Post #57 – 9/30/21 – Weekend Recap, More Coaches Polls, CAN U18’s Cancelled, Sifters
In This Post…
- D-I Weekend Recap |
- More Coaches Polls |
- Hockey Canada Cancels U18’s – Again |
- Sifters |
D-I Weekend Recap
Game results, box scores, and statistics come directly from the NCAA Stats Site (found here).
Video highlight links are to individual program produced media, some of which may be found on team twitter or other social media accounts – so scroll the feed to see the game highlights.
Postgame links are any postgame video produced by individual programs and found on either team websites or social media accounts.
No link… for video highlights or postgame? Assume there was none available at the time of our post.
Game Results, Box Scores, Video Highlights, Postgame
Thursday, Sept 23rd
| St. Lawrence 1 |
| @ #9/10 Penn State 0 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
Friday, Sept 24th
| RIT 1 |
| @ #4/6 Colgate 8 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Maine 2 |
| @ #10/NR Quinnipiac 3 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Sacred Heart 1 |
| @ #NR/10 Clarkson 6 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Minnesota State 3 |
| @ Merrimack 0 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| St. Thomas 0 |
| @ #3/3 Ohio State 6 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Long Island Univ. 1 |
| @ UCONN 3 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| RPI 1 |
| @ Mercyhurst 2 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| St. Lawrence 2 |
| @ Penn State 2 (OT) |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| #1/1 Wisconsin 8 |
| @ Lindenwood 1 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
Saturday, Sept 25th
| St. Michael’s College 1 |
| @ Vermont 12 (exhibition) |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Franklin Pierce 2 |
| @ #2/2 Northeastern 4 (Exhibition) |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Sacred Heart 1 |
| @ #NR/10 Clarkson 5 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| St. Thomas 1 |
| @ #3/3 Ohio State 4 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Maine 1 |
| @ #10/NR Quinnipiac 5 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Long Island Univ. 0 |
| @ UCONN 2 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| RPI 0 |
| @ Mercyhurst 2 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| Minnesota State 9 |
| @ Merrimack 3 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| #1/1 Wisconsin 10 |
| @ Lindenwood 0 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
| #4/6 Colgate 13 |
| @ RIT 0 |
| Box / Video Highlights / Postgame |
Observations
- 20 games played, 1 Thursday, 9 Friday, and 10 on Saturday.
- The home team went 13-6-1 last weekend.
- Colgate @ RIT Saturday drew 1350 in attendance, the largest crowd of the weekend. RPI/M’Hurst came in 2nd with 726 on Saturday. According to the NCAA Stats Site, 8,140 spectators attended the 20 games scheduled, an ave. of 407/game.
- The average margin of victory per win this weekend was 4.65 goals. Exactly half of the games this weekend saw 5 goals or more scored by the winning team.
- SLU/Penn State played the first overtime 3 on 3 game this year… with no winner.
- St. Thomas played its first ever games as a member of Division I and the WCHA.
- There we 7 shutouts.
- Minnesota-State Mankato had the furthest road trip of any program this weekend… according to Apple Maps, it’s 1425 miles from Mankato, MN to North Andover, MA where Merrimack College is located.
Weekly Top 10 Rankings
We publish two nationally recognized ‘Top 10’ polls – 1) USCHO.com Women’s Top 10 Poll and 2) USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine Top 10 Women’s Poll.
