Three League Teams Earn National Ranking
ALBANY, NY – The top three ECAC Hockey women's programs, who have each earned a bid to the NCAA tournament make-up the heart of the most recent USCHO.com Poll released Monday, March 8 and current USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll, released Tuesday, March 9. Harvard is positioned in the No. 4/4 spot; Clarkson is ranked No. 5/6, while league regular-season and tournament champion Cornell moved up to the No. 6/5 slot.
Winners of 20 games this season, Harvard maintains the No. 4 slot in both the USCHO.com Poll earning 96 points and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll (127 points). The Crimson was ousted from the ECAC Women’s Hockey Tournament last weekend, falling to Clarkson, 3-2, at Cheel Arena Friday evening. Harvard’s second rated scoring defense will play host to familiar foe Cornell Friday, March 12 for a ticket to the Women’s Frozen Four at Ridder Arena.
ECAC Hockey women’s runner-up Clarkson moved up to the No. 5 position in the latest USCHO.com Poll with 83 points and stayed in the No. 6 spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll (98 points). The Golden Knights were 1-1 last weekend with a 3-2, win over Harvard and a 4-3, overtime setback to Cornell in the league’s postseason championship game. Clarkson’s efforts were good enough to earn it an NCAA Tournament bid, as it will travel to No. 3 Minnesota, which also received an at-large bid into NCAA competition. The game is set for Saturday, March 13th at 4 p.m. with the winner of the one-game regional advancing the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four.
ECAC Hockey Tournament Champion Cornell moved from the No. 8 spot to the No. 6 position in the latest USCHO.com Poll (78 points) and jumped from the No. 8 spot to the No. 5 position in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll (107 points). The Big Red is riding the nation’s longest current unbeaten streak at ten games (9-0-1). Cornell will travel to face the Crimson Friday, March 12, at 7 p.m. at the Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass. for the right to earn a spot at the Women’s Frozen Four in Minneapolis, MN. Cornell sports the nation’s top penalty kill unit, posting a success rate 93.9% of the time. Cornell has had the upper hand versus the Crimson this season, winning a hard fought 4-3 battle, and earning a 4-4, overtime tie.
Click here to access complete USCHO.com Poll
Click here to access complete USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
ABOUT THE POLLS:
The USCHO.com Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 15 voters, including 12 coaches of Division I programs and three women's hockey writers. USCHO.com provides in-depth coverage of college sports, including hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and others.
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.
