Harvard Wins Twice in ECACHL Play
ALBANY, N.Y. - ECAC Hockey League teams started to get back in the swing of things over the weekend with a handful of conference games. Harvard was the weekend winner, posting a sweep, while Dartmouth and Union split. Yale and Quinnipiac had one league game each over the weekend and both claimed victory. Other teams had non-conference games, and there were even two exhibitions on the slate.
The Crimson started off 2007 with a 5-1 win over Rensselaer on Friday and followed up with a 3-2 win at Union on Saturday. The weekend sweep's four points vaulted the Crimson up five sports in the league standings. Kyle Richter, the Goaltender of the Week, earned both victories, stopping a total of 46 shots between the two games. 30 of his saves came against the Dutchmen. Overall, he had a 1.51 goals against average and a .939 save percentage for the weekend. Richter received offensive support from Jon Pelle, who had two goals and an assist on the weekend. The Player of the Week, Pelle assisted on the winner vs. RPI and scored the winning goal vs. the Dutchmen.
Although Union lost to Harvard on Saturday, the weekend started off on a positive note, as the Dutchmen downed Dartmouth 4-1. Goaltender Justin Mrazek earned the win after making 37 saves in the game. Josh Coyle netted the winning goal vs. the Big Green and had an assist. Coyle also netted a power-play goal vs. the Crimson.
Dartmouth closed out its weekend on the upswing, as it stopped its six-game non-winning streak with its 6-2 victory vs. Rensselaer. David Jones scored twice (including the GWG) and had an assist in the victory.
Yale and Quinnipiac faced their respective travel partners and each earned a win over the weekend.
Yale edged Brown 4-3 on Saturday, with Will Engasser scoring two goals, including the winner. Teammate Sean Backman was named Rookie of the Week, after earning two points (one goal, one assist) in the win. Alec Richards made 41 saves in goal.
The Bobcats blanked Princeton, 2-0, to maintain its spot at the top of the league standings with 15 points. Jamie Bates netted both goals for the Bobcats, while Bud Fisher earned his first shutout of the year by stopping all 23 shots he faced. Quinnipiac also played a non-league game earlier in the week and fell to RIT, 3-2.
Princeton also saw weekend action against the U.S. Under-18 team and fell 4-2 in the exhibition.
Colgate and Cornell both played non-league games, with the Raiders falling 3-2 to Niagara and Cornell dropping a 2-1 decision to Sacred Heart.
The only other game of the weekend featured Clarkson with an exhibition win over McGill, a 4-2 victory.
All 12 teams are back in action this coming week and most are playing league games. Princeton and Quinnipiac start things of on Tuesday to finish off their annual series. Union and Rensselaer will battle each other twice this weekend in their home-and-home series, while Colgate and Cornell travel to St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Yale and Brown are also in action, as they faceoff against Princeton and Quinnipiac. Dartmouth has the lone non-conference game of the week, taking on New Hampshire on Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Center in Manchester, N.H.
ECACHL Player of the Week
JON PELLE - Harvard
Jr., Forward * West Islip, N.Y.
Pelle recorded three points on two goals and an assist to lead the
Crimson to a weekend sweep at Rensselaer and Union and a five-spot
climb in the ECACHL Standings. He netted the winner vs. Union and
assisted on the winner vs. RPI.
ECACHL Goalie of the Week
KYLE RICHTER - Harvard
Fr., Goaltender * Calgary, Alb.
Richter picked up two wins on the weekend by making 46 stops
between the pipes. He posted a 1.51 GAA and a .939 save pct. over
the two games.
ECACHL Rookie of the Week
SEAN BACKMAN - Yale
Fr., Forward * Cos Cob, Conn.
Backman had a goal and an assist in Yale's win over Brown. His
helper was on the game-winning goal.
