HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Five wins over ranked opponents, and 10 non-conference victories, highlighted a banner weekend for Hockey East’s women’s programs, including two rivalry trophies won by UConn and Providence.

No. 7 Northeastern handed No. 4 Penn State its first loss of the season on Friday with a 3-2 victory at Matthews Arena. Lily Shannon scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in the win while Lisa Jonsson made 34 saves.

No. 8 UConn secured the Nutmeg Classic title with wins over No. 9 Quinnipiac and Yale, backed by 86 saves from Tia Chan. Chan made at least 40 saves in both games, securing a pair of one-goal victories for the Huskies.

Providence claimed the 30th Mayor’s Cup with a 3-2 overtime win at No. 11 Brown. Audrey Knapp scored two goals, including the extra-time tally, to lift the Friars to 3-0-2 in OT this season.

Vermont earned its first top-five win since 2021-22 with a 4-3 triumph over No. 5 Cornell on Friday. Senior Julia Mesplede scored three goals in the split weekend, including two tallies in the win.

HOCKEY EAST CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Lily Shannon - Northeastern
Julia Mesplede - Vermont

Lily Shannon (Sr., F; Andover, Mass.) posted two goals and one assist in a weekend split against previously undefeated No. 4 Penn State. In Friday’s victory, Shannon posted a multi-point effort (1g, 1a) and tallied the game-winning goal. She finished the series with a plus-one rating and four blocks.

Julia Mesplede (Sr., F; Bordeaux, France) netted three goals in a split weekend with No. 5 Cornell, including her first career two-goal game in Friday’s 4-3 victory. She then scored again on Saturday for the first time finding the back of the net in back-to-back games in her career. She finished the weekend with four shots on net.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Ava Thomas - Boston College

Ava Thomas (Fr., F; Downington, Pa.) recorded three points (2g, 1a) across the split weekend against St. Lawrence. She scored an overtime goal 16 seconds into the extra frame in Friday’s 3-2 victory after she dished out an assist earlier in the game. Thomas followed with a third-period goal on Saturday to give BC a 2-1 lead. She finished the weekend with 12 shots on goal and a plus-two rating.

ARMY ROTC DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Noemi Martinez - New Hampshire

Noemi Martinez (Jr., G; Glen Ridge, N.J.) turned away 29-of-30 shots faced in a 4-1 win over No. 11 Brown, including a 13-save opening frame, to post a .967 save percentage. With the win, Martinez improved to 4-2-0 as a starter on the season. It was the first ranked road win for New Hampshire since Jan. 29, 2023.

STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Tia Chan - UConn

Tia Chan (Gr., G; Hamilton, Ont.) backboned UConn to the Nutmeg Classic crown, making 40 saves in a 4-3 win over No. 9 Quinnipiac on Friday. It was the second time this season she has posted at least 40 saves in a game. She then stopped 46 of 48 shots she saw from Yale to secure a 3-2 win and the tournament title with 86 saves in two games.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Maxim Tremblay, BC (Fr., F; Sherbrooke, Que.) Registered two goals and one assist during a split series with St. Lawrence. She scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period of Friday’s 3-2 overtime win and added an assist on the OT winner. Tremblay also scored BC’s second goal on Saturday and finished the weekend with a plus-one rating with 10 shots on net.

Cailin Flynn, BC (Sr., D; Woburn, Mass.) Blocked eight shots over two games against St. Lawrence, including four blocks in each contest. She anchored a penalty kill that went a combined three-for-four on the weekend.

Grace Campbell, BC (Sr., G; Kensington, Md.) Totaled 74 saves on 79 shots (.937) over the a two-game split with St. Lawrence. She made 33 saves in Friday’s 3-2 overtime win and followed with 41 saves on Saturday, including 17 in the second period, in a 4-2 setback. Campbell posted a 2.37 goals-against average for the weekend.

Kyla Josifovic, UConn (Sr., F; Burlington, Ont.) Helped UConn win the Nutmeg Classic, including a top-10 win over Quinnipiac on Friday. Josifovic scored the game’s opening goal and later assisted on the game-winner for her fifth multi-point game this season. In Saturday’s championship game, Josifovic found the back of the net once again with a go-ahead goal in the third period, for her team leading eighth goal this season.

Maya Serdachny , UConn (Jr., D; Edmonton, Alta.) Recorded an assist and five shots while blocking three shots in UConn’s Nutmeg Classic championship run.

Naemi Herzig, HC (Fr., F; St. Gallen, Switzerland) Totaled a career-high three points in Holy Cross’ 6-2 win over Assumption. She scored the Crusaders’ fourth goal of the night, while assisting on two goals. She now ranks second on the team in scoring with 15 points on six goals and nine assists.

Taylor Cantelon, HC (Sr., D; Oakville, Ont.) Scored Holy Cross’ first goal in the 6-2 win over Assumption. She added a blocked shot, and finished the night at plus-two. She leads all Crusader defenders with six points this season on two goals and four assists.

Raegan Wurm, Maine (Jr., F; Buffalo, Minn.) Had a two-point game (1g, 1a) in Friday’s 4-3 overtime win at Harvard, including setting up the game-winning goal. She had nine shots in a split weekend with the Crimson, adding one block.

Mackenzie Podewell, Maine (Fr., F; Wheaton, Ill.) Scored a goal in Friday’s 4-3 overtime win and had five shots on net in a split weekend with Harvard.

Lulu Rucinski, Maine (Fr., D; Orono, Minn.) Set up a goal in Friday’s 4-3 overtime win against Harvard and added a blocked shot. Neely Hawn, MC (Fr., D; Mars, Pa.) Assisted on the game-winning goal, and scored a tally of her own, in a 4-1 win over Assumption on Sunday.

Adreanna Doucette, MC (So., G; Millbury, Mass.) Stopped 18 of 19 shots in a 4-1 win over Assumption on Sunday.

Addison Spitz, UNH (So., F; Grosse Pointe, Mich.) Was instrumental on offense for the Wildcats in a 4-1 upset win over No. 11 Brown on Sunday, logging a pair of assists to go along with an empty-net goal for the second three-point performance of the season and her career.

Nina Rossi, UNH (Fr., F; Pittsgrove, N.J.) Secured the secondary assist on the third-period, game-winning goal in at 4-1 win over No. 11 Brown. She now has a team-leading 14 points on the season (5g, 9a). Rossi closed her night with two shots on net alongside a plus-two rating.

Alessia Baechler, NU (Fr., D; Illnau, Switzerland) Recorded her first career goal in a 3-2 victory against No. 4 Penn State. Baechler helped the Huskies to a weekend split against the Nittany Lions and posted two blocks.

Audrey Knapp, PC (Jr., F; Stevens Point, Wis.) Scored two goals, including the overtime game-winner over No. 11 Brown University in the 30th Mayor’s Cup.

Hope Walinski, PC (Gr., G; Lincoln, R.I.) Made 22 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory against No. 11 Brown.

Ashley Kokavec, UVM (Jr., D; Parkland, Fla.) Potted her first goal of the season on Friday against No. 5 Cornell in a 4-3 win. She put five total shots on goal over the split weekend and blocked two shots.

Ellie Simmons, UVM (Jr., G; Buffalo, N.Y.) Made 27 saves against No. 5 Cornell in a 4-3 victory on Friday, anchoring Vermont to its first top-5 win since 2021-22. She stopped 25 more on Saturday in a 5-1 set back.

Lauren O'Hara, UVM (Jr., F; Blaine, Minn.) Racked up three points, a single-game career high, with the game-winning goal and two assists in a 4-3 win over No. 5 Cornell. She had three shots on goal and two blocked shots in the victory.