NCAA Women's Hockey: What to Watch, November 22-27

Smashville Collegiate Hockey Showcase

Watch: All games streamed free on Twitch.

(8) Northeastern vs (14) Princeton - Friday at 3:00 PM Eastern
(8) Northeastern vs (9) Cornell - Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern
(9) Cornell vs (14) Princeton - Sunday at 12:00 PM Eastern

With all three teams in this showcase ranked, there will be no shortage of interesting games. Obviously Cornell and Princeton face off in the ECAC, but this should give us a good understanding about how Northeastern compares to other top-ranked teams.

The game between NU and Princeton is intriguing in that both have high-powered top lines, but haven't been able to get the support around those players that they'd like. I imagine we'll see some really brilliant goals in this game and it will come down to who players better in their own end.

Cornell has been an absolute offensive powerhouse so far this year. They're tied for third in the country with 4.38 goals per game. That being said, they're allowing 1.62 more goals per game than Northeastern is. The Big Red are a young team that have done a fantastic job early on finding chemistry, but need to shore themselves up a bit more on defense.

The Tigers lost to Cornell 3-1 in just their second game of the season. It was the game that made a lot of people realize that the Big Red are for real and a team to be reckoned with. I was high on them and even I was surprised with how well the team played together that quickly. Princeton has looked like they've not yet found their best footing. Half of their games so far have been decided by one goal. The margins are narrow and the Tigers need to find a way to pull away in games and give themselves room to breath.

Henderson Collegiate Hockey Showcase

Boston University vs (5) Yale - Friday at 1:00 PM Pacific
(3) Minnesota vs (12) Penn State - Friday at 4:00 PM Pacific
Losers of Friday's games - Saturday at 1:00 PM Pacific
Winners of Friday's games - Saturday at 4:00 PM Pacific

Watch: Paid streams on LiveBarn. Listen for free online with Gopher Radio.

With a Rivalry Series games between the US and Canada in Henderson on the horizon, the area is getting a preview of the type of hockey they'll see with this collegiate tournament. Per the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the idea for this showcase came from Minnesota assistant coach Jess Scott, who had to create an idea for a tournament in a grad school class.

With truly no offense to either BU or Penn State, I think we're all hoping to see a Yale vs. Minnesota championship game on Saturday. Not only would it be a rare chance to see these two teams play, but Yale has played just six games so far this season. They're the lone undefeated squad in the country, but with such a small sample size, it's difficult to compare them to other teams.

But before I get ahead of myself, Yale needs to beat Boston University. The Terriers have had an up and down first few months, but have won three straight heading into this game, including a sweep of #12 Connecticut last weekend. BU is lead by a solid core of players like Julia Nearis and Lacey Martin, but rookies like Sydney Healy and Clara Yuhn are starting to find their rhythm and confidence.

Penn State is coming off a weekend series with Yale where they pushed the Bulldogs to overtime before losing 2-1 in the second game. The Nittany Lions already have a win over Wisconsin and St. Lawrence as well as a pair of one-goal losses to Colgate. Tessa Janecke continues to stand out among rookies, with 11 goals on the year. They are as deep as they've ever been and their defensive style has the ability to frustrate the Gophers. That being said, Minnesota is coming off a disappointing weekend with a tie with shootout win and loss to Wisconsin. They'll be wanting to get back on track and wipe Sunday's game from their memory.

Also worth a look:

RPI at Stonehill – Friday at 5:00 PM and Saturday at 1:00 PM Eastern
Maine at (10) Clarkson – Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 2:00 PM Eastern
Bemidji State vs. (4) Quinnipiac – Friday at 3:00 PM Eastern

Stick Taps and Snark

↑ Ohio State's Sophie Jaques – With a goal on Saturday, she became the program record holder for career points by a defender with 130. She has already added an additional two goals and an assist since then.

↓ Colgate – The Raiders dropped two places in the polls during a bye last week. Then they suffered their second loss of the season on Wednesday, dropping a 6-2 game to Ohio State.

↑UMD's Haily MacLeod– The freshman became the first goaltender in program history to record a win, shutout, and an assist in her first home start.

↓ Minnesota – The Gophers dropped out of the top spot after a tie with shootout win and a loss to Wisconsin and now sit third in the polls.

↑ UMD milestone – Ashton Bell registered her 100th point and Gabbie Hughes scored her 75th goal over the weekend.

↓ More paid streams – I really love these holiday tournaments and showcases since they are some of the only times we see non-conference meetings among top-ranked teams. But I really hate how hard it is to find out if the games can be watched online and that they often require an additional fee to access. Teams really need to write the streaming agreement into their contracts for these. It's great to have these games in non-traditional markets where they can help grow the game there, but it shouldn't be at the expense of folks who can't attend in person.

(Photo: Twitter/Wisconsin Women's Hockey)