Five NCAA rookies making noise — PWHL news and updates

(Editor’s note: This is the last Hockey Friday of 2024. The IX is off next week, and will return with Hockey Friday on Jan. 3, 2025.)

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NCAA rookie watch

There’s been a lot of great hockey already played throughout the first few months of the Division I NCAA hockey schedule. From an upset of the reigning national champions on day one of the season, to rises of certain schools to the tops of their conferences, there’s been a lot of interesting storylines so far this year. 

But today, I want to look at some of the individual efforts of certain players. What follows is a highlight of one player from each of the five Division I conferences that have been particular standouts so far. The catch? All of these players are rookies in their respective leagues. 

And let me just say, the kids are doing alright. 

ECAC: Mackenzie Alexander | Forward | Princeton 

Now, I’ll be the first to admit it’s hard to judge the Ivy League schools compared to some of the other top programs in the country until later in the year, solely because of their delayed start to the season. The Princeton Tigers have only played 15 games so far this season, and while their 4-5-2 record in conference isn’t the best, they’re still heading into the semester break ranked No. 14 by USCHO, and are No. 13 in the USA Hockey Poll as well with 10 wins overall. 

One of the contributing factors to the Tigers success so far this season comes in the form of Mackenzie Alexander, a 2006-born freshman who leads the team in scoring with 33 points in just 15 games. 

I’m sorry, what? 

The 5’6 forward from Etobicoke, Ontario has nine goals and 24 assists so far this season, leading the entire conference in apples to this point in the year. She’s one of two players on the Tigers to have a short handed goal so far this season, and has an additional two on the power play as well. Heading into the break, Alexander has at least a point in 12 straight games, and through her young career has been held off the score sheet just once — the third game of the season against Yale. 

Now, Princeton is no stranger to having an incredibly talented forward on their roster. Just look at Canadian superstar and PWHL 2024 first overall pick Sarah Fillier for their most recent high-talent product. Through 15 games as a first year, Fillier had 30 points, and 57 through her entire freshman campaign, a 1.96 point per game average. Alexander is on a better point per game pace than Fillier was at a 2.2 PPG, and it’s paying off in spades for Princeton. 

Am I saying Alexander is going to be better than Fillier? No, I’m not. What I’m saying is Alexander is my current front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award, and she’s a name I’ll be keeping my eye on from now until her graduation day — because I’d bet she’s only going to get better. 

Hockey East: Claire Murdoch | Forward | University of Connecticut

Let me be 100% honest here: there are a lot of rookies I could have picked for HEA. Lola Reid had a great start to the season for BU, Northeastern has a trio of rookies that have made waves throughout the season, and Merrimack has a freshmen duo who have really been making a difference as well. 

But Claire Murdoch stands out just a little bit more. 

In 20 games played so far, the forward leads not only Hockey East rookies in scoring, she also leads her own team in scoring, with 15 points for UConn. For her efforts, Murdoch was named to the Canadian Six Nations tournament roster, where she played on the second line in the championship game. 

And it’s not just the production that Murdoch has provided for UConn overall, it’s how crucial those points have been for the team as well. The Huskies have scored in total 42 goals this season, not the lowest in Hockey East but definitely middle of the pack. Murdoch with her production has factored into 48% of those scores, and in the last weekend of game play before the semester break, she assisted on UConn’s game-winners against both New Hampshire and Maine. 

Sure, Murdoch wasn’t as flashy to start the season as some of the other rookies in the conference. She has only gotten better as the season has gone though, and that I’d expect to continue. Which, for a team looking to defend their Hockey East title, is crucial. Murdoch will be a great name for UConn for the next 3.5 years, and I’m interested to see just how much more she develops in the spring. 

New England Women’s Hockey Alliance: Alexsa Caron | Goaltender | Stonehill

There are a lot of solid rookies in NEWHA play this season, but none have been as crucial to their team as Alexsa Caron has been for Stonehill. 

Coming into the season, the Skyhawks had a lot of expectations on them as the reigning conference tournament champions. The season has not quite gone according to plan however, with last year’s starter, junior Eve Stone, not dressing to this point in the year. Without Stone, Caron has had to step up and step up quickly, and the freshman has — against some of the toughest opponents in the country. 

In 21 starts this season, Caron has a .907 save percentage, but has already faced 766 shots against in her young career. She made a career-high 61 saves against Ohio State at the Icebreaker Tournament in October, and followed it up the next day with a 54 save effort against Princeton. You know, the reigning national champions and a perennial top-15 team in the national polls. No biggie!

The 19-year-old definitely still has room to grow, there’s no doubt about that. But without Caron, I’m not sure exactly where Stonehill would be right now. 

