Teams go into the deep end of the Olympic absence period

On the Jan. 28, 2026, edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com dig into what it'll mean for some teams to lose players to the Olympics starting this week and reflect on last week's results.

It was a big weekend for Northeastern, which moved up three spots to fifth in the NCAA Power Index by sweeping UConn on the road. The Huskies have opened up a 12-point lead in the race for the Hockey East title.

Harvard won the Beanpot last Tuesday with a Carla McSweeney penalty shot goal in overtime against Boston University. And Penn State sent a message with a 5-1 win at Cornell.

Princeton's winning streak ended at 13 games with a loss to the Big Red, then the Tigers lost in overtime to Colgate despite overcoming a two-goal deficit.

St. Thomas put a scare into Ohio State before the Buckeyes won in overtime last Friday. Minnesota Duluth's Ève Gascon stopped all 45 shots she faced in a series against Minnesota State, plus three more in a shootout. And Abbey Murphy scored three more goals in a Minnesota series sweep against St. Cloud State, giving her 36 for the season.

But now Murphy and other NCAA stars will be missing for a month for the Olympics. The scaled-back Gophers get a test right away by hosting scaled-back Wisconsin, with a combined nine players off the teams' rosters. We talk about how teams will feel the impact of the absences.

The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email [e-mail].

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Uscho dot com. Hi, and welcome to another edition of
the podcast from us cho dot com. I'm Todd Boleski
here as always with Nicole Hose and Nicole. It is
getting to be a real interesting time in NCAA women's
hockey now because we're four weeks out from the end

(00:24):
of the regular season for most conferences, and a lot
of teams are losing some players to the Olympics, and
we're going to get into a lot more of what
that means in terms of some teams dealing with a
lot of volume losses of their goal scoring when we
get deeper into the show. But I want to talk
a little bit about what we saw last weekend around

(00:45):
the country, and I want to start with Northeastern because
they had a series at Yukon last week and got
out with a sweep, a one nothing win on Saturday
and a four to two win on Sunday, both on
the road, vaulting up from eighth to fifth in the NPI,
which is a pretty substantial move this deep into the season,

(01:09):
and when when you beat a team that's up there
as well. Yukon was five dropped to seven, that's a
massive move and it also pretty much wraps up the
Hockey East title. It feels like, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
That moved them to what twelve points a top the conference,
which you know, we we were not sure what took
ex fect from Northeastern early on and they you know,
I think part of it is they had those early
losses to Kinnipiac, who was ranked seven at the time,
and then we're playing you know, teams that are now
in the bottom half of the standings as we start

(01:46):
getting to you know conference the way the conference is
shaking out, and so it was just it was a
little hard to gauge where they were going to be.
But they have only six losses. You know, it didn't
help to I think, you know, at Thanksgiving they had
a loss to Penn State, and it was just I, yeah,
it was I was unsure, like going back and looking
at the number of wins they had, maybe that wasn't fair,

(02:08):
but again it was you know, against teams that were like, okay,
that's a team they should be yep, yep. But yeah,
there are six losses overall, and absolutely proved themselves this weekend.
So sorry to them for not being sure if we
should should get on behind trade or not, I guess
and as we've talked about a little bit, they're not
they don't have a home stadium for the second half,

(02:28):
and so that part is what I think will be
interesting to see how, if for how that affects their
final what eight or so games.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah, so the in Hockey East play we mentioned in
the twelve point lead, but they've gotten forty six of
a possible forty eight points, which is really remarkable to
have be that consistent in Hockey East play. Knowing that,
I mean, we know that that Hockey East has had
some struggles with at the top end having a consistent
top end team over the last couple years, or it's

(02:57):
been a different cast sometimes, but uh, for them to
really show that, you know, look, the Huskies are for
real in Hockey East. They're gonna they're sweeping everything. They're
They're one. I think they had an overtime loss or
shootoutlass and overtime the two Boys loss and okay, okay,

(03:21):
so the you're you're looking at like last week Saturday's
game one nothing win. Illinoyd scores with fifteen seconds left
as the only goal of the game. Lasa Johnson makes
forty five saves. That's not a game that maybe you
would have expected them to win from a numbers perspective there,
but they found the way to win. And that's I

(03:41):
think what means something, especially when you get to the
last part of the regular season. Are they finding the
ways to win games that maybe, uh, the analytics say
they shouldn't know.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
I think one of the things about Northeaster is is
maybe when nobody else did or maybe you know, I
think they've always believed. I mean, lic Johnson has always
been an A plus goaltender. So there is that that
was a weekend full of full of great goaltending. There
was that crazy saved by Tia Cham where she pulled
it off the line that ended up on Sports Center.

