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SEASON COMES TO AN END AS WISCONSIN

OUTLASTS SAINTS IN NCAA SEMIFINALS

Mar. 24: The No. 3 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team met the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers for only the third time in the team's history on Friday afternoon at the NCAA Frozen Four. In a classic battle of two premier programs, the game came down to the wire, with a late goal from a Wisconsin rookie deciding the game, 1-0, and ending the Saints' dream season and chances at the 2005-2006 National Championship.

The opening period at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, MN was an action-packed affair, with both teams getting plenty of quality scoring chances. However, both goaltenders, senior Jessica Moffat for St. Lawrence and Jessie Vetter for Wisconsin kept the score knotted at zero a piece with some outstanding saves.

The opening face off went to the Badgers, and they immediately took control of the tempo, creating two fast-break opportunities on Moffat. The Moose Creek, Ontario native, a top ten 2006 Patty Kazmaier Finalist, kept Wisconsin off the board in the early going.

The Saints' best chances in the first came on the power play, as they had three opportunities to score with a player advantage. Vetter's toughest save came on a long slap shot off the stick of sophomore Annie Guay, whose shot hit the freshman's pads for a clutch save. St. Lawrence entered the Frozen Four ranked second in the country on the power play, while Wisconsin ranked 10th on the penalty kill. However, through one period, it was the Badger's special teams that held strong and sent the game to the first intermission scoreless.

The second period turned out to be a highlight reel for both goaltenders, as each made some extraordinary saves to keep the offenses off the scoreboard. Wisconsin's 2006 Patty Kazmaier Finalist Sara Bauer made her presence felt in the second, with some high-energy shifts that led to some great scoring chances for the Badgers. She took a pass behind the net early in the second and made her way in front of Moffat. The junior was able to release two shots off her backhand, but the Saints' netminder held firm, making both saves. Then, after a St. Lawrence giveaway behind the net, Bauer again freed herself in front for two more chances. Moffat, however, was up to the task, turning each scoring opportunity away with confidence.

The Saints' first great scoring opportunity of the period came approximately six minutes into the second period, when junior Crystal Connors blasted a slap shot at Vetter from the slot. The shot hit Vetter's chest, and bounced straight up in the air. The puck actually came down behind the Cottage Grove, Wisconsin native, but she dove behind her with her glove to make an amazing stop on the goal line. Although the play was sent to the instant replay booth, the call was correct and the score remained 0-0. A mere thirty seconds later, Moffat returned the favor, flashing her glove to stop Jinelle Zaugg on a two-on-one in the Saints' end.

Although the Saints were called for two penalties in the second period, both Kerri Wallace's hooking penalty and Laurie Ross' holding penalty were warrented. Wallace took the hooking call while trying to stop Zaugg from scoring on a break-away, and Ross held Wisconsin's Cyndy Kenyon at 17:43 to avoid an open net goal as Moffat had fallen out of position when the puck took a strange bounce. The Saints' second ranked penalty kill unit looked sharp, however, allowing the Badgers only one shot on the power play chances.

As the final seconds of the second period ticked down, senior Emilie Berlinguette fed a pass to Connors who moved in one-on-one on Vetter. Connors tried to wrist a shot over the Wisconsin goalie's glove, but Vetter flashed some leather, making the stop as the buzzer sounded to end the second period.

The opening two periods set the stage for the biggest period of the season for both teams, with the winner of the final frame earning a bid into the NCAA Championship game on Sunday. The third period opened with both teams working hard to control the tempo. Both goalies remained perfect through the first five minutes of play, but finally, the Wisconsin Badgers broke the ice and scored the opening goal 5:22 into the third period.

The Saints' attempt to carry the puck out of their defensive zone was stopped by the Badgers at the blue line. With a pile of players digging for the puck along the boards, it was Wisconsin's Tia Hanson that would come away with control, looping around the circle to Moffat's right. The Saints were unable to catch the freshman from Medicine Hat, Alberta, as she fired a quick wrist shot that beat Moffat's glove. The goal broke Moffat's shutout streak, which had reached 138:22 dating back to the ECACHL Quarterfinal series with Yale on March 4th.

The Saints gave everything they had in the final minutes, but every attempt they had was stopped by a suffocating Wisconsin defense. Head coach Paul Flanagan pulled Moffat with just under a minute to play in the game, and the Saints had one last chance as the clock ticked towards zero. However, as Berlinguette carried the puck over the blue line, her shot with two seconds left was blocked by a Badger defensemen, and the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers celebrated their NCAA Semifinal 1-0 victory.

The shots in Friday's game were almost even, with St. Lawrence holding a small edge, 27-25. Neither team was able to convert on the power play, as the Saints finished 0-4 on the afternoon. Between the pipes, Vetter earned the victory with 27 saves, with Moffat stopped 24 of the Badger's 25 chances.

The loss marks the third consecutive season that the Saints have fallen in the NCAA Semifinal round. The Class of 2006, which includes senior co-captains Tracy Muzerall, Kate Michael, and Kat Smithson along with Berlinguette, Ross, and Moffat finish their careers as the most winningest group of players to ever skate for the Scarlet and the Brown.

Paul Flanagan's team set a new record for wins in a season with 31, and had two players named All Americans by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Sabrina Harbec, a 2006 Patty Kazmaier finalist, was named a first team All American forward, while sophomore defenseman Annie Guay was named a Second-Team All American at the blueline. Flanagan was also named a top six finalist for the Division I NCAA Coach of the Year Award on Friday afternoon. He was the winner of the award in 2001.

MOFFAT AND HARBEC LEAD SAINTS

BACK TO FROZEN FOUR

Mar. 18: The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team is headed back to the NCAA Frozen Four for the third consecutive year after a 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in Appleton Arena on Saturday evening. The Saints (31-4-2) received a 24 save shutout performance from senior goaltender Jessica Moffat, and the game-winning goal came off the stick of 2006 Patty Kazmaier finalist Sabrina Harbec.

The NCAA Quarterfinal match-up between the Saints and Bulldogs may have been the most attractive of the four games due to the fantastic storylines it provided. The two head coaches, Shannon Miller of UMD and Paul Flanagan of St. Lawrence, are two of the winningest active coaches in Division I women’s hockey. Sophomore forward Sabrina Harbec and the two starting goaltenders, Jessica Moffat of St. Lawrence and Riitta Schaublin of Minnesota Duluth, were all selected in the top ten finalists for the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award honoring the nation’s top player. Throw in the fact that the two teams have now met three times in the NCAA Tournament and you have a bitter rivalry growing between two premier Division I women’s hockey programs.

The quarterfinal game was the first ever Division I NCAA women’s hockey game played in Canton, NY and it will perhaps go down as one of the best.

The Saints came out skating hard, and it appeared their game plan was to throw as many shots on Schaublin as possible to try and grab an early lead. However, the Basel, Switzerland native showed why she has been selected into the top three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier, making 22 stops in the opening frame. She made a fantastic save on fellow Patty Kazmaier finalist Sabrina Harbec on the breakaway in the first period to keep the score knotted at zero. Moffat, on the other hand, had a very quiet but efficient first period, stopping all six Minnesota Duluth shots.

The Saints, who entered the game second in the nation on the power play, knew that their special team’s play was going to be important if they were to defeat the Bulldogs, who have captured three of the last five national championships. It was on the power play that the ECACHL regular season champions would net the opening goal at 13:27 of the second period.

Minnesota Duluth was unable to clear the puck out of the zone as the waning seconds of the Saints’ seventh power play dwindled down. Unfortunately for the visitors, the puck landed on the stick of Harbec, who moved in on Schaublin one Patty Kazmaier finalist-on-another. The sophomore dragged the puck through the crease to her forehand, sniping a shot over the Minnesota Duluth netminder’s shoulder to electrify the crowd and give the Saints their coveted 1-0 lead.

"She (Schaublin) made so many good saves in the first period, we were just trying to make her go from side to side,” said Harbec.

The Saints would need their senior goaltender to flash some leather to help protect their lead though. While on the power play, the Saints regrouped behind their own net. As they tried to work the puck into the center of the ice, freshman Mari Pehkonen intercepted the pass and rifled a shot towards the right corner of the net. Moffat showed her quick glove and snatched the puck while falling backwards on to the ice.

"That was a great game and amazing atmosphere.   It is a credit to our players to set the stage for this match-up.  We had awesome fan support, and some great individual efforts,” explained Saints’ head coach Paul Flanagan.

Moffat would again protect the Saints lead late in the third period, as she made two saves on Krista McArthur and Noemie Marin on the doorstep while the visiting team had a player advantage.

“I’ve been going over the game in my head all week,” said Moffat with her roommate Harbec agreeing whole-heartedly. “I just tried to keep my head in the game as best I could.”

As the clock ticked down to zero, the Saints began to celebrate the victory that sends them on to Minneapolis , MN for the 2006 NCAA Frozen Four. They will face the winner of No. 2 Wisconsin and Mercyhurst. New Hampshire , the top-seed in the tournament, will take on the hosting Minnesota Golden Gophers. Both games will be played on Friday, March 24th at Mariucci Arena.

Moffat finished with 24 saves, while Schaublin closed with 40. Harbec’s goal was her 25th of the season and 61 st point. The 2006 Patty Kazmaier award winner will be named on Saturday, March 25th, and will be the St. Hubert, Que. native, Schaublin, or junior forward Sara Bauer of Wisconsin.

HARBEC IS FIRST SAINT TO EVER BE NAMED IN TOP

THREE FOR PATTY KAZMAIER AWARD

Mar. 13: USA Hockey today announced that St. Lawrence University sophomore forward Sabrina Harbec is one of the top three finalists for the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. She is the first St. Lawrence player to ever be named in top three candidates.

Harbec is joined by junior forward Sara Bauer of the University of Wisconsin and junior goaltender Riitta Schaublin of Minnesota Duluth in the top three candidates for the nation's top individual honor in women's hockey.

This year’s winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award will be revealed at the ninth annual Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Dinner on March 25 at the Radisson University Hotel in Minneapolis, Minn., and will feature all three finalists, the top two teams in the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, as well as special keynote speaker and 2005 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner Krissy Wendell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.).

Harbec, the 2005-06 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League Player of the Year, has helped St. Lawrence to its first-ever 30-win season (30-4-2). She leads the nation in assists (36) and points per game (1.76). Harbec’s 60 points, 24 goals and 36 assists all rank second on the Saints’ all-time single-season chart.

