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.
(8) Northeastern at (5) Connecticut
Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern
The battle of the Huskies has never been more important as Northeastern holds a six point lead on UConn on the top of Hockey East. The two teams have no played yet this season, but last year Northeastern swept UConn. They earned a pair of 1-0 victories in early November, eked out a 4-3 overtime win on February 1 and then took a 3-1 win in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals.
Beyond the standings and playoff and seeding implicatoins, there's pride on the line here for Connecticut, who seemed to have a clear hold on the conference and a bid to the NCAA Touranemnt wrapped up before flaming out in the conference tournament.
Northeastern played in the women's Beanpot on Tuesday while UConn split a weekend series with Merrimack. Expect speed and transition from Northeastern as they try to keep Connecticut from feeling settled. Northeastern probably has more pure skill/skilled players, but UConn likely has more depth. NU will try to use their speed and stick handling to score quickly where I think UConn will be happier to get in the zone and move the puck, looking for windows and lanes to take advantage with threading the puck through tight spaces.
Both teams want to avoid mental mistakes and time in the penalty box. Five on five suits them best, so special teams might be the difference maker here.
(12) Cornell at (7) Princeton
Friday at 6:00 PM Eastern
Things are way too complicated in the ECAC to really break down the points here, but just know that Princeton leads the conference and Cornell is sixth, 8.5 points back. The Tigers have a massive 13-game winning streak. They lost three of their first four games of the season, but have lost just one since that time and even that was back on November 8.
Meanwhile Cornell has lost five games since the start of December, going 2-5-1 over that stretch. It hasn't felt like all the pieces have been clicking and most especially not all at the same time. The scored a single goal in each of their last two games, a 3-1 loss to #13 Yale and a 5-1 loss to #4 Penn State
Princeton's Izzy Wunder and Mackenzie Alexnander are fourth and fifth in the nation in goals scored wtih 20 and 18 respectively. Goalie Uma Corneia is in the top 10 nationally in save percentage, goals against average and shutouts. Frankly, Princeton just keeps picking up steam and are getting to the point where I'm not entirely sure what it would take to stop them.
Princeton took a 3-2 win back in early December. Cornell scored first, but the Tigers unleashed three goals in the second. The Big Red pulled one back midway through the third, but couldn't ocmplete a comeback.
The Tigers have looked so smooth and like a well-oiled machine while Cornell looks discombobulated and unsure. If they're going to end Princeton's winning streak, they need to start with solid goaltending and the confidence to put the puck on net.
Franklin Pierce vs. Assumption
Friday at 2:00 PM and Saturday at 7 PM Eastern (Home and home)
The Ravens have been able to close the gap to Saint Anselm to a single point after it looked like the Hawks were running away with the NEWHA regular season title. The last time these two teams met, they split the series with Assumption earning an overtime win, scoring three unanswered goals. FPU was up 2-0 with five left in the first thanks to two power play goals and then let the Greyhounds back into it.
Assumption is currently fourth in league standings, holding on to the last home ice advantage, but they're just two points back of third place Stonehill. It hasn't been the strongest season for LIU, but finishing fourth means likely facing the Sharks in the playoffs instead of Post and I personally would be fighting like heck to place third.
Interestingly, Franklin Pierce has very little presecnce on the conference stats leaderboards for skaters, but goalie Jill Hertl leads the league in save percentage, goals against and wins. On the other hand, Kayla McGaffigan and Justina Valentini are third and fourth in NEWHA with 19 and 18 points respectively.
This is a home and home series, with FPU hosting the first game. The Ravens are significantly better at home this year, losing just one game so far and holding an 8-1 record.
(Photo: UConn Women's Hockey/X)
