Bring on League Play: All Things Women's Hockey East

Before we look at this week's matchup and the latest in Hockey East, we'll set the stage with a quick reminder of how the women fared last weekend:

After failing to score in a series opening loss to No. 9 Clarkson, UConn responded with a 3-2 victory the following night. Brooke Campbell would have a hand in all three goals, including scoring the game winner just over halfway through the second period. Tia Chan was at her best in the third period, saving all 19 shots to see out the victory.

Boston College handled Saint Anselm 4-1 for the Eagles first victory of the season, despite a program record 66 saves for the Hawks’ Kayla Czukoski. Kate Hamm had a pair of goals and an assist while freshman Ava Thomas continued an impressive start to her career with four points, a goal and a trio of assists.

Northeastern swept RIT to open up the final season of hockey at Matthew’s Arena. The Huskies were slow starters in both games, trailing 2-1 after the first period on Friday and 1-0 going into the final period of the weekend. In that final frame, Northeastern struck three times with goals from Ella Blackmore, Riley Jones, and Morgan Jackson.

"I love this team more than anything, I love this rink, I love the Doghouse, everyone's so awesome."

Captain Lily Shannon on winning at home to start the season 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GPkjwWnyQ4
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey) October 4, 2025

Merrimack salvaged the weekend with a shootout victory on Saturday after dropping the Friday matchup 4-2. Adrenna Doucette would save all three shootout attempts, while Maria Lindberg and McKenzie Cerrato converted their opportunities.

Overall the conference went just 7-11-1 in the weekend's non-conference slate.

Hockey East in the Polls

Only three teams are ranked this week, but none in the top 10:

No. 11 Connecticut
No. 13 Northeastern
No. 14 Boston University
Receiving Votes: Boston College

Hockey East Play Set to Begin

After the conference’s ten schools opened their season over two weeks of non-conference play, we get our first taste of conference action with three games over two days of action. A Friday doubleheader opens up league play with Providence making the road trip to Matthews Arena to face Northeastern, followed by another game across town as Boston College hosts historical rival Holy Cross. On Saturday, the Eagles will travel down I-95 to face the Friars to complete a weekend of catholic rivalries for BC.

Northeastern and Providence went back and forth all season for the final hosting spot in last season’s Hockey East quarterfinals, with the Friars eventually settling into the fourth seed and the Huskies right behind them in fifth. However, in the quarterfinal matchup Northeastern picked up a 3-2 victory en route to a championship game appearance.

Holy Cross finally picked up their first win over Boston College last season, after going 0-16-1 in the first 17 meetings between the schools. After splitting an early season series, the Crusaders would win in overtime just under two months later to clinch the season series. It signalled what would become a worrying trend for the Eagles, as they struggled against teams near the bottom of the league, also losing to last place Merrimack on the road.

The home school won each of the three Boston College-Providence matchups last season, two at Conte Forum and one at Schneider Arena. The highlight of the series was a 2-1 overtime victory for the Eagles, capped off by a Julia Pellerin overtime winner just thirty seconds into the extra frame, assisted by Abby Newhook, who would go on to be drafted by the Boston Fleet, and Grace Campbell, who saved 38 of the 39 shots she faced.

Non-conference Slate

Happy Friday!

Don't miss any of the action ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/BXUVhy6nr4
— Hockey East (@hockey_east) October 10, 2025

In non-conference action, the biggest matchup of the weekend features No. 14 Boston University traveling to No. 8 Colgate in a nationally-ranked matchup. The Terriers look to get into the win column for the first time this season after dropping a pair at home to No. 3 Minnesota. It will be the first ever meeting of the two programs.

Vermont continues a stretch of five straight ranked opponents to open the season, heading up to Canton, New York to face No. 12 St. Lawrence. The Catamounts hung tight with No. 6 Penn State but fell by a pair of goals in each game, an impressive showing for a team picked to finish tied for seventh in Hockey East. This will be the 13th and 14th meeting between the two programs, with the Saints holding a 8-3-1 edge. The two teams split the series last season in Burlington.

New Hampshire will also head out to New York, as the Wildcats look to extend their two game win streak where they face Union. The games will be the 10th and 11th all-time, with New Hampshire holding an 8-2-0 edge in the series.

The final two game series of the weekend sees Merrimack head South to Missouri to face Lindenwood. The Warriors are coming off a shootout win over Union last time out and won both games over the Lions last season at home.

The remaining single game sets are Maine hosting Saint Anselm on Friday and Northeastern following up their conference opener with a non-conference matchup at home against RPI.

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