MINNESOTA DULUTH WILL VISIT APPLETON

ARENA IN NCAA QUARTERFINALS

Mar. 12: The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team has been selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. Although the Saints were unable to capture their first ECACHL Championship this weekend, their first step towards the National Championship will take place at Appleton Arena on Saturday, March 18th against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

The Saints and Bulldogs have a history in the NCAA Tournament, having played two times in the last five seasons. Minnesota Duluth topped St. Lawrence in the National Championship game in 2001, and just last season, the Saints stunned the No. 2 seeded Bulldogs in the NCAA Semifinals to advance to the Frozen Four. It was the only time Minnesota Duluth has ever been defeated in an NCAA Tournament game.

The Saints will need to bounce back from their disappointing 3-1 loss at the hands of the 2005-2006 ECACHL Champions the Harvard Crimson on Saturday. The Saints will hope that their "bounce back" trend will continue, as each of the previous three times they've lost this season, they have won the next game.

Minnesota Duluth will also enter the NCAA Tournament hungry, as they lost in their conference semifinals at the hands of their arch rival, the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The NCAA Quarterfinals are as follows:

Harvard at No. 1 New Hampshire

Mercyhurst at No. 2 Wisconsin

Minnesota Duluth at St. Lawrence

Princeton at Minnesota

Ticket information for Saturday's game at Appleton Arena will become available tomorrow afternoon.

HARVARD NETS TWO IN THE THIRD TO KNOCK

SAINTS OUT OF ECACHL TOURNEY

Mar. 11: The No. 2 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team could not protect their number one seed in the ECACHL Tournament as their arch nemesis, the Harvard Crimson, scored two goals in the third period to break the Saints season-long twelve game winning streak and advance to the ECACHL Championship Game with a 3-1 victory at Appleton Arena.

The Saints (30-4-2, 16-2-2) are hosting the ECACHL Tournament for the first time since the program went Division I in 1997. However, standing in their way of their first Conference Title was the two-time defending champions from Cambridge, MA. Harvard, who fell to the Saints at Appleton Arena on February 24th by the score of 3-0, knew history was on their side against St. Lawrence though. The Crimson had never lock back-to-back games in Canton, NY, and that record held true on Saturday.

The game was a back-and-forth affair in the early going, but the Saints seemed to hold true to their offensive game plan of taking shots on Crimson goaltender Ali Boe. However, it was Harvard who would strike first, at 13:33 of the opening period. Jennifer Sifers collected the puck along the boards behind St. Lawrence sophomore goaltender Meaghan Guckian. She centered a pass towards Liza Solley, who blistered a one-timer past Guckian to give Crimson some confidence and an early lead.

The Saints wasted little time in responding to their rival's opening goal, however, as junior Crystal Connors scored her second goal of the post-season, her fifteenth of the year, at 17:01 on the power play. Senior Kate Michael fired a slap shot towards Boe from the blue line as the Saints skated with a player advantage. Although it was blocked by a member of the Crimson, senior Emilie Berlinguette was able to nudge the puck towards Connors. The heads up play by Berlinguette put Boe out of position, and Connors fired a shot that squeezed under the cross-bar to even the score at 1-1.

The second period belonged to the goaltenders, as both Guckian and Boe made several key saves to keep the score level through two periods. Guckian's biggest save may have actually come with 56 seconds left in the first period, when she stoned Sarah Wilson on the breakaway with her left pad. However, she was perfect in the second period, stopping each of the five shots the Crimson fired at her. Her counterpart was equally impressive, though, as Boe kept all eleven St. Lawrence shots in front of her and send the teams to their locker rooms knotted at 1-1 after two periods.

The ECACHL Tournament winner is assured one-of-eight NCAA Tournament bids, and Harvard knows that winning the league championship may be their only ticket into the tournament. The Crimson played as though it was a must-win game in the third period, hustling to every loose puck and making their chances count. Although St. Lawrence would out-shoot Harvard 12-8 in the final frame, it was the visiting team that would collect two third period goals and advance to the ECAC Hockey League Championship game tomorrow afternoon.

Late in the period, Harvard broke out of their defensive zone with a full head of steam. Nora Sluzas and Solley skated into the Saints' zone on a two-on-one. Although the Saints seemed to have the play defended, Solley took a pass from Sluzas and was able to sneak in on Guckian's right, tucking the puck inside the post to put Harvard up 2-1 with only 5:53 to play in regulation with her second goal of the game.

The Saints went all-out on offense, but Boe denied them each time. With the Saints pushing the issue in the offense end, Harvard was able to create another odd-player rush out of the zone and the puck was controlled by Sifers. As she skated in on Guckian's left, she sniped a wrist shot that the Saints' netminder couldn't handle, completing the scoring and sending the No. 4 seed in the Conference Tournament on to complete the upset.

Boe finished with 40 saves on the afternoon, earning the victory and improving to 14-10-2. Guckian had 17 saves and lost for only the second time this year (13-2-2). The Crimson was also able to snap sophomore Sabrina Harbec's twelve game point scoring streak, as she was held off the score sheet. Harvard's all-time record against St. Lawrence improves to 15-5-4 with the win.

Harvard will play Brown in the ECACHL Championship Game tomorrow at 2:00pm at Appleton Arena. The Bears upset No. 2 Princeton 1-0 in the evening game. The winner of that game will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament while the loser's season is most likely over.

Although St. Lawrence will not earn an automatic bid, it is very likely that they will still be selected to play in the NCAA Tournament. The bids will be announced tomorrow evening, with the top four seeded teams hosting games against the bottom four.

SIX SAINTS HONORED AT ECAC HOCKEY

LEAGUE AWARDS BANQUET

Mar. 10: The ECAC Hockey League honored six different St. Lawrence University women’s ice hockey players at the 2006 Conference Awards Banquet on Friday evening. Sophomore Sabrina Harbec was unanimously selected the ECACHL’s Player of the Year, while freshman Carson Duggan was chosen as the Co-Rookie of the Year.  

The banquet was held at the Eben Holden lounge on the St. Lawrence University campus on Friday evening. The presentation of the awards kicks-off the weekend festivities to be held at Appleton Arena, as the ECACHL Women’s Semifinals and Finals will be played in Canton, NY for the first time.  

Harbec has played one of the finest seasons in the women’s hockey program’s history, scoring 24 goals and tallying 36 assists. She is the first Saint to ever be chosen the ECACHL’s Player of the Year. Entering the Saints’ semifinal game against Harvard on Saturday afternoon, the St. Hubert , Que. native has 96 career points and is trying to become only the ninth player in school history to reach the century mark. She led the ECACHL in conference scoring (36 points) and assists (21), while finishing third in goals (15).  

Sabrina was also selected as the MVP of the ECACHL All Stars in their game against Team USA on Nov. 1st. She is a prime candidate for the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Award, as she has been named in the top ten Finalists. The ECACHL also unanimously selected Harbec on to the All-Conference First Team.  

Duggan had the most prolific rookie season on the offensive end in St. Lawrence history, breaking three rookie records this year. She broke the rookie single-season goals record (28), the points record (42), and the multi-point games record (14). She enters the semifinals of the ECACHL Tournament tied for the goal scoring lead in the country, and is the lone player to score a hat trick for the Saints this season. She has five game-winning goals on the year and finished sixth in the ECACHL in scoring (1.33 ppg). For her efforts, Duggan was also selected on to the Second All-Conference Team and the All-Rookie Team.  

Sophomore defenseman Annie Guay joined Harbec as a unanimous selection on the All-Conference first team. Guay’s breakout season is evident through her offensive numbers, as she is fourth on the team in scoring with 34 points. The Rouyn-Noranda, Que. native broke or tied all of the single season defenseman records at St. Lawrence. Her 34 points, 26 assists, and eight multi-point games all broke the previous University records, and her eight goals entering Saturday’s game versus the Crimson is tied for first. Guay also led the ECACHL in scoring by a defenseman this year, averaging 1.05 points per game.  

Joining Duggan on the All-Conference Second Team was senior goaltender Jessica Moffat, who has compiled a record of 17-2-0 this season. The Moose Creek, Ont. native finished atop every statistical category for goaltenders in ECACHL play, including a 0.97 goals against average and a .949 save percentage. Thanks to her outstanding season, Moffat is also in the top-ten 2006 Patty Kazmaier finalists with Harbec.  

Senior Emilie Berlinguette and sophomore Kerri Wallace were also honored by the league, as they were both named to the All-Conference Third Team. Berlinguette has 35 points in her senior campaign and has really come on strong as of late, scoring 20 points in her last 12 games. Last weekend, she scored four goals in the ECACHL Quarterfinal series against Yale in Appleton Arena, and was named the USCHO.com “Offensive Player of the Week.”  

Wallace made an immediate impact on the blue line for the Saints’ program in her first year after transferring from Minnesota State . She is eighth on the team in scoring with 21 points (3g, 18a) and is 16th in the country in scoring amongst defensemen with a 0.64 points per game average. Wallace tallied two game-winning goals this season, including the game-winner over Harvard on February 24th in Appleton Arena to help the Saints beat the Crimson for the first time since January 6th, 2001.  

The ECAC Hockey League semifinals kick-off tomorrow at 1:00pm with the No. 4 Harvard Crimson facing the No. 1 St. Lawrence Saints. Directly following the game at 4:00pm will be the No. 3 Brown Bears against the No. 2 Princeton Tigers. The two winners from Saturday’s games will then meet in the ECACHL Championship game on Sunday, March 12 th at 2:00pm , with the victor earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.  

BERLINGUETTE HONORED BY USCHO.com,

TEN SAINTS NAMED TO ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

Mar. 8: Senior forward Emilie Berlinguette was the second consecutive St. Lawrence University women's hockey forward to be selected "Offensive Player of the Week" by USCHO.com. Also, ten Saints were named to the ECACHL Women's All-Academic Team.

As Yale provided a tough challenge to No. 1 seed St. Lawrence in the ECACHL quarterfinals, the Saints turned to their senior leader. Emilie Berlinguette, an Ottawa native, figured on key goals that blew open both Friday's 6-3 win and Saturday's 6-2 series clincher. On Friday, she assisted on a goal that tied the game and scored to put SLU up 3-1 in the first period. When Yale cut the lead to 3-2 before the intermission, Berlinguette scored leading off the second period to restore the two-goal lead.

On Saturday, Berlinguette scored twice in the final 2:10 of the second period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Saints lead at the intermission. For the season, Berlinguette ranks third on St. Lawrence in scoring with 18 goals and 17 assists. She is also fourth all-time leading scorer in St. Lawrence history with 140 career points.

