January 27, 2013 at 6:34 PM
Ice Hockey: Women's
Penn State women's hockey: CHA weekend wrap
Syracuse’s sweep of Penn State was not the only College Hockey America matchup this weekend.
Every team in the CHA played a conference foe, resulting in some outcomes that kept the standings interesting.
In Jamestown, N.Y., Mercyhurst (19-4-1, 10-2-0 CHA) continued its dominance in the conference with two blowouts against Lindenwood (2-23-1, 2-9-1 CHA). On Friday, the Lakers shut out the Lady Lions, 10-0, and followed up the win with a 5-1 victory the next day.
The sweep prevented the Lady Lions from extending their lead in the standings over Penn State, who is currently in last place.
Lindenwood’s five conference points are only two more than Penn State’s. When the two play again, on Feb. 8 and 9, the teams’ positions in the standings will potentially hinge on the series.
In Rochester, N.Y., a game featuring three power play goals ended in a 2-2 overtime tie between Robert Morris (10-9-3, 6-5-1 CHA) and RIT (12-10-4, 5-3-4 CHA) on Saturday. Despite a nearly even effort in shots on goal (26-24, RIT), RIT downed the Colonials the next day, 2-0.
The Tigers’ four ties on the season have both helped them and held them back in the CHA standings.
The three points they earned during the weekend put the Tigers (14 points) one point ahead of the Colonials. However, the draws partially explain why they are three points behind the Orange, who are in second place.
Currently, the Orange, Tigers and Colonials are all bunched together, separated by four total points. While Lindenwood and Penn State will most likely not catch up to them, those two teams are also locked into a battle in the standings.
With about one month of games left, every game matters and will ultimately decide the first round matchups when postseason play begins.