NCAA Women's Hockey: What to Watch, Week 5
- 4 min read

NCAA Women's Hockey: What to Watch, Week 5

NCAA Women's Hockey: What to Watch, Week 5 by Nicole Haase

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.

(4) Clarkson at (10) Robert Morris

Friday at 7:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern

Watch: A paid stream is available on Stretch Internet.

Clarkson has had some of the best goaltending in the country over the past several years. They may still, but that's yet to be determined. They're splitting time between junior Amanda Zeglen, who transferred from Ohio State, and sophomore Marie-Pier Coulombe, who played just three games last season. Zeglen has had the better stats and outcomes so far, so it'll be interesting to see if they continue to split time or if she earns more starts.

A big surprise for the Golden Knights has been Kayla Friesen, who transferred from St. Cloud State. She's nearly matched her season total in goals from last season already and seems to be flourishing at Clarkson. She never topped 20 points as a Husky, but seems primed to far surpass that number as a senior. She currently leads Clarkson with four goals and three assists.

Robert Morris showed they're a team not to be taken lightly with a strong showing against the Gophers last weekend. They came from behind numerous times, losing in overtime on Friday. On Saturday, it was a tie game heading into the final period before the Gophers found another level and put four on the board to take the win. It was a stellar showing for Robert Morris, who lost 6-1 and 5-0 to the Gophers last season.

Sixteen different Colonials have tallied a point already this season. They are going to present Clarkson with a more difficult series than I think the Golden Knights imagined when they scheduled these games and it should be a lot of fun to watch.

Syracuse vs. Colgate (home and home)

Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern

Watch: Friday's game available on ESPN+. Saturday's game available on Cuse.com.

It's been a rough 0-5 start for Syracuse, though they've played a number of close games in a stretch where they faced then-no. 3 Clarkson, then-no. 7 Boston College and no. 3 Northeastern. Three of those losses were by a single goal.

Their path doesn't get much easier, with Colgate this weekend and no. 6 Princeton next weekend. The Orange could use the boost of a few wins and they've played well enough to earn them.

Colgate is 2-2-1 to start the season. They are getting scoring across all their lines and are looking to gain some momentum. They had a tie and win against Mercyhurst last weekend and head into a tough conference schedule once November starts.

The Orange have the talent to take at least one of these games and deserve to have something to show for the work they've put in to their first few weeks.

(3) Northeastern at New Hampshire

Sunday at 3:00 PM Eastern

Watch: Stream available on NESN+.

The Huskies are the favorite to win Hockey East this year. They returned a solid core of players at every position and have continued this season as they ended the last. They can score with a talented top line, but also depth down the line sheet. Aerin Frankel is incredibly solid in net, giving the defense some freedom to move up the ice and provide a scoring threat from the blue line. They are high-powered and don't give teams much chance to put them in a hole and they're difficult to play catch-up on.

New Hampshire look as solid and talented as they have in years. They are scoring goals and hanging in games. They are going to be a thorn in the sides of many Hockey East teams this season and I expect they'll steal more than a few points teams weren't expecting to give up. They play a fast game, which can leave opponents caught flat-footed and they don't have a lot of let down from line to line.

Also worth a look:

  • Merrimack at (7) Boston College – Friday at 6:00 PM Eastern
  • (8) Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State – Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Central
  • Providence at Penn State – Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Central

Stick Taps and Snark

College players named to Team USA and Hockey Canada for November series –  Ohio State's Emma Maltais got her first call-up to the senior team. She joins Princeton's Sarah Fillier and Claire Thompson, Cornell's Kristin O'Neill and Micah Zandee-Hart and Clarkson's Ella Shelton on Hockey Canada. Boston College's Cayla Barnes joins Minnesota Duluth's Sydney Brodt and Maddie Rooney on Team USA.

Boston University –  The Terriers dropped out of the top-10 after tying Merrimack and losing to New Hampshire last weekend.

Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson –  Saturday's win at Ohio State was his 500th. He's the first Division I women's coach (and the second women's coach overall) to reach that threshold.

Boston University's Jesse Compher – The sophomore was a Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist last season, but has not played a game yet this season, for an undisclosed reason (likely injury).

(Photo: Robert Morris Women's Hockey Twitter)