The USCHO.com ranking will be listed first and the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine ranking listed second when identifying rankings for teams. Example, ‘#4/5’
USCHO Division I Women’s Poll – September 27, 2021
| Rnk | Team | (First Place Votes) | Record | Points | Last Poll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wisconsin | (14) | 2-0-0 | 149 | 1 |
| 2 | Northeastern | (1) | 0-0-0 | 135 | 2 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 2-0-0 | 111 | 3 | |
| 4 | Colgate | 2-0-0 | 93 | 6 | |
| 4 | Minnesota | 0-0-0 | 93 | 4 | |
| 6 | Minnesota Duluth | 0-0-0 | 85 | 5 | |
| 7 | Boston College | 0-0-0 | 48 | 7 | |
| 8 | Cornell | 0-0-0 | 41 | 8 | |
| 9 | Princeton | 0-0-0 | 20 | 10 | |
| 10 | Quinnipiac | 2-0-0 | 19 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Clarkson 17, Harvard 9, Providence 3, Penn State 2
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll
September 28, 2021
| # RK | Team | Points | (First Place Votes) | Last Poll | Record | Weeks in Poll |
| 1 | University of Wisconsin | 190 | (19) | 1 | 2-0-0 | 3 |
| 2 | Northeastern University | 163 | 2 | 0-0-0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Ohio State University | 143 | 3 | 2-0-0 | 3 | |
| 4 | University of Minnesota | 120 | 5 | 0-0-0 | 3 | |
| 5 | University of Minnesota Duluth | 107 | 4 | 0-0-0 | 3 | |
| 6 | Colgate University | 106 | 6 | 2-0-0 | 3 | |
| 7 | Cornell University | 65 | 7 | 0-0-0 | 3 | |
| 8 | Boston College | 59 | 8 | 0-0-0 | 3 | |
| 9 | Princeton University | 40 | 9 | 0-0-0 | 3 | |
| 10 | Clarkson University | 22 | NR | 2-0-0 | 1 |
Others receiving votes: Quinnipiac 12, Providence 10, Harvard 6, Penn State 2.
More Coaches Polls
The NEWHA and Hockey East have released their 21-22 Preseason Coaches Polls. In just its third year, Long Island University claims the NEWHA’s top spot while in Hockey East, Northeastern was picked to finish first by league coaches. You can see both polls below.
2021-2022 New England Women’s Hockey Alliance Preseason Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS (FIRST PLACE VOTES) |
| 1. | LIU | 25 pts. (5) |
| 2. | Sacred Heart | 19 pts. (1) |
| 3. | Franklin Pierce | 18 pts. |
| 4. | Saint Anselm | 14 pts. |
| 5. | Saint Michael’s | 9 pts. |
| 6. | Post | 5 pts. |
2021-2022 Hockey East Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Pts. |
| 1. | Northeastern (9) | 90 |
| 2. | Providence (1) | 75 |
| 3. | Boston College | 70 |
| 4. | UConn | 67 |
| 5. | Boston University | 59 |
| 6. | Vermont | 52 |
| 7. | Maine | 43 |
| 8. | New Hampshire | 40 |
| 9. | Holy Cross | 25 |
| 10. | Merrimack | 19 |
Hockey Canada Cancels Under-18’s
Originally this was going to be a little boo-hoo blurb in our Sifters section, but as I got going on it, it became what it is below.
Monday evening, Hockey Canada announced the cancellation of three events slated to take place this fall due to ongoing COVID concerns. The 2021 National Women’s Under-18 Championships was one of them, an event cancelled last Fall and one many NCAA schools were looking forward to getting to. So our questions is this: Was there back-up plan?
Here is part of Hockey Canada’s official statement, “Despite a strong desire to work with three great communities to host the top players at various levels across the country this season, the health and safety of all participants and the communities at large continues to be of the utmost importance to Hockey Canada. The ongoing pandemic, in addition to the vaccination status of some international teams, has left us with no other option. We believe the decision to cancel these fall events is the safest decision given the ongoing uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic at a local level, as well as the uncertainty around countries and regions being able to safely compete...”
The Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup and 2021 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge were the two other events cancelled. Other countries were set to compete at these two events. Looking at the above statement, we can buy the rationale for cancelling based on Canada requiring certain types of vaccines for entry. If teams can’t meet the requirement, than you have no choice but to cancel the event. But the Women’s U-18 don’t involve outside countries – just provincial U-18 teams. If conditions are such, that the intended locale doesn’t meet Hockey Canada standards, move to plan B. Why not announce a postponement with a clear plan to either move to a plan B – which would have already been figured out in advance – or a path investigate alternative locations or dates? Didn’t Hockey Canada just go through this a few months back with the Women’s Worlds being canceled? Didn’t Hockey Canada already have a front row seat for this?
A quick glance of Canadian Major Junior or Tier II Jr. A league schedules tells us games are being played across provincial lines, even US based teams are crossing into Canada. So what got missed? The development of a ‘what if’ plan to hold the event elsewhere if conditions warranted, that’s what. Organizations have had to learn to adapt in our new COVID world–event organizers need back-up plans! NCAA – you are on the clock too, should COVID concerns derail any championships in its intended locale, have a plan B. Insert hand slapping face emoji here. What’s the saying, history is doomed to repeat itself? Until it doesn’t.
