2005-2006 Archives

Back to Women's Hockey Home

Back to Archives Home

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.