ECACHL Teams Back In the Swing of Things
Winter Hiatus Over
ALBANY, N.Y. -- After two-or-more weeks off from competition, the ECAC Hockey League had a number of its women's teams back on the ice this past weekend. No. 2 Dartmouth led the way with an eight-goal victory, while a handful of other teams picked up ties.
League play gets back into action this coming weekend, as all but two of the 12 games on the slate are worth points in the standings. There are also two non-conference games and an exhibition contest to be played during the week before ECACHL contests fire back up.
The Big Green had the nation's most lopsided victory in the nation over the weekend, as it picked off Providence by a score of 10-2. Cherie Piper led her team in the victory picking up her first collegiate hat trick and finishing the game with four goals and an assist. She began 2005 the same way she ended 2004, earning the league's Player of the Week honors for her performance.
The Vermont Catamounts were also back in action over the weekend and traveled to Minnesota State for two games, tying the first one 0-0 and dropping the second contest 1-0 Monday night. Goaltender Kami Cote was between the pipes for both contests and earned Goalie of the Week honors after stopping 43 shots in the scoreless tie and then 30 more the next night.
Cornell was also on the road, earning a 2-2 tie with Bemidji State after dropping the first game 6-4. Brianne Schmidt had points in both games and with a goal and two assists on the weekend, earned Rookie of the Week honors.
No. 10 Princeton also tied over the weekend, skating to a 1-1 draw with No. 6 New Hampshire. A fourth tie came when Clarkson finished in a 1-all deadlock with Boston College on Sunday.
Three mid-week games dot the calendar this week, with Brown playing host to Connecticut on Tuesday, while on Wednesday, Dartmouth travels to New Hampshire and St. Lawrence has an exhibition vs. McGill.
Travel partners Brown and Harvard are at Cornell and Colgate this weekend, while Princeton and Yale head to the North Country to take on Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Big Green and Union will also meet for two games in Hanover. Vermont will wrap up the weekend action at North Dakota with games Saturday and Sunday.
Follow all the action with live stats from most games and postgame stories from all the contests online at http://www.ecachockeyleague.com/.
