5 Hockey East/ECAC women’s programs thriving on the power play

With wins tough to come by and games so tight, power plays are more critical than ever.

Consider that the four top Division 1 women’s power plays in the nation, by percentage, belong to programs ranked in the top eight in the latest poll.

Second-ranked Ohio State leads the way with an impressive 35.85 percentage. The only other school over 30 percent entering the week is Yale University (31.71).

“When you have it it’s such a luxury,” Yale head coach Mark Bolding said of a hot power play. “And when you don’t have it’s such a stress on your hockey team. It’s a big part of the game. Scoring goals can be a challenge.”

Yale’s dominance with the man advantage is a major reason the Bulldogs are 9-3-1 and ranked seventh in the country.

Let’s take a look at the five women's programs in Hockey East/ECAC Hockey with the best power play.

Yale

Bolding jokes that the reason his team is scoring so often with the man advantage is his decision to stay away from that part of the game and let assistant coach Grant Kimball handle the power play.

“We’re always cashing in on at least a game and what a difference at our level,” Bolding said. “It gives you a belief.”

A pair of juniors are extremely dangerous on the power play. Forward Claire Dalton and defenseman Emma Seitz have each netted three goals.

Dalton is joined up front on the top power play unit by junior forward Charlotte Welch (Winchester, Mass.), who has one power-play strike, and sophomore forward Elle Hartje. Seitz has terrific offensive instincts on the back end.

“She’s been very, very good for us,” Bolding said.

The addition of a freshman defenseman from Russia, Vita Poniatouskaia, has been huge. Poniatouskaia has pocketed two goals on the power play and shown poise normally displayed by an upperclassman.

Northeastern

The Huskies have potted 19 power-play goals, tying Ohio State for most in the nation, and their 28.79 percent success rate is fourth in the country.

A huge factor in Northeastern’s success has been the play of senior forward Maureen Murphy. The Buffalo, N.Y., native has five power-play goals, a figure surpassed by only one player in the country.

Four other players have scored at least two goals on the man advantage and all are forwards. Grad student Maddie Mills has four, followed by senior Chloe Aurard with three, and senior Alina Mueller and junior Katy Knoll with two each.

The Huskies are 16-2-1 and ranked third in the nation.

Clarkson

The Golden Knights have rebounded from a rare (8-10-1) sub-.500 season in a major way. Head coach Matt Desrosiers’ program is 15-2-3 and ranked eighth in the country.

Clarkson’s seventh-best power play is humming at a 22.03 percent success rate. The Golden Knights have scored 13 man-advantage goals, led by junior forward Gabrielle David, who has four thus far.

Adding two each are grad forward Caitrin Lonergan (Roslindale, Mass.), sophomore defenseman Nicole Gosling, junior forward Brooke McQuigge and freshman forward Baylee Kirwan.

St. Lawrence

Despite playing three of its last five games against top-10 opponents, St. Lawrence has managed to hover near the .500 mark (7-8-5) thanks, in part, to success on the power play.

The Saints have scored on 17 of 82 attempts, good for a 20.73 percentage. That’s the ninth-best in the nation.

Senior defenseman Kristen Guerriero is a major reason for the Saints’ success. She has shown off her offensive skills with three power-play goals. Matching that figure is sophomore forward Aly McLeod and grad forward Nara Elia. Junior forward Shailynn Snow has found the back of the net twice on the power play.

Vermont

The Catamounts are 8-7-2 overall and in the midst of a 4-1-1 roll.

Vermont has converted on nine of 47 attempts (19.15 percent), which is the 10th best in the nation. A Massachusetts native leads the way. Senior forward Corinne McCool (West Roxbury) has three goals with the man advantage.

Chipping in two apiece are senior forward Theresa Schafzahl and junior forward Lily Humphrey.