Americans are Golden Girls

Team USA won the World U18 championships with a 5-2 win over Team Canada on Saturday night. In the bronze medal game, it was another surprise as the Czech Republic beat heavily favored Sweden 4-2. Both of the medal games took place at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary, AB.

In earlier action on Friday, Germany doubled Russia 2-1 and Finland crushed Switzerland 7-2 in the placement games. Semifinal action saw the Americans shutout the Czechs 8-0, and the Canadians trounce the Swedes 7-1.

In the seventh place game on Saturday, Switzerland beat Russia 4-1, and Germany topped Finland 4-1 for fifth place.

Two Canadians and one American finished atop the scoring race as Canadian Marie-Philip Poulin’s eight goals and six assists in five games gave her first place with her teammate, Camille Dumais, finishing second with five goals and nine assists over the five game period. American Amanda Kessel, younger sister of Boston Bruins forward Phil Kessel, rounded out the top three with four goals and seven assists in five games.

In the net based on save percentage was Team USA’s Alyssa Grogan with her 1.00 GAA, and 0.930 SAV %. Finishing second was Switzerland’s Sophie Anthamatten as she had a goals against of 4.81 and a 0.901 SAV %. Rounding out the top three was Sweden’s Valentina Lizana as she finished with a goals against of 2.66 and save percentage of 0.900.

For their effort, Grogan and Poulin were selected by tournament directorate as the best goalie and best forward. Team Canada’s Lauriane Rougeau was selected the best blueliner.

Final Ranking

1) USA
2) Canada
3) Czech Republic
4) Sweden
5) Germany
6) Finland
7) Switzerland
8) Russia

USCHO.com Offensive Player of the Week Award

Clarkson sophomore forward Britney Selina was named the USCHO Offensive Player for the week ending January 5th. It is her second time winning the award this season. Clarkson had three goals and two assists against Vermont this weekend. She scored the game-winner and added one assist in the 5-1 win on Saturday and added two more goals and one assist on Sunday as Clarkson won 3-1.

For the week of January 13th, Harvard junior forward Sarah Vaillancourt won the award. When Harvard beat Boston College 7-0 this past weekend, Vaillancourt had five assists and also scored a goal and assisted on another one as Harvard beat Clarkson. Harvard went 3-0 on the week with a victory over St. Lawrence as well. Vaillancourt finished the weekend at +6 and is now a +19 this season. For her efforts, she was also named the ECAC Player of the Week.

Boal, Hosier, and Schols are CHA’s Best

Wayne State junior forward Melissa Boal and Mercyhurst teammates senior goalie Laura Hosier and freshman defenseman Cassea Schols are the CHA offensive, defensive, and rookie players of the week. When Wayne State swept Maine this past weekend, Boal scored two goals and assisted on one other. The assist came on the second goal on Friday as Wayne State won 5-0, and the two goals came in Saturday’s 4-3 win. Her second goal on Saturday gave the Warriors a 3-1 lead in the third.

Hosier had 32 saves against Providence on Sunday to become the all-time leader with 64 wins. She also made 10 saves in relief on Saturday for the 20th career shutout.

Schols had one goal and one assist this weekend. The assist came on the game tying goal on Saturday, a power play marker that knotted the game at 2-2. Her goal was the insurance marker on Sunday.

Dunlop and Stock Receive Other Two ECAC Awards

Rensselaer freshman forward Kendra Dunlop and Brown junior goalie Nicole Stock are the ECAC rookie and goalie of the week winners. Dunlop had two goals and one assist this past weekend and was a +3. Her two goals came as Rensselaer beat Cornell on Friday and the assist in a 1-1 overtime versus Colgate on Saturday. This is her second rookie of the week award this season.

In Brown’s split with Quinnipiac and Princeton, Stock allowed two goals. She made 22 saves in the 6-1 win on Friday as Brown broke a 14-game winless streak, and 39 in the 2-0 loss to Princeton on Saturday. Her GAA for this weekend was 1.01, and she also had a 0.968 SAV %. Like Dunlop, this is also her second time receiving this award this year.

