GUCKIAN NAMED GOALIE OF THE WEEK,

HARBEC NAMED TO HONOR ROLL

Feb 5: St. Lawrence University junior goaltender Meaghan Guckian was honored by the ECAC Hockey League on Monday, as the Victor, NY native was tagged the conference's "Goaltender of the Week" for the third time this season. Fellow classmate Sabrina Harbec was also recognized, as she was named to the league's "Honor Roll."

Guckian may have boasted her best performance of the season against Colgate last Friday night, making several outstanding saves and robbing the Raiders in key moments of the game to help ensure the Saints victory. Guckian made 25 stops while earning the 13th shutout of her career and pushing her team into sole possession of third place in the confernce .

Against Cornell the following afternoon, Guckian allowed the opening two goals of the game, one of which was a 5-on-3 score for the Big Red. However, after the opening period, she slammed the door on Cornell and watched as her team rattled off seven goals to move improve her record to 18-6-2 this season.

"Meaghan was outstanding against Colgate on Friday, as she really saved us a few times and kept them from gaining momentum," said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. "I thought she bounced back very well after giving up two against Cornell and allowed our offense to settle into their game."

Meanwhile, Harbec continued to be a constant threat in the offensive end, as the Nation's third-leading scorer tallied five points this weekend against Colgate and Cornell.  Against the Raiders, Harbec notched two assists, including a helper on the game-winning goal. On Saturday, the St. Hubert, Quebec native then helped her team dig out of the 0-2 hole to Cornell, tallying three points as the Saints earned the weekend sweep 7-2.

The Saints remained No. 4 in the USCHO.com Poll on Monday, with the USA Today rankings to be released Tuesday afternoon. St. Lawrence will look to clinch home ice advantage in the ECACHL Quarterfinals as they square off with conference foes Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend in Appleton Arena. The puck will drop on the Saints and Bobcats on Saturday, February 10th at 2:00pm, with the Princeton game to be played on Sunday at 2:00pm as well.

SAINTS ERUPT FOR FIVE GOALS IN THE SECOND,

TOPPLE CORNELL 7-2

Feb. 3: Cornell University came into Appleton Arena looking to snap a sixteen game losing streak against the St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team that dates back to January 2001. Through twenty minutes, the Big Red seemed poised to capture one of the biggest victories in their program’s history. However, the No. 4 Saints, trailing by two entering the second period, erupted offensively for five goals and put the game out of reach, toppling Cornell by the final score of 7-2.

The victory helped the Saints (22-6-2, 14-4-0) keep pace in the ECACHL standings, remaining one point behind second-ranked Harvard. The Scarlet and Brown were also helped on Saturday by their arch nemesis the Clarkson Golden Knights, who gave St. Lawrence some breathing room for home ice advantage in the conference quarterfinals by knocking off the Colgate Raiders 1-0.

The Cornell Big Red, who entered Saturday’s contest with a 3-19-2 overall record, looked to play spoiler and cost the Saints two critical points in the standings. The visitors got off to a great start, taking only 30 seconds to shock the Scarlet and Brown, scoring the opening goal and taking a 1-0 lead. Brianne Schmidt found linemate Caeleigh Beerworth in the slot, and her one-timer went five-hole on St. Lawrence goalie Meaghan Guckian, slipping between her pads and into the net for the Big Red’s opening goal.

The goal gave Cornell newfound confidence, as they were able to kill off two Saint power plays with ease, allowing only four shots on their netminder Beth Baronick. After killing the penalties, the Big Red found themselves on a 5-on-3 advantage when junior Annie Guay joined senior Casey Hughes in the penalty box. They wasted very little time with the two player advantage to grab a two-goal lead, with the goal coming off the stick of Schmidt at 13:47 of the first. Though Guckian was able to stop the initial shot from Halina Kristalyn, Schmidt was there to tap home the rebound and put the visitors up 2-0 at the end of the first period.

Cornell managed to out-shoot the Saints high-octane offense 8-7 in the first period, and finished 1-of-2 on the power play. Guckian made six saves, while Baronick countered with seven stops.

