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 Thursday's How to Watch for links to all the weekend's games.
(3) Minnesota at (1) Wisconsin
Friday at 6 PM and Saturday at 2:00 PM Central
The Border Battle returns this weekend in Madison. Minnesota comes off a sweep of Minnesota Duluth while Wisconsin swept Minnesota State. The Badgers enter the game undefeated so far this season - in fact their last loss was on November 16 last year. They swept Minnesota in six meetings last season and are on a 10-game win streak against the Gophers.
It should be an interesting game in that both teams are among the top ten in defense and are the top two in the country in team offense. Eleven of the top 20 players in total points in the country play for either Minnesota or Wisconsin. Abbey Murphy continues to lead the nation with 14 goals and 22 points.
The Badgers have been hit with a spate of injuries to Laila Edwards, Kirsten Simms, Laney Potter and Adéla Šapovalivová and it's unclear if any of them will play in this series. Claire Enright stepped up to the team's top line last weekend and earned WCHA Forward of the Week honors and the Badgers' depth came through, but this will be a tougher test and the home team will be tested by the pace and physicality of Minnesota.
One huge factor in Wisconsin's dominance last season was holding Murphy goal-less. Despite the fact that she had more than double the goals of anyone else on her team and had the second most goals of anyone nationwide, she was held to just two assists in the six games. That helped the Badgers outscore the Gophers 33-11 over the course of the season.
The big difference this season is that Minnesota has much more scoring depth. Even if Wisconsin is able to neutralize Murphy again, the Gophers simply have many more scoring options.
(15) Brown at (11) Colgate
(15) Brown at (4) Cornell
Friday at 3:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern
The Brown Bears entered the polls this week thanks to a 3-1 start with wins over then #13 Boston University and #7 Quinnipiac.
Colgate has had a bit of a difficult start to the season, going 4-4 and dropping from fifth in the polls to start the season to 11th now. A few years ago being ranked might have been enough, but the Raiders set a new standard for their program in the past few seasons and that means this so-so start is a bit of a disappointment.
Brown has been a team on the verge for a few seasons and they seem like they might be in a place where they've put it all together. Importantly, they've been more consistent on offense and have put that together with a strong defense. This weekend is a good test of both of those things against two tough opponents. They'll be tested by speed of Colgate and by trying to beat Cornell goalie Annelies Bergmann.
Cornell has handeld their early season schedule, but this weekend get their toughest tests, hosting Brown and Yale. They were able to ease into the season a little easier than some of the other Ivies, but they have to be secure and ready for these two tests this weekend. Lindzi Avar and Avi Adam are leading the team in scoring and it's nice to see them step into leadership roles as they get older. The player that could really be a key is Karel Prefontaine, who was sixth on the team in scoring last season, but sits third here early on. She has the potential to really break out and make an impact and I think has been content with a more supporting role in years' past. If she continues to build confidence, she could make a big impact.
Sacred Heart at Saint Anselm
Friday at 4:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern
These two are sitting atop the NEWHA standings, though Saint Anselm has two games in hand over Sacred Heart. Both have three wins and 10 points. Sacred Heart was picked to win the conference in the coaches preseason poll and Saint Anselm was picked to finish fifth.
At this point, I think the Hawks have over performed and Sacred Heart has underperformed. The Pioneers started the season with a win over RPI, but since have split a series with Franklin Pierce and lost twice to Stonehill. They rebounded with a pair of wins over St. Michael's last weekend, but they really need to make up some ground in the confernece and their position would be a lot more secure if they could sweep.
What they have going for them is that how consistent they are up and down their line sheet. They aren't reliant on any one or two players to provide their scoring and while I think they probably need someone to be that woman who will step up in the biggest moments and not let games slip away.
Saint Anselm has to tighten things up on defense if they're going to keep this up for the rest of the season and be a contender. They've got to get in front of pucks a bit more and close down lanes. Far too many pucks are getting to net and they can't keep leaving their goalie to make the difference.
On offense, it's been awesome to see the continued development of Brooklyn Schneiderhan, who was on the conference all-Rookie team her first year. Last season she third on the team in scoring last season with 11 goals and has five already this season.
(Photo: Sacred Heart women's hockey/X)