(04:13):
But yeah, I think, you know, I think it's important
that they kind of they will leave their own height right.
And I would say too, like we have long talked about,
mostly in referenced to other teams, in terms of like
you have to win your points, like you have to
win the games you're supposed to win, and they're they've
sort of quietly been doing that, right, So like the
wins that have like or the losses that have made

(04:35):
me raise my eyebrows haven't actually been Conference losses, so
you're like, oh, well that was you know, when we
were like, maybe this isn't the strongest year for them
or whatever. But but when it's come to conference, they've
they've taken almost as much as they can on and
I think that's it's kind of what we've been preaching along,
we just haven't applied it to them yet.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, all right, I want to go back to last
week too, because there are a couple of important results
around the country. Penn State, number four in the country,
getting a five to one win at number twelve Cornell,
which you know, not necessarily you're thinking, okay, it's number
four against number twelve, the number four should win that,
but five to one on the road in a midweek game,

(05:17):
that feels like a little bit of a statement there.
Tessa Janicky and Matti Christian both of the goal and
an assist. Penn State just keeps cranking out the wins here,
and you know, it feels like that's the you know,
they're in the number four spot in the NPI, which
means a home game in the regionals. Yeah, it really

(05:40):
feels like this is something that they're bounded determined to
hold on to and get that spot that puts them
one win away from a frozen four in their own building.

Speaker 2 (05:52):
Right, Yeah, so they would like basically not have to
go on the road for the playoffs and so or
for the NTA tournament. Yeah, it's hard this time. And
I and like fair or not, Like they have dominated
the AHA for several seasons, and like, I think there
is always a bit of a hesitation or an asterisk
to wondering like how strong are they really? Like, Okay,

(06:15):
they're dominating that conference, but like you know, the ah's
record in non conference against other conference teams like has
shown that we know, like there is there is a
gap there, and so I think it has always been
hard to be like, yes we I like, I really
I fully believe in Penn State. I really love how
much depth they've shown. They don't need Tessa to be

(06:35):
the goal scorer. I mean she still does, but there
are plenty of other goal scorers on that team. Katie
Disas continues to be really great a net But I
think there is always just a hesitation to be like, yes,
this is a team that I think can go play
in the NCAA tournament and win. And I will say
two they have had a couple n Z bids at
this point and have not advanced, and so it's a

(06:58):
little I'm always a little has to know how much
to believe in them and what they could do. So
when they're going and getting the win over Northeastern, the
win over Cornell, like you said, an emphatic win, then
it's like, okay, again, maybe buying their own hype more
than than I am, but it's I think they've made

(07:18):
their point a little bit this year. But I do
think until we see them get that NCAA win, it's in,
you know, that advancing past that that opening LinkedIn. It's
a little hard to buy in for sure, to like
believe for sure, I don't know, but yeah, maybe it's this.
We we're hosting the Frozen four and we're gonna freak

(07:39):
and play in it, and that's that's the thing that's
done it.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
If there's a year for it all to line up here,
it is right because having that in your building is
a great motivator. I mean, we will see and we'll
talk about this more in a while, but taking Testa
Janiky out of the lineup and a couple of other
players for the Olympics, right, you know what impact does
that make on the next four weeks and and does
that open up the door to a stumble that does

(08:05):
cost them in the NPI. So that's that's something I
think a lot of teams are are concerned about as
we get in the next month here.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, I think right, they're clearly a tournament team, like,
I don't think that's in question, but the ability to
host that first round is really what they're I think
aiming for. And so yeah, that's a really good point.
And I think too, some of it is just going
to be interesting to me. Yes, percentage points of people,
goal scorers, all that stuff, but you're just you're also
just really messing with team chemistry, right. I would imagine

(08:37):
most of the people that are going off to the
Olympics are team leaders, whether they're weird a's or c's
or not. And so yeah, you're just really changing up
for everybody. Like you're very comfortable going out on the
ice in certain formations and certain orders and certain chemistry
and lines and things, and all of that is going
to change for not just a couple of teams they're
going to talk about that are missing a bunch of players,

(08:58):
but like a ton of goals or missing players, Like
it's not just we're not just talking the top couple teams,
you know, so I think more interesting to watch then,
like who's going to score the points?

Speaker 1 (09:11):
Is?

Speaker 2 (09:11):
Is what that? Who can hold it together? And who
is the team that can handle sort of all the
switching up that's going to have to do, you know,
when power play two becomes power Play one and things
like that.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
Yeah, exactly. Also last Tuesday, the bean Pot Championship game
went to overtime. Harvard got a two to one win
over Boston University, Carl McSweeney scoring on a penalty shot
in overtime, which is a pretty cool way of ending that.
Ainsley Tough he made forty six saves for the Crimson. There.
I was watching this the end of this game on

(09:44):
my phone in the car as I was waiting to
do a kid pick up, and it was just like
I needed the our son to not get not come
out from school yet, No, I need to watch the
end of this game here because it was I there
was always this discussion about, you know, should should regular

(10:05):
season tournaments really go to a shootout or should they
get played three on three overtime? And and I came
to the conclusion that yeah, they're they're regular season game.
They should be played like any other regular season game,
just to be uh, you know fair across the board
because they all count the same towards the n p I.
But I really don't love that championships get decided in shootouts,

(10:29):
even though we've seen it in the Olympics and you know,
we've seen it in in major tournaments on the international safe.
So I'm glad this ended in overtime, not on a
three on three play necessarily kind of on a shootout.
It was a penalty shot. There was a legit penalty
shot too, But I mean that was that was a
really cool uh finish to that in getting that, yeah,

(10:55):
and being named MVP.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
Obviously it didn't. I mean, Harvard shot for in the teams.
I mean it was when the ridiculous amount that they
were out shot and then came out with the wind.
Just they've been a scrappy team all season. I mean,
I think, you know, in the end, it's it's still
middle of the pack for ECAC, but they've pulled out.
I think I've said this before, I'm really impressed with

