A strong schedule of non-conference match-ups will face several of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams on the weekend of Nov. 24-26.
After the Thanksgiving holiday, #4 Minnesota and St. Thomas will play at the DI in DC tournament. The Tommies will open play on Nov. 24 with a game against Harvard, while Minnesota will challenge #8 Cornell. UST will then play Cornell and Minnesota will play Harvard on Nov. 25. #1 Ohio State will host #6 St. Lawrence on Nov. 24-25, while #2 Colgate will play at #7/9 Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 24-25. The week’s WCHA schedule will be completed with Minnesota State’s trip to Nashville for the Smashville Showcase. The Mavericks will play Robert Morris on Nov. 25 and finish with a Nov. 26 game against Boston University.
WCHA GAMES ON NOV. 24-26, 2023
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24
Minnesota vs. Cornell (DI in DC Tourney) - Noon
St. Thomas vs. Harvard (DI in DC Tourney)- 4:00 p.m.
St. Lawrence at Ohio State - 5:00 p.m.
Colgate at Minnesota Duluth - 6:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25
St. Thomas vs. Cornell (DI in DC Tourney) - 1:00 p.m.
St. Lawrence at Ohio State - 2:00 p.m.
Harvard vs. Minnesota (DI in DC Tourney) - 3:00 p.m.
Colgate at Minnesota Duluth - 3:00 p.m.
Minnesota St. vs. Robert Morris (Smashvile Showcase)- 4:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26
Minnesota St. vs. Boston University (Smashvile Showcase)- Noon
WCHA NOTES AND NEWS:
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SAVE THE DATE: Mark your calendars for March 8-9 and the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff tournament at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Tickets for the WCHA Final Faceoff will go on sale on Nov. 22 at 10 a.m. For complete ticket details, please visit www.wcha.com/finalfaceoff
POLL POSITION: In the Division I national polls this week, Ohio State moved up to the number one spot in both polls after its weekend sweep of previous #1 Wisconsin on Nov. 17-18. The Badgers dropped two spots to number three in both polls, while Minnesota remained at #4. Minnesota Duluth moved up to #7 in The Rink Live/USA Hockey poll and was ranked #9 in the USCHO.com poll. St. Cloud State was ranked #10 in both of the polls.
LAST WEEK: In last week’s spotlight game featuring the nation’s two top ranked teams, Ohio State scored a 3-0 and 2-1 OT sweep against visting Wisconsin, which marked the Badgers’ first two losses of the season and UW’s first shutout loss since a 1-0 loss against SCSU on Feb. 3, 2023. In another top 10 battle, Minnesota ventured north to the Twin Ports and gained a pair of 3-1 wins over Minnesota Duluth. In a home-home series, St. Cloud State added two more shutouts with a 1-0 and 2-0 sweep against St. Thomas. In a pair of OT showdowns, Bemidji State opened its weekend at home with a 3-2 OT win over Minnesota State on Nov. 17. The Mavericks returned on Nov. 18 and gained a 3-2 OT win at BSU.
Raygan Kirk
THIS WEEK: WCHA teams will face a variety of non-conference foes during the weekend of Nov. 24-26. After the Thanksgiving holiday, Minnesota and St. Thomas will play at the DI in DC tournament. The Tommies will open play on Nov. 24 with a game against Harvard, while Minnesota will challenge #8 Cornell. UST will then play Cornell and Minnesota will play Harvard on Nov. 25. Ohio State will host #6 St. Lawrence on Nov. 24-25, while #2 Colgate will play at Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 24-25. The week’s WCHA schedule will be completed with Minnesota State’s trip to Nashville for the Smashville Showcase. The Mavericks will play Robert Morris on Nov. 25 and finish with a Nov. 26 game against Boston University.
NCAA CHAMPS: Wisconsin won the 2023 NCAA Division I women’s hockey championship. The Badgers scored a 1-0 victory over WCHA rival Ohio State in the championship game. The Badgers will celebrate its 2023 title with a special NCAA championship banner ceremony in Madison on Friday, Oct. 6 when the Badgers host non-conference rival Boston College.
