Women’s college hockey fans will find highly entertaining matchups spread throughout the fourth weekend. Whether it’s watching the WCHA powers jockey for supremacy, the Ivies kick off their seasons, or a struggling top-10 ECAC team attempt to reverse their fortunes against the best team in the nation, there will not be a shortage of excitement.

John Mazza previews Week 4:

No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth @ No. 2 Minnesota, Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15

  • Coming off of a sweep of Minnesota State, UMD looks to continue its unbeaten run against the Golden Gophers.
  • Seniors Katherine McGovern (Scottsdale, AZ) and Lara Stalder (Luzern, Switzerland) both had amazing weekends. McGovern scored a goal in Friday’s game and a goal and 2 assists in Saturday’s game.
  • Stalder’s 5-point weekend added her name to the Bulldogs 100 career point club.
  • Minnesota is coming off the heels of a disappointing split series with Bemidji State.
  • After falling behind early in the third on Friday, senior captain Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, MN) led the team to a 3-1 victory after scoring 2 goals.
  • The next day, Minnesota could not find the back of the net, despite taking 31 shots on Bemidji, leading to the 2-0 loss./

No. 1 Wisconsin @ No. 7 Clarkson, Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15

  • Last week, Wisconsin played Ohio State, coming away with a win and a tie.
  • Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, QC) earned her 40th career shutout on Friday, becoming the first player in program history to do so.
  • On Saturday, Wisconsin earned an extra point after freshman Abby Roque (Sault Ste. Marie, MI) scored the only goal in the three-round shootout.
  • Sophomore Loren Gabel (Kitchener, ON) opened up scoring for Clarkson on Friday, giving the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead before they lost 2-1.
  • After a loss and a tie last week against St. Lawrence, Clarkson dropped from 4 to 7 in this week’s poll.
  • With less than a minute remaining in regulation on Saturday, Clarkson was facing another loss. That’s when senior defenseman Corie Jacobson (Warren, ON) scored the tying goal for the Golden Knights./

Vermont @ Robert Morris, Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15

  • UVM only played once this past weekend, upsetting then No. 10 Boston University in a 3-2 victory.
  • Sophomore Saana Valkama (Pirkkala, Finland) had a point on every goal for the Catamounts, tallying 1 goal and 2 assists.
  • In her first game for UVM, sophomore netminder Melissa Black (Newmarket, ON) made 38 saves in a well-fought victory.
  • Trying to continue their undefeated run this season, Robert Morris is coming off a win and a tie against RPI.
  • Junior Amanda Pantaleo (Markham, ON) scored the game-winning goal on Friday after going five-hole on RPI goalie Kira Bombay. /

Syracuse @ Northeastern, Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15

  • Syracuse started the season 0-2 after losing their opening games to Bemidji State.
  • Senior forward Jessica Sibley (Luseland, SK) scored the only goal of the weekend for Syracuse, coming on the power play just 12 minutes into the game on Friday.
  • Northeastern, coming off a shaky start, came out of this weekend with two wins over Lindenwood.
  • With 3 points this weekend, junior Denisa Krizova (Horni Cerekev, Czech Republic) tallied her 100th career point for the Huskies. She was also named Warrior Player of the Week by Hockey East.
  • Goaltender Brittany Bugalski (Boynton Beach, FL) posted 37 saves this weekend, including a 10-save shutout on Friday night./

Ohio State @ No. 9 Bemidji State, Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15

  • Facing No. 1 Wisconsin, the Buckeyes managed to come away from the weekend with a loss and a tie.
  • In Friday’s loss, Jessica Dunne (O’Fallon, MO) led the team in both shots (3) and blocked shots (5).
  • Julianna Iafallo (Eden, NY) opened up the scoring in the first period in Saturday’s 1-1 tie. It was her first goal of the season.
  • Bemidji split the series against Minnesota and is hoping to continue to ride that momentum this week.
  • Netminder Brittni Mowat (Glenboro, MB) was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week after making 57 saves this weekend, including a 31-save shutout during Saturday’s victory.
  • Summer Thibodeau (Maple Grove, MN) scored the game-winning goal just over a minute into the game. It was her first goal of the season. /

McGill @ Harvard, Friday, October 14

  • McGill, a member of the CIS, has played two exhibition games against NCAA teams St. Lawrence and Vermont.
  • McGill won 3-0 against St. Lawrence. Rookie goaltender Tricia Deguire (Sherbrooke, QC) earned her first career shutout after making 34 saves.
  • Vermont proved to be more of a challenge; it took more than 60 minutes for McGill to win 3-2 in overtime. Rookie Lea Dumais (Beaconsfield, QC) scored the overtime goal after the team rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
  • Harvard will open its season this weekend in the exhibition against McGill.
  • Last year, Harvard finished 5th in the ECAC with a record of 17-12-3. Having graduated five seniors, including Michelle Picard (now playing in New York) and Emerance Maschmeyer (now playing in Calgary), the Crimson will look to co-captains Briana Mastel (Wallingford, CT) and Sydney Daniels (Southwick, MA), as well as their six freshman, to fill the void they left./

Note: All rankings listed are from SB Nation’s Week 3 D1 Poll.

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