HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Northeastern is ranked No. 1 in the country after the Huskies scored seven goals in a shutout of New Hampshire to advance to the semifinals for the 11th straight season. The Huskies have captured the last three Bertagna Trophies as Hockey East Tournament champions and can become just the second team to win four titles in a row (Boston University, 2011-15.) Aerin Frankel (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) won her 13th consecutive Hockey East Tournament game in dominating fashion, stopping 21 shots to pick up her ninth shutout of the year. The senior has never lost a playoff game and sits second on the all-time career wins list, just two behind the current record. Frankel was also named a finalist for the Hockey East Player of the Year award on Monday.

Providence became the first team to advance to the Hockey East semifinals with a 4-3 win over Boston University, the first Friars’ win over the Terriers in the Hockey East Tournament in program history. Brooke Becker (Orchard Park, N.Y.) Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team selection and finalist for Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year, scored a goal and added two assists, including on the game-winning strike, to lead the Friars offense. It will be the Friars’ 13th appearance in the semifinals and they are seeking their first Bertagna Trophy as Tournament champions since 2005.

Maine earned its second consecutive berth in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals with a 3-1 road win at Vermont on Sunday. The Black Bears were led by their two All-Star selections as sophomore Ida Kuoppala (Pedersore, Finland) scored twice, including the game-winning goal, while Loryn Porter (North Bay, Ont.) kicked out 33 shots. Maine has never advanced to the Hockey East title game in five trips to the semifinals.

Seventh-seeded UConn upset second seed Boston College, 5-1, to advance to the Hockey East Tournament semifinals for the second straight year. The Huskies got two goals from senior forward Morgan Wabick (Winnipeg, Man.) and a three-point (1g, 2a) night from junior Danika Pasqua (Langley, B.C.) to skate past the Eagles after going 0-5 against the squad in the regular season. The Huskies have appeared in the title game twice in the last three years and are looking for the first tournament crown in program history in their ninth trip to the semifinals.

Hockey East announced finalists for the three major individual awards for the 2020-21 season. Finalists for Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year include Brooke Becker (Orchard Park, N.Y./ Providence), Jessie McPherson (Chatham, Ont./Vermont), and Millie Sirum (Holy Cross/ Oslo, Norway.) All three finalists for the Cammi Granato Award as Player of the Year are from Northeastern, including Skylar Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.), Aerin Frankel (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.), and Alina Mueller (Winterthur, Switerlan), who were all named Top 10 Finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award last week. Top coaches as voted by their peers include Katie Crowley (Boston College), Dave Flint (Northeastern), and Matt Kelly (Providence.)

The 2021 Hockey East Semifinals will take place on Wednesday, March 3. UConn will travel to Northeastern at 4:30 p.m. while Maine will play at Providence at 7:00 p.m. Both games will air live on NESN in New England and stream worldwide on SportsLive.

ARMY ROTC HOCKEY EAST CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Savannah Bouzide - UConn
Aerin Frankel - Northeastern

Savannah Bouzide (Amherstburg, Ont.) assisted on three of UConn’s five goals in a 5-1 victory at Boston College in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals. Her second helper set up the decisive tally, which gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead at 11:20 of the second period on the power play. She now has at least one helper in four straight games, totaling six in that time.

Aerin Frankel (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) won her 13th consecutive Hockey East Tournament game in dominating fashion, stopping 21 shots to pick up her ninth shutout of the year. The senior has never lost a playoff game and sits second on the all-time career wins list, just two behind the current record. Frankel was also named a finalist for the Hockey East Player of the Year award on Monday.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Brooke Becker - Providence

Brooke Becker (Orchard Park, N.Y.) pushed her personal point streak to three games (1g, 3a) with a goal and two assists. The rookie defender opened the scoring at 2:14 of the first period with a power-play strike before her second assist set up the game-winning goal to deliver a Tournament victory over Boston University for the first time in program history. She was named to the Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team last week and a finalist for Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year on Monday.

HOCKEY EAST WOMEN'S DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Loryn Porter - Maine

Loryn Porter (North Bay, Ont.) made 33 saves on 34 shots on Sunday to backbone the Black Bears into the Hockey East Tournament semifinals for the second consecutive season. The senior goaltender earned her first career playoff win in her very first postseason start to move to 8-8-1 on the year, playing each game on the road. Last week, Porter was named a Hockey East Second Team All-Star.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Cayla Barnes, BC (Jr., D; Eastvale, Calif.) Scored her fourth goal of the season in Sunday’s quarterfinal against UConn while getting four shots on goal.

Julia Shaunessy, BU (Fr., D; Marshfield, Mass.) Scored the first two goals of her NCAA career in a 4-3 setback at Providence in her first playoff appearance.

Danika Pasqua, UConn (Jr., F; Langley, B.C.) Scored one goal and set up two others to push the Huskies past Boston College in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals. She is currently riding a four-game point streak during which span she has scored five goals and added two assists.

Morgan Wabick, UConn (Sr., F; Winnipeg, Man.) Found the back of the net two times to lift the Huskies past Boston College and into the Hockey East semifinals for the second straight year. Wabick, a member of the All-Tournament Team in 2020, is now riding a four-game point streak with two goals and three assists in that period.

Ida Kuoppala, ME (So., F; Pedersore, Finland) Scored Maine’s first two goals, opening the scoring and then giving the Black Bears the lead for good in an eventual 3-1 win at Vermont. The performance powered Maine to the semifinals for the second straight season. Kuoppala has now played in four Hockey East Tournament games and scored the game-winning goal in two of those contests.

Veronika Pettey, NU (Sr., F; Potomac, Md.) Set up the game-winning goal and scored a tally of her own to help lead the Huskies over New Hampshire, 7-0, and into the Hockey East semifinals.

Andrea Renner, NU (Sr., F; Arlington Heights, Ill.) Dished out three assists in Northeastern’s 7-0 Hockey East Tournament win over New Hampshire.

Alina Mueller, NU (Jr., F; Winterthur, Switzerland) Picked up a goal and an assist in a 7-0 win over New Hampshire and was named a finalist for the Hockey East Player of the Year award on Monday.

Caroline Peterson, PC (Jr., F: East Falmouth, Mass.) Scored two goals, including the game-winning goal, in a 4-3 win over Boston University. Peterson enjoyed a three-point night to power the Friars offense over the Terriers in a Hockey East Tournament game for the first time in program history.

Sara Hjalmarsson, PC (Jr., F; Bankeryd, Sweden) Set up two tallies in Providence’s 4-3 victory over Boston University in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals.