NCAA week 12 preview: last big hurrah before break

Week 11 was dominated by the draw between the top two teams in the nation in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Clarkson is surging after tying St. Lawrence in game one, and defeating them in game two. Week 12 stands as the first half’s going away party, with a good amount of 2016 last games on the weekend before it tapers down to two matchups in Week 13 and none in Week 14. In a crowd of ranked vs. unranked, one of the more interesting matchups is No. 1 Wisconsin at Ohio State.

John Mazza previews Week 12:

No. 2 Minnesota @ Boston University, Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10

• Going up against rival Wisconsin in the Border Battle, Minnesota split the series with the top team in the country.
• When on the power play at the end of second, Kate Schipper (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) net the puck for her 100^th career point. With 23 seconds left in the game Schipper also scored the empty net goal, leading the Gophers to their 2-0 shutout.
• Minnesota could not keep that momentum going into Sunday’s game. After giving up six goals on 19 shots faced in the first two periods, junior netminder Sidney Peters (Geneva, Ill.) was replaced by freshman Serena D’Angelo (Stoney Creek, Ont.). D’Angelo made seven saves on nine shots as the Gophers were defeated 8-2.
• Boston University isn’t having their best year so far. After defeating UConn 4-1 Friday night away, the Terriers lost 2-1 to the Huskies at home.
• Transfer student Nina Rodgers (Minnetonka, Minn.) scored the game-winning goal for the Terriers on Friday. Senior Sam Sutherland (Fernie, B.C.) fed the puck to Rodgers on the left circle, who got it past the UConn goaltender.
• Down 1-0 entering the second period, Sammy Davis (Pembroke, Mass.) scored a power play goal just 4:37 into the period, tying the game. Less than a minute later, UConn scored a shorthanded goal. This score would remain for the rest of the game, giving the Huskies a 2-1 victory. /

No. 4 Clarkson @ Syracuse, Friday, Dec. 9, and @ Clarkson Saturday, Dec. 10

• Clarkson skated to a tie and a win against St. Lawrence, giving them sole possession of first place in the ECAC.
• At the beginning of the second period, down 1-0, Clarkson ended St. Lawrence’s five-game shutout streak. Co-captain Cayley Mercer (Exeter, Ont.) found fellow co-captain Savannah Harmon (Downers Grove, Ill.) at the right circle. Harmon took a wrist shot and got it past the St. Lawrence goaltender. The two teams would continue to trade goals, with the game ending in a 3-3 tie.
• Four different players scored in Clarkson’s 4-1 victory on Saturday. Genevieve Bannon (Candiac, Que.) tallied a point on each of the goals, including scoring the game winner. She finished the night with one goal and three assists.
• Syracuse also came away with a tie and a win last week when they faced RIT.
• Allie Munroe (Yarmouth, N.S.) and Kelli Rowswell (Winnipeg, Man.) scored in the first period, giving the Orange a 2-0 lead. They held this league throughout the second period, but could not keep RIT off the board in the third. The Tigers scored two goals, leaving the game tied 2-2.
• On the road the next day, Syracuse shut out RIT 3-0. Sophomore netminder Maddi Welch (East Amherst, N.Y.) got her first blank slate of the season after stopping all 20 of RIT’s shots. /

Union @ Maine, Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10

• Union suffered two losses last weekend, unable to score a goal against Quinnipiac or Princeton.
• Kate Spooner (Grand Pre, N.S.) made a career-high 39 saves in 4-0 loss to Quinnipiac.
• Amelia Murray (McHenry, Ill.) got the start between the pipes against Princeton. Playing just under 51 minutes, Murray made 32 saves, giving up four goals in the process. Spooner would take over for the last nine minutes, giving up three goals on only eight shots.
• Maine played the Mount Allison Mounties of the CIS in exhibition, defeating their opponent 6-3.
• Tereza Vanišová (Strakonice, Czech Republic) scored four goals for the Black Bears, starting just 24 seconds into the game. /

No. 1 Wisconsin @ Ohio State, Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10

• Wisconsin faced No. 2 Minnesota in the Border Battle, splitting the series but proving why they are the top team in the country.
• After missing the last four games, Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) was back in net for the Badgers. In her first game back, she allowed only one goal — while on the penalty kill. She ended the game with 32 saves and showed again why she is one of the best goaltenders in the country.
• Wisconsin quickly bounced back from the loss, winning 8-2 on Sunday afternoon. Sarah Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.) scored her second hat trick of the season and also tallied an assist. This is the first time in program history a Badger scored a hat trick against Minnesota.
• Ohio State had an impressive weekend, tying then defeating North Dakota.
• In the first minute of the second period, Ohio State opened up scoring. Maddy Field (Oakville, Ont.) scored her sixth goal of the season as the power play was expiring. Ohio State would hold this lead in the second, but the Fighting Hawks found the back of the net in the third, tying the game at one apiece. Nobody else would score and the game ended 1-1 after overtime.
• The freshman class shone in the Buckeyes 2-1 win the next day. Samantha Bouley (Stittsville, Ont.) got a goal and an assist, while fellow freshman Rebecca Freiburger (Rochester, Minn.) scored the other goal. Redshirted freshman Jincy Dunne (O’Fallon, Mo.) also tallied an assist on Bouley’s game-winning goal. /

Dartmouth @ Vermont, Saturday, Dec. 10

• Dartmouth was defeated by both Colgate and Cornell last weekend.
• After trailing 2-0, Dartmouth managed to cut that lead in half but failed to get the equalizer against Colgate on Friday. Caroline Shaunessy (Duxbury, Mass.) scored the lone goal for Dartmouth and her first goal of the season.
• The Big Green saw themselves in a similar situation on Saturday. This time, down 2-0 at toward the end of the third, senior Kennedy Ottenbreit (Grayson, Sask.) found the back of the net with only 40 seconds left in regulation. Yet again, Dartmouth could not get a second goal and fell 2-1.
• Vermont faced No. 10 Northeastern, taking both games to overtime. Each time the Catamounts managed to score during the overtime, giving them two wins.
• With less than a minute left in regulation, Victoria Andreakos (Aurora, Ont.) scored to force the game to overtime. Just over a minute into the overtime period, Alyssa Gorecki (Monee, Ill.) completed the upset as Vermont downed Northeastern 2-1.
• Going into the third with a 2-1 lead, the Catamounts were hoping to avoid overtime for a second consecutive day. However, a breakaway goal for the Huskies forced another overtime period. This time Ève-Audrey Picard (Longueuil, Que.) lit the lamp at 1:46 in overtime. /

Note: All rankings listed are from Week 11’s SB Nation’s Women’s College Hockey Division 1 Poll.