The ECACHL announced those players that qualified for the All-Academic team for the 2005-2006 season. Players are eligible for the All-Academic team if they have completed at least one academic year, have a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.00 on a 4.00 scale, and have competed in at least one-half of her team's games during the current season. Goaltenders must have played in at least 33 percent of the team's minutes.

This year, St. Lawrence had the second most student-athletes qualify for All-Academic status in the ECACHL. Senior Kate Michael was honored for the third time in her career, while fellow classmates Jessica Moffat and Tracy Muzerall are both second-time honorees. Juniors Elisabeth Pahler, Julia Palmateer, and Casey Hughes also qualified for the second time in their careers, along with fellow classmate Crystal Connors who was named to the All-Academic team for the first time.

Three sophomores also qualified for the All-Academic team in this their first eligible year. Those players include goaltender Meaghan Guckian, forward Sabrina Harbec, and defenseman Annie Guay.

The Saints are set to host the ECACHL Semifinals on Saturday, March 11th at 1:00pm and 4:00pm. St. Lawrence will face Harvard in the semis in the early game, while Brown squares off against Princeton in the afternoon. The two winners will then meet on Sunday, March 12th at 2:00pm at Appleton Arena.

SAINTS PREPARED TO HOST ECACHL

TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND

Mar. 7: For the first time since the program went Division I in 1997, the St. Lawrence University women's hockey team will host the ECAC Hockey League Semifinals and Finals on March 11th and 12th.

The Saints (30-3-2, 16-2-2) earned the right to host the conference championship by eliminating the Yale Bulldogs as the No. 1 seed in the bracket. The winner of the ECACHL Tournament receives an automatic bid into the 2005-2006 NCAA Tournament. This is an extremely coveted bid, seeing as though only eight teams are selected to compete in the NCAA Championships.

St. Lawrence hosted the ECAC Final Four two times while the program was at the Division III level, winning three consecutive titles from 1990-1992. However, the Saints have seen less good fortune in the conference championship since the program went Division I. They have never won the ECACHL Tournament, and have made it to the finals only once (2002-2003).

However, this year's team seems focused and prepared to make a serious run at the conference title. Skating on their home ice this season, St. Lawrence is 17-2-0 and have outscored their opponents 88-24. Sophomore Sabrina Harbec leads an explosive offense with 60 points on the season (24g,36a), while senior Emilie Berlinguette seems to have hit her stride at the perfect time. She has scored two goals in three of the last five games, including in each of the playoff victories over Yale.

Between the pipes, the combination of senior Jessica Moffat and sophomore Meaghan Guckian has been rock solid for the number two team in the country. The tandem has only given up three or more goals four times this season. Also, both are in the top five nationally in save percentage, goals against average, and winning percentage.

The Saints will have their hands full, however, if they are to be crowned ECAC Hockey League champions this weekend. In the opening game of the conference final four on Saturday, March 11th at 1:00pm, St. Lawrence faces the No. 8 Harvard Crimson.

The Crimson entered Appleton Arena on February 24th on a 13-game unbeaten streak against St. Lawrence since March 17th, 2001. However, behind a fantastic performance by Guckian, the Saints finally "conquered their demons" and defeated Harvard 3-0. St. Lawrence has only beaten Harvard in consecutive tries, and that was the first two times the teams ever met in 1998. If the Saints are to reach the ECACHL Finals, though, they will have to defeat their nemesis one more time.

The second semifinal on Saturday pits the Brown Bears against the No. 5 team in the nation, the Princeton Tigers. That puck is scheduled to drop at 4:00pm, with the winner taking on either St. Lawrence or Harvard on Sunday, March 12th for the 2005-2006 ECACHL Title at 2:00pm for the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

SAINTS ADVANCE TO ECACHL SEMIFINALS

WITH A 6-2 WIN OVER YALE

Mar. 4: The St. Lawrence women’s hockey team advanced to the ECAC Hockey League semifinals with a 6-2 victory over the Yale Bulldogs at Appleton Arena on Saturday Afternoon. The Saints (30-3-2, 16-2-2) will now host the ECAC semifinals and finals next weekend, March 11th and 12th.

St. Lawrence was able to get the upper hand in shots on Yale using their tremendous speed and fore-checking abilities. However, senior goaltender Sarah Love was back into form after allowing two goals on three shots Friday afternoon. Love turned back each of the Saints’ chances in the early going. It wasn’t until St. Lawrence caught a break that they were able to grab the early 1-0 lead.

Senior Kate Michael was patient at the blue line with the puck while the Saints skated on the power play. When a lane opened for her to shoot, she fired a shot towards Love. Unfortunately for the Yale netminder, the puck hit first year student Alison Domenico before it got to her. Domenico gathered the puck, and with Love out of position, stuffed it into the net for her 12th goal of her career.

Yale, who showed their resiliency on Friday afternoon after falling behind 3-1, again showed their toughness by tying the game at one a piece at 8:44 of the first period. Senior goaltender Jessica Moffat was between the pipes for St. Lawrence, and she also kept Yale quiet in the early going. However, Sheila Zingler took advantage of a Saint turnover, stealing the puck and firing a wrist shot that beat Moffat low stick side. It was her seventh of the season and gave Yale some confidence heading into the second period.

It was then that the Bulldogs made their stand. With the game tied at one, Crysti Howser won a face off to Moffat’s left side. The puck came to Yale defenseman Carry Resor, who put Yale ahead for the first time at 2-1 when her shot beat the Saints’ goalie five hole.

The Saints threw everything they had at Love, who did everything she could to keep her team ahead. However, as the period wound down, the Saints attack kept the pressure on and senior Emilie Berlinguette scored her third goal of the series on a St. Lawrence power play at 17:50 of the second period to tie the score at 2-2. Domenico fed a pass to junior Crystal Connors who made a beautiful play, sending the puck to Berlinguette in the high slot. The Saints’ fourth all-time leading scorer knew what to do from there, as she fired a slap shot past Love to knot the score.

Precisely two minutes later, Berlinguette would put the Saints back on top as she sniped a shot from Love’s right side. Although Love seemed to have the shot under control, the puck hit Resor and bounced past the goal line to put the home team on top 3-2. The goal came at 19:50 of the second period, and was Berlinguette’s 18th of the season.

Love and Moffat each played an outstanding third period, though Love faced three times as many shots. With the game’s outcome still very much in question, sophomore forward Sabrina Harbec sent a pass to fellow classmate Annie Guay at the blue line. Guay passed on a shot attempt, feeding junior Abbie Bullard on the opposite side of the ice. Bullard had plenty of time, and after creeping in towards the Yale goal, blistered a slap shot that Love never saw to give the Saints a two goal cushion at 4-2. The goal came at 5:01 of the third period.

Head coach Paul Flanagan kept his offense motivated, though, knowing Yale’s talent and spirit. At 5:34 of the third, first year Lisa Batchelor came in with junior Casey Hughes on a two-on-one. The rookie slid a perfect pass on Hughes’ stick, but Love robbed her of a goal as she slid across the crease to make a game-saving stop.

After Yale called their timeout, the Bulldogs were forced to pull Love from the net for the extra attacker. However, she was only off the ice for four seconds before Hughes would shoot the puck from center ice into the empty goal for her sixth goal of the season at 18:19 of the final period. With nothing to lose and needing three goals in less than two minutes, Yale kept Love on the bench. Connors would complete the scoring as she found the puck in the slot, and fired a shot into the empty net to complete the scoring. The goal was her 14th of the season and came at 19:55.

Moffat, a top-ten 2006 Patty Kazmaier award finalist, earned the victory for the Saints improving her record to

17-2-0 on the season. She stopped 19 of 21 shots. Love took the loss for Yale, falling to 9-13-4 on the year. The pre-season USCHO.com First Team selection finished her final game with 53 saves on 57 shots.

Berlinguette finished the series with four goals and now is tied for fourth all-time in St. Lawrence history with 65 career goals. She netted the game-winning goal in each of the victories over Yale. Harbec’s assist on Bullard’s goal extended her active point streak to 12 games, which equals the Saints current winning streak. The Saints are now 19-0-1 against Yale since the program went Division I in 1997.

The road to the ECAC Hockey League Championship now runs through Canton, NY as the final four teams will meet next weekend in the semifinals, with the winners meeting on Saturday in the championship game. The top seeded Saints will face the lowest remaining seed in their semifinal match-up. The game times for Saturday will be announced Monday.

ROUND ONE GOES TO ST. LAWRENCE

AS SAINTS TOP YALE, 6-3

Mar. 3: The nationally-ranked No. 2 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team got a pair of goals from seniors Emilie Berlinguette and Kate Michael, lifting the Saints to a 6-3 victory against a feisty Yale Bulldogs team in game one of their ECAC Hockey League Quarterfinal match-up.

Although goaltending was billed as perhaps the key to the series, it was one that both Yale senior netminder Sarah Love and St. Lawrence sophomore goaltender Meaghan Guckian hope to soon forget. The Saints entered Friday's contest 17-0-1 against Yale since 1997, giving a sense of a "David versus Goliath" to the opening round series. However, forty-five seconds in the contest, that all changed. Yale's Kelsey Johnson banged home a rebound that Guckian couldn't control, giving the visiting No. 8 seed an early 1-0 advantage.

Although the opening goal may have shocked Paul Flanagan's team, it seemed more so to motivate them. At 2:04 of the opening period, the Saints netted their first goal of the postseason when Michael fired a laser from the point that Love never saw. The goal was the co-captain's 15th of her career, breaking the St. Lawrence University record of career goals by a defenseman. It was also the Saints' seventh power play goal against the Bulldogs this season.

One minute and three seconds later, the red light behind Love was turned on again when sophomore Annie Guay scored her eighth goal of the season at 3:07. Guay laced a shot on net that completely fooled Love, roaring by the senior's pads on the near post. Guay's goal tied the St. Lawrence single-season record for goals by a defenseman. The goal also closed the book on Love's night, as she was replaced by Shivon Zilis just under five minutes into the game.

St. Lawrence greeted Zilis rudely, however, as they scored their third goal of the game at 6:34, less than two minutes into her stay. Berlinguette gathered a pass from first year student Lisa Batchelor and made a move towards the net. She used her quick hands to fool Zilis, tucking the puck between the pads for her 15th goal of the year.

