Weekend Preview: Playoff Positions Up for Grabs

ALBANY, N.Y. -- With only four full weekends of regular-season play on the horizon in ECAC Hockey play, positions three through ten in the league standings are separated by a mere seven points.  The league is on the verge of a breakthrough weekend with teams scrambling for positions and eyeing postseason play. 

Rensselaer/Union at Colgate/No. 2/2 Cornell:  Currently riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 16-games, Cornell welcomes Rensselaer and Union to Lynah Rink this weekend.  For the year, Rebecca Johnston leads all Big Red scorers with 31 points in 19 games on 15 goals and 16 assists, while Brianne Jenner is second with 27 points on 15 goals and 12 assists in 19 contests.  In all, seven different players are averaging at least a point per game for the Big Red.  Union holds the distinction of being the only team in the league to have scored more than one goal on Cornell in league play this season, scoring twice in a 4-2 loss to the Big Red on Jan. 15.  In goal for the Dutchwomen junior Kate Gallagher has seen most of the time, posting a .926 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average.  Cornell holds a 14-1 lead in the all-time series against the Dutchwomen, winning each of the last 13 meetings.  Colgate will also host the league’s Capital Region foes this weekend at Starr Rink.  The Raiders currently have nine points with a 4-9-1 ECAC Hockey record, which has them tied in ninth place with Yale.  The Raiders lead the all-time series with Rensselaer, owning a 7-5-5 record since the teams first met in the 1997-98 season. Colgate has a 5-1-3 home record against the Engineers, winning the last three meetings at Starr Rink.  The Engineers enter the weekend tied for fifth place in the league standings, but just one point out of fourth place.  Sophomore Taylor Horton leads the Rensselaer offense with nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in 25 games.  Colgate has a 22-0-0 perfect record in the all-time series against Union that started in the 1997-98 season.

Clarkson/St. Lawrence at No. 10/10 Quinnipiac/Princeton:  The Tigers return from a three-week layoff during first-semester final exams this weekend to host St. Lawrence and Clarkson at Hobey Baker Rink.  Princeton went into the break on a seven-game winning streak.  Princeton's seven-game win streak has featured five shutouts and the Tigers have allowed just three goals in the seven-game span.  During the seven games, Princeton has outscored its opponents 24-3.  The Saints carry a three-game win streak into the weekend winning at Dartmouth and at home last weekend against Brown and Yale.  The Saints had dropped the previous four games prior to the win streak.  Princeton is 26-17-3 all-time against St. Lawrence and holds a 10-9-2 record at Baker Rink.  Princeton has won four of five in the series including a 3-1 win in Canton in early January.  Quinnipiac returns to home ice for the first time in almost two months when it hosts ECAC Hockey opponents Clarkson Friday and St. Lawrence Saturday.  The Bobcats have one of the best scoring defenses in the country, limiting its opponents to just 1.74 goals per game.  This mark ranks fourth-best in NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey.  Clarkson owns a 9-13-3 overall record and holds down eighth-place in ECAC Hockey with a 6-6-1 league mark.  The Knights, who are one point behind St. Lawrence and two points shy of fifth place, are four points ahead of ninth place Yale. 

Dartmouth/Harvard at Yale/Brown:  Having won its last four games, Harvard looks to keep its longest win streak of the season alive on the road against Brown and Yale.  The Crimson holds a slight edge in the all-time series record with Brown, 37-30-5.  Harvard has scored four or more goals four times this season and has captured wins in all four games.  The Crimson is 4-1-1 in games it scores three goals, its only loss coming to No. 4/5 Boston University in a 5-3 final.  Sophomore Laurie Jolin continues to be the Bears’ main offensive threat, leading the team with eight goals, 11 points and 47 shots.  Dartmouth enters the weekend tied for third in the ECAC Hockey standings.  The Big Green is sixth in the country in scoring offense (3.45 goals per game).  Dartmouth also features two of the best special teams units in the country, ranking second on the power-play (24.5 percent) and fifth on the penalty kill (90.1 percent).  Sasha Nanji leads the nation's defensemen in scoring with 22 points (12g-10a-22pts) in 20 games.  Yale enters the weekend with a 5-12-2 record overall and a 4-7-1 mark in ECAC Hockey.  The team is currently in ninth in the conference with nine points.  In its last six games, the Bulldogs are 1-5.  Senior Bray Ketchum leads the Bulldogs in points with 14 on six goals and eight assists.

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