Weekend Preview: Top Six Spots Separated by Six Points
ALBANY, NY -- As teams jockey for post-season
position in the ensuing weeks, sticks with special pink wraps will
begin to be used by the home teams' student-athletes over the next
three weekends in support of the league's Pink at the Rink
promotion. Two ECAC Hockey teams are currently ranked in the
national polls with St. Lawrence sitting in the No. 6/6 spot and
Dartmouth ranked No. 8/8.
Union/Rensselaer at No. 6/6 St.
Lawrence/Clarkson: With four-straight home games
each, the Saints and Golden Knights host visiting travel partners
Union and Rensselaer this weekend. The Golden Knights feature
a well-balanced attack on offense, which has seen seven players
record double digits in points led by sophomore forward Melissa
Waldie's 26 points. The Clarkson defense is not to be undone,
as it the fifth-best in the nation, yielding a mere 1.79
goals-per-game. Winners of six of its last eight, St.
Lawrence will look to maintain its slim lead in the league
standings. The Saints have scored 3.11 goals-per-game this
game, ranking them 11th in the scoring offense in the nation.
Saints' senior forward Carson Duggan leads the league having netted
four game-winners on the season. The Dutchwomen will be
looking to stop a seven-game skid on their trip to the North
Country. Senior netminder Lundy Day, who recently set the
school's all-time career save record, boasts a .900 save percentage
in conference games this season for Union. The Engineers are
clinging to the seventh spot in the league standings and are
looking to get back some of the momentum established in the first
half of the season. Rensselaer has posted a 5-6-2 road record
this season. Engineers' freshman forward Alisa Harrison (6-7-13) is
tied for second in scoring among her counterparts in league
action.
Brown/Yale at No. 8/8 Dartmouth/Harvard: The
Big Green and Crimson will place host to Brown and Yale this
weekend in ECAC Hockey battles. Winners of six of its last
seven games, Dartmouth sits in the second spot in league standings,
one point behind St. Lawrence. The Big Green power play has
come up in a big way converting 21.8% of the time, ranking them
seventh in the nation. The Crimson, riding a five-game win
streak and sitting third in the ECAC Hockey standings, will
celebrate the 30th anniversary of their storied program.
Harvard has dominated the all-time series with rival Yale by a
count of 56-8-2 and have won the last seven games against the
Bulldogs. Senior forward Sarah Vaillancourt ranks fifth in
the country in scoring with 1.88 points per game. Brown is
coming off a conference weekend sweep of Quinnipiac, 3-0 and
Princeton, 2-1. Bears' senior Nicole Stock has been durable
between the pipes, playing in all but 29 minutes this season.
Stock had posted one shutout and sports a 3.36 goals-against
average. With seven league games remaining, Yale is six
points behind Cornell and RPI for one of the eight playoff
spots. The Bulldogs have received game-winning goals from six
different players this season. Yale has outshot its opponents
in nine of its last 12 games, but have only mustered a 5-7-0
record.
Cornell/Colgate at Quinnipiac/Princeton:
Riding the nation's longest current unbeaten streak (7-0-1),
Colgate, along with travel partner Cornell take to the road to face
Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend. The Tigers have had
the upper-hand against the Raiders showcasing a 14-3-2 all-time
advantage, while the Raiders have dominated the Bobcats by a count
of 12-1-2 mark. The Bobcats earned their first-ever victory
over Colgate this past November by a 3-2 count. The Raiders,
who currently sit in the number four spot in the league standings,
have received solid support on both ends of the ice all
season. Colgate senior Kiira Dosdall leads the team in
assists with a school record for a defender at 19. Princeton
enters the weekend of home-play fifth in the league
standings. The Tigers are 40-21-2 all-time against Cornell
and lead by a 21-8-2 all-time margin at home versus the Big
Red. The Tigers are led on offense by junior forward Melanie
Wallace with 21 points, while sophomore defender Sasha Sherry and
freshman forward Paula Romanchuk both have 16 points. The
Bobcats are led in scoring this season by forwards Elyse Cole and
Janine Duffy, who have 17 and 15 points respectively. The Big
Red has earned splits in each of their last two weekends.
Cornell has limited its opponents to two goals or fewer in five of
its last six outings.
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