Although the Saints seemed to be cruising at that point, Yale didn't show one ounce of quit, and their hard work in the offensive zone paid off on another rebound goal at 9:19 of the first period. Deena Caplette fired a shot on Guckian, and when she couldn't reel in the rebound, Caplette hustled to the puck and buried it to make the score 3-2 heading into the first intermission. It was only the third time this season the Saints have given up two goals in a period.

The second period was not nearly the offensive circus that the first frame was, although the teams combined for 26 shots. However, Guckian and Zilis held their ground, keeping the offenses scoreless in the second. First year Alison Domenico may have had the best chance of the period, as she fired a wrist shot on Zilis from the left circle. However, Yale's back-up flashed her skill, snagging the puck with her glove as she fell to the ice to rob the Saints forward.

With the opening game still in doubt, the Saints and Bulldogs again poured on the offense in the third, combining for 22 more shots. However, it was again the Saints' experienced seniors who came through in the clutch. Berlinguette tallied the team's fourth goal at 5:16 of the third, the 63rd of her career. Although it gave the Saints some breathing room, they didn't sit back at all. They continued to attack Zilis, and it paid off as first year Carson Duggan scored her team-high 28th goal of the season at 10:01. The Saints' forward picked up a rebound off of a shot by Guay to pull to within four goals of the St. Lawrence record for goals in a season (32). Sophomore Sabrina Harbec also assisted on the goal, extending her current active point streak to 11 games.

With the score at 5-2, Michael would complete the home team's scoring at 16:32 of the third to seal the victory in game one. Junior defense-partner Abbie Bullard slid a pass to Michael, who ripped a shot on net. Zilis couldn't catch up to the shot, allowing her fourth goal of the game. It was Michael's fourth of the season and 16th of her career.

The Bulldogs hustled to the last buzzer, though, scoring a goal with only 45 seconds remaining in the game to make the score 6-3. Kristen Stupay wristed a shot on net that was deflected softly up into the air. However, Guckian seemed to lose sight of the puck and it sailed right over her head as she was out of the net awaiting a harder shot. It was Stupay's third of the season, and Yale hopes it will give them some momentum heading into tomorrow's game two.

The Saints finished the game with 42 shots to Yale's 33. The No. 1 seeded team in the ECACHL Tournament entered the game ranked second in the country on the power play, and they bolstered their percentage going 2-6 with the player advantage. Berlinguette finished the game with three points (2g,1a) and moved into 4th all time in the St. Lawrence record books with 138 career points.

St. Lawrence will look to win the Quarterfinal series with Yale tomorrow, Saturday, March 4th at 2:00pm at Appleton Arena. If the Saints can pick up the victory, the road to the ECAC Hockey League Championship will have to run through Canton, NY as the Semifinals and Finals would be at Appleton March 11th and 12th.

USCHO.com NAMES HARBEC

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Mar. 3: Sophomore forward Sabrina Harbec, the St. Lawrence University women's hockey team's leading scorer, was recognized by USCHO.com, as she was named the Division I Women's Offensive Player of the Week for her contributions in the Saints' weekend sweep over Harvard and Dartmouth.

In a historic weekend for No. 2 St. Lawrence, the nation's leading scorer led the way. Harbec scored two power play goals to bury Harvard 3-0 and finally put the Saints' 0-9-4 winless streak against the Crimson to rest. It was the first time the Saints had topped Harvard since January 6th, of 2001.

On Saturday afternoon 5-1 win over Dartmouth, Harbec had the primary assist on the first goal and added an assist on the fourth goal. The result of her efforts: St. Lawrence earned its first outright ECAC Hockey League regular season championship in school history. This is the second time this season that Harbec has been tagged as USCHO.com's Offensive Player of the Week.

The Saints will look to continue their current ten game winning streak as they start their best-of-three series with the Yale Bulldogs today, Friday, March 3rd at Appleton Arena. The puck is set to drop in game one at 3:30pm.

LOCKE EARNS FIRST CAREER

ECAC HOCKEY LEAGUE AWARD

Feb. 27: A trio of St. Lawrence University women's hockey players was honored by the ECAC Hockey League on Monday. First year student Marianna Locke was selected as the conference's Rookie of the Week, while forward Sabrina Harbec and goaltender Meaghan Guckian were named to the league's Honor Roll.

Locke has very quietly had an outstanding rookie campaign for the Saints. She has been a force on the power play the entire season, as she tied for second in the nation with ten power play goals. She continued to put up solid numbers with a player advantage this weekend versus Harvard and Dartmouth. Against the Crimson, Locke had two assists on the power play to seal the Saints' victory to ensure at least a share of the league's regular season championship. Then, on Saturday, she tallied her 15th goal of the season and added her 10th assist as the Saints marched on to defeat Dartmouth and capture the ECACHL regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Locke finished the regular season as the team's sixth leading scorer with 25 points.

Sophomore Sabrina Harbec, who was named in the top ten 2006 Patty Kazmaier finalists on Friday, had a

four-point weekend as the Saints swept rivals Harvard and Dartmouth.  The two goals and two assists extended her active point streak to ten games.  Harbec netted two power play goals against Harvard, helping her team defeat the Crimson for the first time since January 6, 2001.  Then, she tallied two assists on Senior Day finishing the regular season leading the country in both points (58) and assists (34).

Sophomore goaltender Meaghan Guckian came up big when the Saints needed her most, helping to shut the door on the No. 10 team in the nation, the Harvard Crimson, on Friday night.  Guckian made 19 saves, earning her fourth shut out of the season and eighth of her career.  She improved her save percentage on the year to .944, and dropped her goals against average to a measly 1.03.  She leads the country in both of those statistics.  Her record of 12-1-2 is the third highest winning percentage (.867) in the nation as well.

The No. 2 Saints will now turn their attention to a best-of-three series with the Yale Bulldogs in Appleton Arena from March 3rd-5th. The puck is set to drop for game one on Friday at 3:30pm. Also, all of the St. Lawrence hockey games this weekend (men's and women's) will be broadcast on both the radio and the web on 92.7 The Border. You can connect to the online radio site by clicking here.

SAINTS LOCK UP 2005-2006 ECACHL

REGULAR SEASON TITLE

Feb. 25: The St. Lawrence women's hockey team completed a fantastic weekend of action at Appleton Arena with a thorough 5-1 win over the Dartmouth Big Green on Senior Day Saturday afternoon. The victory gave the Saints their second ECACHL regular season championship in the past three seasons.

St. Lawrence came out with a high level of confidence after knocking off the Harvard Crimson on Friday evening, 3-0. Although the Big Green were on their heels most of the opening period, they were able to keep the Saints quiet in the early going.

As the home team cleared the defensive zone, sophomore Sabrina Harbec flipped a pass to the red line to linemate freshman Carson Duggan. Duggan skated right past a Dartmouth defender and closed in on Big Green goaltender Kate Lane. Lane tried to poke the puck away, but Duggan was too quick, sliding the puck through the crease and past the goal line to give the Saints a 1-0 lead at 15:31 of the first.

As they've done all season, the Saints began to find their groove after the opening goal and after another minute and three seconds had passed, the lead had grown to 2-0. Senior defenseman Laurie Ross fed freshman Marianna Locke who made a beautiful move in the slot to avoid a scramble in front of the net. The rookie then deeked in front of Lane, forcing the netminder to commit to her forehand. However, Locke flipped the puck onto her back hand and roofed a shot into the net to put give the Saints a two goal advantage after one period.

With the ECACHL regular season title on the line, the Saints were not about to let off an extremely talented Dartmouth team. They continued to pour on the offense, scoring the lone goal of the second period. Some crisp passing at the blue line during a Saints' power play landed junior Crystal Connors an open shot to the right of the Dartmouth goalie. She fired a laser that Lane never saw thanks to a screen from freshman Alison Domenico at 6:05 of the second to stretch the Saints lead to 3-0.

St. Lawrence would put the game out of reach at 2:37 of the third period, when Duggan netted her 27th of the season. Harbec slid a pass to sophomore Annie Guay at the point, who rifled a shot towards Lane. Although she made the initial save, Duggan was there to clean up the rebound putting the Saints up 4-0.

Senior goaltender Jessica Moffat, who was named in the top ten finalists for the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Award on Friday, was in net for the Saints and had a solid game on Senior Day. She made eight saves in the contest, but the one shot that eluded her came on a Dartmouth power play at 5:05 of the third period. Marley McMillan netted her third goal of the season, with assists going to Sarah Newman and Maggie Kennedy, when she fired a shot between Moffat's pads only seconds after a face-off deep in the Saints' end. The Big Green's goal made the score 4-1 and ended the senior's shut out bid.

The Saints would not let that spoil their day, though, as junior defenseman Abbie Bullard got the excitement and momentum back on her team's side at 9:52 of the third period to finish the scoring. Bullard took a pass in the slot and, while falling to the ice, threw a shot on net. Lane misjudged the puck, which squeezed between her pads, and the Saints had their fifth and final goal of the regular season.

Head coach Paul Flanagan started each of the seniors on Senior Day, including Emilie Berlinguette at center, Kat Smithson and right wing, Kate Michael at left wing, Ross and Tracy Muzerall at defense, and Moffat in net. The group of seniors improved their overall record to 106-30-12 heading into the postseason.

Moffat finished the night with eight saves on nine shots, while Lane finished with 35 saves on 40 St. Lawrence shots. Harbec's two assists extended her career long point scoring streak to 10 games. She has now scored in 18 of the Saints' last 20 games (10g,10a).

Now that the Saints have officially locked up the regular season title, they will turn their attention to the ECACHL Tournament which is set to begin on Friday, March 3rd. St. Lawrence is the No. 1 seed and will host the No. 8 seeded Yale Bulldogs at Appleton Arena in a best-of-three series. The time of Friday's game will be released on Monday.

CLASS OF 2006 EARNS COVETED

VICTORY OVER HARVARD

Feb: 24: The St. Lawrence University women's hockey Class of 2006 can now officially say they've conquered their nemesis. Behind two goals from Patty Kazmaier nominee Sabrina Harbec and a brilliant 19-save performance by sophomore goaltender Meaghan Guckian, the No. 2 Saints topped the No. 10 Harvard Crimson for the first time since January 6, 2001 by the score of 3-0. The victory also assured St. Lawrence a share of the ECACHL regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

The Saints ( 27-3-2, 15-2-2) came out firing in the first period, taking 15 shots on Harvard goalie Ali Boe. Boe did everything she could to keep the score knotted at zero, but the Saints' pressure would eventually lead to the opening goal at 8:27 of the first period. Senior Emilie Berlinguette won a face-off to the left of Boe, pulling the puck to the blue line. Sophomore Kerri Wallace, who entered the game with a three game point streak, fired a rocket at Boe, which was deflected by a Harvard player in front of the crease. The puck ricocheted right over Boe's right shoulder, giving the Saints an early 1-0 lead.

