2005-2006 Archives

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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.