Weekend Update: Defenses Deliver

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The first day of ECAC Hockey women's hockey featured some unyielding performances between the pipes as the five winning netminders combined to surrender only one goal.  Four of those teams recorded shutouts - Clarkson, Cornell, Quinnipiac, and St. Lawrence.  The sixth game on tap yesterday also featured solid goaltending with Rensselaer and Princeton ending in a 2-2 overtime draw. 

At No. 3/3 Clarkson 1, Brown 0:  Averaging nearly four goals per game entering Friday's contest, the Golden Knights struggled to figure out Brown goaltender Katie Jamieson.  However, a late goal from sophomore Katelyn Ptolemy helped the third-ranked Golden Knights solve the freshman, surviving a scare from the visiting Bears with a 1-0 victory at Cheel Arena.  Lauren Dahm made nine saves for her third shutout of the season and the 13th of her career.  Jamieson played well in net for Brown, making numerous key saves, especially in the third period.  She finished with 33 saves as Clarkson out shot Brown 34-9. 

At Cornell 3, No. 7/6 Dartmouth 0:  Freshman Lauriane Rougeau notched a goal and an assist as the Big Red opened the 2009-10 ECAC Hockey campaign with a 3-0 victory over nationally-ranked Dartmouth Friday afternoon at Lynah Rink.  The win over the Big Green was Cornell's first win over Dartmouth since January 24, 1999, and the first shutout over Dartmouth since the 1996-97 season.  Cornell scored a goal in each period and one on the power play, at even strength and one short-handed.  Kendice Ogilvie and Laura Fortino both added a goal, while Catherine White had a pair of assists. Amanda Mazzotta stopped 22 shots for her second career shutout.

At No. 6/7 St. Lawrence 4, Yale 0:  Sophomore Vanessa Emond continued her consistent scoring with a three-point outing against Yale Friday afternoon, leading the Saints to a 4-0 shutout of the Bulldogs.  Emond finished with two power play goals and an assist as the Scarlet and Brown improved to 28-0-1 all-time against Yale.  Brittony Chartier matched their efforts on the defensive end with 15 total saves in the game for St. Lawrence.  The Saints' special teams helped secure Friday's win, as they finished 3-of-8 (38%) on the power play and held Yale scoreless with the extra skater (0-for-6).

No. 8/9 Harvard 2 at Colgate 1:  The Crimson killed two Colgate power plays in the final four minutes of the third period to earn a 2-1 victory over the Raiders in their season opener Friday afternoon at Starr Rink.  Netminder Christina Kessler made 29 saves, helping Harvard finish 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, while Leanna Coskren and Anna McDonald provided the scoring with a goal apiece.

At Quinnipiac 3, Union 0:  Senior captain Kallie Flor netted her first two goals of the season as the Quinnipiac defeated Union, 3-0, Friday evening at the TD Bank Sports Center.  Fellow senior Janine Duffy added two assists as the Bobcats improve to 3-3-1 overall. Goaltenders Victoria Vigilanti and Amanda Nagel split time between the pipes for the Bobcats.  Vigilanti played the first two periods and recorded five saves earning the win, while Nagel made four saves in the third.  Alana Marcinko recorded 26 saves in the loss for Union.

Rensselaer 2 at Princeton 2 (ot):  Behind a 23-save effort by RPI's Sonja van der Bliek and a 19-save effort by Princeton's Cassie Seguin the two teams played to a 2-2 overtime draw in their first game in League play.  The Engineers received a goal and an assist from Kendra Dunlop, while freshman Kelly Cooke scored her third goal of the season for Princeton and teammate Maddie Endicott netted a power play goal in the contest.

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