Stick Taps and Snark - November 11, 2025

(Shoutout to Adam Steinbach and Drew Kohrs for providing a new stash of Stick Taps and Snark photos to use - thanks so much!)

↑ Harvard – The Crimson had the worst record in program history last season, but they've shown some good fight so far and have already doubled last year's win output just eight games into the season. A win over St. Lawrence and a win and tie with Dartmouth over the past two weekends have them above .500 and building momentum. They're scoring almost a goal more per game on offense and are allowing 1.3 fewer goals per game on defense.

↓ Wisconsin – I'm late on this one, but since I missed this post last week - the Badgers lost to Minnesota, ending their undefeated run to start the season. UW actually hadn't lost since since November 16, 2024 and had a 10-game winning streak going against the Gophers. Wisconsin rebounded the next day to split the weekend, but we're down to two undefeated teams now - Cornell and Penn State

↑ Delaware defense – Division I's newest program had a stellar showing this weekend against Brown, particularly on Sunday. Goalie Charlotte Payne made 51 saves and the Blue Hens racked up 44 blocks in a 3-2 overtime loss. Mattie Robitzer made 34 saves and the team had 33 blocks in Saturday's 3-0 loss. They'll be disappointed in the overtime loss, but any team that plays that hard is going to get rewarded for it eventually.

↓ Takeover Tour details – I'm a big fan of the concept of the Takeover Tour , but I feel like maybe some of the fine details got lost this time around. First of all, it's a huge number of games and I wonder if season ticket holders are going to start getting frustrated with losing those games to neutral sites. If the Takeover Tour is going to continue to be so big, it sure seems like the league should consider adding these as additional dates to the schedule, not pulling them from the previously released schedules of each team. I love the addition of Dallas, but wish a few more non-traditional places like Nashville, Phoenix or Las Vegas were on the list instead of doubling up in places or going back another time right away. I love having a game in Halifax while the U18 Women's Worlds are in Nova Scotia, but I don't love that Halifax is a four hour drive away from the host and the game is happening at the same time as U18 games. It feels like there could have been better planning/working together there.

↑ Taylor Heise – The Minnesota alum looked as good as ever for the US in last week's Rivalry Series games. The PWHL season hasn't started yet and I think we're all a little unsure what international prep would look like at this point in the process for players that aren't in college, but if Heise is any indication, everything is just fine. She used a fake slapshot in each game to set up a scoring opportunity for a teammate and each time, Canada bit on the fake. I'd imagine there's a limit to how frequently she can pull that trick out before teams are prepared for it, but goodness was it effective. Heise is obviously very competitive, but she's also one of the bubbliest, nicest and most outgoing players I've come across. The fake in Saturday's game was absolutely ruthless. If Taylor is adding a bit more of an edge to her game, it's only going to benefit both USA and the Frost.

↓Colgate – This very much could be a scorekeeping error, but the box score for their loss to RIT on Saturday showed the Raiders had no blocks. For a team that has struggled, particularly on defense, that feels like a very big deal.