The home team kept the momentum in their favor with another flurry of shots on Boe that would lead to a Crimson penalty. St. Lawrence entered the game second in the country on the power play, and they showed why with some creative puck movement that led to Harbec's first goal of the night at 14:42 of the first period.

Freshman Marianna Locke won a face-off deep in the Harvard zone and the puck again ended up on Wallace's stick. This time, though, she faked a shot and drew the entire defense to her side of the ice. She fed a beautiful, heads-up pass to Harbec in the slot, who slid the puck between Boe's pads to put the Saints up 2-0. It was her 23rd goal of the season.

The Crimson refused to go away, though, evening the shots in the second period and actually out shooting the Saints in the third. However, Guckian and the posts proved to be the difference. The Victor, NY native stopped every shot that Harvard could muster including a save on Harvard's Sarah Wilson right on the door step, and the Crimson hit the pipe three times without tallying a goal.

Because St. Lawrence was winless in the last thirteen games against Harvard, coach Paul Flanagan and company knew that the game was far from over as the third period began with the Saints ahead 2-0. In an action-packed third period, neither team could light the lamp. However, Nora Sluzas took a two minute penalty for a body check at 11:29 of the final frame and put the dangerous St. Lawrence power play back on the ice.

With the player advantage, the Saints wrapped the puck behind the net and although Harvard tried to clear the zone, Wallace again made a smart play and kept the puck from passing the blue line. She wristed a shot towards Boe, but the puck was deflected and shot straight up in the air. A Crimson defender accidentally backed into her own goaltender, knocking Boe to the ice and leaving the net completely unattended. Unfortunately for Harvard, the puck ended up on the wrong player's stick. Harbec gathered the puck and calmly laced a shot into the netting, to give the Saints their coveted insurance goal at 12:14 of the third period.

As the clock ticked down towards zero, the Saints began to erupt along with a crowd of 1,021 people. The victory stretched the Saints' season-long winning streak to nine games and guarantees them the right to play the No. 8 seed in the ECACHL tournament. Guckian's shut out was the eighth of her career and fourth of the season. It was also the first time that St. Lawrence has ever shut out the Crimson since the program went Division I in 1997. Harbec's points extended her active point streak to a career high nine games (10g, 8a).

With the playoff picture still unsettled, the Saints are sure of only one thing: a win on Senior Day versus the Dartmouth Big Green will give them the ECACHL regular season title. It will be the final game for seniors Emilie Berlinguette, Kat Smithson, Tracy Muzerall, Laurie Ross, Kate Michael, and Jessica Moffat. The puck is set to drop tomorrow at 4:00pm in Appleton Arena.

BERLINGUETTE EARNS ECACHL'S

PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

Feb. 20: Senior Emilie Berlinguette was honored by the ECACHL on Monday, as the league named her the Player of the Week.

Berlinguette stepped up this weekend when her team needed her most, scoring three goals. In a rivalry match-up with Brown on Friday, the senior forward knotted the game at 1-1 just 12 seconds after the No. 2 Saints had fallen behind to the Bears. The goal shifted the momentum of the game to the Saints, who went on to win 5-2. Then, in Saturday afternoon's showdown with the Yale Bulldogs, Berlinguette netted the game-winning goal on the power play, and she later added an insurance goal, her 14th tally of the year, to help put away Yale in USCHO.com's Game of the Week.

The daughter of Claudine and Paul Berlinguette, Emilie has 29 points on the year with 14 goals and 15 assists. She played hockey with the Ottawa Raiders (NWHL) prior to enrolling at St. Lawrence.

Berlinguette has been a dominant threat throughout her four years in a Saint uniform. She is sixth all-time in scoring with 134 points, fifth in goals (61), sixth in assists (73), and is tied for first in short-handed goals (5). She will enter St. Lawrence's final regular season showdown with Harvard and Dartmouth riding a four game point streak (4g,2a). The puck is set to drop between the Saints and Crimson at Appleton Arena at 7:00pm on Friday, February 24th.

SAINTS WIN EIGHTH IN A ROW,

DOMINATE THE BULLDOGS 7-1

Feb. 18: The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team flexed their muscle on Saturday afternoon in New Haven, CT, where the Saints’ potent offense put up seven goals and senior goaltender Jessica Moffat made 34 saves to give the Saints an ECACHL win in their final regular season road game over the Yale Bulldogs 7-1.

The victory extended the Saints’ current winning streak to eight games. In that stretch, the team has outscored their opponents 40-10, getting outstanding play from their explosive forwards, smart defenders, and solid goaltenders.

Saturday’s game with the Bulldogs was the USCHO.com Game of the Week and the Saints (26-3-2, 14-2-2) did not disappoint their audience. They grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period when rookie Marianna Locke jammed in her 14 th goal of the season on the power play. It was her team-leading 10 th power play goal, and moved her into a tie for first in that category in the country. Sophomore Sabrina Harbec fired a shot on net, and though Yale goaltender Sarah Love was able to make the initial stop, she couldn’t control the rebound which landed right on Locke’s stick. She finished the play to give the visitors the lead.

Moffat and Love then kept the game a 1-0 contest with some outstanding saves. Love made some great stops on senior Emilie Berlinguette on the door step, while Moffat made back-to-back clutch saves to protect her team’s lead. Berlinguette kept hustling towards the end of the first period, though, and with some clever stick-handling, netted her 13 th goal of the season on the power play at 17:19 of the opening frame. She evaded two defenders and then wristed a shot past Love. The power play goal was Berlinguette’s 21 st of her St. Lawrence career, moving her into a tie for 2 nd in the program’s history. The visiting Saints carried that 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

The second period started with the teams playing evenly, with Yale holding a slight edge in shots. However, St. Lawrence was the team taking advantage of their scoring chances, and they would tally their third goal of the game at 1:15 of the second period. Rookie Lisa Batchelor sent a beautiful headway pass to Harbec who separated herself from the Yale defense. She slid the puck from her forehand to her backhand in front of Love, who was completely fooled by the sophomore’s move. She netted her 22 nd goal of the season, and extended her active goal streak to three games (4g) and active point streak to eight games (8g,8a).

The Saints refused to let up, knowing the importance of home ice advantage in the conference tournament. Berlinguette extended the Saints lead to 4-0 on her 14 th goal of the season and second of the game at 9:34 of the middle period. She picked up a loose puck and netted her 61 st career goal in a Saint uniform to give the Saints an insurance goal heading to the final frame.

Yale would spoil Moffat’s shut out bid at 1:07 of the third period, when some pretty passing led to the Bulldog’s first goal on the power play. It was scored by Sheila Zingler with an assist going to Danie Kozlowski. However, the goal seemed to motivate the Saints offense even more as they ruthlessly scored three more goals on Yale to leave no question who the hottest team in ECACHL actually is.

Junior Casey Hughes got into the scoring at 10:02 of the third period when she re-directed a pass from senior defenseman Laurie Ross for her fifth goal of the season. She was followed by first year Alison Domenico, who scored the team’s fifth short-handed goal of the season at 14:27 of the final period. She showed fantastic patience on the penalty kill and made a heads-up play to move in on Love. She dragged her toe, throwing off the Bulldog’s netminder, and tallied St. Lawrence’s sixth goal.

The final goal of the game came only 39 seconds later when defenseman Annie Guay extended her active point streak to five games with her seventh goal of the season. She showed off her speed in transition, skating right past the Yale defense and rifling a shot past Love to make the score 7-1.

Moffat finished the game with 34 saves on 35 shots, improving to 15-2-0 on the season. Love played 55:06, giving up all seven goals but making 33 saves. Shivon Zilis relieved Love with 4:54 to play in the game, stopping all six shots she faced.

The weekend sweep does two things for St. Lawrence. First, it keeps their two-point lead ahead of the Princeton Tigers for first place in the league in tact. Secondly, it sets up a weekend showdown with rivals No. 10 Harvard and Dartmouth next weekend, February 24 th and 25 th, in Appleton Arena with the ECACHL regular season title on the line. The games will be the final home regular season contests for six Saint seniors, including Tracy Muzerall, Kate Michael, Kat Smithson, Laurie Ross, Emilie Berlinguette and Jessica Moffat. The puck is set to drop versus the Crimson on Friday night at 7:00pm.

SAINTS TAME BEARS IN FLANAGAN'S

250th GAME BEHIND THE BENCH

Feb. 17: The No. 2 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team protected their lead in the ECACHL with a 5-2 victory versus the Brown Bears on Friday night in Providence, RI. The Saints picked up the win in head coach Paul Flanagan's 250th game behind the Saints bench.

Three minutes and thirty-three seconds into Friday night's game in Meehan Auditorium, however, the visiting Saints found themselves in a situation they havent faced since January 21st: they were trailing an opponent. Brown's Hayley Moore scored her 17th goal of the season early in the first period, giving the home team a 1-0 lead when she snapped a shot over the shoulder of Saints goaltender Meaghan Guckian.

However, that seemed to kick the Saints into gear, and a mere twelve seconds later, senior Emilie Berlinguette tied the score at one a piece. The senior netted her 59th career goal at the 3:45 mark of the first period, with assists going to junior Crystal Connors and senior defenseman Kate Michael. That goal jump-started the Saints offense, and before the end of the first period, they had grabbed a 2-1 lead.

The Saints second goal was scored by sophomore Sabrina Harbec, swinging all of the game's momentum in the Saints' favor entering the intermission. St. Lawrence out-shot Brown 13-6 in the first period, but Bears' goaltender O'hara Shipe kept it a one goal game.

The second period was played fairly even with the shots at 11-7 in favor of Paul Flanagan's Saints. Connors would net the only goal of the period on the power play at 15:41 to put the Saints up 3-1. Michael picked up her second assist of the game, and junior defenseman Abbie Bullard was credited with an assist as well.

Although the Saints had a two goal lead in the third period, they skated as though they were trailing by that margin. They fired 18 shots on net to Brown's four in the final frame, eventually chasing Shipe from the game when Bullard scored her first goal of the season at 4:15 of the third period on the power play. Michael picked up her third assist of the game on the fourth goal.

