Action-Packed Games Early On in ECACHL Women's Hockey
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Another weekend of ECAC Hockey League play, another weekend of exciting games! This past week's action saw Princeton hand Clarkson its first league loss and also tie up St. Lawrence, while Yale downed Harvard and Brown earned a tie vs. the Crimson. These games not only make the ECACHL league race exciting, it also shakes things up in the national polls.
Starting with the Tigers, their three point weekend jumped them up two places in this week's national polls, making them the No. 6 team in the land this week. The tie with St. Lawrence also saw the Saints drop to second in one poll, but maintain its No. 1 spot in another. Clarkson maintained its top 10 position at the No. 9 spot, while Harvard dropped two and is now ranked No. 8.
Princeton got off to a solid start by downing Clarkson 2-1 and then tied St. Lawrence the next day. Junior forward Kim Pearce was the team's leader in those games, and earned Player of the Week honors. She had a hand in both goals in the win, assisting on the evening's first goal and then scoring the game winner. On Saturday, she tied the game at 1-all at 15:54 in the third period with a power-play marker. On the defensive side of things, it was goalie Roxanne Gaudiel directing traffic and making 50 saves over the two games. She made 20 stops vs. the Golden Knights and 30 more against the Saints for a .961 save percentage and a 0.96 goals against average. For her efforts, she was named Goaltender of the Week.
The Saints also earned three points, as it also downed Quinnipiac to go along with its standoff with the Tigers. Freshman Marianna Locke had two goals against the Bobcats and scored the Saints' lone tally vs. Princeton, which was a power-play goal. Her performance in the two games earned her Rookie of the Week honors.
One other team in the league earned three points at home over the weekend, and that was Brown, with a win over Dartmouth and a tie with Harvard. Defenseman Myria Heinhuis made her presence known both in the offensive and defensive zones in those games. In the win over Dartmouth, she had both goals pass through her stick, including a heads-up interception at the Big Green's blue line that setup the first goal just 24 seconds in the game. In the match-up with Harvard, Heinhuis led the Brown defense as it held the Crimson offense at bay for most of the afternoon.
Yale's win over the Crimson was a thriller and marked the first time since the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons that Yale has beaten Harvard in back-to-back years. Senior netminder Sarah Love made 46 saves in goal to earn the win.
The next day, it was Dartmouth over the Bulldogs, with senior Tiffany Hagge picking up a goal and two assists in the win.
In non-league action, Colgate and Cornell each earned one win. The Raiders took one of two games against Niagara with a 3-1 win on Friday, while the Big Red's victory came in overtime on Sunday vs. Wayne State, with Vicki Hodgkinson earning a hat trick with the game-winning goal.
Quinnipiac starts off this week's games with a contest tonight vs. Boston College followed by a full slate of action by the rest of the ECACHL teams over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. St. Lawrence will play two games at home vs. Connecticut, while Princeton is home for two vs. Mercyhurst. Harvard will travel to Minnesota Duluth for games Friday and Saturday. Yale, Brown and Dartmouth will all see tournament action this weekend. The Bulldogs and Bears will be playing in the Mayor's Cup in Providence this Friday and Saturday, with each facing Niagara and Providence. The Big Green is hosting its own affair and plays Wisconsin and Ottawa (ex.) on Saturday and Sunday. Quinnipiac closes out its weekend with a visit to Vermont on Sunday.
The only league games this week will take place between Colgate and Cornell, who will face each other over the weekend in a home-and-home series.
Clarkson and Union are idle this weekend.
