Weekend Preview: Second-Half Race Begins
ALBANY, N.Y. -- With the holiday break
now finished, the second part of the season is about to begin this
weekend for ECAC Hockey. With the top six positions in the
league standings separated by a mere five points, the race for the
Cleary Cup is as tight as ever. Teams will now look to
further develop and improve their position in the conference
standings. Ten out of the 12 league teams will be in action
this weekend, including three of the four nationally ranked
programs.
St. Lawrence at Niagara: The Saints will
take to the road for a two-game non-conference set versus
Niagara. The Saints are currently 9-7-3 overall, with a 4-3-1
mark in league-play. St. Lawrence boasts nine players with at
least 10 or more points, including senior Mike McKenzie
(4G-11A-15PTS) and senior Travis Vermeulen (6G-7A-13PTS). The
Saints also get additional scoring from rookie Kyle Flanagan
(5G-8A-13PTS) and sophomore Peter Child (5-6-11). The
Saints use a two-goalie system between the pipes, with seniors Kain
Tisi and Alex Petizian getting the majority of ice time. Tisi
as of now is posting the better numbers, with a 3-2-1 record, along
with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
Niagara is 3-1-1 in its last five games against ECAC Hockey teams
when the game is played at Dwyer Arena or a neutral site.
At Clarkson. Alabama-Huntsville: The Golden
Knights, after playing only six of their first 18 games in Potsdam,
will host two of their 10 games at Cheel in the season's second
half, this weekend against Alabama-Huntsville. Friday's game
will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Senior assistant captain Matt Beca, who tallied a goal and one
assist against Bowling Green, leads the Clarkson offense with 18
points, including a team-high nine goals. His goal against
the Falcons came shorthanded and was his 40th career goal.
Beca has 103 career points through 130 games. Junior captain
Scott Freeman, who also tallied a goal Sunday, is the Golden
Knights' second-leading scorer with 16 points and is tied for the
team lead in assists with 12.
No. 17 Union/Rensselaer at Princeton/No. 11/12
Quinnipiac: The Dutchmen take their seven-game
(4-0-3) conference unbeaten streak on the road this week as they
play at Princeton and at Quinnipiac. Union is one of two
schools who have yet to suffer a conference defeat. The
Dutchmen are 5-5-0 in the last 10 meetings with the Tigers.
The Tigers are on a streak of their own, with three wins and one
tie in their last four outings. Dan Bartlett is the team's
leading scorer with 17 points, including 11 goals for
Princeton. He has tallied four power-play goals and one
game-winner. Next is junior Mike Kramer, who has six goals
and a team-high tying seven assists. RPI???takes to the road
for the first time in league-play since mid-November. The
Engineers narrowly trails in the all-time series against
Quinnipiac, 4-5-4. Three of RPI's last five losses against
Quinnipiac have been decided by a goal. The Bobcats begin
their six-game homestand at TD Bank Sports Center this weekend as
they host the Capital District travel partners. A Quinnipiac
player has scored two goals in nine of its 19 games this
season. Three of the six players to score twice in a game
have done it twice. Quinnipiac has had 16 different players
score a goal through the Bobcats' first 19 games this season.
The Bobcats had 18 players score through 39 games last season.
Brown/No. 6/6 Yale at Dartmouth: The series
between Dartmouth and Brown is very tight as the Big Green holds a
slim margin, just 64-63-7. The Bears have three players that
are tied for the team lead with 12 points apiece. Senior
Jordan Pietrus, sophomore Jack Maclellan and freshman Chris Zaires
are leading the team in scoring with Pietrus the high goal scorer
with six and Zaires the top playmaker with eight. Juniors
Scott Fleming and Adam Estoclet have become the Big Green's top
point getters as they have 12 and 10 points, respectively. Fleming
is the top goal scorer with seven while Estoclet is the top play
maker with eight assists. Yale and Dartmouth have been
playing since 1906-07 and the Bulldogs have 97-85-12 lead heading
into the 195th meeting. Yale, 6-1-1 since Thanksgiving Day
week, has 40 goals in those eight games after tallying 19 times
over the first six contests of 2009-10. Yale has scored six
goals or more in five games this winter compared to four last
year. The Bulldogs showcase the nation's top scoring offense
averaging 4.29G/GM. Four different Bulldogs have earned a win
in net this season. Two freshmen, a junior, and a senior battling
for the top job. Newcomers Nick Maricic (2.41, .909, 3-1-2)
and Jeff Malcolm (2.01, .909, 3-1-0), junior Ryan Rondeau (3.84,
.880, 1-1-1), and senior Billy Blase (3 saves, 1-0-0) have been in
net.
Harvard at Minnesota: Harvard is on the road
this weekend at Minnesota for a two-game set. Minnesota holds
a 20-6 all-time series edge and has won three of five Frozen Four
clashes with the Crimson. The Crimson ranks 11th nationally
with a 22.9-percent efficiency on the power-play (11 for 48).
Harvard has scored twice on the power-play in four of its 12
games. Michael Biega is Harvard's top scorer with 12 points,
and he shares the team assists lead with Chris Huxley. With
four goals and five assists in league games, Louis Leblanc leads
ECAC Hockey freshmen in scoring. He has 10 points (4-6-10) in
10 overall games, tying him for fourth nationally among
rookies.
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