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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.