Weekend Preview: Crunch Time
ALBANY, NY -- With only four weeks of hockey
remaining in the regular season all points become treasured as the
race to crown a champion draws near. One of the most
anticipated games of the weekend will be when No. 4/4 St. Lawrence,
winners of five straight games, squares-off against Colgate,
winners of six straight contests, Saturday.
No. 4/4 St. Lawrence/Clarkson at
Cornell/Colgate: A top ten team all season, No. 4/4
St. Lawrence will travel to Cornell Friday and Colgate Saturday in
a pair of league showdowns. The Saints will be tested all
weekend by the Central New York foes, as it tied Cornell in their
previous meeting this season and have lost two games in row at
Starr Rink to the red hot Raiders. St. Lawrence has a
nine-game winning streak at Lynah Rink, outscoring the Big Red by a
count of 40-13 in that stretch. The Scarlet and Brown have
seen their offensive scoring production come from a variety of
sources this season, as they have ten players in double digits in
scoring. Cornell is 3-1 in its last four game and is
averaging 3.19 goals per game. Travel partner Clarkson will
also face the tough task this weekend facing off against Colgate
and Cornell, as it closes out a five-game road trip. The
Golden Knights have one of the stingiest defenses in the nation
only allowing 1.76 goals per game. Clarkson is 4-5-2 all-time
versus Colgate, but has a current five-game unbeaten streak against
the Raiders. Coming off back-to-back shutout wins last
weekend, Colgate extended its winning streak to a record six
games. The Raiders own an all-time mark of 88-60-12 at Starr
Rink. Senior forward Sam Hunt leads the Raiders up front with
a team-high 26 points on the season. The Raiders and Saints
have split the series the last three seasons.
Brown/Yale at Princeton/Quinnipiac: Winners
of five straight, Princeton will host Brown and Yale this weekend
in league action. The Tigers sit in a three-way tie in the
third spot in the ECAC Hockey standings, as they battle to hold one
of the top four spots looking for home ice in the postseason.
The Tigers are an impressive 26-5 all-time at Baker Rink versus
Yale. The Bulldogs are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games against
the Tigers with nine of those games decided by two goals or
fewer. Princeton sophomore defender Sasha Sherry is sixth in
the nation in scoring among her counterparts (5-13-18). The
Tigers are unbeaten against Brown in the last two seasons going
3-0-1. The Bears will be looking to stop a six-game losing
streak this weekend. Senior netminder Nicole Stock has played
in 20 games for Brown this season and is second in ECAC Hockey play
with 718 saves. Quinnipiac will also host Brown and Yale this
weekend looking for its first win since early December.
Bobcats' senior forward Elyse Cole ranks first in league action
with five power play goals on the season. The Bobcats sport
the league's best penalty kill unit stopping 44 of 50 opportunities
for a 88.0% mark and have not surrendered a power play goal since
December 2.
Harvard/No. 9/9 Dartmouth at
Union/Rensselaer: Travel partners No. 9/9 Dartmouth
and defending ECAC Hockey champions Harvard venture to the Capital
District this weekend to take on Rensselaer and Union. The
Big Green continues to pack the power on offense averaging 3.60
goals per game. Dartmouth has been very effective on the
power play as of late netting nine goals in its last 14 attempts
with an extra attacker. The Engineers will combat the
high-powered offense with the nation's 13th best defense that is
allowing just 2.12 goals per game. The Big Green holds a
6-0-1 all-time advantage over the Engineers and a perfect 11-0 mark
versus the Dutchwomen. Harvard's senior class has been
productive on the offensive end accounting for 41 of the 73 points
(.574) this season. Senior forward Sarah Vaillancourt has had
a hand in 20 of the Crimson's last 28 goals. Harvard has won
all of its previous 11 meetings against Union and holds a 4-0-1
all-time mark versus the Engineers. Look for Rensselaer to
score first, as they are 8-2-1 when scoring the game's first
goal. Senior netminder Lundy Day recently became the
Dutchwomen's all-time career saves leader. Day has amassed
1997 saves in 56 career games. Freshman forward Lauren
Cromartie (4G-4A) leads Union in scoring with eight points.
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