner night that included her third career hat trick. Katelyn Roberts also had a great game, with her first multi-goal effort and four points total (2 G, 2 A).

Janecke then added another two assists Saturday afternoon, extending her points streak to three games and her overall points total to 43 on the season. Roberts scored another goal, and Brianna Brooks (who scored a goal Friday as well) tallied two of her own. Katie DeSa started both games, making a combined 40 saves on 42 shots.

Lindenwood's only real moments came on the power play, as both their goals this weekend were scored with the skater advantage. Sarah Davies was a big part of that, scoring the lone Lions goal Friday and providing the assist on Gigi Pora's goal Saturday; otherwise, it was a disappointing effort for the Lions, who rank fourth in the conference with a 10-15-1 overall record (5-8-1 CHA).

Check out the most recent USCHO.com national rankings here.

Full Scores: Jan. 26-27, 2024

Friday, Jan. 26:

Ohio State 4, St. Cloud State 2

Wisconsin 2, UMD 1

Minnesota 4, Minnesota State 3

UConn 3, Vermont 0

BC 1, Providence 1

Northeastern 4, Merrimack 0

Mercyhurst 4, RIT 1

Sacred Heart 2, Stonehill 2

Holy Cross 2, BU 1

UNH 4, Maine 2

LIU 2, St. Anselm 1 (OT)

RMU 4, Syracuse 3 (OT)

St. Thomas 2, Bemidji State 2

Assumption 2, Saint Michael's 0

Franklin Pierce 3, Post 1

Saturday, Jan. 27:

Ohio State 3, St. Cloud State 2

Wisconsin 5, UMD 4

Minnesota 2, Minnesota State 1 (OT)

UConn 0, Vermont 0

Princeton 1, Yale 1

Providence 3, BC 1

Northeastern 4, Merrimack 3

Mercyhurst 5, RIT 2

Sacred Heart 2, Stonehill 2

Franklin Pierce 2, Post 0

UNH 4, Maine 2

Assumption 2, Saint Michael's 2

LIU 2, St. Anselm 1 (OT)

Syracuse 2, RMU 1

Rensselaer 1, Union 0

Bemidji State 4, St. Thomas 2

Holy Cross 3, BU 2