HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

The final month of the women’s league regular season has begun and Northeastern has secured a hosting spot in the quarterfinals as the Huskies cannot finish lower than second in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings after earning five of six points from Holy Cross last weekend.

Boston University earned its first weekend sweep of the season, downing Merrimack twice. Michelle Pasiechnyk posted her first shutout as a Terrier on Friday, making 23 stops in a 3-0 win. Sydney Healey then scored two goals the next night in a 3-1 victory.

Providence swept Vermont on the road last weekend, snapping a seven-game skid for the Friars and an eight-game unbeaten run for the Catamounts, both of which started when the calendar flipped to 2026. Hope Walinski stopped 65 shots and allowed just two even-strength goals. She played in her 100th career game on Saturday.

New Hampshire took a 3-2 overtime win over No. 7 UConn on Saturday as Noemi Martinez stopped a season-high 49 saves for the Wildcats. The night prior, she kicked out 33 of 34 in a 1-0 setback.

Boston College and Maine split a weekend series as Eagles’ rookie Ava Thomas added four more points to her league-leading totals. With a goal and three assists, Thomas now paces Hockey East in overall and conference scoring with 39 points total and 27 in league play. Maine rookie Mackenzie Podewell scored a goal and added an assist in each outing, including the game-winning goal in Friday’s 4-3 victory.

BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Sydney Healey - Boston University
Mackenzie Podewell - Maine

Sydney Healey (Sr., F; Arthur, Ont.) scored two goals in a 3-1 win at home against Merrimack on Saturday, including one power-play strike. She finished a 3-0 shutout of the Warriors on Friday with a plus-two rating and blocked two shots. She has now surpassed her points total from last season and leads BU in points (24) and goals (15).

Mackenzie Podewell (Fr., F; Wheaton, Ill.) led Hockey East with four points (2g, 2a) with seven shots on net in a split weekend at Boston College. She scored the game-winning goal in Friday’s 4-3 victory and had one tally and one helper in each game. She also won 67% of her faceoffs.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Ava Thomas - Boston College

Ava Thomas (Fr., F; Downington, Pa.) racked up four more points (1g, 3a) and now leads Hockey East both in overall points (39) and in league play (27). She added a plus-two rating and assisted on the overtime game-winner against Maine on Sunday. She is currently on an eight-game point streak with 15 points on five goals and 10 assists in that span.

ARMY ROTC DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Hope Walinski - Providence

Hope Walinski (Gr., G; Lincoln, R.I.) won both games at Vermont to snap the Catamounts eight-game unbeaten streak. She recorded a .957 save percentage, 1.50 goals against average and 65 saves the two starts, which included her 100th career game on Saturday.

STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Noemi Martinez - New Hampshire

Noemi Martinez (Jr., G; Glen Ridge, N.J.) had career weekend against #7 UConn, logging 33 saves and a .971 save percentage on Friday in a 1-0 setback, before posting a season-high 49 saves and a .961 save percentage in the Wildcats’ 3-2 win on Saturday. In total, Martinez denied 82 of 85 shots faced for a .965 save percentage, while posting a career-high in saves in a weekend series.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Sammy Taber, BC (Jr., F; Tewksbury, Mass.) Totaled three points (1g, 2a) in a split weekend against Maine, including and overtime game-winning goal in Boston College’s 5-4 win on Friday night. Taber finished the weekend with a plus-two rating.

Olivia Maffeo, BC (So., D; Canton, Mass.) Recorded three goals in two games, including two goals in Sunday’s 5-4 overtime victory, a power-play goal and a plus-two rating in a split weekend with Maine.

Bailey Callaway, BC (Jr., G; Jackson, Wyo.) Earned her first collegiate win by stopping 34 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory over Maine on Sunday. She logged 62:21 of work which included double-digit saves in the second and third periods.

Lexie Bertelsen, BU (Fr., F; Belmont, Ont.) Potted her first career game-winning goal on Saturday in a 3-1 win against Merrimack on a breakaway chance. She leads BU freshmen in points with eight.

Maeve Carey, BU (Sr., D; Gloucester, Mass.) Set up a power-play goal in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Merrimack to help secure BU’s first weekend sweep of the season. She also blocked six shots on the weekend.

Michelle Pasiechnyk, BU (Gr., G; Ottawa, Ont.) Recorded her first shutout at BU and the 22nd of her collegiate career. She made 23 stops to shut out Merrimack at Lawler Rink on Friday.

Reghan Chadwick, HC (Jr., F; Port Hope, Ont.) Scored two goals during a 0-1-1 set with No. 6 Northeastern. She scored Holy Cross’ second goal on Thursday night, giving the Crusaders a 2-0 lead in the second period and added a goal during Saturday’s game, trimming the Huskies’ lead to 2-1 in the third period.

Ava Stevenson, Maine (Sr., F; Grosse Pointe, Mich.) Registered four points in a split weekend at Boston College, scoring two goals and adding two assists with seven shots on goal. She had a goal and two primary assists in Sunday’s overtime setback

Stryker Zablocki, NU (Fr., F; Prince Albert, Sask.) Paced all Huskies with three points on three assists in a 1-0-1 week for the Huskies against No. 13 Holy Cross. Zablocki assisted on the game-winning goal on Saturday and the game-tying goal with just over 30 seconds remaining on Thursday.

Ella Lloyd, NU (Fr., D; Ardrossan, Alta.) Scored a goal and assisted on the game-winning strike to lead Northeastern to a 2-1 victory at No. 13 Holy Cross on Saturday. Lloyd finished her week with two blocks over two games.

Kristina Allard, NU (Sr., D; Kingston, N.H.) Potted a goal and notched a shootout goal to claim the extra Hockey East point for the Huskies in a 2-2 tie against No. 13 Holy Cross. Allard is the first Husky defenseman since Feb. 18, 2022 to record a shootout goal.

Molly Farace, PC (Fr., F; Otonabee, Ont.) Scored her first career goal on Friday at Vermont, a 4-1 Friars win.

Cristina Cavaliere, PC (Sr., D; Mississauga, Ont.) Dished out three assists and blocked seven shots to help Providence to a sweep at Vermont.

Kaylee Lewis, UVM (Jr., F; McKinney, Texas) Totaled three points (1g, 2a) in a two-game set against Providence.

Josie Hemp, UVM (So., D; Chanhassen, Minn.) Scored a power-play goal and blocked five shots in a two-game series against Providence.

Stella Retrum, UVM (Jr., F; Maple Grove, Minn.) Had two points (1g, 1a) in a series against Providence, extending her point stream to five straight games (4g, 3a).