Weekend Preview: ‘Cup’ Could Be Raised
ALBANY, NY -- A full slate of conference games
will take place this weekend with Yale eyeing its first
regular-season crown since the 1997-98 season, as it travels to
Quinnipiac and Princeton. All 12 league teams will be engaged
in two conference battles each over the course of the weekend with
home teams wearing special black and pink jerseys as part of a
league-wide Pink at the Rink campaign. The jerseys will be
auctioned through the www.ecachockeycoachesvscancer.com Web site to
raise money for the American Cancer Society and Hockey Coaches Care
programs.
No. 7/7 Yale/Brown at Quinnipiac/No. 10/10
Princeton: Riding an eight-game win streak, their
longest streak since an 18-game win-streak, that stretched between
the 1928-29 and 1929-30 seasons, the Bulldogs visit the Bobcats and
Tigers this weekend. Quinnipiac has experienced success over
the Bulldogs winning five of seven meetings, including two games at
TD Banknorth Sports Center. The Bulldogs are currently fourth
in the nation in scoring, netting 3.52 goals-per-game.
Bobcats' senior forwards Bryan Leitch (48pts) and David Marshall
(37pts) currently hold down the top two spots among
ECAC Hockey scoring leaders. Yale has a five-point lead
over second-place Princeton and owns an advantage of 122-99-8
all-time versus the Tigers. Twelve Tigers have reached the
double-digit mark in scoring for Princeton, providing a balanced
attacked that has helped record its 18th win for the sixth time in
the program's history. Travel partner Brown will be looking to snap
its seven-game losing streak on the road trip. The Bears will
look for some fire-power on offense from senior forward Matt Vokes
who is tied for fourth in goals scored with eight in conference
action.
Rensselaer/Union at No. 11/11
Cornell/Colgate: The Big Red and Raiders will
conduct their senior weekend as they host Capital District travel
partners Rensselaer and Union this weekend. Cornell will be
looking to snap a three-game conference losing streak. The
Big Red owns a 53-30-5 all-time edge over the Engineers, including
taking down RPI in the last four match-ups. Cornell
boasts the strongest defense in conference play having only
surrendered 32 goals on the season. Sophomore forward Chase
Polacek continues to pace Rensselaer's offense having scored nine
goals and adding 19 assists on the season. The Raiders are
3-3-0 in their last six outings. Junior forward David
McIntyre is Colgate's top scorer with 36 points (17g and
19a). The Raiders have nine players on their roster with at
least ten points. Friday's clash between Union and Colgate
will mark the 50th meeting between the two schools with the Raiders
holding a lead in the series 34-14-1. Union has won three of
its last four games and are looking to gain a home playoff series
in the postseason. The Dutchmen have scored seven power play
goals in their last five games, while not having surrendered a
power play goal in their last four outings. Sophomore forward
Adam Presizniuk leads Union in scoring with 29 points, 13 goals and
16 assists.
Dartmouth/Harvard at Clarkson/No. 20 St.
Lawrence: North Country hosts Clarkson and St.
Lawrence will welcome Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend.
Golden Knights' seniors Chris D'Alvise and Shea Guthrie are closing
in on 100 points for their careers with 98 and 97
respectively. Clarkson holds a 62-22-6 all-time advantage
over Dartmouth, but the Big Green has won the last two
match-ups. Clarkson will be looking to redeem itself against
Dartmouth and Harvard, as it dropped a pair of 5-1 games back in
November to them. The Golden Knights have either won or tied
in seven of its last ten outings. Six of Dartmouth's top
scorers are sophomores, who have accounted for 115 points on the
season for the Big Green. Dartmouth has netted 55 goals in 16
league games this season. Travel partner Harvard is coming
off its second weekend sweep of the season. The Crimson have
been busy of late, as St. Lawrence will mark Harvard's fifth ranked
opponent in the last seven games. St. Lawrence is currently
on a 8-2-2 run during the final stretch of the
regular-season. Netminder Alex Petizian has started 23 of the
30 games in net for the Saints, posting a .924 save percentage and
2.26 goals-against average. Junior forward Mike McKenzie
leads St. Lawrence in scoring, registering 13 goals and 16 assists
for 29 points.
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