Weekend Preview: “Pink” Invades the Rinks

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ALBANY, NY  --  As teams jockey for post-season position in the ensuing weeks, the home team will be donning pink jerseys for the  league's Pink at the Rink promotion.  Four ECAC Hockey teams are currently ranked in the national polls with Harvard retaining the top spot the last three weeks.

Princeton/Quinnipiac at Yale/Brown:  Travel partners Princeton and Quinnipiac make their way to Yale and Brown for weekend play.  The Tigers are riding a four-game winning streak since losing to Yale earlier in the season and sit in the number five position in league standings, just one point away from the third position.  Princeton has outscored its opponents 19-5 in that frame.  Freshman defenseman Sasha Sherry has been a eminent player at both ends of the ice with solid defensive play and a contributor on offensive averaging 1.04 PPG in league contests.  Quinnipiac is coming off its first league win of the season last week and will look to its own blueline contributor captain Trudy Reyns, who has netted four goals and added five assists in league play.  After picking up one point on the always tough Dartmouth-Harvard road trip last week, the Bulldogs will look to look to improve on their ranking, which has them current tied for seventh position in league standings.  The Bears junior goaltender Nicole Stock has been a resilient in net posting a .925 save percentage in league games. 

Union/Rensselaer at No. 1 Harvard/No. 10 Dartmouth:  After defeating Northeastern in its opening round of the Beanpot on Tuesday, No. 1-ranked Harvard will be at home facing off with the Engineers and Dutchwomen this weekend.  The Crimson, riding a nine-game unbeaten streak, have yet to lose to either Union or Rensselaer in all-time series, posting records of 9-0-0 and 3-0-0 respectively.  Harvard leads the league in nearly every defensive category having only surrendered 11 goals in 16 games.  Sophomore forward Jenna Cunningham (10-18-28, ECAC Hockey) has led a group of six Big Green players who have reached the double-digit scoring plateau this season.  Look for Dartmouth to continue its 5-0-0 all-time advantage over Rensselaer and an 9-0-0 of Union.  On the offensive side for the Engineers, they are receiving scoring power from all lines, as nine different players have posted at least 10 points or more.  Between the pipes freshman Sonja van der Bliek boasts a 9-4-2 record with a 1.33 GAA.  Union continues its ECAC Hockey road trip with games at Harvard and Dartmouth February 8 and 9 before returning home for its final home games of the season against Colgate and Cornell  February 15 and 16.

No. 7 St. Lawrence/No. 8 Clarkson at Cornell/Colgate:  North Partners St. Lawrence and Clarkson will look to showcase their top 10 national presence by travelling to Cornell and Colgate.  The Saints have an array of offensive talent that is portrayed each time they take the ice, which includes four players in the top 10 among the league's point leaders.  The Golden Knights are not too far from matching the Saints in terms of offense, as they are posting a 2.62 G/GM average in league play.  Cornell and Colgate will both be looking to maintain their current spots in the league standings securing post-season play.