(11:18):
what's been happening there in the last year and a
half or so, like it was a little rooit of
a rough go and I think they're really building back,
and like, I mean, it's a bit like you were
saying with the sort of emphatic winds or the win,
the one on win for Northeastern, like Harvey getting the
win that game when they're ridiculously outshot, when they are
not the top team of the four that are playing

(11:38):
in the bean Pot. You know, just everything was not
set up for Harvard to come out of there with
that win, and so very cool for them to do. So.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, moving ahead to last weekends games, Princeton took win
into the weekend with a thirteen game winning streak, but
that ended on Friday with a six to one win.
I'm sorry, how was the day before? Sorry? Yeah it
was some one I think. Yeah, six to one for
Cornell over Princeton, right, which was a like was not

(12:09):
you know, winning streaks in but uh, seeing six really
kind of stood out there.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
I kept waiting for that to change, like obviously not,
but like you know, Cornell got a couple of goals
and I'm like, well, yeah, Princeton's gonna en it, just
like corneill just kept putting them in and I was like, okay,
I ended up switching to you know, switching them to
a smaller screen and going to someone else because I
was just I was really surprised with that out come.
I mean, good for Cornell again, you know, Cornell is
a team that will do that, and then you know,

(12:36):
not when it's the that's one of the teams that's
a head scratcher for me this year. But yeah, that's
that was will win. And it was a rough weekend
for Princeton and I think, you know, probably a good
gut check. I mean, there's still I think there was
now a half weight back put a packs now at
the top of ECAC. But because we have half points,
it's still very close. It's not like that change to

(12:59):
the course their I mean, I guess I shouldn't say that,
but they're they're probably still in the conversation. So maybe
it's a good gut check. Maybe it's good to end
that streak now. I think they're they probably learned quite
a bit out of this weekend. I'm guessing they were.
They're ryding high on that that wind streak and sort
of coming out of nowhere in terms of what people
were what the expectations were. But yeah, that was that

(13:21):
loss on Friday was really surprising to me.

Speaker 1 (13:23):
Yeah, Piper Grover with two goals and an assists for
Cornell in that Friday game, and then both Cornell and
Princeton lost on Saturday. Princeton lost again three to two
to Colgate in overtime. Princeton overcame the two nothing deffericent
in the last seven or five minutes, but Lexis Petford

(13:45):
scored for Colgate in overtime uh to end a three
game skid where they had been outscored fourteen to three
by Yale, Brown and Quinnipiac. So that was a rough
goal over for a while for Colgate, but they get
a big win to pull out of that. And then
Cornell loses to Quinnipiac on Saturday for nothing Britain prior

(14:07):
to goals Folicia Frank thirty nine saves the kind of
things you expect there from Quinnipiac to kind of shut
a team down. So this is again is the ECAC
way of well, we got to have an exception here
in a minute. But teams that are you know, trying
to make a run, you know, one step forward, one

(14:27):
step back.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yeah, yeah, I don't may, I don't know. At this point,
it feels like everything's a toss up. I mean, it's
making it fun. I thought to the Holgate I'm sorry
the Quinnipiac win over Colgate. They had. We had two
defender hat tricks this weekend, which was fun. So Mikaila
wats in their head her first career hat trick as

(14:50):
a defender. It was the first hat trick in fifteen
years for Quinnipiac from a defender, so that was fun.
But yeah, it's it was one of those with there
were a lot of high shot games this weekend. We
had a lot of goalies making some pretty outstanding performances.
I enjoyed Felicia Frank when she was at you eighteens.
I thought she was a good get and she has

(15:10):
continued to be quietly I think a little bit be
a very solid presence for Quinnipiac. And she's young, you know,
she's still got lots of growth, and so that will
be she will be fun to continue to watch. But yeah,
it doesn't do you think you understand the dynamic and
the ECAC and who's taking the steps forward and who
hasn't been able to find it. And then this weekend's

(15:32):
results were like, well, I didn't know anything.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
Well, and here comes Clark saying in because they have
won five straight now after beating Dartmouth two to one
in overtime on a Sara Manas goal, or scoring both
those goals when including the overtime.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
Goal and with four seconds left. Yeah, we had a
lot of last second dramatics this weekend, right, various games.

Speaker 1 (15:54):
And so now, like you mentioned, it's it's Quinnipiac in
first place, but then there's Princeton and Clarkson tied for
second and a half point back. So a lot, a lot,
a lot a lot to be decided there in these
final couple of weeks. That's that's gonna be fun. I
mean it's fun, frustrating and furiating sometimes, but I come

(16:17):
back to the fun of it.

Speaker 2 (16:19):
Of it all in the end, which Ben showed out
to Dartmouth Mikhaela Asheva, which who are they are losing
to the Olympics, which will make a big difference. But
Clerkson out shut Dartmouth forty two to twelve in that
game and won it in the final four seconds of overtime.
So shout out to Dartmouth for for holding that on
as long as they absolutely could. But yeah, we're I

(16:39):
think maybe the underrated story of this year has been
some of the goalies. You know, we weren't talking about
Easley Toffee. We weren't talking about you know, a lot
of these different goalies and was hoping her name would
come to me. Who are we talking about?

Speaker 1 (16:53):
Is that.

