Three Teams Sweep in ECACHL Weekend Action
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Colgate, Dartmouth and Harvard opened up ECAC Hockey League play with sweeps this past weekend to earn four points to start the season. The Raiders took two games at home vs. Yale and Brown, while the Crimson and Big Green both swept Union and Rensselaer. Clarkson and Princeton also had successful weekends, earning three points with a win and a tie each.
Colgate started things off with a 4-3 overtime win vs. Yale. Carly McNaughton, this week's Player of the Week, netted the winner in that contest, giving the Raiders their first overtime victory since 2003. McNaughton went on to score the winner the next day as well, a 4-1 decision over Brown.
Harvard and Dartmouth showed their might over the weekend, scoring 37 goals between them and picking up three shutouts. Harvard was led by Sarah Vaillancourt who had seven goals and six assists over the two games, while the Big Green was led by Rookie of the Week Sarah Parsons, who had four goals and six assists.
Princeton began its weekend with a one-goal, 6-5 victory over top-5 St. Lawrence. Kristen Young earned Goaltender of the Week honors in part due to her 46 saves vs. the Saints. Clarkson also won on Friday, claiming a 6-3 victory over Quinnipiac. Christine Bailkowski recorded a hat trick in the win vs. Quinnipiac with a power-play goal, a short-handed marker and the game winner. Saturday had the Tigers and Golden Knights facing each other, and the defensive-minded battle ended in a 1-all draw.
After its hard-fought game with Princeton on Friday, the Saints rebounded with a 9-3 win over the Bobcats.
Cornell also started off the league season with a bang, taking a 3-2 win over Brown. Rebecca Flewelling had two unassisted goals in the W, including the game winner. Saturday saw the Big Red fall to Yale, with junior netminder Shivon Zilis earning the win between the pipes.
ECACHL Player of the Week
CARLY McNOUGHTON -- Colgate
Sr., Forward * Lethbridge, Alb.
McNaughton led the Raiders in scoring with three goals over the
weekend. Two of her goals were game winners. Against Yale, her
overtime tally gave Colgate its first overtime victory since 2003.
ECACHL Goalie of the Week
KRISTEN YOUNG -- Princeton
So. * Calgary, Alb.
Young stopped 75 shots over the weekend, earning a win and a tie.
She made 46 saves in the win over then-No. 3 St. Lawrence.
ECACHL Rookie of the Week
SARAH PARSONS -- Dartmouth
Forward * Dover, Mass.
Parsons picked up her first points of the season, and she did it in
big way, with 10 total points on four goals and six assists.
TEAM NOTES
Brown: The Bears had four freshmen in their top two lines and two freshmen as their top defensive pair on Saturday ... Three freshmen had their first career points this past weekend: Sasha Van Muyen scored her first career goal against Cornell, then Erin Connors scored her first career goal on a power play thanks in part to the first career assist by Andrea Hunter.
Clarkson: The Knights gained three points on the road over the weekend. Clarkson snapped a four-game winless skid (0-3-1) with a 6-3 victory at Quinnipiac and then gained their first ever point against Princeton with a 1-1 tie ... Christine Bailkowski recorded her second career hat trick and the Knights' first three-goal outing in over two years with a power-play tally, a shorthanded marker and the game-winner in consecutive order in the win at Quinnipiac.
Colgate: Colgate swept Yale and Brown over the weekend, earning four league points in its first wins of the season. This is the second consecutive season that the Raiders swept the squads at home to start the league slate ... Carly McNaughton recorded both GWGs over the weekend. Her goal 3:28 into overtime versus Yale is the first time Colgate has won an overtime game since 2003 when the Raiders defeated Wayne State, 3-2.
Cornell: Cornell opened its ECACHL season and went 1-1 this past weekend. Freshmen led the Big Red in scoring -- Rebecca Flewelling scored two unassisted goals in Friday's win including the GWG and Laura Danforth had an assist in both games. Senior Beth Baronick was in net for both games, recording her first win of the season Friday.
Dartmouth: Four of Dartmouth's six freshmen recorded their first collegiate points this weekend ... Freshman net minder Sarah Kennedy recorded her first career start and shutout in an 11-0 victory over Union ... Fourteen of the Big Green's 17 skaters who dressed this weekend recorded points.
Harvard: Harvard squad outscored its two opponents by a combined 21-0 margin last weekend ... Harvard has had four hat tricks registered through two games in the 2006-07 season -- two by Vaillancourt and one each by sophomore Jenny Brine and senior Katie Johnston. The Crimson had just one hat trick in the entire 2005-06 season.
Princeton: Princeton snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1) against St. Lawrence with a 6-5 win over the Saints on Friday night ... Princeton's season-opening four-game unbeaten streak marks its best start since the 2002-03 team started 4-0 ... Princeton was outshot 81-45 over the weekend, but still earned a win and a tie.
Quinnipiac: Quinnipiac's 15 goals have come from 10 different players. Twelve players have accumulated at least a point through seven games ... Two Bobcats set career highs this weekend on two consecutive nights. Against Clarkson, Jennifer MacLean had a career-best two goals, and against SLU, Kristin Alcorn had a career-best two assists ... The sophomore class has accounted for 62.5 of the Bobcats' scoring production this year.
Rensselaer: The Engineers look to rebound from a tough weekend when they play host to Robert Morris for a pair of games at the Houston Field House this coming Saturday and Sunday ... Last season against the Colonials, current sophomore Emily Donowick scored three of RPI's five goals in 2-1 and 3-1 victories in Pittsburgh, Pa.
St. Lawrence: The Saints' 7-1-0 start to the season is among the best in recent seasons, although overshadowed by last year's 12-0-2 streak to open the year ... St. Lawrence will meet ranked teams in each of its next six games ... With games against ranked teams in seven of the first 14 games of the year, the Saints are playing their toughest early season schedule since moving to full Division I status.
Union: Union continues its six-game road trip this weekend in a two-game series at Sacred Heart ... The Dutchwomen swept Sacred Heart in their home-opening series earlier this month to post back-to-back victories for the first time in almost a year ... The Dutchwomen last posted two weekend sweeps in a season in 2004-05, taking both weekend series from the Pioneers.
Yale: Sophomore defenseman Helen Resor scored on Saturday at Cornell, her first goal for Yale since 3/4/05 after spending last season with the U.S. Olympic team ... Yale scored seven goals in its first weekend of ECACHL play, a total the Bulldogs achieved only twice in weekend conference play last season.
