Brown Sweeps League Games
Vermont Unbeaten in 10
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Brown earned four points in the ECAC Hockey League standings over the weekend after sweeping the North Country behind the effort of this week's Player and Goaltender of the Week. Harvard, St. Lawrence, Princeton and Yale also picked up points over the weekend, as each team claimed one victory. In non-conference action, Vermont continues to turn out strong efforts and is now 7-0-3 in its last 10 games, including two recent non-conference wins.
Brown was on the road over the weekend and beat both Clarkson and St. Lawrence, and now sits fourth in the standings with seven points. Solid efforts on both offense and defense helped the Bears' effort as forward Brian Ihnacak and goalie Adam D'Alba took care of business at both ends of the ice. Ihnacak, this week's Player of the Week, picked up five points in the two wins with four goals and an assist. D'Alba captured Goalie of the Week honors after stopping 64 of the 67 shots he faced over the weekend, including 42 of the 43 he saw against the Saints. The Friday night win over the Golden Knights was a big one, as it was just the fourth-ever victory for Brown in Potsdam.
Princeton and Yale played their annual home-and-home series last week and each won at home. The Tigers claimed the 6-3 victory last Tuesday at Baker Rink, while Yale rallied for a 7-1 win at Ingalls. The Bulldogs got the monkey off their backs with the W, as they snapped a school-record 16-game losing skid. The win also happened to be the team's largest margin of victory since a win by the same score over the Tigers in November of 2002.
St. Lawrence earned its win over Harvard last Friday, and the Crimson went on to beat Clarkson the next night.
Vermont continues to be the big story, and it's more than the streak that has the nation talking this week. Saturday night saw the team go all out against No. 6 New Hampshire, and Torrey Mitchell stunned the Wildcats with just one second left on the game clock when he netted the game-winning goal. This week's Rookie of the Week actually had three goals in the game for his first collegiate hat trick. He also had a goal in the Cats' early-week win vs. Massachusetts. Vermont is getting the respect of the nation's coaches and media, as the Catamounts are ranked 11th in both of this week's national polls.
Dartmouth was also in action against a ranked team and ended up with a 0-0 tie vs. then No. 8 ranked Maine. It was the first scoreless tie in Thompson Arena history and the first for Dartmouth in Hanover since a 0-0 deadlock with Yale on Feb. 8, 1941. Goalie Dan Yacey was stellar between the pipes, stopping all 22 of the Black Bears' shots.
Union took its six-game winning streak into the weekend, but saw it snapped at the Dunkin Donuts Coffee Pot tourney. The Dutchmen tied Merrimack the first night before falling to Holy Cross on Sunday. However, the team is undefeated in league play and will look to continue its winning ways this weekend. Rensselaer was also in tournament play, winning its first game, but falling the next night in the championship contest.
Colgate and Cornell also played out-of-conference opponents and won all three games. The Raiders hosted Mercyhurst for a set and swept the Lakers, while the Big Red shut out Canisius.
There's mostly league action on the slate this coming week, with four ECACHL games on both Friday and Saturday night. Vermont, Clarkson and St. Lawrence will all face non-conference teams, while Dartmouth is idle because of semester exams.
Follow all the action with live stats from most games and postgame stories and box scores from all the contests online at http://www.ecachockeyleague.com/.
