Dartmouth Claims Tourney
League Earns Eight Non-Conf. Wins
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Dartmouth remained perfect on the year after claiming two more victories over the weekend. This time, the Big Green won the UNH Tournament title by outscoring its opponents 8-3. Overall, it was a good non-conference weekend, as ECAC Hockey League teams claimed a total of eight victories in out-of-conference action. Three league games were also on the slate, with Yale and St. Lawrence earning victories and Clarkson tying the Saints in the final contest.
The Big Green entered the weekend with a 7-0-0 overall record and improved it by two wins after defeating Mercyhurst 4-3 and Minnesota State 4-0. Several players contributed to the winning effort, but Cheryl Muranko had a hand in five of the team's eight goals on the weekend with two tallies and three helpers. Kate Lane earned her third career shutout vs. the Mavericks.
Brown also claimed two wins last week, defeating Northeastern and winning the Mayor's Cup with a 2-1 score over Providence. Kerry Nugent, the current Player of the Week, had four points in the games, including the game-winning goal vs. the Friars. The Bears are now ranked ninth in the polls.
Yale has now won four games in a row and is starting to get the attention of the national pollsters, as the Bulldogs earned votes on both lists this week. The team claimed Ws over then-No. 8 Princeton last week and then defeated then-No. 9 Providence just last night (Nov. 30). Helen Resor, the reigning Rookie of the Week, helped the team against the Tigers with a power-play goal and finished the game with a +2 rating.
After falling to the Bulldogs, Princeton rebounded with a sweep of Connecticut at Baker Rink, while Cornell and Colgate each split their respective non-league series. Harvard had the toughest schedule, as it played host to the No. 1 and No. 5 teams in the country in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Crimson fell twice against its national opponents, but remained solid in the polls taking the No. 5 spot this week.
In the only two-game ECACHL series of the weekend, North Country rivals St. Lawrence and Clarkson met for the first time ever. The Saints scored late in the third to break a 2-all tie and claim the first game and then had to battle hard for a 1-1 draw the next day. Kira McDonald was solid between the pipes for her Golden Knights and was named Goaltender of the Week after stopping 69 of the 73 shots she faced from the No. 6 Saints.
League games this week have Colgate and Cornell traveling to Princeton and Yale, while Union plays host to Brown for two. Non-league games include Dartmouth vs. UNH on Wednesday and St. Lawrence traveling to St. Cloud State this weekend. Clarkson will play host to Niagara for two games, while Harvard continues its tough play with two home games vs. No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth. Vermont is idle this week.
Follow all the action with live stats from most games and postgame stories from all the contests online at http://www.ecachockeyleague.com/.
