HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES
The 2023 Hockey East Women’s Tournament Wednesday with two Opening Round games. No.7 Boston University hosts No. 10 Merrimack and No. 8 New Hampshire will welcome No. 9 Holy Cross. Both match ups are the first between the programs.
No. 1 Northeastern secured the top seed in the Hockey East Tournament for the fifth straight year and is searching for an unprecedented and record-breaking sixth consecutive Bertagna Trophy. Goaltender Gwyneth Philips set all-time career marks for league goals against average and (0.79) and save percentage (.960) during her stellar 2022-23 campaign.
Vermont finished second in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings for the second consecutive year, tying the Catamounts’ highest-ever regular season finish. Reigning Hockey East Player of the Year Theresa Schafzahl has five goals and five assists in her last five outings as Vermont enters the playoffs looking for its first title game appearance.
Providence and Boston College dueled for third and fourth in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings, with the Friars emerging with the three seed after a 3-0 shutout on Saturday. Goaltender Hope Walinkski made her first collegiate appearances and posted a 33-save shutout to secure playoff positioning for the Friars.
No. 4 Boston College will take on No. 5 UConn in a quarterfinal match up
for the fourth time in five years, each team holding a 3-3 record since 2019.
The Eagles look to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2019
after last winning the Bertagna Trophy in 2017. UConn has moved onto
the semifinals each of the last three years and four times since 2018. The
Huskies appeared in the title game in 2018, 2020, and 2022 but have yet to
win the Bertagna Trophy. UConn was 3-0-0 against BC this season.
HOCKEY EAST CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Hannah Bilka -
Boston College
Maureen Murphy - Northeastern
Hannah Bilka (Sr., F; Coppell, Texas) registered four assists in BC’s win at Providence Friday night to become just the 18th player in program history to reach 125 career points and set career-highs in points and assists with 27 and 39. She also added a goal in the Beanpot championship game for a five-point week and a league-best plus-four rating.
Maureen Murphy, NU (Gr., F; Buffalo,
N.Y.) tallied two goals and four assists
to lead Northeastern to a 3-0-0 week,
including a Beanpot Championship
last Tuesday. Named Beanpot MVP,
Murphy scored the game-winning
goal to deliver NU its 18th title overall
at Boston College over the Eagles.
In a 5-1 win over Boston University, Murphy had a four-point game
with one goal and three assists and
notched her 200th career collegiate
point. Murphy then posted her 100th
career assist in a 4-0 victory over BU
the next day.
PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Hope Walinski - Providence
Hope Walinski (So., G; Lincoln, R.I.) made her first collegiate
appearances over the weekend in a split series with Boston College. She posted a combined 43 saves over the weekend with 10 on
Friday and 33 on Saturday. Walinski marked her first career shutout
in her first career start as a goalie leading the Friars to a 3-0 win
and securing the third seed in the Hockey East Tournament with her
performance.
ARMY ROTC DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Sini Karjalainen - Vermont
Sini Karjalainen (Gr., D; Posio, Finland) had one goal and three
assists as Vermont took five points at UNH on the final weekend of
the regular season, securing second place in Hockey East. With her
assist on Saturday she tied the program’s single season record with
23 helpers. She also blocked three shots.
STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Gwyneth Philips - Northeastern
Gwyneth Philips (Sr., G; Athens, Ohio) made 65 saves in a 3-0-0
week for the Huskies, including a Beanpot Championship victory
and combining for a shutout against the Terriers. Philips earned the
Bertagna Award as the Beanpot’s top goaltender after making 27
saves in the championship game. Philips leads the nation with a
0.82 GAA, .960 save percentage and 30 wins. Philips ended the regular season as Hockey East’s all-time career leader in goals against
average (0.79) and save percentage (.960) to go along with a 34-3-1
record.
HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS
Alexie Guay, BC (Sr., D: Magog, Que.) Had one goal and one assist on the week, including the game-winning goal at Providence.
Abigail Levy, BC (Gr., G; Congers, N.Y.) Had a .944 save percentage and league-leading 102 saves on the week. She finished the Hockey East regular season with 810 saves, the third-highest single season total in league history.
Tia Chan, UConn (So., G; Hamilton, Ont.) Pitched back-to-back shutouts against Holy Cross, stopping all 39 shots she faced in the final two regular season games for the Huskies.
Emily Rickwood, UNH (Gr., D; Brantford, Ont.) Recorded a goal and an assist in the two-game series vs. 11th-ranked Vermont. In Game 1, she set up UNH’s first of three consecutive goals that helped transform a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead; New Hampshire and UVM skated to a 3-3 tie. In the following day’s rematch, Rickwood scored UNH’s goal in the 3-1 loss. She blocked one shot and had an even rating for the weekend.
Lindsay Bochna, PC (Jr., F; Toronto, Ont.) Secured three points over the weekend. On Friday, Bochna tallied an assist, followed by two goals in Saturday’s game.
Natalie Mlynkova, UVM (Jr., F; Zlin, Czechia) Had three goals over the weekend as the Catamounts took five points at the Whittemore Center to clinch second place in Hockey East. She also scored the lone goal of the shootout on Friday afternoon to secure the extra point.
Theresa Schafzahl, UVM (Gr., F; Weiz, Austria) Had a goal and three assists last weekend as Vermont wrapped up the regular season at UNH. With two assists on Saturday, she matched the program single-season assist record with 23. In her last five games she has five goals and five assists for the Catamounts.
