ECAC HOCKEY NAMES GUCKIAN ITS

“GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK”

Feb. 5: St. Lawrence University goaltender Meaghan Guckian has been named the ECAC Hockey “Goaltender of the Week” for her performances against No. 8 Clarkson last weekend.

Guckian, who is the University’s all-time shutout leader and has been a staple in the Saints’ goal since her career began, continued her impressive play against the Knights, posting a .947 save percentage in the two games. The Victor, NY native made 22 saves and allowed one power play goal in No. 6 St. Lawrence’s 3-1 win on Friday night at Cheel Arena.

The senior then played arguably her best contest of the season in Saturday night’s 2-2 tie at Appleton Arena against Clarkson. Guckian made 32 stops, including several close-range chances in the overtime session to help the Scarlet and Brown pull out an important conference point.

Guckian and the Saints will be in action again this weekend in Central New York, as St. Lawrence will take on Colgate and Cornell on Friday and Saturday, February 8 and 9. The puck will drop on the Scarlet and Brown and the Raiders at 7:00pm at Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY.

GUCKIAN AND EMARD ADD HEROICS AS SAINTS

AND GOLDEN KNIGHTS TIE, 2-2

Feb. 2: St. Lawrence University senior goaltender Meaghan Guckian turned in one of her best efforts of the season on Saturday evening, as the Victor, NY native made 32 saves, including 16 in a penalty-filled second period, helping the No. 6 Saints to a 2-2 tie against No. 9 Clarkson in Appleton Arena. With the home team trailing by a goal with under ten minutes to play, rookie Karell Emard jammed in her 5 th of the season for the equalizer to give St. Lawrence a point in the ECAC Hockey standings.

The Scarlet and Brown (20-7-1, 13-2-1) played an overtime session for the first time this season, and extended their unbeaten streak to seven games. Meanwhile, Clarkson (18-6-4, 9-5-2) let another opportunity to knock off the Saints in Appleton slip away after holding a 2-1 lead throughout much of the contest. The Golden Knights, who finished 1-of-11 on the power play on Saturday, are 0-4-1 against their cross-town rival in enemy territory, including a last-minute loss to the Saints in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals last season.

St. Lawrence wasted little time in getting the scoring underway, as junior Lisa Batchelor picked up her 5 th goal of the season only 2:30 in the contest. First year student Kirsten Roach found fellow classmate Michelle Zimmerman along the boards to Clarkson goaltender Lauren Dahm’s left. Zimmerman, who was one of the Saints’ heroes in last night’s 3-1 victory over the Knights, fired a shot on goal that Dahm turned aside, but right to Batchelor, who showed great composure in rifling a shot past the goalie to put her team on top, 1-0.

The Golden Knights would respond in a big way, though, as the Green and Gold scored a pair of goals to end the period and grab a 2-1 lead. Brooke Beazer evened the score at 1-1 at the 5:26 mark of the first when she deflected a pass from Marie-Jo Gaudet over Guckian’s shoulder. The tally was Beazer’s 4th of the season.

Despite being out-shot 13-8 in the opening frame, the visitors were able to cash in at 18:24 on the power play, when Britney Selina knocked in her 14 th goal of the season from the top of the goal mouth to give the Knights their first lead of the weekend. Kimberly McKenney and Genevieve Lavoie assisted on the goal.

Dahm was very much the reason that Clarkson held a 2-1 advantage after twenty minutes, as she stopped 12 of the 13 shots she faced in the period.

Though many would argue it is nearly impossible to be out-shot 16-5 in a stanza and come away with momentum, Guckian and the Saints would say otherwise after a raucous second period that saw the home team called for six penalties including a five minute major. Clarkson would in fact have five power play chances in the period, including over three full minutes of 5-on-3 action.

The Knights’ offense peppered Guckian while working the puck around the Saints’ zone at will. However, some gutsy penalty killing by senior Chelsea Grills, junior Alison Domenico and sophomores Britni Smith and Courtney Sawchuk would keep Clarkson off the score board in the period. Guckian was phenomenal in the period, robbing several Knights from point blank range, including a full-split glove save on Daris Tendler.

The St. Lawrence penalty killing unit’s stand fired up the home team’s crowd and the Saints’ bench.

“We took a few undisciplined penalties throughout the game that put us in a tough spot,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “Our penalty killers did a great job in keeping us in the game, and obviously Meaghan made some clutch saves in several big spots to swing the momentum in our favor.”

With the St. Lawrence faithful very much behind their team in the third period, it seemed like only a matter of time before the Saints capitalized on a chance of their own. The Scarlet and Brown turned to their scrappy line of Emard, Batchelor and Roach to create a few chances, and the trio responded. Batchelor roped a shot on goal that seemed to be under Dahm’s leg pad. However, the official never lost sight of the puck, and allowed play to continue. After several jabs in the crease, the puck finally crossed the goal line allowing the crowd to erupt, with the score tied at 2-2 at 10:31 of the third period.

