This past weekend in women's college hockey was marred by lots of cancelations and postponements. These are COVID times after all.
Nevertheless, there were still enough games for a fresh Power 10 ranking. A meteor could hit Earth and I'd still find a way to rank the top 10 teams after the weekend.
Of the top 10 teams, Harvard had arguably the best weekend with a win over another ranked squad.
Let's dive into the rankings.
1. Wisconsin (18-1-2) | Prev: 1
No surprise here. Wisconsin is the best team in the nation despite having its series postponed against St. Thomas this past weekend.
However, since the last Power 10 released, the Badgers did crush Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 15-1. There were no hat tricks, but Wisconsin had five players register multi-goal nights: Maddi Wheeler, Nicole LaMantia, Daryl Watts, Grace Shirley and Makenna Webster.
The Badgers are slated to play at Minnesota this upcoming weekend.
2. Northeastern (19-2-1) | Prev: 2
The Huskies stay at No. 2 this week after taking down Boston University, 3-1, this past weekend. Unfortunately, their game against New Hampshire was postponed the day before, so there's only one game to go off.
Northeastern had no issue with the Terriers, outshooting them, 47-18, and getting goals from senior forward Chloe Aurard, senior forward Mia Brown and senior Alina Mueller. Star goalie Aerin Frankel had a great day as well, stopping 17 of 18 shots.
Next on the schedule for the Huskies is a date with Boston College this Tuesday.
3. Ohio State (17-3-0) | Prev: 3
The Buckeyes fell victim to a canceled series with St. Cloud State this past weekend. Even without playing any games, Ohio State still ranks No. 1 in goals in all of college hockey with 109.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Check out all this weekend's scores
Ohio State is scheduled to host Minnesota Duluth for a series this upcoming weekend.
4. Minnesota (17-6-1) | Prev: 4
The Golden Gophers skated to a weekend split with Minnesota State, crushing the Mavericks in the first game, 7-2, and then losing, 5-4, in overtime the next day.
Redshirt senior forward Amy Potomak posted a big game in the win, potting a hat trick. Sophomore Audrey Wethington benefited most from that hat trick, assisting on each one of Potomak's goals. Senior forward Savannah Norcross also added three assists in the win.
BoBo loves January! It's her seventh goal of the month so far 😱 pic.twitter.com/WDMLPzWfvt
— Minnesota Women's Hockey (@GopherWHockey) January 15, 2022
In Game 2, Minnesota outshot Minnesota State handily, 45-32. Senior forward Abigail Boreen posted two goals and senior forward Taylor Heise added three assists.
Next on the schedule is a huge matchup with Wisconsin this weekend. That's sure to shake up the rankings.
5. Clarkson (17-2-3) | Prev: 5
The Golden Knights stay at No. 5 after their jump up the rankings last week. Unfortunately, their games against Cornell and Colgate were postponed this past weekend.
Clarkson is slated to host RPI and Union next weekend.
6. Quinnipiac (15-3-3) | Prev: 6
The Bobcats' one game this weekend, which was supposed to be against RPI, got postponed. However, Quinnipiac is scheduled to be in action Monday night at Union.
After that comes a weekend road trip to Dartmouth and Harvard.
7. Minnesota Duluth (13-7-0) | Prev: 8
Minnesota Duluth had a great weekend, sweeping Bemidji State with wins of 8-2 and 3-0.
In Game 1, the Bulldogs got multi-goal games from redshirt senior Naomi Rogge, sophomore forward Katie Davis and fifth year forward Anna Klein. Rogge and Klein both scored in the 3-0 win as well, with junior defenseman Taylor Stewart scoring one, too.
A look back at our Hockey Hits back game with @SophiesSquad. #BulldogCountry pic.twitter.com/rpyIhmDzxQ
— UMD Women's Hockey (@UMDWHockey) January 16, 2022
Bulldogs netminder Emma Soderberg registered an impressive 28-save shutout in the 3-0 win.
Minnesota Duluth is slated to travel to Ohio State this weekend to clash with the Buckeyes. Like Wisconsin-Minnesota, that will also be a huge series when it comes to these rankings.
8. Harvard (11-5-0) | Prev: 10
The Crimson jump up the most this week after two big wins this past weekend, most notably against then-No. 8 Yale.
After crushing Brown, 5-1, on Friday, Harvard hosted Yale on Saturday and got the 3-1 win despite being outshot, 21-17.
Senior defenseman Kate Glover got Harvard on the board early in the first, and then fellow-senior defenseman Emma Buckles extended the lead shortly after on the power play. That turned out to be the eventual game-winner.
Goalie Becky Dutton was outstanding in net, stopping 20 of the 21 shots sent her way.
Nice stop by Dutton in net to keep us in front.
— Harvard Women's Hockey (@HarvardWHockey) January 15, 2022
Harvard 2 | Yale 1
P3 | 15:50
Watch: https://t.co/gpnN0IQswG #GoCrimson #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/JRnzr4NGxF
Harvard looks to stay hot this Tuesday when it hosts Dartmouth.
9. Colgate (16-4-1) | Prev: 7
While Colgate's game against Clarkson was postponed on Saturday, it still played against St. Lawrence on Sunday, scoring a thrilling 2-1 win in overtime.
Freshman forward Neena Brick tipped one into the St. Lawrence net with 37 seconds left in the game to tie the score, 1-1. Then roughly two and a half minutes into OT, junior forward Kaitlyn O'Donohoe scored to win it for the Raiders.
O'DONOHOE CALLS GAME! RAIDERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/mX0a1WXMmf
— Colgate Women’s Hockey (@ColgateWIH) January 16, 2022
Colgate only drops two spots because Minnesota Duluth and Harvard had such good weekends.
BEST OF THE BEST: Here are the top players from the first half
Up next is a matchup with Cornell on Tuesday and then road games against Yale and Brown this weekend.
10. Yale (11-4-1) | Prev: 9
The Bulldogs fall a spot after their loss against Harvard. On the bright side, they did score a 4-2 win over Dartmouth the night before.
In the win, sophomore Elle Hartje, senior Tess Dettling, senior Greta Skarzynski and first-year Anna Bargman all notching goals with Bargman's being the eventual game-winner midway through the third period.
Yale looks to get back on track this Tuesday when it hosts Sacred Heart.
