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.
We've been talking since at least September about what effect the Olympics and a lack of centralization will have on the NCAA season and this weekend we start to find out. Players have departed their teams to head to Italy with four weeks left in the regular season. Now we'll start to see who has players step up and who falters.
(1) Wisconsin at (3) Minnesota
Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 2:00 PM Cental
The Border Battle between these longtime rivals will look at little different in Minneapolis this weekend. Wisconsin will be without five players - defender KK Harvey, forwards Laila Edwards, Kirsten Simms, Adéla Šapovalivová and goalie Ava McNaughton. Minnesota will be without defender Nelli Laitinen and forwards Abbey Murphy, Josefin Bouveng and Tereza Plosová. Murphy leads the country with 36 goals and 61 points. Harvey is second with 54 points but leads the country with 37 assists.
The Gophers' four Olympians account for 46% of all goals scored by the team. Wisconsin's in a slightly better position, with 37% of their goals coming from the now-absent players. The biggest change for Wisconsin will be Rhyah Stewart in net. The freshman has just one collegiate start and 95 total minutes of game time under her belt. She's getting trial by fire with four of the toughest games on the Badgers' calendar in two consecutive weekends. A stellar goalie and gold-medal winner at U18s, I feel like Stewart is in a tough position with so little experience, not just game minutes, but the whole process of starting a big-time top-3 game in a hostile environment.
Minnesota handed Wisconsin their only loss so far this season back on Halloween - a 5-1 stinker for the Badgers who looked as bad as they've been in several years. They shook it off and responded with a 7-2 win the following day, but the Gophers have a pretty good game plan for being able to throw UW off their game.
Of course, both teams will just be looking to find their footing without their best players and leaders no longer on the ice with them. This series might be far less about what these two can inflict on each other and more which team adapts the quickest and makes the fewest mistakes while they're figuring it out.
(5) Quinnipiac at (11) Clarkson
(8) Princeton at (11) Clarkson
Friday at 3:00 PM Eastern
Saturday at 2:00 PM Eastern
There's a lot at stake in this set of games this weekend. Quinnipiac took a slight lead atop the ECAC last week with 35.5 points. Clarkson and Princeton sit just behind them, tied with 35 points.
After going on a long winning streak, Princeton stumbled last weekend with two losses that cost them the top spot. They're in need of a bounce back not just for their standings, but for their confidence.
Clarkson is on a five-game win streak, but they're currently 11th in the NPI, which makes them only an outside shot to make the NCAA Tournament. And they close out the season against all the other teams in the top half of conference standings. Every single percentage point is going to matter for them when it comes to an at-large bid.
The last time these three teams had their travel partner weekend, they scored a total of one goal between them - Princeton defeated Clarkson 1-0 while the Golden Knights and Bobcats ended in a 0-0 tie. Clarkson has been more prolific on offense in recent weeks, but it sure seems like goaltending is going to be a key part of the weekend.
New Hampshire vs. (7) Connecticut
Friday and Saturday at 6 PM Eastern (home and home)
UConn is on a three-game losing streak, having been swept by Northeastern last weekend, all but handing the other Huskies the regular season title. Of course, NU then went out and tied Holy Cross on Friday, opening the door the slightest bit.
While they have their eye on the regular season title, UConn is also looking to be in the best possible position heading into the NCAA Tournament. They'd like to win the autobid and will be keeping an eye on Holy Cross, who currently sit tied with them thanks to the point they took on Thursday night. But they also want to hold steady in the NPI, putting themselves in line to receive an at-large bid if necessary. The Huskies have to take care of their schedule and win the games they're supposed to be winning.
On the other side, New Hampshire currently sits sixth in Hockey East, one point behind Vermont and two points ahead of both Maine and Boston University. The top six teams in the conference get a bye into the quarterfinals of the single-elimination postseason tournament. This conference looks wide open when it comes to that tournament meaning seeding is super crucial. The Wildcats defeated Boston College last Saturday, but had a three game losing streak to BU, Northeastern and BC before that win.
(Photo: Quinnipiac Women's Hockey/X)