Guckian and Dahm continued to play at high levels throughout the remainder of the game, with each goalie turning away several close calls. Perhaps Clarkson’s best bid to win the game came with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation, when Gaudet got behind the Saints’ defense and skated after the puck at the

St. Lawrence blue line with no one between her and the goaltender. However, Guckian unexpectedly came 25 feet out of her net to knock the puck away, and though Clarkson regained control and fired a long wrist shot towards the empty net, the goaltender got back to her crease in time to make a diving save.

The overtime session was not without dramatics either, as Clarkson took the opening four shots in the frame, forcing Guckian back on her heels. However, a penalty on the Knights with only 2:50 remaining would basically end their hopes of completing the upset. St. Lawrence then nearly capitalized on the chance, as Smith had a wide open chance in front of Dahm, but fired just wide of the far post. The shot would be the final sustained opportunity for either team to earn the win, as both North Country rivals would settle for a 2-2 tie.

“Anytime we face Clarkson, emotions are going to be running high as both teams want to get a big win,” added Coach Flanagan. “Though we would’ve obviously liked to get two wins, we’ll take three points against a talented team like that.”

Guckian (15-7-1) finished with five saves in both the third and overtime periods, while Dahm (7-1-1) closed with 26 saves for the game. Clarkson managed 14 shots on 11 power play chances, while St. Lawrence was

0-for-3 with the extra attacker and was whistled for 27 penalty minutes.

The Saints, who reached the 20-win plateau for the eighth consecutive season, will hit the road next weekend to battle the CNY schools, Colgate and Cornell. The puck will drop on the Saints and Raiders at Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY on Friday, February 8th at 7:00pm.

GRILLS AND ZIMMERMAN COME UP BIG

IN 3-1 WIN OVER NO. 9 CLARKSON

Feb. 1: The No. 6 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team received outstanding performances on both ends of the experience-spectrum on Friday night against No. 9 Clarkson, as senior forward Chelsea Grills tied the University’s career power play goal record with the 23rd of her career while rookie defenseman Michelle Zimmerman added a goal and an assist in the Saints’ 3-1 win over the Golden Knights in Cheel Arena.

St. Lawrence (20-7-0, 13-2-0) tightened its grip on the No. 2 seed in the standings and improved to 19-0-0 when scoring three or more goals in 2008 and to 7-1-1 against Clarkson in the all-time series. Meanwhile, the Knights’ saw their four-game win streak come to an end and fell to 18-6-3 (9-5-1) on the season.

The Scarlet and Brown wasted little time getting on the board against Clarkson, as junior Marianna Locke scored her 12th goal of the season only 1:29 into the contest. Zimmerman sent a crisp pass into the slot for the Brasher Falls, NY native, who quickly turned and fired a low shot that beat Clarkson goalie Eve Grandmont-Berube to put St. Lawrence ahead on its first shot on goal in the game.

Much of the first period reflected the style of play throughout the game, with battles along the board and in the neutral zone for control of the puck. Though Clarkson had the majority of quality scoring chances in the first period, senior goaltender Meaghan Guckian held her own between the pipes, turning back each of the home team’s nine bids in the first 20 minutes.

Zimmerman, who hadn’t scored a goal since November 3rd, ended her scoring drought with her second goal of the season and second point of the period at 13:22. Rookie forward Kirsten Roach found her fellow classmate at the top of the circle to Grandmont-Berube’s left. Zimmerman sent a long wrist shot on goal that seemed harmless, but a screen in front of the Clarkson goal-mouth allowed the puck to go over Grandmont-Berube’s glove and put St. Lawrence ahead 2-0 after one period of play.

A key moment in the contest came nearly midway through the second period, as the Saints were whistled for back-to-back minor penalties only four seconds apart, giving the Golden Knights nearly two minutes of a five-on-three advantage. The visitors got great shifts from their penalty killers, including sophomore Courtney Sawchuk, senior Sabrina Harbec and Grills to keep Clarkson off the scoreboard.

Having killed the penalty, the Saints found themselves on the power play less than three minutes later when Clarkson’s Jessica Cloutier went sent to the box for cross-checking. After Harbec won the face-off, sophomore Britni Smith launched a long slap shot that Grandmont-Berube stopped, but couldn’t reel in. The rebound sat in front of her for several seconds before Grills swung in and lifted the puck under the cross bar for her 12th goal of the season, tying Caroline Trudeau’s power play goal mark.

Clarkson showed life less than five minutes into the third period, as they capitalized on a minor penalty to sophomore Tara Akstull and pulled to within 3-1 at 4:57. After taking a pass from Melissa Waldie, Clarkson’s leading scorer Britney Selina rifled a slap shot from inside the left circle that went between Guckian’s pads for her 13th goal of the season.