Though the Saints were down at the end of one, the home team was clearly not out. They showed their first signs of life 57 seconds into the second, as senior Abbie Bullard let a hard shot loose towards Baronick from the right circle with her team on the power play. However, before the puck reached the goalie, senior Crystal Connors was there to deflect the shot low and around the netminder’s pad, tipping her shot off the post and into the net for her 15th of the season.

The goal clearly shifted the momentum in the home team’s favor, and Cornell could do little to stop the Saints’ nationally-acclaimed offensive unit. Less than five minutes later, St. Lawrence pulled even at 2-2 when sophomore Carson Duggan scored her 20 th of the campaign at 5:07. Junior Sabrina Harbec jammed a shot into Baronick’s pads from the top of the goal mouth, and was then pushed into the goalie by a Cornell defender. As Harbec fell onto Baronick, the puck came loose to Duggan who was there for the easy score.

Cornell simply had no answer for the Saints in the second period, and the home team poured on the pressure. A mere 2:37 later, St. Lawrence grabbed a lead they would never relinquish when Guay scored her second goal of the weekend at 7:41 on the power play. The Big Red made a big mistake in leaving Guay alone inside the blue line, and the Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec native laced a shot that Baronick got a piece off, but couldn’t stop as it bounced off of her glove and into the goal putting SLU ahead 3-2.

The wheels continued to come off for Cornell, as sophomore Lisa Batchelor would get into the scoring at 10:46 of the second to extend the Saints lead to 4-2. Senior Casey Hughes wound up and let a slap shot go from just inside the blue line. Though a Cornell player blocked the shot, it came right to Batchelor in the slot, and she ripped it past Baronick for her 10th of the season.

Trailing by two, the Big Red worked to simply get to the locker room, but the Saints would not allow the puck out of the offensive zone. As the Saints bombarded Baronick with shots, first year student Brittaney Maschmeyer sent a long shot from the near boards into traffic in front of the Cornell net where Harbec was waiting. The

St. Hubert, Quebec native was there to slip the puck past Baronick and complete the Saints biggest offensive twenty minutes of the season, capping a five-goal period.

Baronick stopped 10 shots in the period, but the Saints pressure was simply too much for their overmatched opponent. Guckian had a much easier period as she had to stop only two Cornell shots.

Though the Scarlet and Brown pulled off the pedal a bit in the third, sophomore Marianna Locke would add the only two goals in the period as her team again out-shot Cornell 15-4.

The Brasher Falls, NY native netted her first of the period at 4:37 on the power play, as she was set up by her linemates Duggan and Harbec to put the Saints ahead 6-2. Locke would then complete the game’s scoring with only two minutes remaining in regulation. Hughes sent a hard slap shot just wide of the net, but the puck bounced off the back-boards out in front of the opposite side of the goal directly to Alison Domenico. The Nepean, Ontario native slipped a slick pass through the crease to Locke, who tapped in the team’s seventh goal of the game and her 14th of the season.

“Cornell clearly came ready to play today, as they took it to us in the first period,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “I thought our team showed some experience and did a nice job of re-grouping at the end of the period, coming out ready to play in the second.”

St. Lawrence finished with a 37-14 shot advantage and were 4-of-8 on the power play, while Cornell finished

1-of-5. Guckian improved to 18-6-2 with a 12-save performance, while Baronick dropped to 2-11-2 while stopping 30 shots.

The Saints will finish their regular season home schedule next weekend as they welcome Quinnipiac and Princeton to Appleton Arena. St. Lawrence will take on the Bobcats on Saturday afternoon at 2:00pm, followed by Sunday’s showdown with the Tigers at 2:00pm as well.

GUCKIAN SHUTS DOWN COLGATE AS

NO. 4 SAINTS JUMP TO THIRD IN STANDINGS

Feb. 2: St. Lawrence University junior goaltender Meaghan Guckian made 25 saves and sophomore Alison Domenico scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, as the No. 4 women’s hockey team blanked conference foe Colgate University 4-0 in Appleton Arena on Friday evening. The win moves the Scarlet and Brown to 21-6-2 (13-4-0) on the season and into sole possession of third place in the ECACHL standings.

