Weekend Preview: Friday Night Showdowns

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ALBANY, NY  -- League action is in full gear this weekend with all 12 teams competing in 11 conference games.
 
Dartmouth/Harvard at Rensselaer/Union:  "There's no place like home" has been a common saying in Schenectady for the Dutchmen.  Union, which holds an 8-1-4 overall record at Messa Rink this season, welcomes Harvard Friday night and Dartmouth Saturday.    Dutchmen freshman forward Adam Presizniuk has been a solid set-up man on offense with 10 assists, which is tops among his class in ECAC Hockey play.  Harvard will have the one weekend tune-up game at Union, before preparing to capture its first Beanpot Tournament title in 15 years.  Dartmouth will also be pitted against both the Engineers and Dutchmen this weekend.  Freshman defenseman Evan Stephen (3-9-12) has been an effective cog at both ends of the ice for the Big Green, tied for the league-lead ECAC Hockey in scoring among his positional counterparts.  Rensselaer will also have a one-game weekend when it hosts Dartmouth Friday at Houston Field House.  The Engineers will look to regain the scoring punch that saw them record a season-high seven goals versus Dartmouth in an earlier season victory. 

Colgate/Cornell at St. Lawrence/No. 13 Clarkson:  Earning one point in at least nine of its last 11 games, Cornell has set itself up for a crucial weekend of league play traveling to the North Country facing St. Lawrence and No. 13-ranked Clarkson.  The Big Red trails league-leading Clarkson by just two points in the standings.  The lone ECAC Hockey school to hold an advantage in an all-time series, versus the Golden Knights is Cornell with a 51-48 lead, but is just 6-9-3 at Cheel Arena in the Mike Schafer era.  Clarkson owns an 11-1 overall mark this season at home and has sat atop the league standings for the majority of the season.  The Saints will be looking to snap a five-game winless streak when it hosts the Raiders and Big Red.  Junior forward Brock McBride has led the offensive attack this season for the Saints with 23 points on 10 goals and 13 assists.  The Raiders, clinging to an eighth-place spot in league standings will look to earn some North Country points to help secure home-ice for the post-season play.  Look for the Raiders to benefit on the man-advantage, as senior forward Tyler Burton is tied for the league in power-play goals (4).

Brown/Yale at Princeton/N. 19 Princeton/No. 16 Quinnipiac:  Two of the three nationally ranked ECAC Hockey teams, No. 16 Quinnipiac and No. 19-ranked Princeton will be hosting admirable league opponents in Yale and Brown this weekend.  Sophomore forward Brandon Wong has been an offensive sparkplug for the Bobcats providing a helper on 14 goals in 14 league games.  Quinnipiac is the only team in NCAA Division I hockey to have three active players with 100 career points.  It also marks the first time in Quinnipiac history to have three players on the same line with 100 career points.  Princeton, who incidentally is tied with Quinnipiac for third-place in league play, will look to extend its last seven league games (5-0-2) unbeatend streak.  Yale sits in the middle of the pack in ECAC Hockey standings, but is just three points shy from the second-place spot.  The Bulldogs will be facing a tough challenge as they are wineless this season against its weekend opponents.  Yale continues to dominate on special-teams play, converting on 62 of 109 chances.  The Bears stepped-up their performance last week with wins over Harvard and Dartmouth, as they will have to tread even further facing two ranked teams this weekend.  Watch for sophomore goaltender Dan Rosen to shut the door on the high-powered offenses.