Hockey East Awards Thunstrom, Chaisson, and Ciarletta

Boston College sophomore forward Allie Thunstrom, Connecticut freshman goalie Jennifer Chaisson, and Providence junior netminder Danielle Ciarletta as the player, rookie, and defensive players of the week. Thunstrom’s goal with 1:30 left in regulation on Saturday forced the game against Minnesota into overtime. Her goal in the second period of that game brought Boston College to within a goal in a game that ended in a 2-2 tie.

Chaisson netted two goals and four assists against Vermont this past weekend. Two of the goals and one assist came in Friday’s 5-1 win, with three more assists coming as Connecticut won 6-0 on Saturday.

As Providence beat Mercyhurst 7-3 on Saturday, Ciarletta made 35 saves. She had a season-high 44 saves on Sunday in the 3-0 loss.

Demule, Kuyper, and Bauerfeld Are WCHA Best

Minnesota-Duluth senior forward Karine Demule, St. Cloud State senior defender Brittni Kuyper, and Bemidji State freshman forward Annie Bauerfeld have won the WCHA offensive, defensive, and rookie player of the week awards. Demule added two goals and one assist as UMD swept Minnesota State on the road this weekend. Her two goals were game-winners with one coming with six seconds left in regulation on Friday and the assist coming on the game tying goal. The Bulldogs’ third goal on Saturday in the 5-2 win was her other game-winner this weekend.

Kuyper had three assists as St. Cloud beat Ohio State 5-4 on Saturday to go along with five shots on goal over the weekend. In Bemidji’s only WCHA win this season on Friday, Bauerfeld had two assists for her first career multi assist and multi-point game.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine USCHO.com Polls

In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, New Hampshire was voted first with 16 of 19 first-place votes and 187 points; it was the third consecutive week. Harvard received the final three first place votes to jump from third to second and Minnesota Duluth (161) went from second to third. Minnesota went from fourth to third, and Wisconsin (111) from sixth to fifth to complete the top five.

Those teams also occupy the same order on the USCHO.com poll with New Hampshire receiving 12 of the 15 first place votes and Harvard the final three.

St. Cloud State University returned to the poll at No. 10 after a one-week absence.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll - #15

1) University of New Hampshire, 187
2) Harvard University, 165
3) University of Minnesota Duluth
4) University of Minnesota, 120
5) University of Wisconsin, 111
6) St. Lawrence University, 98
7) Mercyhurst College, 79
8) University of Connecticut, 47
9) Dartmouth College, 34
10) St. Cloud State University, 27

USCHO.com Poll

1) New Hampshire
2) Harvard
3) Minnesota-Duluth
4) Minnesota
5) Wisconsin
6) Mercyhurst
7) St. Lawrence
8) Connecticut
9) St. Cloud State
10) Dartmouth

Others Receiving Votes: Boston College 6, Clarkson 1, Providence 1

Games This Week

In NCAA action this week, New Hampshire kicked off the week with a 6-0 blanking of Northeastern on Thursday.

Friday’s action saw Wayne State shutting out Maine 5-0, while Rensselaer edged Cornell 4-3, Colgate beat Union 5-2, Harvard shutout St. Lawrence 2-0, Dartmouth and Clarkson played to a 3-3 OT tie, Yale got by Princeton 5-3, Brown demolished Quinnipiac 6-1, Connecticut crushed Vermont 5-1, Bemidji beat North Dakota 4-1, Minnesota Duluth doubled Minnesota State 2-1, and Ohio State and St. Cloud State played to a 2-2 OT tie.

On Saturday, Providence skated all over Mercyhurst in a 7-3 win, Wayne State edged Maine 4-3, Rensselaer and Colgate played to a 1-1 overtime draw, Cornell blanked Union 3-0, St. Lawrence beat Dartmouth 5-2, Harvard got past Clarkson 3-1, Princeton shutout Brown 2-0, Yale defeated Quinnipiac 5-2, Boston College and Minnesota played to a 2-2 draw in the extra frame, Connecticut shutout Vermont 6-0, North Dakota blanked Bemidji State 1-0, St. Cloud State nipped Ohio State 5-4, and Minnesota-Duluth beat Minnesota State 5-2.

