Come back each week for a preview of interesting NCAA games coming up and some thoughts on what happened in the previous week's action. Check out Friday's How to Watch for links to all the weekend's games.
(3) Minnesota Duluth at (1) Wisconsin
Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM Central
Despite the rankings, I think UMD has the edge coming into this series. To be blunt, the Badgers haven't been challenged much in their opening two series while the Bulldogs have a sweep of Ohio State and a split with Colgate under their belts already. Additionally, Minnesota Duluth has been incredibly successful at LaBahn Arena in recent years, winning three of the last four and four of the last six meetings between these two teams in Madison.
UMD has confidence and momentum. They've gotten scoring from across their line sheet and Eve Gascon has been just as good, if not better, in her sophomore year. Wisconsin has an unprecedented lineup with two of last year's Patty Kazmaier top-three finalists in Casey O'Brien and Kirsten Simms as well as the last two USA Hockey Bob Allen Women's Players of the Year in KK Harvey and Laila Edwards.
The Bulldogs will be looking to score early and put Wisconsin back on their heels. The Badgers want to control the puck and use speed through the neutral zone to their advantage. UMD has to find the balance between not giving UW's offensive weapons too much time and space, particularly on breakouts and still being offensive-minded themselves. They'll look to push Wisconsin to the perimeter and use their size and physicality along the boards. The Badgers want to make quick passes, move the puck well and not get bogged down by UMD's attempts to pull them out of their game.
(2) Minnesota at (4) Ohio State
Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern
Both of these teams got out of last weekend with two wins, but also a lot to learn from. Minnesota eked out a 1-0 win on Friday thanks to a late power play goal, but BU gave them fits for much of the game. They rebounded well on Sunday, but think they have a lot to work on in terms of puck movement, entering the zone and quick decision making.
There are so many individually talented players on the Gophers, but they aren't yet fully playing as a team or to their full potential. When they weren't getting the looks they normally get in the first game, they struggled with adjusting a bit. That might be down to younger players still learning their roles and the team's systems, but it's something I'll be watching for as conference play progresses. Things rarely go to plan when the top teams in the conference face off and the Gophers have to be better a changing their approach and solving the problems the defense is giving them if they're going to vie for a conference or national title.
I'm not sure anyone could have predicted the way the season has started for Ohio State, but I also think that if there's any program that has the mentality to quickly learn and grow from a tough start, it's the Buckeyes. They have been so strong that they've been somewhat able to bulldoze their way to the Frozen Four the past few seasons without a ton of push back. In both of last weekend's games, St. Lawrence kept responding and it says a lot about the Buckeyes that they came away with both wins. It's not a coincidence that it was captain Jenna Buglioni who ended Friday's game seven seconds into overtime by winning the faceoff, picking up the puck and putting it in the back of the net.
These are going to be tough, scrappy games and both teams need to keep their cool, make their opponent pay for mistakes and distribute the puck well. The winning team will be the one that gets the best play out of their second and third lines. v
Boston University vs. (13) Northeastern (home and home)
Friday at 7:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern
In a week full of ranked matchups, unranked BU might have been the standout team last weekend. The Terriers seem like they might have been criminally underrated to start the season. There were about 90 seconds from pulling at least a point away from Minnesota last week and have to be incredibly motivated to prove that wasn't a fluke. Add in their first Hockey East games against cross-town rivals Northeastern in a home and home series with Friday night's game being televised on NESN and this becomes a huge opportunity for Boston University.
Eight different skaters have scored the nine goals BU has scored so far. Most of the roster has registered at least one block. Up and down the ice they're getting contributions and that's going to make them dangerous. The season is young, but if the Terriers can keep up the same level of compete that they showed in Minneapolis last week, they're going to be in the conversation for the post season come February.
Northeastern is coming off a weekend split with Quinnipiac where the took the first game 4-2 but were halted on Saturday, losing 3-0. Freshman Éloïse Caron has been a standout so far, scoring two goals and looking like she has seamlessly transferred her talent to the college game. She's quick and smart and uses her size well to get herself space in front of the net.
The Huskies have a game-changer in Skylar Irving and just need the roster of the roster to settle in, find their roles and be consistent. Quinnipiac took Friday's loss as motivation and came out stronger on Saturday and I'm not sure Northeastern matched that energy. That was a massive learning game for them and it'll be interesting to see how they use that experience this weekend. I think these two teams are really going to challenge each other.
(Photo: Minnesota Women's Hockey/Twitter)