Speaker 2 (16:56):
The goalie we were talking about last week? Doesn't matter?
You were like, she came out of nowhere.

Speaker 1 (17:02):
Yes, I'm blanking too. Glad you going to last week everyone.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
We'll get back to it. But anyway, the point is
we're seeing these like massive you know, Felicia Frank forty say,
you know, things like that. I think it's been fun
to see, even in a game that should feel uneven,
that Like, we're still at a point where some of
these goalies are stealing chances, which is fun too, right.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
I do want to mention a couple other results moving
out west from last weekend. There was an upset alert
after two periods on Friday, Saint Thomas leading Ohio State
at Ohio State won nothing, but the Buckeyes come back
to score in the third. Jocelyn Amos got that goal.

(17:48):
And then she got the winner in overtime shot attempts
in that game ninety eight to fourteen.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
And so Thomas has had what a good four five
of these type games against Ohio State three year, yes, right,
and uh.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yes, So I don't know what to uh make of
that necessarily, of whether that was a you know, Ohio State,
you know, having a real challenge there, or if it
was just a you know, you get goalid some days.
And well, I.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
Mean, I would say the fact that it keeps happening
implies that Saint Thomas understands something about what Ohio State
is doing. But yeah, I mean some of it is
goaltending for sure, But yeah, I the fact that St.
Thomas has done this over and over again makes me
think there's there's something something their coaches have found about
their matchup that that goes well in their favor, and

(18:47):
they've just not quite been able to hold on. I think,
particularly when it comes to three on three Ohio State
for Saint Thomas, that's not there. That's too much open ice.
But yeah, yeah, upset alert is right. I Again, I mean,
even the teams that we that are still pulling out

(19:08):
the wins, there are just times when you're like, everybody's
very beautible this year, which I think is really interesting,
even with some of the rosters. Even you know, we
could talk about you know, who's who on some of
the top five six teams, and yet like none of
them are infallible. And so that's I think possibly like
for the first time in a few years where everybody

(19:28):
feels like I've watched you play a game where like,
if you played like this in the end of the season,
you're you're not going anywhere, And so I think that
leaves of the field more wide open. Then maybe I
think some people feel like sure also in free for
for Yale, who remember, sorry.

Speaker 1 (19:46):
Thank you, I was just I just looked that up
in the background. Arrow, was you gonna mention that? Right? Uh?
Whose stats are now nine and zero point eight one
goals against point nine to sixty three safer Saturday?

Speaker 2 (20:00):
So yes, I feel really bad pretty forgetting because those
are ridiculous numbers and they continue to be that. I
don't think it's a loot.

Speaker 1 (20:09):
Right, So yeah, Ohio State did win the second game
of that series five nothing, so that was a you know,
a bit more you know, still one sided in terms
of possession control, but the goals did go in on Saturday.
The goals did not go in on Friday at Minnesota
State where Minnesota Luth and man Cato had a zero

(20:30):
zero tie and then only had one goal in the shootout.
So all of these shots, one goes in, very good goal.
It was very good goal. Thenning it was all weekend
for Duluth. Ev Gasco makes twenty one saves and then
all three in the shootout on Friday, then twenty four
saves in another shutout on Saturday. So forty five for

(20:52):
the weekend plus all three in the shootouts. So yeah,
forty eight shots to her forty eight saves. Not not
a bad weekends.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
Feels like right now, you and these entire feeds and
hinges on gay like they're pretty lucky she didn't get
pulled into Canada at that point. I mean they are.
I mean I went and looked it up because since
the New Year, which is ten games, they have one win,
one win, four losses, three ties, and they're averaging one
point two goals a game during that, Like you can't.

(21:21):
You're not an NCAA tournament team at that Like it's
just not. They're currently ninth in the NPI like they are.
Things are are a little more dire than I think
we would have accepted looking at how things were a
few weeks ago. EV's been outstanding, she continues to be outstanding.
She is holding on for dear life with them. But yeah,

(21:41):
I it doesn't get you near from Minnesota to lose,
like they're they're about to do the rounds of the
top of the w c h A. And like, if
you're not scoring in the games against Mankato and some
of these other teams, then like I mean and that's no,
I don't mean that anything other than like I apologize,
nan Kato. You are not Wisconsin and Ohio state of Minnesota.
So like, but we've seen Dluz showed up really well

(22:05):
against Wisconsin's Like does it need to be one of
those games that like snaps them out of it? I
don't know, But I just really think their offensive lineup
is too good to be doing what we've seen.

Speaker 1 (22:16):
From them, and when they have played well against good teams,
it has been a defensive side that has been the story.

Speaker 2 (22:25):
So yeah, yeah, a lot of they have goal scorers,
so late a lot to still.

Speaker 1 (22:31):
Be explained there, right, We saw another three goals whole
home from Abbie Murphy over the weekend to get her
thirty six this season, which is gonna be where it
stays for a few weeks.

Speaker 2 (22:46):
Now, Nadine Mazarol for most goals career goals right, yes,
for the Gophers. So it's a fun spot to leave
the dramatic and for that in the season. Yeah, So
it'll sit there for a while. But she's got a
good lead at the top of the national stats.

