Weekend Preview: Top Six Spots Separated By Six Points
ALBANY, N.Y. -- As teams jockey for spots
in the league standings and the right to claim one of the
postseason positions, every game becomes more crucial. One of
the most anticipated games of the weekend features second-place
Cornell visiting Cheel Arena to take on league leading No. 3/3
Clarkson Saturday afternoon.
Colgate/Cornell at No. 3/3 Clarkson/St.
Lawrence: The Golden Knights return to their home
ice for the first time in nearly 60 days as they play the first of
five consecutive home games Friday hosting Colgate at Cheel
Arena. One of four teams ECAC Hockey teams nationally ranked
in the top-10 in scoring defense, Clarkson is backboned by junior
netminder Lauren Dahm, who has only allowed 1.60
goals-per-game. She has played every minute in the Green and
Gold crease and holds a .937 save percentage, a 1.54 goals-against
average, and is tied for second in the national lead in shutouts
(6). Clarkson will tangle with Cornell Saturday who sits in
the No. 2 position in the league standings, one point behind the
Golden Knights. Cornell's special teams continue to shine as
its penalty kill unit has only surrendered two goals on 77 chances
(97/4%) ranking first in the country. Not to be outdone is
the Big Red's power-play, which is third in the nation having
netted 20 goals on 89 opportunities (22.5%). Cornell owns a
four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2) entering the weekend.
Cornell is 4-2-3 on the road. The Raiders will first face
Clarkson Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in Potsdam, N.Y. Katie
Stewart leads the Raiders and is tied for second among scoring
leaders in ECAC Hockey play so far this season with 28 points off
16 goals and 12 assists. Colgate will meet with St. Lawrence
for the second time this season, Saturday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m. in
Canton, N.Y. The Saints currently sit in seventh place in the
league standings with 16 points, just one point shy of a potential
four-way tie for fourth place. Vanessa Edmond has 28 points
off of 14 goals and 14 assists, to lead the Saints and rank tied at
second among all-scorers in the league.
No. 7/7 Harvard at Dartmouth & At No. 7/7 Harvard, No.
9/9 Providence: The seventh-ranked Harvard women's
hockey team continues the stretch run as the team visits Dartmouth
Friday afternoon before hosting No. 9 Providence in a
non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Bright Hockey
Center. Harvard and Dartmouth have played 73 times, with the
Big Green owning a 39-32-2 lead in the all-time series, which began
in 1978-79. The Crimson has won five of the last six games
against its ECAC Hockey rival. Harvard's Kate Buesser has an
ECAC Hockey-best 15 assists in league games and stands second in
points with 22. Rookie Jillian Dempsey (8g-10a-18pts) ranks
fourth in conference points among all players and first among
freshmen in the league. As a team, Harvard tanks second in
ECAC Hockey with 3.20 goals-per-game, having scored a league-best
48 tallies in 15 conference games entering the weekend. The
Crimson will look to snap the Friars 10-game unbeaten streak
(8-0-2) Saturday. Big Green forward Sarah Parson ranks eighth
in the nation in points-per-game with 1.43 on 15 goals and 15
assists in 21 games this season. Dartmouth has tallied 60
goals in 20 games so far this season, which ranks at the top of the
list in ECAC Hockey.
Princeton/Quinnipiac at Union/Rensselaer:
The Bobcats, winners of six straight games, will travel to the
Capital District to take on Rensselaer Friday and Union
Saturday. Freshman goaltender Victoria Vigilanti has recorded
12 wins in goal for Quinnipiac this season, and played all 365
minutes of the past six wins between the pipes. The rookie
netminder currently posts a .600 winning percentage, ranking third
in ECAC Hockey in that category. Vigilanti also continues to
rank second in the conference in save percentage (.939) and in
goals-against average (1.50). Rensselaer currently posts a
10-10-5 overall record with a 7-4-3 record (17 points) in ECAC
Hockey, tying for fourth place in the conference with Quinnipiac
and Princeton. Senior forward Whitney Naslund and Allison
Wright lead the team offensively, as they each have tallied 19
points on the year. Junior goaltender Sonja van der Bliek has
seen most time in net for Rensselaer this season, playing in 23
games where she has posted a .918 save percentage. Travel
partner Princeton will also face-off against the Dutchwomen and
Engineers this weekend. Princeton sits tied for fourth in the
league standings with travel-partner Quinnipiac and Rensselaer, its
opponent Saturday. Princeton is 13-0 all-time against Union
and holds a 5-0 record in games played at Messa Rink. The
Tigers and Engineers are even at 4-4-1 in the all-time series with
Princeton holding a 2-1 edge in games played at the Houston
Fieldhouse. After playing the last four games on the road,
Union returns to Messa Rink to play host in the pair of league
games. Union has wins this season over Sacred Heart, Maine,
North Dakota and Brown. Four of their wins have come on home
ice.
