NCAA Women’s Hockey Elite 8 Preview
2016 NCAA Frozen Four In Durham, NH
Finally we are here, the final two weeks in women’s collegiate hockey and what an incredible year it has been. The NCAA tournament field has been announced and this Saturday, the games begin. This is the eighth season I have been able to cover women’s college hockey and I must say it has been a fun year to watch. The growing attention to the game is definitely on the rise, and the talent pool at various institutions has dispersed from the perennial powers that once dominated college hockey. From shutout records to scoring records, this season has seen some of the best college hockey to date. That being said, we did see a lot of what was expected this season, the top seeds won their conference tournaments and the top eight in the field came as no surprise.
However, the matchups that the NCAA committee formulated has to be thee most minded blowing of all time. #1 Boston College and #4 Quinnipiac were definitely given the short end of the stick and put in position to play conference opponents in the first round which is a complete no-no in the NCAA Criteria. BUT, What’s done is done and there is no point in complaining about it, we have our matchups and there is no changing it.
Let’s recaps Conference Tournament weekend before we get into the NCAA Tournament field. #1 Boston College ran into so great goaltending in Elaine Chuli for UConn but found their offense late to come away with the win. In the other Hockey East semi, Boston University pulled off the upset over #6 Northeastern to set up a chance for an auto bid into the tourney for the fifth straight year. Unfortunately for the Terriers, the Eagles were prepared for the moment and dominated the final 5-0. In the WCHA both #3 Minnesota and #2 Wisconsin battled their way to final, as expected, and in one of the greatest games I’ve seen, the Badgers won 1-0. Ann-Renee Desbiens is the real deal and Amanda Kessel’s return to the Gophers has given them a spark. #4 Quinnipiac and #5 Clarkson met in the ECAC final, practically with home ice on the line in the NCAA tourney. Both teams have great goaltending and can put together a deep run if their goalie can stay hot. We did see Clarkson win a national championship a few years ago! In the CHA Mercyhurst defeated Syracuse in overtime and for the second straight year ‘Cuse was left on the outside looking in.
Oh, #7 Princeton lost to St. Lawrence in the first round of the ECAC tournament. Just thought I should mention that.
The resulting bracket: EAST
#1 Boston College v. Northeastern
#4 Quinnipiac v. Clarkson
WEST
The Breakdown: Game by Game
Season Series: Boston College 4-0
Alex Carpenter leads BC to Hockey East Championship over BU
Top Players:
NU: Kendall Coyne 49 goals 34 assists 83 points BC: Alex Carpenter 41 goals 41 assists 82 points
The Boston College Eagles come in the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament and will have to go against Patty Kazmaier Finalist, Kendall Coyne and the Northeastern Huskies. The Huskies are making their first NCAA tournament appearance and are motivated to continue their season following the loss to Boston University in the Hockey East semis. The Eagles defeated BU in the final 5-0, to secure the automatic bid.
The Eagles and Huskies have played four times this season with BC earning the season sweep. Alex Carpenter is a Patty Kaz award finalist herself and won the award last season, she scored three goals last weekend to lead the Eagles to their second Hockey East title in program history. Katie Burt is building off of an impressive freshman campaign; the goaltender has broken records left and right at the Heights and has played particularly well against Northeastern in her young career. The Huskies will have to rely on freshman goaltender Brittany Bugalski to make some big plays in net, while first liners Haley Scamurra and Denisa Krizova will need to take the load off of Coyne. Northeastern can pull the upset but they will need help from the other units, and a strong presence on the ice at the defensive position.
Last season Boston College was defeated in three times, the Beanpot Final, the Hockey East Championship and the Frozen Four. This team is no stranger to knowing what is at stake. The adversities of the past have propelled the Eagles to make a run for a National Championship. The Northeastern Huskies have relied heavily on Kendall Coyne, but what makes Coyne great is her ability to make other players great. Her line mates have improved this season, and seem to play the Eagles very tough at Kelley Rink in Chestnut Hill. I doubt we will see a blowout here… Prediction: Boston College 4-2
#2 Wisconsin (34-3-1) vs. Mercyhurst (19-10-5)
Playoff Series: Wisconsin 3-0
Ann-Renee Desbiens has 20 shutouts this season, an NCAA Record.
Top Players:
UW: Ann-Renee Desbiens Save % (.961) GAA (0.73) 20 Shutouts MC: Rachael Smith 11 goals 18 assist 29 points
The Mercyhurst Lakers are the reason the College Hockey America Tournament draws an automatic bid. They have secured 16 straight regular season championships and just recently defeated Syracuse to claim a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals against #2 Wisconsin. The Badgers are familiar with this time of year, one of the best programs in the history of the game are on path to make yet another title run. Standing in the way are the Lakers, these two teams have met three times in post-season play twice in the quarters and once in the 2009 NCAA Championship final.