Goaltender Stacy Silverman replaced Shipe between the pipes for Brown with 15:24 to play in the game, but the Saints greeted her with their fifth goal just over a minute into her stay. Freshman Carson Duggan, who entered the game as the leading goal scorer in the country, scored her 25th of the season on the power play at 5:48 of the final period. Sophomore defenseman Kerri Wallace earned her 15th assist of the season on Duggan's goal, and fellow classmate Annie Guay notched her 23rd assist of the year.

With the score at 5-1, Brown continued to skate and play hard on their home ice and would net their second goal of the game on the power play at 13:16 of the third period. Rylee Olewinski scored her second goal of the season, with assists going to Keaton Zucker and Ashlee Drover.

Guckian finished the night with 15 saves on 17 shots. Shipe played 44:36, stopping 21 of 25 shots, while Silverman would stop 16-of-17 in the third period alone. St. Lawrence out-shot Brown 42-17 on the night, much in thanks to the Bears' 42 penalty minutes.

The victory was Flanagan's 167th of his St. Lawrence career, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Saints officially wrapped up home ice advantage for the ECACHL Quarterfinals, and can be seeded no lower than No. 3 in the tournament. Tomorrow afternoon, the Saints travel to New Haven, CT to take on the Yale Bulldogs in another pivotal ECACHL contest. The puck is set to drop at 3:00pm and is the USCHO.com Game of the Week. Saints forward Chelsea Grills, who is sidelined this season due to injury, will be doing color commentary throughout the game.

CO-CAPTAIN FEATURED BY

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Feb. 16: In January, Leetsdale, PA native Kate Michael was featured in a game program by the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. The Saints co-captain was interviewed by Joe Sager of Pittsburghpenguins.com, and his article can be read by clicking here.

Michael and the Saints continue their chase of the National Championship with two key ECACHL road games versus Brown and Yale this weekend. The Saints, who are currently atop the league standings, will then close out the regular season at Appleton Arena on February 24th and 25th versus archrivals Harvard and Dartmouth.

SAINTS CLIMB TO No. 2 IN USCHO.com

POLL WITH WEEKEND SWEEP

Feb. 13: The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team jumped to No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll on Monday, leapfrogging the University of Wisconsin after a weekend sweep of Colgate and Cornell.

The Saints (24-3-2, 12-2-2) defeated Colgate by the score of 4-1 at Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY on Friday and followed that strong performance in Lynah Rink in Ithaca, NY on Saturday with a 5-1 victory over Cornell. Sophomore defenseman Annie Guay scored a goal in each game, including the game winning goal versus the Raiders.

St. Lawrence, ranked No. 3 in the Division I Pairwise Rankings (PWR), stands behind only New Hampshire in the USCHO.com poll. The Wildcats continued their reign at No. 1 by extending their active unbeaten streak to 21 games.

Wisconsin dropped to No. 3 behind the Saints, followed by No. 4 Minnesota Golden Gophers and one of the hottest teams in the country the No. 5 Princeton Tigers. The No. 6 slot is held by Minnesota-Duluth, No. 7 is Mercyhurst, while Clarkson, St. Cloud State, and Harvard round out the top ten in that order.

St. Lawrence currently boasts the nation's second longest unbeaten streak at six games and holds the top spot in the ECACHL standings over Princeton by two points. The Saints head to Providence, RI and New Haven, CT this weekend in their final two conference road games of the season against Brown and Yale.

On Friday, head coach Paul Flanagan will coach his 250th game behind the Saints bench against the Bears, who are currently one point ahead of Harvard for home-ice advantage in the playoff picture. Then, Saturday's game versus Yale at 3:00pm is the USCHO.com Game of the Week. Saints forward Chelsea Grills, who is sidelined this season due to injury, will be in the booth helping to broadcast the game.

To listen to the SLU vs. Yale game, go to www.USCHO.com approximately ten minutes before game time and chose the Game of the Week. You must have Windows Media Player for PC or Mac in order to listen to the game.

SAINTS EARN WEEKEND SWEEP

IN CENTRAL NEW YORK

Feb. 11: The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team protected their coveted ECACHL point lead with a dominating 5-1 performance over the Cornell Big Red in Ithaca, NY on Saturday afternoon. First year Alison Domenico and sophomore Sabrina Harbec each netted two goals in the victory.

St. Lawrence ( 24-3-2, 12-2-2) out shot Cornell by a count of 41-22, including a decisive 3 rd period count of 18-5. The Saints remained two points ahead of Princeton in the standings, as the Tigers defeated Dartmouth this afternoon.

The first period was played very even, with Cornell equaling the number of St. Lawrence shots, 10-10. However, it was the visitors who struck twice in the opening period in a span of 3:38 to take a 2-0 lead to the first intermission. Domenico got the Saints on the board with a power play goal at 15:17 of the opening period, with assists going to juniors Crystal Connors and Abbie Bullard. It was the rookie’s ninth goal of the season.

Harbec then scored her first of the afternoon and 19 th of the season at 18:55 of the first period as she slipped the puck past Cornell goalie Beth Baronick, giving the Saints a 2-0 lead. First year Marianna Locke was credited with her seventh assist of the season on the goal.

The Saints would extend their lead to 3-0 on Domenico’s second goal of the day a mere 24 seconds into the second period. Connors fed a pass to senior forward Emilie Berlinguette who slid the puck to the freshman for her tenth goal of the season. However, the Big Red kept themselves in the game when Brittany Forgues scored her 11 th goal of the season on the power play at the 13:01 mark. She took a pass from Emily Cabral and sent it past Saints’ senior goaltender Jessica Moffat to make the score 3-1 heading into the final period.

However, the Saints would squander any chance of a Cornell comeback in Lynah Rink with two goals in the third period to put the game well out of reach. Sophomore defenseman Annie Guay, who broke the single season multi-point games record with her 7 th of the season against Colgate on Friday, netted her second goal of the weekend on the power play at 10:39 of the final frame. After taking a pass from fellow defenseman Kerri Wallace, she fired a shot towards Baronick, who was unable to make the save. It was Guay’s sixth goal of the season.

Wallace would get her second assist of the period when she found Sabrina Harbec in the offensive zone on another Saints’ power play. Harbec took the pass and tallied her second goal of the game at 12:24 of the third period. It was her 20 th goal of the season, and Wallace’s 14 th assist of the 2005-2006 campaign.

Moffat finished with 21 saves on the night for St. Lawrence while Baronick closed with 36 saves on 41 shots. The Saints, who were ranked 3 rd in the nation on the power play entering the game, went 3-for-9 with a man advantage.

After the weekend sweep, the Saints will now set their sights on the second half of their four-game road trip: the Brown Bears and Yale Bulldogs. The Saints take on the Brown Bears on Friday, February 17 th at 7:00pm in what will be head coach Paul Flanagan’s 250 th game behind the St. Lawrence bench. Then, Saturday’s game against Yale is the USCHO.com Game of the Week.

SAINTS AVENGE LOSS,

TOP RAIDERS 4-1

Feb. 10: The No.3 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team seems to be clicking on all cylinders at the right time, proven by an impressive 4-1 victory over the Colgate Raiders on Friday night at Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY. The Saints remained two points ahead of Princeton for the top spot in the ECACHL standings.

The Saints ( 23-3-2; 11-2-2) win avenged a 3-0 upset loss to Colgate ( 9-11-7; 6-6-3) on January 21 st at Appleton Arena when the Raiders scored three short-handed goals. However, Friday night was a different story and St. Lawrence used their special team play to notch the first goal of the game.

After a scoreless first period, the Saints were finally able to get the puck past Colgate netminder Brook Wheeler at 12:35 of the second period. With her team on the power play, sophomore defensemen Kerri Wallace squashed a Colgate attempt to clear the puck when she stretched to grab it at the blue line. She then snapped a cross-ice pass to defense-partner Annie Guay at the high slot. She fired a wrist shot towards Wheeler, but freshman Marianna Locke redirected the puck from the top of the crease, sending it between Wheeler’s pads for the opening goal.

Much like the Quinnipiac game from last weekend, the opening goal opened the floodgates for the Saints’ offense, which wasted very little time scoring two more goals in the second period. Guay would make it 2-0 at 16:04 of the second with some help from freshman forward Lisa Batchelor and senior center Emilie Berlinguette, who returned to the lineup after missing a game due to injury.

After the puck wound up on Guay’s stick at the blue line, she carried the puck into the Raiders’ zone where she wheeled a defender on the left boards and moved in on net. Although Wheeler seemed to be able to have the scoring chance under control, Guay beat her stick side with a low shot that made the score 2-0.

Just 2:21 later, Batchelor got into the goal-scoring with an unassisted goal at 18:25. She intercepted a pass in the Saints zone and, using her speed, separated herself from the Colgate skaters. She attacked Wheeler’s low-stick side again, beating the goalie to put the Saints up 3-0 heading into the final frame.

St. Lawrence used their momentum from the second period to give themselves an insurance goal a mere 54 seconds into the third period, as Berlinguette scored the Saints fourth goal, with assists going to Crystal Connors and Kate Michael. Connors picked up a Michael pass to the right of the net and fed it in front to her linemate Berlinguette. The senior, one of the all-time leading scorers in St. Lawrence history, fired it the upper left corner of the net to stretch the lead to 4-0 and seal the victory for the Saints.

Colgate dashed the hopes of a shutout for Meaghan Guckian at the 8:37 mark of the 3 rd period when freshman Sam Hunt sent a shot between the sophomore’s pads. However, Guckian improved to 10-1-2 on the season, stopping 25 shots in the victory. Wheeler stopped 38 shots in the loss.

The Saints, who now control their own destiny as they head towards the postseason, will look to pick up two more important points tomorrow afternoon against the Big Red of Cornell. The puck is set to drop at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, NY at 4:00pm.

SAINTS PREPARED FOR KEY

FOUR GAME ROAD TRIP

Feb. 8: The No. 3 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team will begin a key four game road trip on Friday night, as the Saints head to Hamilton, NY to take on the Colgate Raiders at 7:00pm.

The Raiders topped the Saints 3-0 at Appleton Arena on Saturday, Janurary 21st thanks to three short-handed goals. St. Lawrence looks for revenge on Colgate goalie Brook Wheeler, who made an astounding 51 saves in the upset last month. Saturday night, the Saints will look for the season sweep over the Cornell Big Red. Cornell has dropped the last fourteen to the Saints, but they'll be looking for an upset as they currently stand in 9th place in the ECACHL standings, one spot out of the playoffs.

The Saints currently stand alone at the top of the ECACHL standings with 22 points. However, Brown, Clarkson, and Princeton are all within two points of the coveted No. 1 seed and have hopes of hosting the ECACHL Tournament.

