Weekend Preview: Plenty of Points Up For Grabs
ALBANY, NY -- With three weekends of
regular-season play remaining Yale holds a slim two point lead over
Cornell and three point lead over Princeton. All 12 league
teams will be engaged in two league battles each over the course of
the next two days.
No. 10/10 Yale/Brown at Union/Rensselaer:
The Bulldogs and Bears will be traveling to the Capital Region to
visit Union and Rensselaer. Yale is sporting a 10-1-1 record
in its last 12 games and will be looking to snap a two-game losing
streak against the Dutchmen Friday evening. The Bulldogs, who
recently cracked the top ten in the national rankings, have won six
straight games, including three straight weekend sweeps of ECAC
Hockey opponents, which vaulted them into the top spot in the
league standings. Yale has been getting consistent play at
both ends of the ice, which has resulted in some clutch
performances. Yale's junior forward Mark Arcobello has netted
five game-winning goals on the season, which is second-best in the
nation. Travel partner Brown will visit Houston Field House
Friday night to take on the Engineers. RPI is 48-19-6
all-time versus Brown. The Engineers are riding a seven-game
unbeaten streak against Brown (6-0-1). Senior forward Matt
Vokes is pacing the Bears' offense with eight goals and 12 assists
for 20 points. Rensselaer's game Saturday verus Yale will
mark the 32nd annual Big Red Freakout! game. RPI has only
lost once in the last 18 Freakouts!. Yale is unbeaten in its
last six games versus Rensselaer (5-0-1). Yale and RPI have
met on two other occasions on Freakout! with each team earning a
win. The Dutchmen have 10 student-athletes with at least 10
points on the season. Union is 7-4-0 at Messa Rink this
season and 3-1-0 in home games after road trips.
No. 6/7 Cornell/Colgate at No. 19
Dartmouth/Harvard: Dartmouth and Harvard begin its
stretch runs by hosting the Big Red and Raiders this weekend.
Cornell has claimed victory in five of its last six meetings with
the Big Green, but has only registered two wins in the last eight
attempts versus Harvard. The Big Red will be looking to sweep
both season series against their hosts this weekend.
Sophomore forward Riley Nash leads the Cornell offense with 21
points on nine goals and 12 assists. Travel partner Colgate
has played in 12 overtime games this season, setting a team
record. The Raiders are only four ties away from the all-time
national mark of 16 set by Minnesota last season. The Crimson
hold a 43-18-6 advantage in their series with the Raiders.
Dartmouth sports a slim 40-37-4 all-time record over Colgate.
The Big Green holds a 7-4-2 mark at Thompson Arena this
season. Dartmouth is 7-2-3 when scoring first and currently
3-6-0 versus ranked opponents this season. Forwards sophomore
Adam Estoclet and freshman Doug Jones currently lead the Big Green
in scoring with 23 points. Harvard will be looking to match
last season's stretch-run when it had a nine-game winless streak
(0-7-2) and came full-circle going on to reach the tournament
championship final game. Harvard holds a 65-57-7 all-time
mark versus Cornell in one of the most storied rivalries in college
hockey. Their last 11 regular-season games versus the Big Red
have been decided by two goals or fewer. The last ten
meetings between the Crimson and Raiders have been split down the
middle with each team posting a 4-4-2 record. The Crimson has
spread its scoring recently throughout the game, netting goals in
15 of their last 17 periods. The Crimson has a balanced
offense where just two goals separate Harvard's top eight
goal-scorers on the season.
Clarkson/St. Lawrence at No. 9/9
Princeton/Quinnipiac: North Country partners will
take to the road this weekend visiting top ten foe Princeton and
Quinnipiac this weekend. Clarkson is 5-1-2 since mid-January
and eyeing one of the top four spots in the league standings.
The Golden Knights will first tangle with Princeton Friday
evening. Clarkson holds a solid 69-24-5 edge in the all-time
series with the Tigers. The Tigers return home for four of
their last six games and are coming three straight road wins.
Princeton brings an aggressive offense to the ice each game
averaging 37.65 shots on net each game, which ranks second in the
country. Not to be outdone is the Tigers' defense, which is
one of five teams in the nation to surrender under an average of
less than two goals per contest (1.87 goals-per-game).
Clarkson holds a 6-4-0 all-time record in the young series versus
Quinnipiac. The Bobcats have a high-powered offense that our
led by the duo of forwards senior forwards Bryan Leitch (44 points)
and David Marshall (34 points). The Saints are looking to
begin a run that would separate them from the ECAC Hockey teams in
the middle of the pack. St. Lawrence will play three teams
immediately ahead of them over the next two weekends. The
Saints are 6-2-2 over their last ten games. They also
completed the month of January with a solid 7-2-1 mark. St.
Lawrence boasts a 10-0-2 record when leading after one period of
play.
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