HARBEC AND DOMENICO EACH SCORE

TWO IN 6-2 WIN OVER CORNELL

Feb. 9: St. Lawrence University senior forward Sabrina Harbec and junior forward Alison Domenico each scored twice, and sophomore Tara Akstull chipped in three assists as the No. 6/7 Saints bounced back from Friday night’s loss to Colgate with an assertive 6-2 victory over Cornell University at Lynah Rink on Saturday afternoon.

The Saints improved to 21-8-1 (14-3-1) with the win and picked up their 19 th straight victory against the Big Red.

Harbec claimed the University’s career goal-scoring record from line mate Carson Duggan with her two tallies, the first of which opened the game’s scoring at 1:25 of the first period. With the visitors on the power play, Harbec was able to beat Cornell netminder Jenny Niesluchowski for her 11th of the season to put St. Lawrence ahead 1-0. Fellow seniors Chelsea Grills and Annie Guay were credited with assists on the goal.

Domenico would make it 2-0 just over six minutes later at 7:27 while her team attacked with a player advantage. Akstull picked up her first assist of the night, as did rookie Michelle Zimmerman, who had a three point series against Clarkson last weekend.

The Saints continued to own the first period, out-shooting the Big Red 13-5, though Niesluchowski kept the home team in the game with 11 saves. St. Lawrence senior netminder Meaghan Guckian had a much easier time of it in the opening twenty minutes, stopping each of the five shots she faced.

Domenico and Harbec continued to do damage to Cornell in the second period, as they each added their second goal of the game to make the score 4-0. Domenico made the score 3-0 at 11:45 of the period, with assists going to junior Marianna Locke and Akstull, while Harbec picked up her second shorthanded goal of the season at 13:38. Grills picked up an assist on the tally.

Cornell tried to get back into the game 14:14 when Brittany Forgues was able to beat Guckian for the home team’s first goal of the evening, cutting the lead to 4-1. Melanie Jue and Emma Chipman picked up helpers on the goal.

However, Locke would respond for the Scarlet and Brown less than three minutes later at 17:13, bringing the Saints’ lead back to four goals at 5-1. The Brasher Falls, NY native tallied her 13th of the season, with assists going to junior Lisa Batchelor and Akstull, to cap the second period scoring and send the Saints to the locker room with large advantage.

St. Lawrence would add to that lead at 11:25 of the final stanza, when Guay scored her third of the season on the power play to make the score 6-1. Harbec and Duggan picked up assists on the goal. Though Kelly McGinty would add a goal for the home team at 14:19 to make the score 6-2, it was much too little, too late as the Saints earned a weekend split with their ECAC Hockey rivals from Central New York.

The visitors finished with a 31-27 advantage in shots on goal, with both Guckian and Niesluchowski finishing with 25 saves a piece.

St. Lawrence will be in action against next weekend at home, when they welcome Brown and Yale to Appleton Arena for two conference match-ups. The Saints will be wearing specially designed pink jerseys, as ECAC Hockey’s “Pink at the Rink” comes to Canton, NY to help raise money for cancer research.

RAIDERS BLITZ NO. 6/7 SAINTS WITH FOUR GOALS

IN FIRST, HANG ON FOR 5-2 UPSET

Feb. 8: The No. 6/7 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team could not dig out of a three-goal first period deficit on Friday night, as Colgate University shocked the Saints with four goals in the opening stanza en route to a 5-2 upset in Hamilton, NY on Friday night.

The Raiders (11-12-4, 8-6-3) continued to haunt the Saints at Starr Rink, where they are 2-1-1 against the Scarlet and Brown in the last four meetings. St. Lawrence (20-8-1, 13-3-1) managed to out-shoot the home team 28-17, but Colgate goaltender Lisa Plenderleith outplayed St. Lawrence netminder Meaghan Guckian, making 26 saves to her counterpart's 12.

The home team opened the scoring at 7:14 when Ali Edell scored her 2nd goal of the year, unassisted, to give the Raiders a 1-0 advantage. The tally would only get the momentum started for Colgate, though, as Jacquie Colbourne scored less than three minutes later at 10:06 on the power play to build the lead to 2-0. Assists on the goal were credited to Sam Hunt and Kiira Dosdall.

St. Lawrence would cut the deficit in half at 13:05, when junior Carson Duggan fed senior forward Sabrina Harbec, who fired the puck past Plenderleith for her 10th goal of the season.

Unfortunately for the Saints, the goal would only delay Colgate’s momentum, not stop it entirely. The home team, dressed in pink uniforms for ECAC Hockey’s “Pink at the Rink,” fired up the red light behind Guckian two more times before the teams headed to the locker room for the first intermission. Colborne added her 2nd of the game at 17:09, with an assist going to Hunt, while Beth Rotenberg capped the period’s scoring only 1:03 later with her 6th of the season to put Colgate ahead 4-1. The four goals allowed by St. Lawrence in the first were the most in a period this season.

The two teams combined for only 11 shots in the second period, though St. Lawrence did manage to net the only goal of the frame at 5:40 to pull to within two at 4-2. Tara Akstull continued her fantastic sophomore season, as she found Kerri Wallace who picked up her 5 th goal of the season to keep the Saints within striking distance headed into the final period.

A late penalty call against St. Lawrence would allow Colgate to begin the third period on the power play, and Hunt, one of the league’s top-scorers, made the Saints pay. Only 31 seconds into the third, she banged in her 16th goal of the season, with helpers from Dosdall and Elin Brown to regain the three-goal cushion at 5-2.

Though the Saints would own the final period statistically, out-shooting Colgate 11-3, Plenderleith was perfect, not allowing a single shot behind her to help the Raiders pull off the upset. The victory moved her to 10-9-3 on the season, while Guckian dropped to 15-8-1 in the losing effort.

Colgate finished 2-of-6 on the power play, while St. Lawrence, who came into the night ranked 4th in the country in that category, was 0-for-5 with only six shots on goal. The loss also snapped St. Lawrence’s seven-game unbeaten streak, which dated back to January 12.

The Scarlet and Brown will look to earn a weekend split in Central New York when they visit Cornell University tomorrow, Saturday, February 9. The puck will drop on the Saints and Big Red at 4:00pm.

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.