HOWIES TOP PERFORMANCE: The WCHA Howies Hockey Tape Performance of the Week award went to Ohio State goalie Raygan Kirk. A senior, Kirk posted a 3-0 shutout win over then ranked #1 Wisconsin on Nov. 17 in Columbus, Ohio. Kirk made 19 saves in the contest for the Buckeyes.
STERLING EFFORTS: This week’s Sterllng Trophy WCHA Players of the Week included two from Ohio State and two from Bemidji State. Ohio State’s Jennifer Gardiner was named the WCHA Forward fo the Week and teammate Raygan Kirk was named the WCHA Goalie of the Week. Of note, this was Gardiner’s second WCHA Forward of the Week award and Kirk’s third Goalie of the Week award in 2023-24. Bemidji State’s Khloe Lund was named the WCHA Defender of the Week and BSU’s Hailey Armstrong was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week for games played on Nov. 17-18.
CHANGES AT MSU: Minnesota State women’s head coach John Harrington will temporarily step away from his role to undergo hip surgery. The procedure will be performed on Monday, November 20. Accordingly, Director of Athletics, Kevin Buisman, announced Shari Dickerman has been tabbed as Associate Head Coach and will also serve as Acting Head Coach, during Harrington’s unspecified leave of absence from the bench. Harrington was appointed to the head coaching position with the Mavericks in May 2015 and is in his eighth season at the helm. He is assisted by Dickerman, Jeff Giesen and Alli Altmann..
25th CELEBRATION: Minnesota and Ohio State will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of women’s hockey in the WCHA on Dec. 1-2 during its home series against Bemidji State and St. Cloud State respectively. A highlight for the weekend will include teams participating in the games wearing 25th anniversary patches on their uniforms for the games.
LEAGUE NOTES: Ohio State has won 11 consecutive games dating back to a season opening loss to #3 ranked Colgate, while UW snapped a 12-game win streak with its two losses at Ohio State this past weekend...Bemidji State won its first game of the season on Nov. 17 and broke a 12-game losing skid. Minnesota State also got back into the win column on Nov. 18, which broke a 10-game losing streak...Minnesota owns a 4-game winning streak, which includes a pair of wins at UMD on Nov. 17-18.
NCAA LEADERS: #1 ranked Wisconsin leads the nation with 84 goals while Ohio State ranks fifth on the list with 54 goals (tied with Clarkson)...Wisconsin’s Kirsten Simms is second in the NCAA with 29 points and 13 goals in 2023-24. UW’s Britta Curl and Casey O’Brien are third in the nation with 17 assists apiece....SCSU’s Sanni Ahola leads DI goalies with five shutouts this season and the Huskies lead all NCAA teams with a total of eight shutouts...Minnesota ranks 2nd in the nation with 16 goals allowed this year and SCSU and UMD are tied for third on defense with just 17 goals allowed and Wisconsin is sixth this year on defense with 19 goals allowed.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: Former UMD standout Caroline Ouellette will was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Nov. 13. An All-WCHA and All-America selection, Ouellette played at UMD from 2002-05 and scored 92 goals, 137 assists and 229 points for the Bulldogs. She is the first WCHA women’s hockey alumni to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
WCHA FACTS: Freshman goalie Eva Filippova stopped a career-high 41 shots for BSU on Nov. 4 vs. Ohio State...OSU is 7-1-0 in road games this season...a first year goalie, UMD’s Éve Gascon already has three shutouts this season...OSU’s Kelsey King scored her 100th career point at BSU with an assist on Nov. 3...OSU’s Joy Dunne scored her first career hat trick and first career goal at BSU on Nov. 3...UW’s Britta Curl broke a team record by scoring a goal on Nov. 3, which marked the 10th consecutive game for her with a goal.