The Raiders, who had won two of the previous three meetings against St. Lawrence, including the first game between the two teams earlier this season on November 25th, fell to 13-11-2 (12-4-1) and one point behind the Saints in the conference standings.

In a very fast paced, up-and-down first period, the Saints grabbed the lead at 6:40 when Domenico scored her first of the evening. Junior Kerri Wallace found fellow classmate Sabrina Harbec at mid-ice, and the forward tipped the pass up ice to Domenico in stride to Colgate goalie Brook Wheeler’s right. With the defense closing from her right, Domenico snapped a shot from just beyond the circle that fooled Wheeler, slipping between the right post and the netminder’s shoulder to put the Saints ahead 1-0.

Though Colgate’s offensive threats such as sophomores Sam Hunt and Elin Brown had their chances, Guckian looked very sharp between the pipes turning away all seven shots she faced in the opening period. Wheeler, who made 51 saves in her last visit to Appleton Arena in a 3-0 victory of St. Lawrence, was also solid for the Raiders, stopping nine of ten shots in the opening twenty minutes.

Colgate and St. Lawrence continued to battle hard along the boards and for position in front of each net in a very physical game. Guckian faced several very strong chances during the second period for Colgate to even the score, but the Victor, NY native held her ground.

With the game still very much up for grabs, the Saints asserted themselves on their home ice to grab a 3-0 cushion with two goals a mere 45 seconds apart to position themselves to collect two important points against the Raiders. Sophomore Marianna Locke fed a pass up the boards to first year student Brittany Maschmeyer, who then slid a long, cross-ice pass along the blue line to fellow defenseman Annie Guay. The junior wound up and let loose a blast from the blue line that Wheeler never saw as it sailed over her glove and into the goal for a 2-0 St. Lawrence lead at 13:36.

Only 45 seconds later at 14:21, the red light behind Wheeler was on again when sophomore Carson Duggan scored her 19th of the season to extend the Saints lead to 3-0 at the end of two periods. Harbec again started the play as she fed senior Chelsea Grills along the near circle. Grills took a shot towards Wheeler, but before the puck arrived, Duggan re-directed the shot into the goal to put the Raiders in a deep 3-0 hole.

Guckian shined in the second period, stopping 12 shots for a two period total of 19. Meanwhile, Wheeler made six saves on eight shots for a two period total of 15.

Though each team had several close calls in the third period, the time belonged to the goaltenders as both Guckian and Wheeler made several clutch saves. Colgate’s chances of a comeback ended when Katie Stewart took a holding penalty with only 3:41 remaining in the game. Though the Raiders had done an excellent job against the Saints third-ranked power play unit, they simply couldn’t shut them down for the sixth time.

First year student Britni Smith and Wallace exchanged passes at the blue line before finding Domenico in the slot. Though Wheeler seemed to have Domenico’s bid under control, the puck trickled between the goalie’s pads and past the goal line to give the Saints a 4-0 lead at 17:38 of the third period. It was Domenico’s 14th of the season and completed the game’s scoring.

“I thought the game had good tempo, and Colgate came out strong just as we expected,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “Our team responded well after a disappointment last weekend, and this is a huge two points in the standings.”

Guckian’s 25 save performance was her fifth shutout of the season and 13th of her career, ranking second on the all time list, one behind Rachael Barrie. St. Lawrence out-shot the Raiders 30-25 and finished 1-of-7 on the power play, while Colgate went 0-for-3 with the extra skater.

The Saints now control their own destiny in regards to home ice advantage in the ECACHL Quarterfinals. The Dartmouth Big Green currently control the conference, with Harvard four points behind in second place, with the Scarlet and Brown one point behind the Crimson.

St. Lawrence will look for the weekend sweep against the Central New York teams when Cornell University visits Appleton Arena on Saturday afternoon. The puck will drop on the Saints and Big Red at 4:00pm.