Harvard Wins Lone ECACHL Game of Weekend
ALBANY, N.Y. -- There was just one ECAC Hockey League game on the slate this past weekend and Harvard earned a 3-2 win over Dartmouth to earn two points in the standings. Three other teams were in action, with St. Lawrence and Rensselaer playing just one game each, and Union playing twice.
Harvard and Dartmouth played in front of a national audience on Saturday, as their game was broadcast live by CSTV. The Crimson scored three straight goals - all on the power play - before Dartmouth tallied two of its own (including a short-handed marker by Kevin Swallow) to bring the game within one. The Big Green wasn't able to tie it up, even with an extra attacker late in the third period, giving Harvard the win. The Crimson's Mike Taylor was named Player of the Week for scoring two goals in the game.
Union posted two non-league victories over the weekend, downing UMass-Lowell 4-3 on Friday and Connecticut 7-2 on Sunday. Jason Walters was a leader for the Dutchmen with four points on three goals and an assist over the weekend and earned Rookie of the Week honors. He had the game winning goal vs. UML and then had two goals and a helper vs. UConn. Classmate Mario Valery-Trabucco also produced offensively, scoring three goals over the two games. Goaltender Justin Mrazek earned both wins, stopping 53 of the 58 shots he faced on the weekend.
Matt Angers-Goulet scored the game-winning goal for Rensselaer in the Engineers' only game of the week. The sophomore forward also had an assist in the contest, helping his team to the 2-1 victory. Freshman Paul Kerins matched Angers-Goulet with two points of his own - the game's first goal and an assist on the GWG. Mathias Lange earned Goaltender of the Week honors after stopping 22 shots on goal.
St. Lawrence was also in action over the weekend and fell to Vermont, 4-0. Things will be quiet around the league until the end of the month, as all 12 teams are taking time off for the holidays. ECACHL teams start playing again on Friday, Dec. 29.
ECACHL Player of the Week
MIKE TAYLOR -- Harvard
Jr., Forward * Maple Grove, Minn.
Taylor scored two of Harvard's three goals in the win vs. No. 19
Dartmouth. Both goals were power-play markers. Taylor has five
points (3g, 2a) in the last four games and seven (4g, 3a) on the
season.
ECACHL Goalie of the Week
MATHIAS LANGE -- Rensselaer
So., Goaltender * Klagenfurt, Austria.
Mathias earned the 2-1 win vs. UMass-Lowell, by stopping 22 of the
23 shots he faced.
ECACHL Rookie of the Week
JASON WALTERS -- Union
Fr., Forward * Renfrew, Ont.
Walters had three goals and an assist over the weekend. He had the
GWG vs. UML and then had three points (2g, 1a) vs. UConn.
TEAM NOTES
Brown: Brown was idle this past weekend and returns to action Friday, December 29 vs. UMass-Lowell at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup (Denver, Colo.).
Clarkson: The Golden Knights were idle this past weekend and return to action Friday, December 29 vs. Wisconsin at the Badger Showdown (Madison, Wisc.).
Colgate: The Raiders were idle this past weekend and return to action Friday, December 29 vs. Northeastern at the Toyota/UConn Classic (Storrs, Conn.).
Cornell: The Big Red was idle this past weekend and returns to action Friday, December 29 vs. New Hampshire at the Everblades Classic (Estero, Fla.).
Dartmouth: Dartmouth fell to Harvard this past Saturday, 3-2 ... Netminder Mike Devine has started every game this season and every one since Dec. 16, 2005 - 33 in all. The junior is 5-4-2 this year with a .915 save percentage and a 2.68 GAA ... Junior David Jones continues to pace his team in scoring this year. He is tops with 16 points and is on a five-game scoring streak, notching seven points in that span. Rookie T.J. Galiardi is also on a scoring streak at three games with five points scored ... Kevin Swallow notched Dartmouth's first short handed goal of the season when the sophomore potted his second goal of the season midway through the second period against Harvard on Dec. 16 ... Dartmouth is looking to claim a tournament crown this weekend when Big Green hosts its own Ledyard National Bank Classic on Dec. 29 and 39.
Harvard: The Crimson scored three power-play goals against Dartmouth, its sixth game with two or more goals on the man advantage ... Harvard killed all four of its penalties, its seventh game without allowing a power-play goal ... The Crimson wraps up 2006 with its fifth appearance in the Great Lakes Invitational ... Harvard won the 1972 GLI and last competed in the event in 1991 ... Jon Pelle has recorded points in four straight games. He and Paul Dufault have combined on a goal in each of the last three games ... Mike Taylor has five points (3-2) in the last four games.
Princeton: The Tigers were idle this past weekend and return to action Friday, December 29 vs. Nebraska-Omaha at Baker Rink.
Quinnipiac: Quinnipiac was idle this past weekend and returns to action on Thursday, January 4 for a home game against RIT.
Rensselaer: Through the first 16 games, RPI has tied the school record for most ties in a season with six. Last year's Engineers set the mark with six ties in 37 games ... Freshman Paul Kerins has a point (4 goals, 4 assists) in six of his last eight games ... RPI is 4-3-3 in non-league games. The Engineers have just two non-league games remaining, both at the Catamount Cup at the University of Vermont (Dec. 29-30) ... Rensselaer is 4-2 in one-goal games. Twelve of its 16 games have been decided by one goal or ended in a tie ... Five players have played in the first 16 games: Kurt Colling, Seth Klerer, Jake Luthi, Jake Morissette and Peter Merth.
St. Lawrence: The Saints played a single game over the weekend and lost to Vermont, 4-0 ... St. Lawrence will return to action on Friday, December 29 vs. Boston University at Dartmouth's Ledyard national Bank Tournament (Hanover, N.H.)
Union: Union broke a five-game road losing streak with a 7-2 win over UConn Sunday ... The five-goal margin of victory is the largest since a 5-0 shutout of Clarkson last January ... Union's win over UMass Lowell on Friday marked the first over the River Hawks at Messa Rink for the Dutchmen ... Union is undefeated against UConn, holding the series lead at 4-0-1 ... The Dutchmen will face St. Cloud State for the first time at the Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount cup at Vermont on Dec. 29 ... Union is 6-2-2 in non-conference games this season.
Yale: The Bulldogs were idle this past weekend and return to action Friday, December 29 vs. MSU-Mankato at Ingalls Rink.
