Weekend Preview: Conference Showdowns
ALBANY, NY -- Teams begin to prime for the last
full month of regular-season action as they are in pursuit of the
ECAC Hockey regular-season title. Five teams are still within
striking distance of Cornell, who holds the top spot by three
points. All teams are in action this weekend playing in 11
total conference games.
No. 4/4 Cornell/Colgate at St.
Lawrence/Clarkson: With a revived offense, Clarkson,
winners of four straight games, will play host to Colgate and the
first-place Cornell Big Red this weekend at Cheel Arena. The
Golden Knights are coming off a weekend sweep at home, their first
of the season. Colgate will be looking to snap of
streak of its own, as it has lost five games straight, including
two overtime setbacks. Clarkson leads the all-time series
with the Raiders by a wide 80-41-14 margin. However, Colgate
is unbeaten against the Golden Knights in its last three meetings
(2-0-1). The Raiders have played in an incredible ten
overtime games thus far this season sporting a record of 2-3-5 in
those contests. The Golden Knights will also tangle with
national-power No. 4/4-ranked Cornell this weekend. The Big
Red is the lone ECAC Hockey team to hold an advantage in an
all-time series with Clarkson (52-49-11). Cornell will open
its North Country trip with a visit to St. Lawrence Friday, who
have found their grove as of late winning seven of its last ten
games. Cornell has not won at either venue since the 2005
season. Through his first ten league games in net junior Ben
Scrivens has recorded a 0.99 goals-against average and a .962 save
percentage for the Big Red. The Saints showcase the top power
play unit in conference play this season connecting on 11-of-61
opportunities for a 18% success rate. Junior forward Mike
McKenzie leads the Saints' attack on offense having collected 24
points on ten goals and adding 14 assists.
No. 9/9 Princeton/Quinnipiac at No. 18
Yale/Brown: Taking to the road for the first time
since Thanksgiving, the top ten ranked Tigers will travel to Yale
and Brown this weekend. The Tigers are currently 6-0 this
season on the road. Princeton has received contributions from
all offensive lines with ten players reaching the double digit mark
in points scored this season. Both the Tigers and Bulldogs
feature aggressive, dynamic offenses each averaging just over 38
shots on net per game. Yale, currently sitting in the number
two spot in league standings, is riding a three-game unbeaten
streak (2-0-1). Princeton has taken five of the last six
meetings versus the Bulldogs. Yale's junior forward Broc
Little leads the nation with five shorthanded goals on the
season. Yale will face another high-scoring offense in
Quinnipiac Saturday at Ingalls Rink. Quinnipiac, who is 7-3-1
in its last 11 games, feature two of the nation's top scorers in
senior forwards Bryan Leitch, who became the first player in the
country to reach the 40 point mark and David Marshall, who is
riding a 17-game point-scoring streak. Brown will also host
the Tigers and Bobcats over the weekend at Meehan. The Bears
lead the all-time series with Princeton by a 78-58-7 count and hold
a 41-26-3 advantage at games played in Providence. The Tigers
bring a five-game winning streak in Saturday's match-up verus the
Bears. The Bobcats are 6-2-0 all-time against Brown with four
consecutive wins over the Bears, all coming last season.
Rensselaer/Union at No. 20 Dartmouth & Union at
Harvard: For the second straight weekend the
Dutchmen take to the road as they battle Harvard and Dartmouth this
weekend. The Crimson is looking for its first victory since
mid-November, when it blanked St. Lawrence, 1-0. Junior
defenseman Alex Biega leads Harvard in points with 12, including a
team-high nine assists. Harvard leads the all-time series
against Union by a count of 27-5-3, but the Dutchmen snapped a
four-game Crimson winning streak by posting a 3-1 win at Messa Rink
in early November. The meeting will be Harvard's only game of
the weekend as it prepares for the 57th annual Beanpot tournament
beginning Monday. Union senior defenseman Lane Caffaro is
second in scoring among his counterparts in league action netting
four goals and adding six assists in 12 games. Dartmouth will
host both the Engineers and the Dutchmen this weekend at Thompson
Arena. Dartmouth has lost only once in its last four
outings. Sophomore forward Adam Estoclet and freshman forward
Doug Jones lead the Big Green with 21 points each. Both have
posted six goals and 15 assists. Rensselaer, playing on the
road for the 11th time in its last 13 games, are led on offense by
sophomore forward Chase Polacek, who is second in the conference in
scoring with 17 points (4-G-13A). Freshman Patrick Cullen is
tied for second in goals scored in conference games with seven for
the Engineers.