Next weekend, the Saints will continue their road trip as they take on the Brown Bears and Yale Bulldogs. The game on Friday night could be a match-up between the top two teams in the league, and will have major playoff implications. The game at Brown will also be head coach Paul Flanagan's 250th behind the Saints' bench.

The final road game of the season for the Saints is in New Haven, CT where the Saints will battle Yale, who currently is in eighth in the league standings. The game time has been moved to 3:00pm on Saturday, Feb. 18th and is the USCHO.com Game of the Week. Former St. Lawrence defenseman Meghan Maguire ('02) will be the guest analysis during the game. To listen to the SLU vs. Yale game, go to www.USCHO.com approximately ten minutes before game time and chose the Game of the Week. You must have Windows Media Player for PC or Mac in order to listen to the game.

St. Lawrence will need their two top scorers to continue their impressive play if they're to win the league and host the ECACHL Tournament. Sabrina Harbec leads the team with 48 points on the season, including 18 goals and a team-high 30 assists. She ranks first in the nation in points (1.92) and assists per game (1.20). Linemate Carson Duggan currently leads the nation with 24 goals, and broke the St. Lawrence single-season record of goals by a rookie last weekend versus Quinnipiac.

In net, the Saints continue to get outstanding efforts each game from senior Jessica Moffat (13-2-0) and sophomore Meghan Guckian (9-1-2). They are the best goaltending tandem in the country and will need to continue their outstanding play to keep their team on track for a birth into the NCAA Tournament.

HARBEC HONORED BY ECACHL,

SAINTS REMAIN No. 3 IN USCHO.com POLL

Feb. 6: Sophomore Sabrina Harbec was awarded the ECACHL Player of the Week for her efforts versus the No. 8 Princeton Tigers and Quinnipiac Bobcats this weekend. The forward had six points, one goal and five assists, while leading the Saints back into first place in the ECACHL.

Harbec had an outstanding weekend both on the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. She assisted on the first two Saints goals versus Princeton, including on Marianna Locke’s game-winner. Then, against the Bobcats, she had a four point night (1g, 3a), including tallying the assist on the game-winning goal again. After the weekend series, Harbec now leads the nation in both points (1.92) and assists (1.20) per game.

Overlooked by her six point weekend is her excellent effort on the penalty kill for St. Lawrence, who was ranked No. 1 in that category coming into the weekend. She was selected as USA Hockey’s “Kaz Watch” Player of the Week heading into the series versus Princeton and Quinnipiac, and she delivered a fine performance. You can read more about Harbec and her chase for the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Award by clicking here.

The ECACHL also selected freshman Carson Duggan as an honor roll member for this week’s performance against the Tigers and Bobcats. Duggan scored three goals and added one assist. Not only did she shatter the St. Lawrence single season record for goals by a rookie (22), but her 24 goals currently leads the nation by four.

The Saints remained at No. 3 in the USCHO.com poll, while New Hampshire took over the No. 1 spot in the country, followed by Wisconsin. The remaining seeds are Minnesota-Duluth at No. 4, Minnesota at No. 5, Mercyhurst at No. 6, Harvard at No. 7, Princeton at No. 8, Clarkson at No. 9, and Providence rounds out the poll at No. 10.

St. Lawrence's hard work and perseverance have pushed them back into sole possession of first place in the ECACHL with six games to play. They travel to Central New York to take the Colgate Raiders and Cornell Big Red on Feb. 10th and 11th.

DUGGAN BREAKS ROOKIE GOALS RECORD,

SAINTS ON TOP OF ECACHL WITH WIN

Feb. 4: The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team completed a weekend sweep with a decisive 7-1 victory over the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday afternoon at Appleton Arena. With the win, the Saints pulled ahead of Clarkson and Brown for the top spot in the ECACHL.

Coming off an impressive 3-1 win over the No. 8 Princeton Tigers on Friday night, the Saints opened the game with the Bobcats with a lot of confidence on offense. They wasted little time going to work in the Quinnipiac end, as freshman Carson Duggan scored her 23 rd goal of the season at the 4:02 mark of the first period. Sophomore Sabrina Harbec centered a pass from behind Quinnipiac goaltender Connie Craig, and Duggan tipped it into the empty side of the net. The goal set the St. Lawrence single season record for goals by a rookie.

The Saints wouldn’t stop there, though, as Kerri Wallace scored her second goal of the season on the power play only 2:39 later. Harbec, who finished the game with four points, tallied another assist when she fed the puck back to Wallace at the blue line. The sophomore rifled a shot on net and the slap shot went right over Craig’s glove to give St. Lawrence a 2-0 lead.

The Saints would then chase Craig from the game 1:16 later, when freshman Marianna Locke got into the scoring with her 12th of the season. Linemate Allison Domenico intercepted a Quinnipiac pass at center ice and tipped it to the Bobcats’ blue line for a streaking Locke, who ended up on a breakaway. She deeked past Craig for the third goal of the game, ending her night after only 7:57.

Although Janelle Wolitski would come in for Quinnipiac and perform quite well, it was too little, too late for the visitors. St. Lawrence had found their stride, and they tacked on four more goals before the game ended.

Harbec netted the Saints 4 th goal at 2:29 of the second period when Wallace sent a homerun pass from the St. Lawrence goal line to the forward at center ice. The puck landed perfectly for Harbec, who took it one-on-one with Wolitski and used her backhand to put the Saints up 4-0.

Less than three minutes later, Duggan tallied her second goal of the night when she and Harbec found themselves on a two-on-one at the Quinnipiac blue line. Harbec used her great instincts and patience, waiting until the passing lane opened up. As soon as it did, she fed the puck to Duggan who tapped it into the right side of the net to make the score 5-0. Senior Jessica Moffat, who had kept the Bobcats scoreless to that point, exited the game with nine saves in 48:39 of play. She was replaced by junior Kaitlin Branon.

Quinnipiac would end the shutout at 13:57 of the third period when Vicky Graham took a pass from Kathryn Dallimore and beat Branon to make the score 5-1. The Saints would respond with two more goals of their own, though, as sophomore Annie Guay and junior Casey Hughes each netted a goal in the final four minutes.

Guay carried the puck into the Quinnipiac zone after a pass from junior Elisabeth Pahler. She hit the brakes at the top of the circle and sent a blazing slap shot on Wolitski, who never saw the puck, and the Saints extended their lead to 6-1. In the final seconds, Hughes and several other Saints ended up digging for the puck in front of Wolitski on the power play. The puck finally slid free, and the junior forward tucked it into the net to finish the scoring on the afternoon.

Moffat got the win for the Saints with nine saves and improved to 13-2-0 on the season. Branon made two saves in relief of the senior. Craig took the loss for the Bobcats and fell to 8-15-3, while Wolitski stopped 30 of 34 shots in her stead.

The victory propelled the Saints into sole possession of first place in the ECACHL, as Brown tied and Clarkson lost on Saturday afternoon. They will look to defend their spot at the top of the standings as they head to Central New York to take on Colgate and Cornell on February 10th and 11th.

ROOKIES LEAD No. 3 SAINTS

PAST No. 8 TIGERS, 3-1

Feb. 3: In a battle of top ten foes, the No. 3 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team scored two goals in the first eight minutes of play and held off a late rally by the No. 8 Princeton Tigers to win an important ECACHL game on Friday night, 3-1.

The Saints wasted very little time in letting their offense go to work, as Sabrina Harbec won a battle in the neutral zone for a loose puck, then tipped it ahead to linemate Carson Duggan. The freshman used her speed to separate herself from the pack, and walked in one-on-one with Princeton goaltender Roxanne Gaudiel. The rookie wristed a shot to the top-right shelf, netting her 22 nd goal of the season. The goal tied her for the single-season record for goals by a rookie.

The goal also seemed to energize St. Lawrence, as they kept the pressure on the Tigers. Their hard work paid off just over seven minutes later, as Marianna Locke scored her eighth power play goal of the season at 7:23 to give the Saints a 2-0 lead.

After a Katherine Dineen penalty put the Tigers down a player, Harbec snapped a shot on net from the left circle. Although Gaudiel made the initial save, she was unable to control the rebound which landed right on Locke’s stick. The freshman slipped it past the Princeton goaltender to extend the lead, 2-0.

However, Princeton showed why they are ranked as the No. 8 team in the country as they started to slowly put the pressure back on St. Lawrence. Then, after Carson Duggan was whistled for goaltender interference at 18:26 in the second period, the Tigers cashed in. Dina McCumber fed a pass to Marykate Oakley to Saints goalie Meaghan Guckian’s left side. Oakley then tossed a pretty pass through the crease to a wide open Annie Greenwood, who notched her 17 th goal of the season when she tipped the pass into the right side of the net. The score was 2-1 St. Lawrence heading into the final period.

With the teams exchanging quality scoring chances, it was Gaudiel and Guckian who made some outstanding saves to keep the score the same. Princeton then had their best chance to tie the score late in the third when Casey Hughes took a high-sticking penalty with 4:01 remaining in the game. However, the Saints killed off the penalty beautifully, allowing only one shot on Guckian.

After the power play had ended, Princeton was forced to pull Gaudiel to get the extra attacker. However, freshman Lisa Batchelor made a nice hustle play and landed the puck right in the slot in the offensive zone. She fired a shot into the empty net and the Saints celebrated a hard-fought victory.

Guckian finished the night with 19 saves on 20 shots to improve to 9-1-2 on the season. Gaudiel closed with 24 saves on 26 shots, but took the loss, falling to 11-5-4.

With the victory, the Saints climbed into a three-way tie for first in the ECACHL with Brown and Clarkson. They will be in action for another important league game with the Bobcats from Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon. The puck is set to drop at 4:00pm.

SAINTS EARN No. 3 RANKING,

HARBEC FEATURED FOR PATTY KAZMAIER

Jan. 31: The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team was rewarded by the USCHO.com and USA Today polls this week for thier sweep of the Niagara Purple Eagles.

The Saints, who had dropped to No. 5 after losing an ECACHL battle to Colgate on January 21st, leaped both Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota to land themselves in the No. 3 slot.

The No. 1 team in the country is the Wisconsin Badgers in both polls, while New Hampshire remained at No. 2. Minnesota-Duluth slipped to No. 4 in the USCHO. poll and to No. 5 in the USA Today Poll, while the Badgers from Minnesota are No. 5 in the USCHO.com poll and fourth in the USA Today poll.