Though there had only been six minor penalties called in the first 47:08, the same could not be said for the final portion of the game. The Saints and Golden Knights combined for 11 penalties in just under 13:00 minutes, including a 10-minute misconduct to St. Lawrence Alison Domenico and a 5-minute checking and game-misconduct penalty to Selina. Though there was very little rhythm in the latter half of the period, St. Lawrence was able to settle in and hold off Clarkson to protect their 3-1 victory.

Guckian finished with 22 saves in the contest and improved to 15-7-0, as the Golden Knights out-shot

St. Lawrence 23-18. However, Grandmont-Berube struggled in the contest, making 15 saves and fell to 11-5-3 this season.

St. Lawrence finished 1-of-4 on the power play, while Clarkson was 1-of-5 with the extra skater. Overall, the two archrivals combined for 17 penalties for 53:00 minutes.

There will be little time for the rivalry to simmer, as the Saints and Golden Knights will play the second half of the home-and-home series tomorrow, Saturday, February 2nd at Appleton Arena where the home team has never lost to their Route 11 rival. The puck is set to drop at 7:00pm.

THE RIVALRY CONTINUES AS SAINTS AND KNIGHTS

PREPARE FOR ANNUAL SERIES

Jan. 30: The North Country’s biggest rivalry heats up again this weekend when the No. 6 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team battles No. 9 Clarkson University in a home-and-home series that could prove to be pivotal in both the ECAC Hockey standings and national polls.

St. Lawrence enters the weekend with a 6-1-1 advantage in the all-time series against their archrival from Potsdam, NY, including four wins against the Golden Knights last season. The Scarlet and Brown eliminated Clarkson from the conference tournament with dramatic 3-2 and 3-1 wins in Appleton Arena last February.

However, Clarkson, which began their women’s program at the Division I level in 2004-05, has played

St. Lawrence tough in the friendly confines of Cheel Arena. The Knights tied the Saints 1-1 there in 2004, and knocked off No. 1 St. Lawrence, 2-0, in 2005.

“Any time we take on Clarkson, I think there will always be a buzz surrounding the game because you never want to lose to a conference rival,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “But throw in the fact that we’re both ranked nationally, we’re both vying for the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, and we’re both playing solid hockey right now, and you’ve got two really important games this weekend.”

St. Lawrence will first travel down Route 11 in search of a road win on Friday night when the two squads meet at Cheel Arena at 7:00pm. A win won’t be easy to come by for Coach Flanagan’s team, though, as the Golden Knights are 4-1-1 in home conference games this season, and are 8-1-1 in their last ten games.

The Scarlet and Brown will then try to stay perfect in Appleton Arena against head coach Rick Seeley’s team on Saturday night at 7:00pm.

“Thus far, we’ve had good fortune against Clarkson here at Appleton, but they’ve always played us tough and we know what we’ll be up against this time around.”

Though St. Lawrence has the edge in the series against Clarkson, only one of the eight meetings has been decided by more than two goals. The Golden Knights’ defensive style of hockey works to keep their opponent’s offense to a minimum, proven by fact that they’re currently allowing only 1.31 goals per game, 4th best in the nation. Coach Seeley’s squad is only the least penalized team in the country, which is important seeing as though St. Lawrence boast’s the nation’s 4th ranked power play unit.

“Clarkson is definitely a disciplined team and we will need to take advantage of any power play chances they give us,” added Coach Flanagan. “Both teams have top-10 penalty kill units, so special teams could tip the balance either night.”

Though the Saints are also one of the best teams in the country in scoring defense (6th), the Scarlet and Brown are likely to lean on their high-octane offense that includes seven 20-point scorers. St. Lawrence is 5th in the country in scoring offense, and is a perfect 18-0-0 this season when scoring three or more goals.

Standing in the Saints’ way of adding to that statistic is Clarkson’s rookie goaltender Eve Grandmont-Berube, who has filled the void left by Kira Hurley wonderfully. The freshman is 11-4-3 this season, combining with fellow rookie Lauren Dahm to present one of the nation’s top goaltending duos. However, it is likely to be Grandmont-Berube’s show this weekend in her first games against St. Lawrence, entering with a .928 save percentage and a 1.53 goals against average in 18 games.

Her counterpart will likely be senior goaltender Meaghan Guckian, who has backstopped the Saints in critical games since her arrival on campus three years ago. Now the University’s all-time leader in shutouts with 17, Guckian will look to improve on her 5-1-1 record against Clarkson, including a .917 save percentage and 1.34 goals against average against the Knights.

“I think this rivalry has withstood the test of time, and now spans from men’s and women’s ice hockey to volleyball to baseball to men’s and women’s lacrosse and so on,” remarked Coach Flanagan. “Both teams have great scorers, both have good defense and solid goaltending. I’m excited for the puck to drop and let the chips fall where they may.”

So is the rest of the North Country.