NCAA Women's Hockey: What to Watch, Week 10
- 3 min read

NCAA Women's Hockey: What to Watch, Week 10

NCAA Women's Hockey: What to Watch, Week 10 by Nicole Haase

Happy Thanksgiving from us at Victory Press. NCAA hockey is back in action the day after the holiday.

Come back each week for a breakdown of the most interesting upcoming games, how to watch or listen to them, and some thoughts on the movers and shakers from the previous week.

Here are the games to watch this weekend:

Cornell at (1) Wisconsin

Friday at 7:00 PM CT; Saturday at 8:00 PM CT

Watch: Games are available to stream for $9.95 per month via BTN Plus here.

The biggest question is about the status of goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens, who did not travel to Duluth last weekend with the Badgers. She was out with an upper-body injury.

Freshman Nikki Cece made her first two college starts and handled herself well. Cornell doesn't look to be quite as tough an opponent and the LaBahn is already sold out for Friday evening, which means that she'll have a ton of crowd support.

It will look to be a defensive match. Wisconsin allows just one goal a game, while Cornell is right behind them, allowing just 1.33 goals. Cornell has played far fewer games, but goalie Marlene Boissonnault has proven solid in the early going for the Big Red.

Cornell is coming off a win over Princeton and a tie with (8) Quinnipiac, while Wisconsin got their first loss of the season last week. Whether the teams use those things as motivation could make a difference in this game.

(4) Minnesota-Duluth at Harvard

Friday at 7:00 PM ET; Saturday at 3:30 PM ET

Watch: Friday's game will be televised on ONE World Sports. Find it on channel 1665 on ATT and channel 623 on DirecTV. It may be available on cable, but it varies by region. Saturday's game available online via Ivy League Network for $9.95 for 24 hours.

This series isn't as interesting as it looked when the season started, but any time WCHA teams meet up with East Coast teams, it's worth a look.

Additionally, this will be UMD coach Maura Crowell's return to Cambridge, where she was an assistant before taking over the Bulldogs job.

It's unlikely anyone was underestimating UMD, but after last week's upset of Wisconsin, it's clear that the Bulldogs are a legitimate contender.

Harvard is definitely in rebuilding mode as they struggle following the graduation of some key players, but even in down years, the Crimson are not an easy opponent.

When it comes to post-season rankings and pairwise, it's often difficult to compare teams that never meet, so series like these help give some common opponents and give a better idea of the relative strength of squads.

(6) Boston College at (10) Northeastern

Saturday at 2:00 PM ET

Watch: It appears that video will be available for free here.

These two played to a 2-2 tie last Sunday and the whole game was pretty evenly matched. Both teams scored a first-period goal and they each tallied a short-handed goal in the second. BC outshot Northeastern 38-30.

Northeastern's defense was stingy, especially on the power play. BC had five extra-man chances during regulation and managed just two shots during them. They tallied three during their power play in the overtime period, but they need to work on those special teams.

Also worth a look:

  • Princeton at Boston University -- 7:00 PM ET Friday, 3:00 PM ET Saturday

Stick Taps and Snark

↑Minnesota-Duluth -- The Bulldogs ended Wisconsin's unbeaten season with a win Friday night.

↑St. Lawrence -- The Saints are the lone undefeated team remaining. They've moved to no. 3 in the polls and received two first-place votes.

↓Colgate -- The Raiders dropped four spots in this week's poll, losing their first two of the season to Princeton and Quinnipiac.

↑Wisconsin's Annie Pankowski -- The junior scored a natural hat trick on Saturday to lead the Badgers to a 4-1 win over UMD. They were her first three goals of the season.

↓Top ten teams -- Only two teams -- St. Lawrence and Clarkson -- won all their games last weekend. Every other ranked squad suffered either a loss or a tie.

↑Lindenwood -- The won their first of the season over RIT. Every team in the country has at least one win.

(Photo credit: Cornell/Twitter)