#4 Amherst looks to knock off #1 Middlebury this weekend. (Photo by Nathanael LaPage)

This weekend, there’s a lot on the line for the many teams, but there’s a few in particular that stand out. For starters, #1 Middlebury faces off against league-rival #4 Amherst. Then, #15 St. Norbert plays a hot Concordia (Wis.) in a home-in-home matchup on Friday / Saturday, and finally, #3 Gustavus has a home-in-home against Saint Mary’s.

#1 Middlebury – (11-1-0) vs #4 Amherst – (10-1-0)

Too start off with, we’re looking at what is the best matchup this weekend on paper. #1 Middlebury is hosting #4 Amherst on Friday and Saturday, with puck drop at 7PM and 3PM respectively. The Panthers just dropped their first game of the season against Connecticut College 2-1 in OT. As for the Mammoths, they’re riding a 3-game win streak outscoring opponents 11-0. Both teams are top 25 in SOS. Middlebury comes in at 14th, while Amherst is close behind at 24th. Now, unless things go belly up for both teams, they’re more than likely to be locks in the NCAA tournament, seeds pending.

Middlebury

So far through the season, Middlebury’s has been tested a good amount, the Panthers have faced off against four ranked teams and have won all of them. They lead the all-time series versus Amherst 31-12-15 and are 4-0 at home, so the odds are in their favor this weekend on paper.

One of the keys to their success is their lack of being a man down as they’re leading the NCAA in least penalty minutes per game. Additionally, they have the second ranked defense in the country.

One player to look out for is Senior Defensemen, Sabrina Kim, who leads the team in assists with 13 in 12 games. She also leads in points with 14.

Amherst

As for Amherst, they come into this game with the best defense in NCAA, don’t be surprised if somehow one of the games is 0-0 at the end of regulation. You cannot talk about the Mammoths without bringing up Junior Goaltender Natalie Stott. This year she’s a top 3 goaltender at worst. Since her freshman year at Amherst, she’s been a top goalie in all of D-III. This year, she is having a video game like season. She’s started in all games but one, and in those games, she has 6 shutouts, and in 10 games, has only let up 6 goals on 194 shots. Seeing this, it looks like it’s going to be a test for the Panthers to get one or two past her as she has two straight shutouts and looks to increase that number.

Freshman Ayla Abban is the skater to watch for the Mammoths. In her first season she has notched 9 goals in 11 games and is on a two-game goal streak.

#15 St. Norbert – (12-3-0) vs Concordia (Wis.) – (13-2-0)

The next top matchup is #15 St. Norbert vs Concordia (Wis.). This series is a home in-home with Friday at 6PM being at Concordia, and then right to St. Norbert on Saturday for a 4PM puck drop. St. Norbert leads the all-time series at 18-8-4. When you look at the SOS both teams are close and do not have the strongest schedules, with Norbert being 51st and Concordia being 59th.

St. Norbert goes 0-2 in the Panther/Cardinal Classic, falling to SUNY Plattsburgh & Endicott College. (Photo by Nathanael LePage)

St. Norbert

This year the Green Knights are off to the best start of their program’s history. They’ve had 20+ win seasons each year under Head Coach A.J. Aitken besides his inaugural season. The reason for this has been their amazing play on the road so far. They’re currently 8-2 when away from home and pair that with their 4-0 record at home, that’s a recipe to have a great season.

Their most recent loss just came in their last game #8 Augsburg 4-2. Just before that they were on a 4-game winning streak. One key to their success on the ice is that they are T-3rd in the nation for shorthanded goals. Being able to generate offense while a man down keeps any team they are facing on their toes. The Green Knights excel at not letting teams get comfortable when facing them.

Kelsey Ross is the standout player for the Green Knights, as she is the only point-per-game player for them, with 15 points in 15 games so look for her to continue her stellar play this weekend.

Concordia Wisconsin

When you look at Concordia, the first thing that hits you is their amazing play recently as they are currently on a 10-game win streak with their last loss on November 12th. This year, they’re only one win away from tying their all-time wins in a single season record, just halfway through the season. So, two historic seasons coming at a clash this weekend.

One thing Concordia needs to watch is their penalty minutes, as I previously stated, St. Norbert will punish you while a man down and the Falcons are 8th in the nation for penaly minutes per game.

NCHA star of the week Brooke Gibson is who look out for on the Falcons. The captain has 12 points in her last 5 games. She also just broke the program all-time points record just last Tuesday.

#3 Gustavus – (9-3-0) vs Saint Mary’s (8-4-0)

For the last matchup of the weekend, we have another home-in-home, this time featuring #3 Gustavus vs Saint Mary’s. On Friday, Gustavus will host, with puck drop at 5PM and then Saturday Saint Mary’s hosts, with a 2PM puck drop.

#3 Gustavus defeats #12 UW-Eau Claire 4-3. (Photo by Breeley Ruble – Gustavus Sports Information)

In this matchup, the SOS is stronger than the previous series we just looked at, this time, both teams are top 30. For the Gusties, they’re ranked 19th and Saint Mary’s is 29th. Gustavus leads the all-time series 54-6-7. This weekend is going to be a battle of the powerplay as both teams have top five powerplay units in the country.

Gustavus

In the last 20 seasons, the Gusties have won the MIAC 16 out of 20 times. So, longtime Head Coach Mike Carroll’s squad is hoping to continue their dominance. They’re currently 5-1 in conference play and are on a 4-game win streak, including a big upset win (in terms of the scoreboard, not the matchup itself) over their NCAA-tournament rival #2 UW-River-Falls, 7-2.

One of the reasons for the Gusties stellar play is first-year goaltender Lily Timmons who has all their wins on the season. She has a .915 SV% and a 1.67GAA. This is the Gusties first year without star goaltender and program record holder Katie McCoy, they’ve been looking for someone to pick up the slack and I believe they quickly found her.

Junior Lily Mortenson is also playing amazing in her first collegiate season. She has 17 points in 12 games, including 7 points in her last 4 games.

Saint Mary’s

After a below .500 start to the season through the first five games of the season, the Cardinals have turned things around. Since November 19th, they’re 6-1, so a complete turnaround from what looked like a rough season. One of the reasons for this is that their special teams have been amazing. As I mentioned earlier, they’re 1st in the nation for powerplay and are 15th in the nation for penalty kill, while also staying disciplined during their games as well, not taking many penalties. The Cardinals have the 16th least penalty minutes per game.

Senior forward Allie Urlaub is one the skaters to look for to play well this weekend. She’s tied for most points on the team and has 6 points in her last 4 games. One thing to make note for is that the Cardinals have not played a game since December 7th, so expect some rust on them to start the weekend versus a Gustavus squad coming off a big 4-3 midweek win over a ranked UW-Eau Claire squad.

That’s all for the featured games this weekend, some great hockey on the slate with two of the top teams in the nation facing off against each other. Some games with conference implications and some great goaltenders playing this weekend as well.