Wisconsin has swept the all time series 8-0-0 and although the two teams play in different conferences, some of these matchups have been very close. The Badgers have arguably one of the best goalies of all time in Ann-Renee Desbiens, and she is only a junior! Our Kyle Wescott released the Top Goalies and statistically she has dominated since joining the Badgers. Desbiens has 37 career shutouts, which is second in program history and third in NCAA history. The Lakers will have their hands full but with the veteran presence of Emily Janiga and the superb play of freshman Rachael Smith, can manage to put up a fight. The question will be can the young defense and goalie for Mercyhurst look past the competition and stick to the game plan. Most are expecting Wisconsin to get through easily, I do think they will be tested early but with Desbiens in net it will be hard for the Lakers to score.
As much as I want this one to be close, I think the Badgers defense is two good, and that goes beyond Ann-Renee. They are the hardest team to score on and a lot of teams struggle to even stay in the attacking zone. The Lakers can play physical and keep it close but I don’t see them getting past Desbiens in this one…
Prediciton: Wisconsin 3-0
Playoff Series: 1-0 Minnesota
Dani Cameranesi is the leading scorer for the Gophers this season (Shelley M. Szwast)
Top Players:
UM: Dani Cameranesi 32 goals 35 assist 67 points
PC: Karlie Lund 17 goals 22 assist 39 points
The defending National Champions are back to defend their title and the first team tasked to try and stop them, The Princeton Tigers. Princeton is making their second trip to the NCAA tournament since 2006 where they lost to Minnesota. The Tigers lost to St. Lawrence in the ECAC quarterfinals giving them an At-Large bid and a flight to play #3 Minnesota. The Gophers have never lost to the Tigers in nine meetings (8-0-1). Minnesota had a 17-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 1-0 loss to #2 Wisconsin in the WCHA title game but are looking for a deep run this post season.
The offense has been tremendous for Minnesota this year and Amanda Leveille led the Gophers to 10 shutouts and has set program marks for career goals against average and save percentage. Dani Cameranesi has led the offense for the Gophers, and with line mates like, Patty Kazmaier award runner up, Hannah Brandt, and Amanda Kessel playing by her side she has only gotten better. The return of Kessel has given the Gophers a spark that has kept them in the Top 3 all season long. Princeton is looking to avenge that loss in 2006 and have some solid net-minding to pull an upset. Kimberly Newell has made over 3,000 saves in her career and she will be called upon to make more. Freshman Karlie Lund has, a Patty Kaz top-10 finalist has played well for the Tigers and is looking to make a statement in her first year in the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota is 8-1 in quarterfinal games at Ridder Arena and Princeton is all too familiar with being part of that.
Minnesota has the first best power play in the country going 44 of 102 for 43%; Princeton is third in penalty kill only allowing 9 power play goals this season. Special teams will be huge in this one, so if the Tigers can limit their mistakes this will be a close one. The Gophers can blow it open at anytime, the question is will they. I was surprised they couldn’t find the back of the net against Wisconsin but Desbiens did make some amazing saves in that final. This one is tough but … Prediction: Minnesota 3-1
#4 Quinnipiac (30-2-5) vs. Clarkson (29-4-5)
Season Series: 2-0-1 Quinnipiac
Shea Tiley is leading the way in her second season
Top Players: CU: Cayley Mercer 24 goals 24 assist 48 points QU: Taylar Cianfarano 28 goals 24 assist 52 points
Making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Clarkson University will have to travel to Connecticut to take on #4 Quinnipiac for the second straight weekend. Last weekend these two teams battled it out for the ECAC Championship where the Bobcats defeated the Golden Knights 1-0, to win their first conference title in program history. The win for Quinnipiac snapped an 18-game win streak for Clarkson and gave home ice advantage to the Bobcats in a battle between the 4 and 5 seeds.
Veteran leader Cayley Mercer, who won a National Championship with the team in 2014, brings a wealth of tournament experience to this game. In the last two years the Golden Knights won a National Championship and were knocked out in the first round of the tourney last year versus Boston College. Shea Tiley for Clarkson has also had a great season and start to her career but Quinnipiac is the only team Tiley is winless against her ECAC foe (0-4-1). Quinnipiac is in the midst of their best season ever, clinching the regular season crown and conference tournament title in the same season. The Bobcats have enjoyed success against the Golden Knights since 2014, going 5-0-1 in the last six games dating back to March 8, 2014 in the ECAC Semi finals. Sydney Rossman recorded her 16th shutout on the season against the Bobcats in the ECAC final this year, tying a program record. Former U-18 National Team member Taylar Cianfarano is having a season to remember leading the team in points. The sophomore has been a catalyst to the Bobcats offense all season long. Junior Emma Woods has also played a vital role notching over 30 points, 23 of which were assists. From 2003 to 2010, Clarkson went 10-2-2 against Quinnipiac in their first 14 meetings; in the last 18 the Golden Knights have gone 8-8-2 losing the last 5 of 6.
The Bobcats are a fun team to watch, Sydney Rossman is definitely one of the top goaltenders in the country and the offense has been tremendous out scoring opponents in the last 10 games 31-10. Two of those matchups came against Clarkson with Quinnipiac winning one and tying in the other. Clarkson can pull the upset but they need Tiley to clean up the rebounds against Quinnipiac. The Bobcats have capitalized on the youth of Tiley and the Bobcats defense but with some discipline I wouldn’t count the Golden Knights out.
Prediction: Clarkson 2-1 OT
Follow Luis Sanchez on Twitter @Luis_MyW
