Hockey East Puckbag

So, Molly Schaus finally got credit for a win at the treacherous Whittemore Center. In three seasons as a BC Eagle, the Team USA goaltender had gone 0-6-1 in that building, two of those losses being in the postseason. Granted, she only needed to repel seven shots, but she ought to take that gladly after a succession of sweet-and-sour outings in Durham during her collegiate career.

In the opposite crease, was it really all too surprising that Florence Schelling claimed the Hockey East All-Stars’ player of the game laurel? Although, BU forward Jenelle Kohanchuk wasn’t so shabby herself, seeing as she accounted for three of her team’s stabs at Schaus. That, too, is hardly a shocker, for Koahnchuk is currently the league’s busiest puckslinger with 76 SOG on the season.

Admirably tireless as Kohanchuk may be, perhaps the Terriers would like to see a little more ammo unloaded by Jill Cardella. The radiant rookie has nailed on eight out of 32 tries for an evenly rounded 25 percent connectivity rate. Similarly, Connecticut frosh Elisabeth Stathopolous has four strikes to speak of, but has only landed 19 shots on net, a bushel lighter than those of eight of her slightly less productive teammates.

As Kailey Nash goes, so goes Vermont. The slick sophomore, who leads all Catamount scorers with an 8-3-11 transcript, has tuned the mesh in seven out of 12 games thus far. On the other five occasions, the whole team has been shut out.

How does anyone on the Huntington Ave. campus justify the fact that Northeastern resides in first place but is drawing the lowest average crowds to its home games?

Here’s a pair of unsung heroes for you: Maine defenders Jessica Bond and Madeliene Eriksson (the latter has actually converted to forward recently). Those two lead the quintessential work-in-progress program with a plus-2 rating apiece.

If only the WHEA had a Lady Byng. Maine forward Dawn Sullivan and Northeastern forward Cassie Sperry would be the early front-runners, seeing as both have played in every possible game and have yet to amass a single pair of penalty minutes.

Milestone alerts: New Hampshire senior forward Micaela Long is due to play Career Game No. 125 this Sunday when the Wildcats venture down to Northeastern. Classmate Kelly Paton should reach the same plateau on December 8 with a visit to Boston College. Not to mention, head coach Brian McCloskey is two wins away from No. 200 in his seven-plus year reign.

Vermont’s Kristen Olychuck was in uncharted territory when she spent all of Sunday’s All-Star game on the bench. Olychuck is the lone Hockey East goaltender yet to have given way to a backup.

No time like this weekend for Providence and Boston College alike to make their case for renewed poll membership. The Friars and Eagles will host almighty Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth, respectively, this Friday and Saturday. If either of those programs is to establish long-term viability for the 2010 NCAA bracket, they really need to spruce up their nonconference records, and fast.

The PC-Wisconsin series will be a family affair of sorts. Badgers’ senior forward Emily Kranz’ sister, Jennifer, played defense for the Friars from 1998-2002. If that won’t be enough, the Friars will subsequently gear up to renew their rivalry with UNH, whose roster contains now Katie Kleinendorst, daughter of 1981 PC alum and current USA Boys’ U18 head coach Kurt Kleinendorst.

Nationally ranked BU and Northeastern, who put a stamp of legitimacy on their inner-city rivalry in last year’s quarterfinal, are not slated to lock twigs until January 26. The wait could potentially be more agonizing than the overwhelming wait for Christmas that causes jingly tunes to ooze their way into radio commercials in September.

BC and UNH are the only two teams yet to lose a game when scoring first. BU and Maine, on the other hand, have yet to rally when they shed first blood.

UConn is 3-0 in Friday games going into this weekend’s Nutmeg Classic semifinal bout with Quinnipiac. New Hampshire shall similarly defend a pristine 3-0 log on Sundays when they visit Northeastern this weekend while the Huskies will vie to shake off a 0-2-1 mark on that calendar day.

Belated props to Boss Bertagna for ensuring that the UNH-NU game at Fenway Park will be televised on NESN. And live, no less. Now how’s about convincing the network to broadcast the WHEA championship game live rather than on taped delay?