TEAM NOTES
Brown: Ryan Garbutt scored his second goal in three games, matching his goal total from all of last season . Matt Vokes, Brian McNary and Chris Poli have each posted points in two straight games . With 12 points on the season, Vokes has already equaled his output from all of last year ... Frosh Dan Rosen is listed among the 40 candidates for the 2007 Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
Clarkson: Nick Dodge was named CSTV/HCA National Player of the Month for December . Tim Potter, a freshman goalie, joined the Knights last week and stopped all three shots in faced in the final seven minutes against McGill. He replaces Matt Smith who left Clarkson at the end of the first semester . Former Golden Knight Gord Sharpe recently auctioned off the world's oldest hockey stick for $2.2 million with the proceeds going to charity.
Colgate: Junior Tyler Burton scored his 50th career goal against Niagara. He is averaging exactly one point per game in his career, and will play in his 100th career game on Saturday, meaning he may score his 100th career point this weekend. Burton leads the ECACHL in scoring with 24 points this season . Colgate was unable to hold onto a 2-1 second-intermission lead in its final non-conference game of the season and lost to No. 19 Niagara, 3-2.
Cornell: Cornell's current two-game losing streak is the second time this season the Big Red dropped two games in a row. The previous time was followed by a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) . Mike Schafer is still one win away from becoming Cornell's all-time leader in wins. He tied Dick Bertrand's 230 wins with the Big Red's win vs. UNH on 12/29.
Dartmouth: Four Big Green players scored against Rensselaer to give Dartmouth its first win in six games . David Jones and T.J. Galiardi were both multiple-point scorers as Jones notched three points and Galiardi had two . Dartmouth finally broke its power play drought against RPI. After going 0-fo-49 on the PP, the Big Green racked up four PPGs against the Engineers. Jones scored two as Galiardi and Tanner Glass each had one.
Harvard: Harvard has won three straight and four of its last five . The Crimson has the next two weekends off for first-semester exams . In the win against Rensselaer, Harvard netted a season-high five goals and held its opponent to fewer than 20 shots (17) for the fourth time . Alternate captain Jimmy Fraser and the U.S. National Junior Team won the bronze medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Princeton: Princeton's four-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night against Quinnipiac, but the Tigers remain 6-2-1 in their last nine games . Saturday's shutout loss to Quinnipiac marked the first time this season that Princeton was shut out. It was also was the first time Princeton was shut out in a league game in the last 32 games played dating back to a 0-0 tie at Union in the final game of the 2004-05 season.
Quinnipiac: Saturday's win against Princeton was the first for the Bobcats in program history as a nationally ranked opponent. Quinnipiac was previously 0-2-1 this year and 0-4-1 all-time when ranked . Goalie Bud Fisher registered his third career shutout and first of the year on Saturday against Princeton . Reid Cashman remains one assist shy of reaching the 100 assist club, of which only five other players have reached in program history. Cashman did record his first goal of the year against RIT.
Rensselaer: The Engineers are in the midst of playing six straight games in the Capital District, including five at the Houston Field House . Rensselaer has gotten 35.8% of its scoring from seniors, 18.2% from juniors, 31.1% from sophomores and 14.9% from freshmen. Defensemen have accounted for 22.3% of RPI's points . Defenseman Jake Luthi is Rensselaer's leading scorer. He is attempting to become the first blue liner to lead the Engineers in points since Al Jones had 20 points in 1965-66.
St. Lawrence: The Saints were idle this past weekend and resume play this coming weekend against Cornell and Colgate.
Union: Union picked up its first league points in over a month with its win vs. Dartmouth . The Dutchmen held opponents 0-for-14 on the power play this weekend while scoring on three of 12 chances of their own . Union last held league opponents without a PPG in back-to-back games in late February of last season . Head coach Nate Leaman rejoined the team in the second period of Saturday's game vs. Harvard . Frosh Mike Wakita registered his first career point with an assist vs. Dartmouth.
Yale: Will Engasser was a healthy scratch for four straight games before the 12/30 Nebraska-Omaha game but now has three goals in his last two games . Alec Richards had a season-high 41 stops vs. Brown including 38 of the last 39 shots . Yale avenged a 3-2 loss at Brown on 12-9 and ended a six-game winless streak.