A light schedule on Sunday saw three games take place. Mercyhurst turned the tables on Providence from Saturday’s 7-0 shutout with a 3-0 shutout of their own, Minnesota doubled Boston College 2-1, and Boston University beat Northeastern 3-1.

The Leaders

As all games in CHA action were non-conference games, there was no change for teams in the conference standings and scoring and goalie statistics from last week. Overall, Mercyhurst still leads the standings with their 15-5-2 record. Mercyhurst sophomore forward Meghan Agosta leads the overall scoring statistics with 25 goals and 18 assists over 22 games played. Senior goalie and teammate, Laura Hosier, leads all netminders with her 11-4-2 record, 1.98 GAA, and 0.920 save percentage.

In the ECAC, Harvard leads the conference standings with 13 wins in 13 games and the overall standings with their 16-1-0 record. Dartmouth sophomore forward Jenna Cunningham leads the conference scoring race with 10 goals and 15 assists, and has the overall lead with 17 goals and 20 assists.

Harvard sophomore Christina Kessler is the conference leader in the nets as she has 12 wins in 12 games to go along with her GAA of 1.88 and 0.962 SAV %. Clarkson freshman Lauren Dahm leads the overall goalie stats with her 6-1-0 record, 0.93 GAA, and 0.944 SAV %.

New Hampshire leads both the Hockey East and overall standings with 10 wins and no losses in the conference and 19 wins against three losses and no ties overall.
The Wildcats’ junior forward Sam Faber leads the conference scoring statistics with eight goals and 12 assists. Connecticut sophomore forward Dominique Thibault leads the overall side with 16 goals and 15 assists.

In the Hockey East nets, New Hampshire freshman Kayley Herman has a 9-0-0 record, 0.88 GAA, and 0.930 SAV % to lead all conference goalies. She also leads all conference goalies with her 17-2-0 record, 1.17 GAA, and 0.933 SAV %.

Minnesota-Duluth leads the WCHA conference and overall standings with their 15-3-0 WCHA record and have an 18-3-1 record overall.

There is a new leader in the conference scoring race as Ohio State senior defender Tessa Bonhomme has 10 goals and 16 assists. Overall Minnesota-Duluth freshman forward Iya Gavrilova has 14 goals and 18 assist to put her into first place.

Minnesota-Duluth sophomore Kim Martin leads all conference goalies as she has 12 wins, three losses, and no ties, a GAA of 1.40 and an 0.952 save percentage. She is also the overall leader with her 15-3-1 record, 1.30 GAA, and 0.956 SAV %.

The Coming Week

Two games on Thursday will kick off play this week as Dartmouth hosts New Hampshire, and Northeastern travels across town to Boston College.

On Friday, Rensselaer takes on Robert Morris at home, Wayne State hosts Quinnipiac, Yale makes their way to Mercyhurst, Niagara hosts Brown, St. Lawrence is home to Cornell, Clarkson welcomes Colgate, Vermont is in St. Cloud for a game against the Huskies, Bemidji State hosts Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota takes on Minnesota in Grand Forks, and Wisconsin travels to Columbus for a game against Ohio State.

Saturday’s action will see a number of series finish up as Quinnipiac winds up their visit to Wayne State, Rensselaer completes their series with Robert Morris, Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State, North Dakota and Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin, and Vermont and St. Cloud also finish up their match-ups.

In the other games, Sacred Heart travels to Union, St. Lawrence hosts Colgate, Cornell travels to Clarkson, Mercyhurst is at home to Brown, Yale is at Niagara, New Hampshire is at home to Providence, Boston University welcomes Connecticut, and New Hampshire takes on Providence in Durham.

On Sunday, Union hosts Sacred Heart, Boston College is at home to Dartmouth, Providence hosts Boston University, and Maine takes on Northeastern at home.