Yale Earns League Sweep; Union Earns Point Each Night
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Competition in the ECAC Hockey League got back into the swing of things over the weekend and Yale was the big winner, claiming a weekend sweep. Union also had success in both of it games, earning ties each night to extend its home unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Dartmouth, Rensselaer and Quinnipiac also claimed league points with one win each. The Big Green actually earned three points on the weekend, as it downed the Engineers and tied the Dutchmen. RPI claimed two points with a win over visiting Harvard, while the Bobcats downed Princeton in overtime.
Yale's sweep was its second of the season and also marked its third and fourth straight league wins. It marked the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Bulldogs have won four straight league games. Junior defenseman Bill LeClerc led Yale with four points on the weekend and had the game winner on Sunday vs. Quinnipiac. His two goals and two assists placed him among the league's top scorers for the weekend and earned him Player of the Week Honors. Teammate Alec Richards was also honored, taking Rookie of the Week accolades after stopping 66 of the 70 shots he faced in earning the two wins.
Dartmouth netminder Mike Devine earned Goaltender of the Week honors after helping his team to a three-point weekend. He tied his career-high with 33 stops in the win vs. Rensselaer and then had 19 the next night vs. Union in the tie.
Rensselaer rebounded from its Friday loss to down Harvard. The Crimson entered the game ranked among the nation's top 20 and also sat atop the league standings. The Engineers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and then hung on to win 3-2. Jake Morissette netted the game winning goal.
Quinnipiac's league win came over Brown and it took overtime to earn the victory. The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead before the Bears came back to tie it up late in the third after pulling their goalie for an extra attacker. David Marshall found the back of the net at 1:01 in the overtime period to end the game and earn the win for QU. Brown went on to tie Princeton the next night, 2-2, in New Jersey.
In non-league action, Clarkson claimed two victories over the weekend, as the Golden Knights downed RIT and St. Lawrence. The game vs. the Saints was a non-conference affair which took place at the Corel Center in Ottawa, Ont. Cornell was also a winning in non-league play, also beating RIT, while Colgate went 0-2-1 in non-conference action.
The upcoming schedule has two mid-week games before heading into league competition over the weekend. Brown starts things off on Tuesday night with a home game vs. Connecticut before Yale plays host to New Hampshire on Wednesday. In ECACHL play, Cornell and Colgate visit Princeton and Quinnipiac, while St. Lawrence and Clarkson travel to Rensselaer and Union. Yale will also face Brown on Saturday afternoon. Dartmouth has a single non-league game, taking on New Hampshire in a Saturday evening game at the Verizon Wireless Center in Manchester, N.H.
Two of the weekend's games will be televised in local markets. Friday's Clarkson at Union game will be shown on Time Warner Channel 3 in the Albany area, while Saturday's Dartmouth-UNH tilt will be broadcast on WMUR, New Hampshire's ABC affiliate.
