Weekly Release: Defenses Begin to Tighten
ALBANY, NY -- As teams eye positions in the
postseason, unyielding defenses continue to be prevalent on the
ice. In the 15 games played last week involving ECAC teams,
12 of the winning defenses and goaltenders only surrendered two
goals or fewer in claiming victory. The other three games
involving league teams ended in 3-3 overtime ties. As a
result of the stringent defenses last week, a mere four points
separates the top eight spots in the ECAC Hockey
standings.
Sitting only four points from the top of the league standings,
Harvard extended its unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1), as it
went 2-0-1 in league games last week. Freshman forward Louis
Leblanc recorded his second straight two-goal game and Ryan Carroll
made 37 saves as the started the week winning their third
consecutive league game, 4-1 against Dartmouth, Monday afternoon at
Bright Hockey Center. Jody O'Neill started in net for the Big
Green and made 14 saves. James Mello stopped 11 shots in relief,
and Dartmouth held a 38-29 shots advantage.
Making its annual visit to the Capital District, Harvard's Ryan
Carroll made a career-high 47 saves and Eric Kroshus played a part
in two keys goals to help the Crimson win their fourth straight
ECAC Hockey game and hand first-place, 13th-ranked Union its first
league loss last Friday night at Messa Rink. . Despite
unloading a season-high 48 shots, Union saw its 10-game conference
streak halted.
Harvard would cap off a five point league week, as Louis Leblanc
scored the tying goal with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation to
complete a rally from two goals down in the third period and the
Crimson to a 3-3 overtime tie with Rensselaer Saturday afternoon at
Houston Field Leblanc and Doug Rogers each had a goal and an
assist, while Alex Killorn also scored for the Crimson.
Freshman Jerry D'Amigo, senior Paul Kerins, and freshman Marty
O'Grady each found the back of the net for the Engineers.
Allen York finished with 26 saves on the afternoon for Rensselaer,
including 14 in the third period and overtime. Kyle Richter
earned the draw for Harvard, totaling 10 stops - all of which came
in the final 25 minutes of play. Ryan Carroll made 11 saves
on the 13 shots he faced for Harvard.
On Friday, RPI sophomore netminder Allen York made 27 saves,
including the final 21 shots he faced, to propel the Engineers to
a, 2-1, come-from-behind victory over Dartmouth at the Houston
Field House. Trailing 1-0 and being outshot, 18-14 heading
into the third period, the Engineers saw junior Tyler Helfrich and
senior Paul Kerins record even-strength tallies to take a 2-1 lead
with 10:47 to go in the game. York made 16 of his 27 saves in
the second and third periods. James Mello finished with 19
stops at the other end of the ice for Dartmouth.
Dartmouth would pick-up two league points as it defeated
first-place Union, 3-1 at Messa Rink. The Dutchmen held a 40-23
shot advantage, marking the 17th time this season outshot its
opponents -- they 9-4-4 in those games. Dartmouth's James
Mello stood tall throughout the night recording 39 saves for his
first-career victory. Milan made his fourth ECAC Hockey start
for the Dutchmen and 11th of the season, posting 20 saves.
In a battle of two top-ten teams, Cornell and North Dakota split a
two-game set at Lynah Rink last weekend. Cornell senior
goaltender Ben Scrivens picked a great time for his best
performance of the season, stopping all 28 shots he faced as the
Big Red scored a 1-0 victory over visiting North Dakota Friday
night at Lynah Rink. Junior Mike Devin scored the game's only goal
to lift the Big Red to the victory. The Fight Sioux would
even the score Saturday posting a 3-1 win. Blake Gallagher
scored the lone goal for the Big Red, while Ben Scrivens stopped 23
shots in taking the night. North Dakota got goals from Brade
Malone, Chris VandeVelde and Jason Gregoire, with Gregoire adding
an assist, and 15 saves from goaltender Brad Eidsness earning the
win.
St. Lawrence earned four league points last weekend earning a home
sweep, 5-2 over Brown and bettering Yale, 4-2. Sophomore
forward Jacob Drewiske had his second two-goal game of the season
leading the Saints against the Bears. Senior center Travis
Vermeulen scored two goals and assisted on two others as St.
Lawrence University upended nationally ranked Yale 4-2 in at
Appleton Arena Saturday afternoon. Senior goaltender Kain
Tisi had another big day for the Saints, matching his career high
with 40 saves.
Yale would come away with two points in its trip to the North
Country, as it edged Clarkson, 3-2 at Cheel Arena Friday
evening. Junior Broc Little led the Yale offense, scoring the
game-winner and recording one assist for the Bulldogs. Yale
outshot the Golden Knights by a count of 44-24 on the
evening. The Bulldogs went 2-of-7 on the power-play, while
Clarkson was 1-of-6 with the man-advantage.
Clarkson would fall short the night before as well, as Brown
picked-up two points in ECAC Hockey play edging the Golden Knights,
3-2. Three different players scored in the opening 16
minutes of play to give the Bears a 3-0 lead, which would be enough
in a 3-2 victory. The victory, which snaps a five-game skid,
gives the Bears two valuable league points and marks the first win
over Clarkson for Brown's seniors.
Colgate earned three points last weekend with a win, 4-1 and a
tie, 3-3 with visiting Robert Morris. Jason Williams
tied a career-high with a three-point outing and Alex Evin turned
aside 25 of 26 shots to pace Colgate to a 4-1 victory over visiting
Robert Morris, Friday evening at Starr Rink. On Saturday
Austin Smith scored his 10th goal of the season with 49 seconds
left in regulation as Colgate rallied from a two-goal deficit to
post a 3-3 overtime draw with visiting Colonials.
Quinnipiac snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-3 tie
against Niagara at the TD Bank Sports Center Saturday
evening. Senior Brandon Wong scored twice for the Bobcats
while sophomore Scott Zurevinski had three assists. On Friday
the Purple Eagles had six different skaters scores, while goalie
Andrew Hare made 48 saves. Quinnipiac nearly doubled-up Niagara in
the shots category, 50-26, but was only able to score twice.
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