Another great weekend of women's college hockey has us back for another Power 10 rankings.
This week doesn't see much movement in the top four, however, there is some serious movement in the middle of my top 10. Yes, I'm looking right at you, Quinnipiac, Yale and Minnesota Duluth.
Let's dive in.
1. Wisconsin (15-0-1) | Prev: 1
The Badgers are still ridiculously good. They steamrolled St. Thomas this past weekend, winning 7-1 on Saturday and 5-1 Sunday.
Sophomore forward Maddi Wheeler had quite the weekend, potting two goals and two assists in the first game and then adding two more assists in the second. That brings her point total to 18, which is good for fifth on the team. After this weekend, forwards Casey O'Brien (16) and Makenna Webster (14) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation for goals. Not bad.
After getting this upcoming weekend off, the Badgers will have a big test against Minnesota on December 3 and 4.
2. Ohio State (12-2) | Prev: 2
The Buckeyes had no issues with Minnesota State this weekend, taking the Mavericks down by scores of 6-3 and 9-0.
In the 6-3 win, graduate student forward Clair DeGeorge and senior forward Paetyn Lewis both posted four-point nights. In the nine-goal rout, 12 Buckeyes posted at least one point. Most notably, sophomore Jenna Buglioni registered four.
P2| Clair DeGeorge scores her second of the period with 3:22 on the clock!
— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) November 20, 2021
Ohio State 6, Minnesota State 0#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/O73keTrtiK
Next up is the D1 in DC Tournament. Ohio State will play St. Lawrence first and then Penn State.
3. Minnesota (11-3) | Prev: 3
Minnesota had another great weekend, sweeping St. Cloud State with scores of 6-2 and 5-1. Senior forwards Abigail Boreen and Taylor Heise and senior d-man Gracie Ostertag all registered two goals apiece on the weekend.
Here's a fun stat: In its last four games, Minnesota is outscoring the opposition 28-4. That's quite the goal differential.
The Gophers will look to continue dominating this weekend at the Smashville Showcase. First up is Mercyhurst, a team very close to earning a spot in these rankings, on Friday.
4. Northeastern (12-2-1) | Prev: 4
The Huskies continued strong play with two victories over good Hockey East opponents this past weekend. First up was New Hampshire, who Northeastern beat, 4-1. The following day was a 3-2 win over UConn.
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Even though Friday's win was only by three goals, the Huskies dominated, outshooting UNH, 46-13. In Saturday's game against UConn, Northeastern was down 2-0 but rattled off three-straight lamplighters over the final two periods to win the game.
Next up is a big weekend series at Princeton.
5. Quinnipiac (13-1-2) | Prev: 6
The Bobcats move up a spot on my Power 10 for two main reasons. One is they took care of business against Cornell, winning by a final of 4-0. The second, and this one is bigger, is that they took down the team that previously held this No. 5 spot.
That's right: Colgate had this spot last week, and Quinnipiac beat it, 4-0.
In its biggest win so far this season, the Bobcats got goals from sophomore forwards Sophie Urban and Nina Steigauf, junior forward Jess Schryver and first-year forward Maya Labad.
But the story of the game was graduate student goalie Corinne Schroeder. She stopped all 38 shots she faced from Colgate's relentless offensive attack, as the Bobcats were outshot, 38-13. After this weekend, Schroeder leads the nation in goals-against average with an incredible .663. She has yet to allow more than a single goal in nine games.
Next up is the Nutmeg Classic. The first game will be against Yale this Friday.
6. Yale (7-2-1) | Prev: 7
Speaking of Yale, the Bulldogs come in this week at No. 6.
They tied St. Lawrence, 4-4, Friday night and beat Clarkson, 4-2, the following day. First-year forward Anna Bargman, junior forward Claire Dalton and junior defenseman Emma Seitz all registered a goal in each game.
This one from Seitz was particularly spectacular.
Seitz's second goal was an absolute beauty!#ThisisYale pic.twitter.com/InEvty1fp1
— Yale Women’s Hockey (@YaleWHockey) November 21, 2021
Up next for Yale is a game against LIU Tuesday night. Then comes its biggest test of the season so far against Quinnipiac in the Nutmeg Classic. That will have massive implications on these rankings.
7. Colgate (13-4-1) | Prev: 5
It was a tough weekend for Colgate. The Raiders tied Princeton, 1-1, and then lost to Quinnipiac, 4-0.
Last week, I said both games would be huge tests for Colgate because each opponent was ranked. In the tie against Princeton, the offense peppered Tigers goalie Rachel McQuigge with 48 shots. She stopped 47 of them. The next day it was more of the same. Once again, Colgate put up a ton of shots (38) and once again, it ran into a hot goalie in Quinnipiac's Schroeder.
Next up is the Smashville Showcase. Colgate gets Boston College first on Friday. Saturday will bring either Minnesota or Mercyhurst — both very good opponents.
8. Minnesota Duluth (6-4) | Prev: NR
After almost a full month away from competition, the Bulldogs were back playing games. They traveled to Bemidji State this past weekend for a series with the Beavers. Friday's game was a 9-0 win, while Saturday brought a 4-1 victory. In the nine-goal win, fifth-year forward Elizabeth Giguere posted a team-high five assists.
Minnesota Duluth's next game is this weekend in the D1 in DC tournament. Its first matchup is against Penn State on Friday.
9. Clarkson (12-2-2) | Prev: 9
The Golden Knights stay put at No. 9 in these rankings after splitting this past weekend. Friday saw Clarkson take down Brown, 5-1. But the following night, Clarkson was bested by Yale, 4-2.
There were lots of signs of encouragement in the 5-1 win. The Golden Knights enjoyed scoring from all over the lineup and outshot Brown, 44-23.
Next up is a weekend set against Maine.
10. Harvard (6-3) | Prev: 10
The Crimson didn't play this past weekend, so no reason to move them out of the No. 10 spot.
Next up is a date with New Hampshire Tuesday night, another weekend off and then Union on Dec. 3.
