2018 NCAA Women's Tournament: Boston Bids Adieu

Walking into the Class of ’65 arena was a warm and hospitable experience, the game was anything but for both sides. The game itself was a bitter hard fought battle that neither team wanted to give quarter in. Eventually the host Raiders prevailed as the better team but not without some scary moments of doubt.

In the first minute the tone was set as Northerastern’s Andrea Renner took a body checking minor. Colgate was unable to capitalize on the man advantage but set things in motion as they had the first prime scoring opportunity. Their coach commented:

“It was big, we go out there and have some really good movement on the power play…it was an important moment in the game to get that first quality chance in there and grab some momentum in the game.”

The rest of the first period would remain scoreless as both teams clawed away at each other trying to put one in with great chances on both sides.

This pace continued into the second as about midway through the Huskies appeared to take the first scalp but it was later called back as the officials said they didn’t know if it went in. Shortly there after Colgate would put on in on their third power play of the game. This goal was also looked for a long time with both goalie interference and offsides being examined but the goal stood this time.

At this point both teams were getting frustrated with the rather poor officiating, which was commented on by many, fans of both teams and neutral observers included. Some of the more obvious misses included an elbow to the face and some pretty bad interferences.

Northeastern was able to find another level as Lauren Kelly took a big shot from the point that was directed in by Andrea Renner under Julia Vandyk ‘s pads. The rest of the period was more of the back and forth.

In the second intermission the Colgate coach cracked down on the team as he said “some bad habits were starting to creep into our game.” The Raiders then took advantage of some sloppy passing from Northeastern by taking a turnover into an odd man rush and burying it for the eventual game winner. The rest of the period saw the Huskies try to get that goal back but never caught a lucky bounce and had to defend a very long 5 on 3 in the later portions of the period.

In the end Colgate showed that they were the more consistent team and iced the game with an empty netter to seal their first trip to the Frozen Four.

Other Quarterfinals

Boston College 0 Ohio State 2

This was the most shocking result on the day as Boston College’s vaunted offense fell completely silent as the Eagles were out shot by a 2-1 margin for most of the game. Part of the Buckeye’s success has to be attributed to goalie Kassidy Sauve, who was questionable for the game with a knee injury. Those doubts were not put to bed till the last possible second as lineups for the Buckeyes became available much later then usual fueling suspicion she would be on it.

Clarkson 2 Mercyhurst 1 (OT)

This one was a close second on the head scratching but ended as expected, with Clarkson returning to the Frozen Four to defend their crown. Mercyhurst had a lead but was unable to hold on, they did take the Golden Knights deep into the overtime.

Wisconsin 4 Minnesota 0

In the only game that turned into a rout, the Badgers ended any hope of Minnesota claiming another title on home ice. The Gophers only made the tournament after winning the WCHA, and did not seem to belong today.

Frozen Four

The Matchups will be:

Clarkson v Ohio State

Wisconsin v Colgate