Weekend Preview: Non-League Showdowns Highlight Weekend Play
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Six ECAC Hockey women’s
teams are in action this weekend, with two of them making their
2010-11 season official debuts - Colgate and St. Lawrence.
Both Colgate and Union will face ranked opponents this weekend,
Quinnipiac and Rensselaer play its first home games of the season,
while Clarkson travels away from Potsdam for its first time this
season.
At Colgate, No. 9/10 Boston College/No. 8/9 New
Hampshire: Colgate will be tested right out of the
gate to begin its 2010-11 season as its hosts two nationally-ranked
teams from Hockey East - Boston College and New Hampshire.
Colgate returns two of its top-five point scorers from last
season. Sophomore forward Brittany Phillips had 20 points off
11 goals and nine assists while junior forward Jessi Waters
finished with 16 points off two goals and 14 assists. The
Raiders also return two veteran goaltenders in senior Lisa
Plenderleith and junior Kimberly Sass. Plenderleith led
the team in wins last season with 10, while Sass was named the ECAC
Hockey Goaltender of the Year in 2008-09. BC leads the
all-time series 3-0-1 with Colgate. UNH owns a 5-1 record in
the all-time series, with the Raiders' only win being a 5-4 victory
in 2008.
At Rensselaer, Vermont: RPI makes its
regular season home debut this weekend with a two-game set versus
Vermont. Friday night’s contest marks the third
annually “Pack the House Night” at Houston Field House
for the Engineers. Vermont holds an 8-6-0 advantage
over Rensselaer in the all-time series. Rensselaer has posted
a 44-29-8 record within the confines of the Houston Field House
since elevating its program to the Division I level.
Clarkson at Connecticut/Providence: Clarkson takes to the
road to battle Connecticut and Providence this Saturday and Sunday
afternoons. The Golden Knights are undefeated against the two
Hockey East foes, going 1-0 against Connecticut and 2-0-1 against
Providence. Clarkson shut out the Huskies last season in
their first-ever meeting, winning 4-0 in Potsdam on October
10. The Golden Knights edged the Friars at Cheel on October 9
last season, winning 3-2 in overtime on Juana Baribeau’s
second goal of the game 86 seconds into the extra session.
St. Lawrence at
Providence/Connecticut: The Saints play five
of their first six games of the 2010-11 away from Canton, NY.
The first two of those games comes this weekend as they open the
season at Providence Saturday and Connecticut Sunday. St.
Lawrence lost several key players to graduation, including Patty
Kazmaier Top-10 finalist Britni Smith at the blue line.
However, head coach Chris Wells is confident in his returning corps
of veterans, including assistant captains Kirsten Roach, Karell
Emard and Jamie Goldsmith, as well as the incoming first-year class
to fill the voids left and be effective when the puck drops.
At Union, No. 6/6 Boston University: The Dutchwomen defense
will be tested this weekend as nationally-ranked Boston University
comers calling. BU returns six of its top seven scorers from
last year’s squad. After losing just one senior from
the 2009-1010 season, head coach Claudia Asano expects the Union
team chemistry to be well-balanced. The Dutchwomen team
breaks down with four seniors, nine juniors, five sophomores, and
five freshmen. It is a team stacked with veteran players that
are ready to make the dive into the postseason and will use the
skill of the younger players to capture that goal.
At Quinnipiac, Northeastern/Sacred Heart:
The Bobcats will play their first home contests of the season
Saturday against Northeastern and Sunday versus Sacred Heart at the
TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, CT. Although Quinnipiac's
overall record against Northeastern is 4-8-2, the Bobcats have
played well in recent years, winning four of the last six
contests. Quinnipiac holds a perfect record of 8-0 against
the non-conference opponent Pioneers of Sacred Heart. Last
season, the Bobcats were victorious in two contests, earning a 4-1
victory October 3 and an 11-1 victory November 28.
Bobcats netminder Victoria Vigilanti continued her dominance in
net, stopping 44 of 45 shots in the team’s first two wins
last weekend.
