West Weekend Recap

Wisconsin @ St. Cloud State
Fri 2-1
Brooke Ammerman and Breann Frykas scored early in the second and third periods to power Wisconsin to victory. For St. Cloud, Ashley Nixon had 39 saves in the loss.

Sat 2-4
A pair of third period goals by Meaghan Pezon helped SCSU come from behind to down Wisconsin 4-2 in a penalty filled affair. Ashley Nixon was once again solid in goal stopping 54 shots while picking up the win.

Bemidji State @ Minnesota
Fri 2-4
Kelli Blankenship and Terra Rasmussen combined for two goals and four of the gophers ten points in the win over Bemidji State. Erin Cody added a third period goal and assist in the loss for the beavers.

Sat 1-3
Sold Goaltending was the feature in game two of this series. Zuzana Tomcikova and Noora Räty combined for 54 saves in the game. Megan Bozek had a point on each gopher goal handing BSU it's third straight loss.

Mercyhurst @ Niagara
Fri 2-2 OT
Niagara nearly pulled off a shocker Friday night as the rebuilding Purple Eagles tied #1 Mercyhurst 2-2 in a penalty filled affair.

Sat 2-0
Mercyhurst rebounded Saturday in another penalty filled game as the Lakers needed a goal from Bailey Bram and an empty netter from Kelley Steadman to secure the victory.

Syracuse @ Robert Morris
Fri 4-0
Lucy Schoedel proved her worth making 32 saves as the Orange downed RMU 4-0 on the road. Isabel Menard had 2 goals and an assist in the game while Holly Carrie-Mattimoe followed suite with four points.

Sat 4-2
Stefanie Marty and Julie Rising each had 3 points while Megan Skelly added a goal and an asisst as SU led 4-0 after two and held on in the third for a 4-2 win and the road sweep.

St. Lawrence @ Ohio State
Fri 3-4
Melissa Feste used back to back third period goals and an assist on the game winner late in the game to power the Bucks 4-3 upset over #10 SLU. The Saints Defense was solid as Maxie Weisz saw just 18 shots in the loss.

Sat 3-2
Following the close game Friday SLU needed a goal and two assists from Kelly Sabatine to power past OSU in a mild affair. SLU outshot OSU 41-21 in the game resulting in the fourth bucks loss in their last six games.

Manitoba Maple Leafs @ North Dakota
Sat 0-9
Holly Perkins led the Sioux with 2 goals and 2 assists while Alyssa Wiebe and Allison Parizek each added 2 goals and an assist in the UND Pummeling of the Women's Senior League Manitoba Maple Leafs.

Minnesota State @ Minnesota-Duluth
Sat 3-2
UMD hoped to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their program with a win. However the Mavs of Minnesota State had another idea as they rallied midway thru the game for three unanswered goals and a victory in Duluth Friday Night.

Sun 1-7
On Saturday the Bulldogs got revenge with seven unanswered goals by five different players in a 7-1 beating of the mavs. Alli Altmann was spelled by Paige Thunder for the third period after allowing five goals making just 13 saves.

Why No CHA All Star Game?

Anyone that has had the chance to look over the USA Quest Tour schedule will notice that three of the four NCAA National Collegiate conferences will play exhibitions with Team USA. The one conference that will not is College Hockey America. Long seen as the red headed step child of the college hockey world, the CHA broke the barrier down even further during the 2008 season as Mercyhurst advanced to the NCAA title game.

It only makes sense that each NCAA conference have the opportunity every four years to showcase its best remaining players against Team USA. The CHA not having the chance is a slap in the face to the leagues teams and also sends a message to recruits that the CHA is not equal to the rest of the leagues in the NCAA's highest level of competition. Is the lack of an All Star exhibition the work of the conference or that of USA Hockey. What's the deal CHA and USA Hockey?

Hopefully the CHA teams can continue to break the barrier down this season and show they are on a level playing field with the rest of the NCAA conferences. Then in three years when the folks at USA Hockey are putting together their next Quest Tour the CHA will be given the chance of having a team of all stars to battle Team USA.