Speaker 1 (23:06):
Yeah, she does eight one and five one wins for
the Gophers or Sincloud State, which now is finally out
of the top fifteen than the US Echo dot Com
rankings has been in there all season, I think, and
now Mercy Hurst says has got enough votes to move

(23:27):
the Huskies out. It's a it's been a rough season
for the Huskies. Coaching change obviously is Yeah, it's a
different team. It's the makings of a new direction. So
I wonder if this is just part of the growing pains.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
I think so, I mean, they did also get that
last class was a really solid class that had kind
of gone through together and gotten better as they'd gone
into their last two classes, and so I think they
probably just had have that and I've been very kind
of focused in on the sort of like cyclical nature
of both like e eighteens in college right now, and
that like at sometimes things are closer and sometimes things

(24:10):
are further apart, and it really just have to do
with like quirks of birth year and like recruiting classes
and and some of it isn't necessarily like a statement
on the state of the game in anyone country or
you know what I'm saying. And so I do think
that to some extent that some of this is just
like part of that cyclical and I think, you know,
sometimes you're gonna have that with coaching changes, and like

(24:32):
Brian was also only there for a couple of years,
and so I think like Saint claud just has to
sort of solidify their identity, and I think that they will,
and I think they've done. They've done plenty to show
that they can be competitive. I just think it's about
doing that consistently. And I think they're going to continue
to get some international players that really bring in feed

(24:54):
into the style that they play that they're gonna play
going forward.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
Absolutely a couple results and knew how I wanted to
touch on where we've got a change in the lead
at compared to last week. So Franklin Pears and st
Anselm both lost on Friday, Franklin Piris to nothing at
home the Assumption and Saint Anselm five to two at
Sacred Heart. Franklin Pierce got a tie with Assumption three
to three on Saturday and won the shootouts, who got

(25:19):
two points out of that, but Sacred Heart beat Saint
Anselm again three to one. So now look it's got
Franklin Pierce forty two points, sat Ansom forty one and
can't roll out Stonehill thirty seven Assumption thirty six kind
of you know a little bit farther away, right, We've

(25:39):
I feel like we've given this title away a few
times already this season.

Speaker 2 (25:44):
Basic anybody can win it. Yeah, but yeah, I mean
Stan some what are you doing? Like Secret Heart was
dead four wins before this, right like they were it was.
It was not a good weekend. Those are dems st
ansel Is to regret, but like way to go a
Secret Heart, way to you know, not be intimidated and
go just take those points. But yeah, what is happening?

(26:11):
I mean, it's crazy. We're like, I mean, we said
it what we said, it was like, we're loath to,
you know, give anything away this early, but I did
not think we'd be talking about four teams within six
points of each other at this point in the season,
Like just not remotely.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
The question of what's going on feels like the central
theme of the season, doesn't it. I mean, other than
what we've seen, what we see at the top, probably
we know what.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
We're talking about, and yet you mostly just see here and.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
Go, I do not purport that I purport nothing. Yeah,
but it's it's been a struggle to kind.

Speaker 2 (26:52):
Of experience and in history like is helping me figure
this out. So I mean, cue the jokes about me
knowing nothing, but I just am like that you take
all the data you have and it does not matter
in the final outcome of any of these games, and
I just like a tent scratching.

Speaker 1 (27:14):
Well, what we can figure out is that there are
a lot of really talented players that are off the Olympics,
and so when we come back from our first break,
we will discuss how that's going to change some things,
and look ahead to some of the games right away
in this coming weekend that are going to put that
to the test. For a few teams, So stay with
us on the podcast.

Speaker 4 (27:39):
We're back with the podcast, Todd and Nicole here to
talk about the Olympic break that isn't a break, but
it is going to I don't know break some.

Speaker 1 (27:50):
Teams, maybe question Mark. We're seeing a lot of teams
lose a player two, three, four. Some are losing five
players to the Olympics. Some are losing a little bit
of scoring. Some like Ohio State, are losing forty eight
percent of their goals to players gone through the Olympics.

(28:14):
Some are losing their top scorers or top five teams
are losing losing their leading goal scorer. Minnesota, Duluth, Ohio State,
Penn State, and Wisconsin not no slouches there of teams
obviously at the top, and right away we're going to
get a good look at what this does to UH

(28:34):
to teams that are fighting for the top. When number
one Wisconsin plays at number three Minnesota this Friday and Saturday,
So no Edmin Murphy on the Minnesota side, no Josephine
Bouvang lightman Nellie Layton in right. And then for Wisconsin,
no Kk Harvey, no Kristen Simms, no Liela Edwards and

(28:57):
maybe you know what people are are, maybe not thinking
of a ton with with those names that I just mentioned.
No Evin mcnatton a goal. So there's a big change there.
You've got I think I did the numbers today. She's
played like ninety two ninety three percent of the team's
minutes this season. Riya Stewart is a freshman, well thought
a freshman, but still a freshman and probably gonna first

(29:23):
big start in Ritter Arena. On Friday, she played a
seventeen to two game against stone Hill and was in reliefs.
Did come into play Minnesota earlier this season, if you
remember the one game Wisconsin lost, she Avin McDon gave
up five and got pulled and in went Riya Stewart.
So there's a lot, yeah, a lot the parts there.

(29:47):
But I guess what kind of things should we be
looking for in terms of impacts or like who, like
what it's going to take for some players to fill
in a lot of these gaps of you know what
you're talking about, losing first lines, entire first lines in
some some ways, how that that obviously challenges.

