Three Teams Earn Final National Recognition
ALBANY, NY – Three ECAC Hockey women's programs have earned a spot in the final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll, released Tuesday, March 23. National Champion runner-up Cornell is positioned in the No. 2 spot, Clarkson is ranked No. 5, while Harvard comes in at the No. 7 position.
Cornell University (161 points), which capped its season with the program’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four and a berth in the national title game, is ranked No. 2 in the final poll. The Big Red finished the season with a record of 21- 9- 6 for the nation’s sixth-best winning percentage at .667. Cornell boasted the nation’s top penalty kill unit in the country, stopping 121 of 131 chances for a 92.4 success rate. The Big Red will only lose four seniors on its current roster to graduation.
Clarkson (108 points) also finished in the top-five in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll. The Green and Gold, which posted a solid 23-12-5 overall record, earned in berth in the NCAA Tournament, dropping a 3-2 overtime game to Minnesota in the Quarterfinals. The Golden Knights showcased a solid offensive unit, where eight members earned double-digit points this season. Clarkson will welcome back 16 student-athletes from its current roster for the 2010-11 season.
A winner of 20 games this season, Harvard was the third ECAC Hockey team to be recognized nationally. The Crimson, ranked for 23-of-24 weeks on the national level, finished the season in the No. 7 spot earning 73 points from the voters. Harvard showcased the nation’s fifth-best winning percentage at .682. The Crimson were ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense, only surrendering 1.64 goals per game, while scoring 2.85 goals per contest. The Crimson will return 15 student-athletes from this season’s roster.
Click here to access complete USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
ABOUT THE POLL:
The 13th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the four NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey Magazine, the most widely distributed hockey magazine in the world.