The remaining teams mirror their positions in the polls, with Mercyhurst at No. 6, Harvard at No. 7, Princeton at No. 8, and Clarkson and Providence holding down the final two spots.

Also, sophomore forward Sabrina Harbec has been featured by USA Hockey in the "2006 Kaz Watch," an article that highlights an outstanding Division I women's hockey player each edition. Read the feature by clicking here.

St. Lawrence is set to battle No. 8 Princeton at 7:00pm on Friday and the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday at 4:00pm. The Saints currently are tied for 2nd in the ECACHL standings.

GUAY BREAKS SINGLE SEASON

RECORDS AS SAINTS ROLL 6-3

Jan. 28: The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey, ranked No. 5 in the country, got exactly what they needed heading into the final stretch of the season: a sweep. The Saints ( 20-3-2, 8-2-2) will roll into their eight ECACHL games in February with confidence as they knocked off the Niagara Purple Eagles 6-3 on Saturday.

The Saints twentieth win of the season can be credited to four first period goals in a span of four minutes and two seconds, eventually chasing Niagara’s goaltender Nikki Rudy only 15:42 into the first period. Trailing 1-0 after Charde Hoyle-Levy scored a short-handed goal to put Niagara on top only 4:20 into the contest, freshman Carson Duggan netted her team high 21 st goal of the season on the power play at the 11:40 mark of the first period. Sophomores Sabrina Harbec and Kerri Wallace assisted on the goal.

The flood gates would open from there for St. Lawrence, as junior Crystal Connors would score twice and Harbec once in the next four minutes of play. Connors scored to give the Saints a 2-1 lead at 13:42, taking a pass from sophomore Annie Guay and tucking it past Rudy. The assist put Guay into the Saints record books, breaking the all-time single season points and assists records by a defenseman with 23 and 20, respectively.

The Saints struck again on Rudy at the 15:16 mark of the first period, as Sabrina Harbec continued her outstanding play, scoring an unassisted goal to give St. Lawrence a 3-1 lead. The goal was Harbec’s third of the weekend series with the Purple Eagles and her 17 th of the season.

The final goal of the first period turned out to be the eventual game winner, as Connors again lit the lamp, this time at 15:42, only 26 seconds after Harbec’s goal. She was able to chase Rudy from the game on the Saints fourth goal, with assists going to Wallace and senior Emilie Berlinguette. Allison Rutledge went between the pipes for Niagara after the Saints fourth goal.

Freshman forward Marianna Locke got herself into the scoring with an unassisted goal a mere 2:12 after Niagara had pulled to within two goals at 4-2. The goal extended the Saints lead back to three, 5-2, and was the rookie’s tenth goal of her career.

The Purple Eagles were able to pull to within two goals again at 5-3 after Lisa Agonzzino scored at the 14:25 mark of the third period, taking a pass from Kerri-Lynn O’Hara and firing it past Saints goaltender Jessica Moffat. However, the Saints were able to keep Niagara controlled late in the third, and would put the game out of reach when Berlinguette scored with only 49 seconds left in regulation. Senior Kate Michael and Connors assisted on Berlinguette’s tenth goal of the season, her 57 th of her career.

Moffat finished the game with 23 saves on 26 shots, including 12 saves in the third period to earn the victory and improve to 12-2-0. Allison Rutledge had 23 saves in just over 44 minutes of play, while Rudy took the loss and fell to 0-4-1. The Saints outshot Niagara 40-26 with each team netting one power play goal (SLU 1-7; Niagara 1-8).

Guay is also on the verge of breaking the single season multi-point game record for a defenseman, as she is only one away from tying the record. Duggan, who now has 21 goals on the season, is only one score away from tying the record for most goals in a rookie season at St. Lawrence.

The Saints will look to carry their momentum into next weekend’s ECACHL series at Appleton Arena versus Princeton and Quinnipiac. The Saints meet the Tigers on Friday evening at 7:00pm.

GUCKIAN EARNS SEVENTH CAREER

SHUTOUT AS SAINTS TOP NIAGARA, 3-0

Jan. 27: The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team used both outstanding special teams play and a solid performance between the pipes from sophomore goaltender Meaghan Guckian to top Niagara University Friday night, 3-0.

The Saints ( 19-3-2, 8-2-2) win extended their unbeaten streak versus the Purple Eagles to eight games, and improved their season mark to 5-0 against teams from College Hockey America (CHA).

St. Lawrence found themselves a player down when Alison Domenico took a penalty at 4:54 of the first period for roughing. However, the Saints, who were defeated by Colgate thanks to three short-handed goals, tallied one of their own at 5:28 of the opening frame. Sabrina Harbec notched her 16 th goal of the season, her second short-handed tally of the year, just over 30 seconds into Domenico’s penalty to give the Saints an early 1-0 lead.

Harbec’s goal turned out to be the game winner thanks to a solid performance by Guckian, who earned her seventh shutout of her career, stopping all twelve Purple Eagle shots she faced.

The Saints held a 1-0 lead until freshman Carson Duggan fired a shot past Niagara’s goalie Allison Rutledge after taking a pass from fellow classmate Marianna Locke. The rookie’s goal, which was netted on the power play, was her 20 th of the season, moving her within two goals of the Saints single season record for goals by a freshman (22).

St. Lawrence held Niagara to a limited amount of offense by staging a furious attack, taking 47 shots in the game against Rutledge. With the margin being two, the Saints found themselves on the power play late in the game. Domenico got the puck to Harbec, who put the game out of reach when she snapped a shot past Rutlidge for her second and the final goal of the game.

Niagara (6-14-3, 0-4-0) was unable to capitalize on any of their ten power play opportunities, while the Saints managed two score twice on fourteen chances. Niagara took 16 penalties for 40 minutes, giving the Saints control and many offensive opportunities.

The Saints and Purple Eagles will meet again on Saturday afternoon as the Saints look to finish their 2005-2006 non-conference schedule with a victory. The puck is set to drop at 2:00pm.

WHEELER LEADS RAIDERS TO

UPSET OVER SAINTS

Jan. 21: The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team ran into a hot goaltender on Saturday afternoon, as Brook Wheeler backstopped the Colgate Raiders to a 3-0 shutout over the Saints at Appleton Arena. The Saints

(18-3-2, 8-2-2) totaled 51 shots against Wheeler, but couldn’t capitalize on any of their eight power play chances.

The Raiders’ ( 9-9-4, 6-4-2) penalty kill was their best offense, as each of their three goals came while down a player. The Saints were on the power play in the first period when Ashley Bradford took a tripping penalty. However, Colgate took advantage when the puck took a bad hop, giving the Raiders a two-on-one opportunity on Saints goaltender Jessica Moffat. Sam Hunt was on the receiving end of an Elin Brown pass, and the Raider freshman made a move around Moffat and gave Colgate a one goal lead at 8:31 of the first period.

The Saints threw everything they could muster at Wheeler, tallying 17 shots in the first frame alone. It was again on the penalty kill, this time at 15:17 of the second period that Colgate would strike again. Senior Becky Irvine beat a Saints skater to a loose puck, and using outstanding speed, closed in on Moffat one-on-one. She drew the puck to her forehand across the crease and slipped the puck between Moffat’s pads to put Colgate up by two.

Brown would then ice the victory for the visiting team, scoring the final goal of the contest with 11:35 to play in the game. Just as the final second of a Saints power play came to an end, Brown intercepted a Saints pass in the offensive zone and created a break away. She was able to beat Moffat, sending the puck to the back of the net, and the Raiders on to the upset.

GUAY TIES RECORDS AS SAINTS

ROLL TO ECACHL WIN

Jan. 20: Sophomore Annie Guay tied the single-season records for points (22) and assists (19) for a defenseman in the Saints 5-1 victory over the Cornell Big Red at Appleton Arena Friday night. The Saints ( 18-2-2; 8-1-2) climbed into sole possession of first place in the ECACHL. With the loss, Cornell falls to 5-12-0 overall and 1-10-0 in the league.

Cornell seemed to get off to a quick start, however, as Brianne Schmidt deflected a puck past Saints goaltender Meaghan Guckian a mere 29 seconds into the game. However, the officials ruled that Schmidt had kicked the puck, therefore waving off the goal.

The Saints took advantage of the no-goal call with a power play goal about six and a half minutes later. Senior Kate Michael slid a pass to her defensive partner junior Abbie Bullard who rifled a shot towards the Cornell goalie Beth Baronick. Halfway to the net, though, junior Crystal Connors deflected the puck over Baronick’s right shoulder, giving St. Lawrence a 1-0 lead.

The lead grew to 2-0 at 18:01 of the first period when sophomore Sabrina Harbec tallied her first goal of the evening on a beautiful pass from linemate freshman Carson Duggan. Sophomore Kerri Wallace passed the puck deep into the Big Red’s zone to Duggan, who patiently waited while Harbec found an opening across the ice. Duggan snapped a pass right on Harbec’s stick, and she wristed a shot past a beaten Baronick to give the Saints a two goal advantage to end the first period.

Annie Guay tied the St. Lawrence women’s hockey single season records for points and assists when she assisted on Duggan’s power play goal at 3:10 in the second period. Guay fed the puck to Harbec who put a shot towards the net. However, Duggan re-directed the shot past Baronick, sending the Saints lead to 3-0.

After the Big Red closed the gap to 3-1 on a Brittany Forgues power play goal, the Saints responded with another power play goal from Connors. Bullard had an opening from the point and rifled a shot that Connors re-directed from the slot. Baronick never saw the high deflection and the puck went into the upper right corner of the net, sending the Saints to the locker room with a 4-1 lead.

The final goal of the evening came only five seconds after the expiration of a Big Red penalty, as Harbec notched her second goal of the night, giving the Saints a commanding 5-1 lead. Harbec had the puck, and while losing her balance, passed it to Duggan just behind the goal line. Duggan wasted little time returning the pass back to Harbec after she regained her footing, and she slid the puck between Baronick’s pads to finish the scoring for the evening.

Guckian, playing just over 55 minutes, finished with 16 saves and improved to 7-1-2 on the season. Junior Kaitlin Branon played the remainder of the game, tallying one save. Baronick finished the night with 35 saves in 55:07 of play. Sarah McConnachie closed the game for Cornell, compiling three saves.

St. Lawrence returns to action on Saturday afternoon to take on the Raiders of Colgate University. The puck is set to drop at 4:00pm.

ANOTHER STRONG THIRD PERIOD

GIVES SAINTS WEEKEND SWEEP

Jan. 14: Another tough opponent forced the