NCAA week 17 preview: Marquee match-up in Duluth

No. 2 Gophers travel to Duluth for tough away series

Week 17 sees a top-five matchup as No. 2 Minnesota faces No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth. Minnesota suffered its first loss, to Boston University, just before break but came back and defeated the Minnesota Whitecaps and Minnesota State. Junior Kelly Pannek is riding a 17-game point streak going into the series. Lara Stalder (9G-18A) is the leading scorer for UMD with 27 points in 20 games. Each team will need to deal with these stellar forwards.

John Mazza previews Week 17:

No. 7 Quinnipiac @ No. 9 Colgate, Friday, Jan. 13

  • Quinnipiac skated to a tie with Harvard but managed to get the win against Dartmouth last weekend.
  • After taking a 2-1 lead early in the second period with a goal from Meghan Turner (Bedford, N.H.), the Bobcats could not hold off the Crimson in the third. With a lone goal in the third, Harvard tied the game and both teams came away with one point.
  • The Bobcats defeated Dartmouth 3-1 on Saturday. Senior Taryn Baumgardt (Innisfail, Alta.) scored the game-winning goal with 1:11 left in the second period.
  • Colgate came away with one point in the series against St. Cloud State.
  • Shae Labbe (Calgary, Alta.) scored two goals in the 7-4 loss on Friday. It was her second multigoal game this season, but that was not enough to overcome St. Cloud’s third period rally.
  • Freshman netminder Liz Auby (Stoughton, Wis.) recorded her first career shutout in the 0-0 tie on Saturday. /

Vermont @ No. 10 Boston University, Saturday, Jan. 14, and Sunday, Jan. 15

  • Last weekend the Catamounts swept the Maine Blackbears, increasing their record to 10-7-5 overall and 6-3-3 in Hockey East.
  • Sarah Kelly (Vestal, N.Y.) scored a pair of goals, leading her team to a 4-1 victory on Saturday. It was the senior’s first multigoal game of her career.
  • On Sunday, Bridget Baker (Los Gatos, Calif.) netted the game-winning goal at 7:39 in the third. The Catamounts went on to win 3-1.
  • After going to break with a win against Minnesota, the Terriers only had one game last weekend, against crosstown rival Boston College.
  • In a hard-fought game, BU skated to a tie with the Eagles. Midway through the second period, Nina Rodgers (Minnetonka, Minn.) scored on the power play, giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead. BC would score its own power play goal in the third to tie the game. /

No. 2 Minnesota @ No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth, Friday, Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14

  • With an exhibition against the Minnesota Whitecaps, the only regular season game on the Gophers schedule was against Minnesota State last weekend.
  • With three points apiece, Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) and Kate Schipper (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led the Gophers to a 5-3 win over the Mavericks in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women’s Faceoff Classic.
  • Minnesota-Duluth has only played the Whitecaps in exhibition since returning from break. They look to start the second half strong against Minnesota.
  • With five players lost to the Nations Cup, Duluth had a tough time against the Whitecaps. Only Sydney Brodt (North Oaks, Minn.) and Demi Crossman (Livonia, Mich.) scored for the Bulldogs in the 5-2 loss.  /

Lindenwood @ No. 8 Robert Morris, Friday, Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14

  • Playing only one of two games against Wisconsin due to a carbon monoxide leak, Lindenwood lost to the top team in the country.
  • With her third goal of the season, Shannon Morris-Reade (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) scored the lone goal for the Lady Lions in the 5-1 defeat.
  • Robert Morris swept Brown to extend their unbeaten streak to 13 games.
  • Brittany Howard (St. Thomas, Ont.) scored her second career hat trick in RMU’s first game back from break.
  • With the 5-3 victory the next day, head coach Paul Colontino earned his 100th career win. /

Princeton @ Cornell, Friday, Jan. 13

  • Princeton defeated both Dartmouth and Harvard, continuing a strong run in Ivy League play. They are hoping this continues when facing Cornell.
  • Freshman Carly Bullock (Eden Prairie, Minn.) netted two goals in the 4-0 victory over the Big Green.
  • After trailing 1-0 going into the third, Princeton scored twice in the third to complete the comeback. Kiersten Falck (Ham Lake, Minn.) scored the game-winning goal on the power play to push the Tigers past the Crimson.
  • Cornell split the series with Providence, increasing their record to 10-5-1 overall.
  • With a breakaway attempt early in the game, co-captain Kaitlin Doering (Waterloo, Ont.) could have changed the tone of the game. With no score in the first period, however, the Friars scored twice in the second, defeating the Big Red 2-0.
  • Cornell rallied the next day, defeating Providence 5-1. Paige Lewis (New Canaan, Conn.) scored her first career goal to open up scoring at 7:25 in the first. /

Note: All rankings listed are from Week 16’s SB Nation’s Women’s College Hockey Division 1 Poll.