She’s played the most minutes out of any goaltender in the NCAA, and has made nearly 200 more saves than any other netminder in Division I. Not to mention she’s working under USA starting goaltender Aerin Frankel — who’s no stranger to being a top name in the NCAA herself — which will help Caron’s development moving forward. Regardless, Caron has been the MVP for Stonehill all year, and that makes her standout as the NEWHA Rookie highlight here. 

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Atlantic Hockey America: Grace Outwater | Forward | Penn State 

Of all the goal scorers in the AHA, Grace Outwater is fifth with eight goals, and is seventh in overall scoring with 17 points. The freshman is fifth on the Nittany Lions in scoring, but leads her team with three of their 15 game-winning goals. She’s also tied for first in the AHA in the statistic alongside Syracuse’s Bryn Saarela. 

Seven of Outwater’s NCAA points have come within conference play, where PSU has a perfect 8-0 record so far this season. Not to mention she’s also a +16 across her appearances, and has seven blocks to go along with her productive offensive numbers. 

Outwater’s contributions have made a huge impact for Penn State. All four of their losses have occurred when she didn’t record a point, and after a quiet start to the season, she now has points in nine of their last 15 games. 

In a small conference, and on the best team in said conference, it’s sometimes difficult to stand out. I mean, she plays with Tessa Janecke, one of the best players in the NCAA right now and I’d argue that it’s hard to generate noise behind that. But Outwater has consistently proven herself to this point in the season, with a hat trick in PSU’s 11-1 win over Stonehill, and a three-assist performance against Robert Morris. When Outwater has needed to step up, she has. And I’d expect that to continue down the stretch, which will greatly help the Nittany Lions moving forward. 

Western Collegiate Hockey Association: Chloe Primerano | Defender | Minnesota

The WCHA is another conference that has a lot of high-powered rookies. And let’s be honest, high-powered everything. It’s without a doubt the toughest conference to play in, and also the toughest conference to decide on a rookie to highlight here. 

I wrestled a lot with this one, but I mean if there’s any player to highlight, of course it’s Chloe Primerano. In just 16 games the defender has 11 points, the second-most of any blue liner on the Gophers roster. Not to mention she’s a +7 on the season, playing primarily on Minnesota’s top defensive pairing. 

Did I mention she’s just 17 years old? 

Outside of her overall defensive capabilities, and lord knows there’s a lot of them, Primerano’s offensive contributions have been critical for Minnesota. The freshman has two power play goals so far this season, and plays top minutes when the Gophers need her to. 

Overall, Primerano is everything Minnesota needs in a superstar. And again, she’s doing this at just 17 years old. As one of the youngest players in the NCAA, Primerano is capable of everything she’s being asked to do and more, and consistently is succeeding above expectations. 

While she wasn’t named to the Canadian team for the Six Nations tournament, she will be returning to the U-18 tournament for a second year in January. You know, the tournament where she had 16 points last year as a 16-year-old. Now, a year older and playing in the most difficult conference in NCAA DI, I’d expect that production to be even higher. 

With her trip to Finland for the U-18’s, Primerano is expected to miss a decent number of games for Minnesota. She already missed some time due to making her senior national team debut in November for the Rivalry series — where she scored in a shootout to help secure the win for Canada. The Gophers will want her back fast, however, and with good reason. She’s a key piece to the team’s success moving forward, and she still has a lot of years to continue developing. 

Which should terrify just about everyone in the NCAA — she’s only going to get better. 

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Around the hockey world

NCAA D3: At the break, Part 1 — The Ice Garden 

We’re halfway through the NCAA season, and while the teams are on break, there’s no better time to go through the DIII season so far than now. Melissa D. Hellman has two in-depth pieces on all of the conferences in the DIII level. Be sure to check out Part 1 above before jumping to look at Part 2. 

A (semi) definitive ranking of 2024 goalie setups — The Ice Garden

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Six Nations wrap-up: USA wins gold — The Victory Press

The Six Nations tournament wrapped up last weekend with none other than the United States claiming the victory in Tampere Finland. Made up of NCAA players, the U.S. team had some dominant performances en route to the trophy. Nicole Haase of TVP breaks down the end results above.  

A non-traditional path to the PWHL has paid off for Izzy Daniel — The Hockey News 

Reigning Patty Kazmaier award winner Izzy Daniel has had a solid start to the season as a rookie for the Toronto Sceptres. But her path to professional hockey is a bit different than most. Cee Benwell from THN sat down with Daniel to talk things over in this entertaining piece. 

Could the PWHL expand to St. Louis? — The Athletic 

Expansion is coming quickly to the P-Dub next year, and of the cities hosting a neutral site game this season is St. Louis. Could the future of women’s hockey be in St. Louis? Hailey Salvian and Jeremy Rutherford make a great argument for why it should be in the latest piece from The Athletic above. As a heads up, you will need a subscription for this article to read it.