Speaker 2 (30:08):
Death, I would say, And I don't know if it's
recency biased, and I don't know if it's because you know,
we see Wisconsin more, but I do feel like the
way that Mark Johnson messes with the lines like constantly
throughout the game does I think help them in this
particular instance in that I don't feel like any of

(30:29):
them are super concerned with who's on their line or
who they'll be playing with. And I don't think I
don't know, but I don't think that we'll mess with
their sort of like confidence and they're like, I do
think that'll be a fairly smooth transition for them. And
you know, like Keearsten was hurt and Layel was hurt,
and so you know, we've seen and when that happened,

(30:49):
we saw players from from lower lines really step up
and have big weekends. And so I I the Ava
McNaughton novit aside, because that's just a headscrire sure, and
I have nothing more to say than I don't know
why everybody, why you hate Riya Stewart enough to throw
her to the wold no experience, I would say, I
think the concern for both Wisconsin and Minnesota is the

(31:11):
defensive loss over the offensive loss. Probably more for Wisconsin.
They're just simply and then the player like KK, and
I'm not sure like two or three players can replace
what she brings from vision, from playmaking, from quarterbacking, the
power play, from her recovery. I do think the the

(31:31):
Badgers can play really aggressive uh in transition and can
really like push themselves into offense because KK can catch
pretty much anybody going back the other direction, and none
of their other defenders are kind of even close to that,
And so I think that that has to change a

(31:52):
little bit, like kind of the whole approach, right Like, yeah,
I think the for check, I think the transition, I
think all that's got it change a little just based
on that. And then on the other side, like Minnesota
losing lightnin' as well, right like, she's she's a playmaker,
she steps up into the offense, and so I don't
think they have another defender. I think Sydney Morrow to

(32:14):
an extent has, But I think the playmakes and gets
involved in the offense in a way that not necessarily
any of their other defenders do. So I think for
both teams, the defensive loss will be interesting to see
how that transition. When you are Devid k Harvey, you
let her take, you know, kind of do what she
wants and then take control. And so what defender is

(32:37):
going to step up and take any part of that role? Right,
Like not the thing that they can replace her, but
somebody's got to step into some of that or they're
not the team that they were.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
It's it's interesting, you know, when you think about trying to,
you know, change styles or systems, how much of that
can you do in the end of January really because
you've been going like a certain way for you know,
three four, five months, and some are.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
Wisconsin playing the style that you played with KK running
that and now you're playing that without her, Like a
lot of State's gonna run that down your throat.

Speaker 1 (33:10):
Sure, I guess, I just don't know if that's necessarily
the style Wisconsin plays or just that KK does that
and just like to make the transition something out.

Speaker 2 (33:24):
Of it is very much a style thing.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
Sure, sure it is. And I think a lot of
things are just gonna have to be a little more
simple than we've seen from you know, these high end
teams for for a long time.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
That being said, like I'm excited to see more of
maybe Scannal. She at times has really showed off and
it's done really well, and I think she could really
thrive in a bigger role, and they're gonna indeed her
to be more important in the next couple of years.
Claire Enwright really stepped up when needed, So I do
Cassie hall To had that really big start and then

(34:00):
kind of heads. I wouldn't say it's interesting to say, like, oh,
big year, Cassie's in quiet, but it's just that you
also have KK and Chris did in Leila and wait
see on your team, Like you can't all shine all
the time. So I don't know that it's fair to
say like any of them got quiet, But I do
think there's plenty There are plenty of very gifted forwards

(34:22):
on that team, and so I think there's probably I
think I foresee it being less of a issue for
them transitioning moving forward. But like you said, it's probably
just got to be simpler and smarter.

Speaker 1 (34:33):
Yeah. I meant to mention this when we were looking
back at last week. But Wisconsin did their Senior Day
on Saturday last week and won ten to three over
of Vimiji, which was an interesting game to begin with,
I mean three to two until the last couple.

Speaker 2 (34:45):
Of seconds five the game minister.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
Yeah and so h but then the ten goals that
Wisconsin scored all by seniors or fifth year players, and
including three by KK Harvey and three by Kirsten Sales.
Was both of them with six point games. Only the
eighth and ninth players that Wisconsin ever have six point games.
You know, obviously there's some pretty exceptional players on that

(35:12):
list you're talking about, you know, pattycas winners.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
And there was only one goal that was non not
a senior, right, correct, right, So.

Speaker 1 (35:23):
Yeah, it was a it was a little bit of
the well sconsin need to get that while I was there,
because now it's not it's.

Speaker 2 (35:33):
Like, thanks for putting on display exactly what's what you'll
be missing.

Speaker 1 (35:38):
But I mean, so we've also seen Minnesota put up
big numbers. I was looking between them. I believe Wisconsin
has one more goal this season than Minnesota has in
the I believe the same number of games, and it's
and I think three points more. So Yeah, it's uh,

(35:58):
these are two teams that can absolutely score, and not
necessarily just from those players that are gone. It's been
throughout the lineup. The players have scored. But it'll be
interesting to see with more minutes, more responsibility, different power plays.
How that's going to be different this week?

