Weekend Preview: The Last ‘March’ to March Begins This Weekend

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ALBANY, NY  -- Entering the last full month of regular-season action ECAC Hockey teams are in pursuit of the regular-season title.  Six teams are still within striking distance of Clarkson, who holds the top spot by five points.  All teams are in action this weekend playing in nine conference games and three non-conference battles.

No. 16 Quinnipiac/No. 19 Princeton at Rensselaer/Union:  Two of the three nationally ranked ECAC Hockey teams, No. 16-ranked Quinnipiac and No. 19-ranked Princeton will look to maintain its solid play.  The Tigers are riding a high from a current six-game unbeaten streak, their first such streak since the 1933-34 season.  Sitting the No. 2-spot in league standings, Princeton first meets a hot Union team Friday, which is only two points behind the Tigers in league play.  The Dutchmen have received their own national recognition as of late, moving up to the 18th position in the www.insidecollegehockey.com Power Rankings.  Home ice continues to be kind to Union, where visiting teams have only been successful once in 11 tries this season in defeating the Dutchmen.  The home-ice advantage at Messa Rink will be tested this weekend, as Princeton showcases a 7-3-1 road record, while Quinnipiac has won eight out of 10 contests away from home.  These two ranked will also face Rensselaer over the weekend, with Princeton having the dubious honor of being the Engineers' opponent on their 31st Annual Big Red Freakout!  Rensselaer is 12-0-5 in its last 17 Freakout games.  Both games at Rensselaer will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable Sports.  In its two weekend games, look for early scoring from Quinnipiac, as it is undefeated (12-0-2) when leading after the second period. 

No. 10 Clarkson at No. 6 Colorado College:  In one of the most anticipated match-ups of the weekend featuring league leaders and top 10 teams, No. 10-ranked Clarkson travels to No. 6-ranked Colorado College for a two-game series.  Riding a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1), the Golden Knights will be looking for their first-ever win over the Tigers, who lead the all-time series 7-0-1.  Senior forward Steve Zalewski is three points shy of reaching the century mark for his career at Clarkson, where he has netted 52 goals and added 45 assists.

Colgate vs. Cornell:  The Raiders and the Big Red will be playing in a home-and-home series this weekend with Lynah Rink being the site of Friday's contest.  Cornell freshman forward Riley Nash leads all of his counterparts in scoring in league play averaging 0.92 PPG.  The Big Red defense, which leads the conference in allowing 1.83 G/GM, has been anchored by sophomore goaltender Ben Scrivens who sits atop the league in goals against average and save percentage.  The Raiders bring their own firepower into the most anticipated series of the year against travel partner Cornell.  The heated rivalry has been decided by two goals or less in 11 of the last 12 games.  Not to be outdone in goal is Raiders' senior netminder Mark Dekanich, who has only surrendered 2.05 G/GM in league games this season.  Both games are slated for a 7 p.m. start and will be televised in Central New York by Time Warner Cable Sports. 

Dartmouth/Harvard at Yale/Brown:  The Bears and the Bulldogs will play host to travel partners Dartmouth and Harvard over the weekend.  The Big Green has defeated Yale eight times in their last 10 contests and downed Brown nine times in their last 10 contests.  The Big Green will look to finish its last part of league play in similar fashion to the way it handled its non-conference foes, posting a 5-1-1 record in non-ECAC Hockey games.  Sitting in the middle of the pack, Harvard looks to make a move this weekend in conference play.  Sophomore goaltender Kyle Richter has only allowed 25 goals in 14 league games  posting a .937 save percentage.  Yale is another team sitting in the middle of the pack in league standings which will attempt to gain some ground this weekend.  The Bulldogs, who jumped over the .500 mark with its three-point weekend last week, will rely on forwards Sean Bakman and Will Engasser, who lead the team in goals and assists with 10 respectively.  Trying to get back into the win column, the Bears will look for solid play at both ends of the ice from senior defenseman Sean Hurley, who has six assists in 12 league contests.

St. Lawrence at Niagara:  The Saints have been a streaking team of late.  Prior to dropping its last four game, St. Lawrence won three in a row, averaging nearly six goals per game in those outings.  The Saints will look for the return of a well-balanced scoring attack that features 12 double-digit point scorers.