Like most things in life you either want to do something and can. You want to do something but can’t, because of some limitation preventing you. Or – you just don’t want to do it. Curious to know where this situation falls. Health and safety should never be compromised – no question. The lack of explanation about possible alternatives leaves a lot to be answered. Where on the priority list does the Women’s Under-18 Championships fall?
Kudos to Manitoba Hockey for their statement HERE about putting in the work to find an alternative. Leadership comes in all forms, but sometimes, all it takes is effort.
Sifters
ECAC YouTube Page… The ECAC has its own YouTube page found HERE. Viewers can watch game highlights of ECAC teams. We hope to see more highlights this season.
CHA Celebrates 20 Years… College Hockey America is celebrating its 20th season as a D-I conference with five insitutitions–Lindenwood, Mercyhurst, Penn State, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Syracuse. The league was founded back in 2002-2003 as a four-team conference with Findlay University, Mercyhurst University, Niagara University, and Wayne State University. Sadly, only one program still remains active – Mercyhurst. Quinnipiac came into the CHA for the 2004-2005 after being an independent after Findlay dropped its program. Even Ohio State was a conference member of the CHA for a brief time prior to the 04-05 season before becoming a member of the WCHA (again). Mercyhurst has been to the NCAA tournament 17 times, Robert Morris twice, RIT and Syracuse once each.
CHA NCAA Auto-bid Situation… D-I NCAA conferences in women’s ice hockey must have 6 active members to be eligible for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. With Robert Morris’ program still in doubt of starting back up, the CHA would need to find a 6th team by the ’23-’24 season or be in jeopardy of losing its auto bid. Conferences have a two-year grace period to find a 6th team under NCAA rules.
Hockey East Continues Free Streams… Hockey East will once again stream all of its conference games online, live, and for free. You can read the official announcement from Hockey East HERE. Hockey East provided free streams of its women’s and men’s game last season. Also in the coming days will be an announcement about the 21-22 TV schedule of Hockey East women’s and men’s games on NESN and NESN+.
2022 Olympic Schedule Released, Qualifying Tournaments Up Next… The IIHF announced the women’s hockey 2022 Olympic schedule last week. You can find it HERE. Games are set to begin Feb. 3, 2022 and the Gold Medal Game will be Thursday Feb. 17, 2022. Seven nations have already qualified, Canada, China (host–automatic qualification granted) Finland, Japan, Russian Olympic Committee, Switzerland, and The United States. 3 spots are still up for grabs. These will be determined by 2 qualifying tournaments held below:
Olympic Pre-Qualification Round 2 (7-10 October 2021)
| Group F | Group G | Group H |
| (in Nottingham/GBR) | (in Torre Pellice/ITA) | (in Bytom/POL) |
| Korea | Italy | Netherlands |
| Great Britain | Kazakhstan | Poland |
| Slovenia | Spain | Mexico |
| Iceland | Chinese Taipei | Turkey |
Final Olympic Qualification (11-14 November 2021)
| Group C | Group D | Group E |
| (in Chomutov/CZE) | (in Fussen/GER) | (in Lulea/SWE) |
| Czech Republic | Germany | Sweden |
| Hungary | Denmark | France |
| Norway | Austria | Slovakia |
| Q6 | Q5 | Q4 |
OWHA Mandates Vaccines… The Ontario Women’s Hockey Association, in consultation with Ontario health officials, is mandating as a condition of eligibility, all players born 2009 or earlier to be fully vaccinated (2 shots + 14 days after 2nd shot) no later than Nov. 1. You can read there official statement HERE.
Stop & Go Offsides… We mentioned our displeasure about the new USA Hockey offsides rule. Looks like former Pittsburgh Penguin Ian Moran feels similarly – see his tweet below.
Until Next Time…
21-22 Streaming Info
-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games in the ECAC.
-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary.
-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.
NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.
Give Someone a Stick Tap… Know someone in women’s college hockey who’s work needs some recognition? Nominate them for WCH.org’s monthly ‘Stick Tap’ HERE or Email us at: womenscollegehockey@gmail.com
Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.
Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 3rd season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amatuer and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.