Speaker 2 (36:15):
Yeah, Minnesota has had much worked up this year, has
just shown to be dangerous differently. But yeah, the same
thing for them is what a playmaker Abby is and
sort of her vision and sometimes she will just keep
it herself and do the things that she can do,
which is also feed I mean that the crazy play
that we're all still talking about for her was an assist.

Speaker 1 (36:36):
Right, Like.

Speaker 2 (36:38):
I think when when things break down or when the
plan isn't necessarily executable, like Abby is really easily able
to go off book, and I think that is the
sort of stuff. It's not you. You don't get to
play a perfect game against Wisconsin or Ohio State, right
like you don't and vice versa. Wisconsin doesn't get to

(36:59):
play perfect game against them. Like it's going to be
a little ugly, it's going to be choppy, you're not
going to hold the zone for long stretches, like all
the things that makes them good in a regular game
like that's gonna all go out the window. And so
that's where I think some of that vision and that
creativity and that puck handling sort of the elite skills
that the players that are leaving have. I think that's
what these teams will miss in those places.

Speaker 1 (37:22):
Yeah, Ohio State, which we mentioned also losing a ton
of scoring, hosts Minnesota Duluth Friday and Saturday. Like we said,
Minnesota Luth, which has not had a lot of scoring lately,
is going to need one to have that defense and

(37:42):
f gascon play at the level she was at last week.
But also they're going to have to find some way
of getting through Ohio States kind.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
Of sing they need one through the tie zero zero.

Speaker 1 (37:57):
Yes, they do that. That does make sense with that,
But so I mean there's there's players missing for both
of these teams too. We're gonna kind of everyone's got
to feel their way through this, I think for the
first week.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
Yeah, and there's no there's no runway. I mean, I like,
we we're focusing on next week, but like Ohio State
comes to Wisconsin the following week, like it's it's a
it's the deep end for these teams real quick. There's
there's not a lot of opportunity to to figure it out.
And so that's I think particularly Wisconsin Minnesota, but with
this one too, I just Minnesota to lose. It can

(38:35):
be so tight on defense, and like if you're if
you're needing to simplify and you aren't, you know, sort
of being able to be creative with the puck in
the same way. I think that's gonna be hard to
beat Afgastan, So it'll be interesting.

Speaker 1 (38:49):
Absolutely. I do want to mention Friday afternoon, Penn State
hosts Robert Morris in a game at Beaver Stadium, their
football stadium, as part of a weekend of outdoor games
there in State College. It sounds like it's gonna be fun.
The weather's gonna be chilly, but not as chilly as
it was in Minnesota last week for Hockey Dame Minnesota
and all that. But it's I mean, everything that's happening

(39:14):
fun for Penn State lately, and now you get an
outdoor game to throw in there, and it's it just
really feels like it's you.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
Know, are happening now title Yeah, yeah, so that should
be fun. I agree, it's If we weren't already going
to Penn State for the Frozen Four, I would have
going out there for that, yeah, just because I think
it sounds amazing and it's been a little while I
think we had that ratch about tour games. We haven't
done it in a little bit. I'm glad this is

(39:42):
coming back. They're fun at the football stadiums. Obviously we
were Wrigly, but but yeah, good for Penn State. I
hope that the women's team gets as much attention as
the fun's team and all that sort of stuff. And
I hope it's fun, and I hope it's safe, because
that's always an outdoor game concern.

Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yes, yes, absolutely, but yeah, it looked amazing. Another big
series in Hockey East this week, holy Cross at Northeastern
quote unquote at Northeastern. It's at Walter Brown Arena, which was,
like we mentioned, no real home for the Huskies anymore.

Speaker 2 (40:22):
To be home game for Northeastern.

Speaker 1 (40:25):
Right, That one's on Thursday, and then back at holy
Cross on Saturday. Holy Cross has been on a pretty
good run lately. Last weekend, right.

Speaker 2 (40:36):
It was their first ever win over Providence, much less
a sweep, much less a win at Providence.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
Sure, eighteen seven and one on the season, ten six
and one in Hockey East, and so there's you know,
in third place in the Hockey East.

Speaker 2 (40:50):
I covered record.

Speaker 1 (40:51):
Yeah, right, So they're they're challenging for second. I mean,
really the race for second right now, I think we've
given away so many titles this year that I can't
sure of it. But I'm pretty sure of Northeaster winning
that one. But yeah, if so, there's a chance there
for holy Cross to make a big impression if they

(41:11):
can take points from Northeastern this week.

Speaker 2 (41:15):
Yeah. And I think a big thing for holy Cross
is that they have added offense, right, like a dynamic offense,
and it's not one score. I mean, they've just had
the ability to score a game and game out against
a variety of opponents. And when a team is building
or when a you know, a program is looking sort
of for a rebuild or whatever, it is, like usually
you get the goaltending and the defense first, and it

(41:38):
takes a little while to build up that offense while
not losing defense, right, And so I think the pieces
have really come together for them well this year. Like
eighteen seven and one is a record I would have
never guessed for holy Cross, So like, good for them.
I just think it's a heck of a run that
we've seen from them, and almost like kind of quietly right,
like wasn't really on the radar, and then all of
a sudden, I was like, hey, that's a top fifteen

(41:59):
NP im Okay, So yeah, I think I hope for
their sake that they get a couple of points out
this weekend because I think it just would be a
really good, big boost for them.

