Weekend Preview: League Clashes On Tap
ALBANY, NY -- This weekend marks the return to
ECAC Hockey action for several teams who will look to fine-tune
their skills before the final stretch of league action. There
will be nine of the 12 ECAC Hockey teams in action beginning this
evening, including No. 7-ranked Dartmouth facing intra-state rival
No. 8 New Hampshire.
Brown/Yale at No. 5/5 St. Lawrence/Clarkson:
The cold North Country will feature some heated battles this
weekend as Brown and Yale visit St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
The Saints have now completed their non-conference schedule and
will focus each weekend on league contests. Appleton Arena
has not been a friendly place to play for visitors, as the Saints
are 15-5-1, including wins over then third-ranked New Hampshire and
current No. 7 Dartmouth. The Bears will be looking to snap a
nine-game losing streak to the Saints Friday, while Yale will be
looking to defeat the Scarlet and Brown for the first time.
The Saints have plenty of scoring depth featuring nine players in
double digits in scoring. Senior forward Carson Duggan leads
the Saints with 22 point (14G-8A), while senior forward Alison
Domenico and junior forward Tara Akstull have accumulated 20 points
each. Over the last five seasons, the Saints have taken
advantage of the holiday break, by coming into the new year with
fresh play posting a 33-8-1 record in the first month of the
year. Yale will be looking to defeat Clarkson for the second
time this season. The Bulldogs edged the Golden Knights in
November by a 3-2 count. Sophomore netminder Jackee Snikeris
is on pace to break the Yale record for single-season goals-against
average, which she set last season, as she currently boasts a mark
of 2.13. Clarkson's senior forward Marie-Jo Gaudet
(55G-42A-97PTS) and junior forward Britney Selina (33G-64A-97PTS)
are each closing in on 100-career points. Junior
forward/defender Andrea Hunter (3G-5A-8PTS) will look to lead the
Bears who last beat Clarkson by a count of 1-0 in January,
2007.
Rensselaer/Union at Colgate/Cornell: After
sweeping its travel partner last weekend, Colgate welcomes
Rensselaer and Union to Starr Rink this weekend. The Raiders
are led up front from senior forward Sam Hunt who has netted nine
goals and added eight assists this season. Senior defender
Kiira Dosdall headlines all scorers with four goals and a team-high
15 assists for Colgate. Colgate and Rensselaer are each 2-2-2
in their last six meetings. The Raiders are 4-1-3 all-time
versus the Engineers at Starr Rink. RPI has been led on
offense by junior forward Whitney Nashlund (10G-9A-19PTS) and
freshman forward Alisa Harrison (6G-11A-17PTS). Union will be
looking for its first-ever win against Colgate. Cornell will
also be hosting the two schools from the Capital District.
Big Red sophomore forward Rebecca Johnston leads the league in
scoring average at 1.92 points-per-game and is third overall in
scoring with 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists. Cornell's
defenders are proving their worth on the offensive end as well with
fist-year players Jess Martino scoring ten points this season,
while classmate Amanda Young adding nine. Dutchwomen senior
goaltender Lundy Day has played in all 22 games for Union this
season and sports a .906 save percentage and 3.67 GAA.
No. 7/7 Dartmouth at No. 8/8 New Hampshire:
State bragging rights will be on the line this weekend as Dartmouth
clashes with New Hampshire Friday evening. The two top ten
teams have met 46 times in their storied histories with the
Wildcats coming out on top in 30 of those contests. The Big
Green is 1-3-1 versus New Hampshire in the last five games, but
prior to them had won five straight in the series. In the
last 16 meetings, Dartmouth has a 10-5-1 record against New
Hampshire. Winners of four straight the Big Green has been
getting solid play at both ends of the ice scoring 3.89
goals-per-game, which ranks sixth in the nation, while only
surrendering 1.84 goals-per-game, which ranks seventh in the
country. Dartmouth has defeated two Hockey East opponents
this season, downing then fourth-ranked Boston College and
Providence, both by a count a 4-1. Senior netminder Carli
Clemis (10-5-1) has been impressive between the pipes for Dartmouth
and recently became the fourth Big Green goaltender to reach the
50-win plateau in a career.
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