BC Bulletin

Potential National Championship Preview, Hockey East and Beanpot Rematch: Women's Hockey Weekly Preview

Ten ranked on ranked matchups across the country on Halloween weekend, including four in the ECAC and a trio of WCHA series, as well as a tilt between crosstown rivals in Boston.
Chris Vogel|
Wisconsin have been nearly unbeatable and will put their perfect record on the line against Minnesota.
Wisconsin have been nearly unbeatable and will put their perfect record on the line against Minnesota. | Nolan Kromke, uwbadgers.com

No. 3 Minnesota heads to No.1 Wisconsin in potential national championship preview

No team has had a tougher schedule to start the season anywhere in the country than Minnesota, who faced eight ranked opponents in the first ten games, with the other two games coming against a Boston College team knocking on the door of joining the club. The road only gets tougher for the Golden Gophers as they have a road trip to face the defending national champions and top-ranked Wisconsin on tap this Halloween weekend. Minnesota has managed to skate through the start to its calendar with relative ease with its only blemish being a split with No. 2 Ohio State and having posted 51 goals to just 16 goals conceded.

The offense runs through Abbey Murphy and for good reason. The All-American senior knows how to contribute when the lights are the brightest, leading the nation with seven game winners last season and combining for seven multi-point games against Wisconsin and Ohio State during her career. She will look to continue her hot start. So far, she has posted 22 points in the first ten games of the year and is hoping to continue her run of productivity against the nations best.

Wisconsin has been even more dominant as the team is unbeaten in its last 37 games and is a perfect 10-0 on the season. However, it has not faced the same level of competition, with its only two ranked games coming against Minnesota Duluth, one of which was a 4-3 thriller that barely saw the Badgers keep their streak intact. 

Junior goaltender Ava McNaughton has been the engine for the Badgers, taking nothing away from an offense that’s posted 56 goals to start the season. She has recorded shutouts in half of her ten starts while posting a minuscule 0.63 goals against average. The Bishop Kearny Selects product has managed to surpass sky high expectations after leading Wisconsin to a pair of national championships in her first two years.

Wisconsin enters every weekend with a target on its back but has an opportunity at home to send a message that it is still sit at the top of the food chain with everyone chasing far behind. On the other side, the Golden Gophers look to prove that they can compete for a national championship and stand toe to toe with everyone and there is no better place to prove it than La Bahn Arena.

Hockey East title rematch between No. 12 Northeastern and Boston University

Northeastern looks to extract revenge in a rematch of last season’s Hockey East championship game where Sydney Healey lifted Boston University to the title just shy of five minutes into overtime. Heley is back for her senior campaign and leads the Terriers in all three of the core offensive statistics; goals (three), assists (four), and points (seven).

The Ontario native highlights a strong senior class that brings championship pedigree and a high level of skill and productivity to the offensive end who will play a vital role in the Terriers first test against the top flight of Hockey East opposition. Clara Yuhn has been an increased focus in the offense with the Michigander recording the second-most shots on the team (19) and posting two points in the process. The Welcke twins, Lilli and Luisa, infuse some European flavor into the lineup, boasting more international experience than any other player in the conference. They made their IIHF U18 World Championship debuts at just 14 and have senior level experience with the German national team. Perhaps, they are equally unmatched in pressure felt this season as they hit the ice every weekend knowing German boss Jeff MacLeod may be watching from afar as he makes his final decisions for which 23 will be on the flight to Milan this February, a team that both sisters hope to be on but are not assured of a spot.


Tasked with slowing down the veteran laden offense is sophomore standout Lisa Jönsson who burst onto the scene last year after seizing the starting job midway through the season just months after coming over from her native Sweden. She has posted seven shutouts in just 29 starts on her way to a making the All-USCHO Rookie team. Her coming out party was the Beanpot, earning tournament MVP honors after lifting the Huskies past Boston College in the semifinals and blanking Boston University in the championship in front of a record crowd at TD Garden. She’ll get her first crack at the Terriers this season, an opponent that will define Jönsson’s legacy on Huntington Ave.

For Boston University, a sweep could vault the Terriers back into the rankings and right the shift after it dropped five straight to start the year before finally getting in the win column against New Hampshire. Northeastern looks to bounce back after being swept in a ranked non-conference road series against Quinnipiac and help legitimize a four game win streak to start the season before the losses to the Bobcats.

 Wrist Shots: Two-Sentence Previews of Games to Watch

No. 5 Minnesota Duluth at No. 10 St. Cloud State (Friday, Saturday)

Outside of a pair of series against top three ranked opposition, Minnesota Duluth has passed every test in front of it with Ève Gascon leading the way in net. She has notched a goals against average of just 1.16 in the six wins, along with a three shutouts. The Bulldogs have an opportunity to prove they’re the best in the second tier of teams across the country when they take on a top-ten St Cloud squad desperately looking to break out of a slump that has seen the Huskies win just one of their top seven as they try to get back on track before the season becomes a lost cause.

#2 Ohio State at #13 St. Thomas (Friday, Saturday)

A strong junior class has led St. Thomas to a 7-3 start with Ella Boerger, Rylee Bartz, and Madison Brown all averaging more than a point per game. The third years would be more than happy to continue the streak of three straight weekend splits as it would give the Tommies their first-ever victory over an Ohio State program that has come out victorious in all 18 matchups.

No. 14 Yale at No. 4 Cornell (Friday)

Big Red has been off to a dominant start in large part to strong performances from the defensive core and two time ECAC Goalie of the Week Annalies Bergmann who have held opposition to under a goal per game. On the other end, Yale looks to continue a strong offensive start after posting four or more goals in three of its first four games.

No.15 Brown at No. 11 Colgate (Friday)

Brown is back in the national rankings for just the second time in almost two decades after Rory Edwards stepped up in the net and blanked the then-seventh ranked Bobcats. If Brown wants to snap a 13-game skid against Colgate and pick up its first ever win in Hamilton, Edwards will have to help neutralize a deep Colgate attack led by Emma Pais who has already posted eight goals and six assists in eight games.

No. 15 Brown at No. 4 Cornell (Saturday)

In addition to looking for its first win in Hamilton, Brown will also be looking for its first win in two decades in Ithaca as the Bears look to put some demons to rest in what could be a historic season. Cornell has posted three goals or more in each of its first five games, as well as five in each of the last three, with a half dozen players currently sitting as point per game players or better.

No. 14 Yale at No. 11 Colgate (Saturday)

Carina DiAntonio was named ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week after scoring all four goals in an overtime victory against Princeton. Colgate countered with Brooke Davis who stopped all 35 shots she faced against Harvard in her first career shutout.

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Chris Vogel
CHRIS VOGEL

Chris Vogel has spent the last five years in sports media; including as a play-by-play broadcaster for ACC Network Extra and Hockey East on ESPN. He’s a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and in his final year as a graduate student at Boston College, where he serves as the radio voice of Boston College Women’s Hockey on WZBC 90.3; the flagship radio network of Boston College Women’s Athletics. He’s the host of the “All Things Hockey” podcast, and cover women’s college hockey for College Hockey On SI.

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