Speaker 1 (42:09):
Yes, absolutely talked about Clarkson in the run that they've
been on. They are hosting number five Quinnipiac, Number eight
Printston this weekend. If if that I believe I said
five game winning streak turns into a seven game winning streak,
Will will really have to consider clarks and we'll see

(42:29):
what that would do to their MPI. I believe they're eleven,
just on the edge of making the tournament right now.

Speaker 2 (42:38):
And you know, so they missed a couple of players
too for the Olympics. So again, just it's gonna be dynamics.
I mean I made that face when you said it,
because it's like just just a mixer of the same
game as we saw last week, the different travel partners.
So uh yeah, we'll talk about the same teams that
Putyer should win and have no idea who it's going

(42:58):
to be. But I think of those groups, they're the
one Clarkson's the one that's has to adjust for some
missing teammates, and so that's I think the question work
for them.

Speaker 1 (43:09):
Yeah, I have the numbers here. There are seventeen teams
that are that have that are losing players at least
a player to the Olympics this season, and so that's
It varies in the number of goals they've scored and
points they've scored and games they've played in those kind
of things, but it's a it's a pretty uh healthy number.

(43:33):
And it's all a lot of teams are going into
this week, you know, filling a spot or or changing
things around. So I can almost guarantee that somewhere in
some league there's gonna be a game that's impacted by
by player or players that are that are missing.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
Yeah, I know you were figured out stats. I haven't
quite finished, which I'll have up at USHO when I do.
Sort of the every Olympic roster and who on it
has is either a current or format NCAA player, but
thus far off the obviously the US in Canada is everybody,
and then up to like eleven players on Finland, Switzerland
and Sweden Checkedia. So that's half a roster and there's

(44:14):
a good number of Also, I was gonna say, cis
U sports representation as well, particularly on the French team.
So yeah, tons, tons of collegiate impact on these squads,
which is cool. It's like when I was a eight
teams and people are like, oh, of course that person's
going to Minnesota or Wisconsin. They were like, oh, the
rich to get richer. But something like twenty teams had committed.

(44:38):
I don't have the exact number in front of me,
but a way larger number of schools had commits from
the last you eighteen group, which was was pretty cool
to see. But it's it is widespread and some of
the biggest names we're not going to, you know, the
schools that people would assume. So I think it's like
you said, it's if so many different teams that are represented,

(44:59):
which is a good for across the board recruiting and
all that kod stuff too.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
Yeah, anything else we need to touch on before we
say goodbye for this week?

Speaker 2 (45:11):
No, yes, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (45:13):
I don't. It feels like, I mean, there's so much
going on. We know, we don't get there. They just
got hold right, I know, we don't get to everything.
Around here, but yeah, we're trying. There's so much if
and reach out to us if we miss something. Our
email addresses in the show notes, so check on that.

(45:34):
Drop us line if you have questions, drop us a
line if you have comments, suggestions, people we should talk to.
Interview has been more difficult this year because of our
timings here, but that's something we'd love to get back
to when we can.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
I mean, we'll talk about it next week, but we are,
you know, Thursday the fifth is the start the Olympics
and that first game is at at six am Eastern.
So if you haven't already, like me, put it all
on your character, she remember who's playing when there's a
lot going on and we've got you know, what is
it quarterfinals on the thirteenth, semi finals on the sixteenth,
and in Golden Bronze rental games on the nineteenth. So we

(46:10):
will talk more Olympics, you know, next week, but yeah,
I would start, you know, playning your schedules and maybe
you know, Valentine's Day quarterfinals if you're really really exciting,
sure my husband will be thrilled. Yeah, yeah, it's just
it's it's a really exciting time. I think there's it's
it's a really great time for women's hockey right now.
Like the p DUB really picked up attention, and the

(46:32):
fact that like someone like Leila Edwards is one of
the faces of Team USA heading into this Olympics is
like a really great thing for for the collegiate for
the NCAA. Like too often, pros and and the NCAA
sort of exists separately and we don't talk about the
collegiate game as much. And I think there's just a
really big opportunity right now with so many collegiate players

(46:53):
on Team USA and across all the other squads as well.
So I think it's just a really fun time and
I think, I mean, we all is hope for an
Olympic bump. But one of the cool things this year
is that, like the Olympic bump, we can now tell
those people to watch nca and p DUB and there
is somewhere to see so many of these players. So
I am a little overwhelmed with everything that's happening all

(47:14):
at once, but it's like a super exciting to be
into women talking right now.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
Yeah, and you think about that when the Olympics are done,
we're getting right into the postseason in the NCAA season,
So that I mean, just that happens so fast.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
Four weeks of the regular season left. Like when I
was figuring that out this week, I was like, oh.

Speaker 1 (47:32):
Yeah, yeah, think about that. There's four weeks left of
the regular season. Then the postseason lasts four weeks, and
so that's what we've got left here. It's gonna go
buy the blink of an eye.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
Golden Bronze medal games are the nineteenth of February, and
that following not in like the not the twenty but
the twenty seventh is the start of most conference playoffs, right,
so eight days after the the medal games of the Olympics.
So this is gonna go lickety split, Yes.

Speaker 1 (47:59):
It will all right. On that note, we are going
to say goodbye for the week. Thanks for tuning in,
We appreciate it, and we will talk to you next
week here on the podcast.