Weekend Preview: Teams Eye Playoff Berths

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Colgate, Rensselaer and St. Lawrence enter this weekend’s action locked in a three-way battle for seventh place. All three teams are just two points out of sixth place behind Clarkson. The top eight teams in the final standings advance to the ECAC Hockey postseason tournament.

No. 2/2 Cornell/Colgate at No. 10/10 Dartmouth/Harvard:  Dartmouth and Harvard will end the regular-season by playing host to national power Cornell and Colgate in this weekend. The Big Red have been either ranked first or second in the national polls all season and currently are ranked second in both polls. The Big Red (25-1-1, 19-0-1) have already claimed back-to-back ECAC Hockey titles. Six out of the top eight scorers in conference action are from Cornell with freshman forward Brianne Jenner tied for the lead registering 30 points on 14 goals and 16 assists. Cornell and Dartmouth will meet for the 69th time Friday. The Big Green lead the series, 39-23-6. Dartmouth can secure a top-four spot (which garners home ice in the first round) with a win or tie against Cornell or Colgate. Dartmouth could also clinch a top four spot if Princeton losses or ties either of its two games. The Crimson is looking solidify second place in the ECAC Hockey standings against the Raiders and Big Red. Harvard holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with Colgate, boasting a 17-1-2 record against the Raiders. The Crimson class of 2011 has combined to play 656 games under head coach Katey Stone. The sextet of seniors has helped Harvard to two Beanpot titles, two ECAC Hockey regular-season titles, an ECAC Hockey tournament championship and two NCAA tournament appearances. In 81 periods of regulation hockey so far this season, Harvard has only allowed double-digit shots in a given period 19 times (24 percent). Colgate is currently sitting tied for seventh place with 18 points in the league standings above Yale, Brown and Union. Rensselaer and St. Lawrence also have 18 points each in the league standings. Raiders’ forward Brittany Phillips leads the team with 33 points from a team-best 15 goals and 18 assists.

Clarkson/St. Lawrence at Rensselaer/Union: Clarkson, Rensselaer, and St. Lawrence will be looking to lock-up a postseason spot this weekend as Golden Knights and Saints visit the Capital Region. The Knights will look to break out of a five-game winless stretch (0-2-3) after having lost their last two games. Senior Melissa Waldie leads the Clarkson offense with 21 points on 14 goals and seven assists. The Knights’ all-time leading goal scorer, Waldie has amassed 66 goals and 52 assists for 118 points through 144 career games. RPI has struggled recently, going 2-7-1 over its last 10 games. RPI seniors Sydney O’Keefe (138) and Kendra Dunlop (137) are currently sitting third and fourth place, respectively, for most games played in a career. RPI can solidify its spot with a three point weekend, needing to defeat Clarkson and tie St. Lawrence. The Saints have lost five of their last seven games. St. Lawrence posts a 4-5-0 conference mark this season on the road. St. Lawrence has been a streaky team all season as it has three three-game win streaks and three three-game losing streaks on the season. Union will look to play the role of spoiler this weekend at Messa Rink. The Dutchwomen own a 2-27-3 overall record and are in 12th-place in ECAC Hockey with a 1-10-1 conference mark.

Princeton/Quinnipiac at Brown/Yale:  Princeton and Yale trek to Brown and Yale for a pair of league games to end the regular-season. Princeton enters the final weekend of the regular-season looking to climb into a home-ice playoff spot for next weekend's ECAC Hockey quarterfinals, as it is just one point out of the fourth spot. Princeton and Quinnipiac can both catch third-place Dartmouth in the standings. The Big Green close the regular-season at home against Cornell and Colgate. Cornell has had the regular-season title wrapped up for some time and is currently 19-0-1 in league play, while Colgate is currently in a battle with Rensselaer, St. Lawrence and Yale for the final two playoff spots. Quinnipiac has scored a program-high 95 goals thus far on the season, contributing to its 2.97 goals per game average. If the Bobcats crack the century mark, they would be just the second ECAC Hockey team to do so this season. Bobcats’ freshman Kelly Babstock leads all ECAC Hockey skaters in goals (29), assists (26) and points (55) in overall games. Since losing to the Bulldogs earlier this season the Tigers have gone 11-2-0, including six shutout wins. The Bulldogs are led by senior goaltender Jackee Snikeris, who has a 1.96 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage on the season. The Bears feature a young lineup; 26 of their 31 goals this year have been scored by freshmen and sophomores. Forward Alena Polenska leads the team in points (7g-6a-13pts). Goaltender Katie Jamieson has a .909 save percentage and a 3.29 goals-against average for Brown.

(click here to view complete release)