DUGGAN SCORES TWO AS NO. 7 SAINTS PICK

UP CRUCIAL 5-2 WIN OVER NO. 8 DARTMOUTH

Jan. 12: The No. 7 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team used a pair of goals from junior Carson Duggan and a three-assist evening from senior Annie Guay to rebound from last night’s loss and earn a weekend split with a 5-2 win over No. 8 Dartmouth on Saturday evening at Appleton Arena.

St. Lawrence improved to 15-7-0 (8-2-0) and swept the regular season series with the Big Green, giving the Saints the inside track to the No. 2 seed in the ECAC Hockey standings. Meanwhile, Dartmouth, who was forced to play without US National Team member Sarah Parsons and forward Jenna Cunningham due to injury, dropped to 11-5-2 (8-4-1) on the season.

The Scarlet and Brown wasted little time jumping on the Big Green in the first period, as Duggan netted her 13th of the season only 4:14 into the game. Junior Marianna Locke took a pass from Guay in the slot and sent a shot towards Dartmouth goalie Carli Clemis. However, before the puck reached the 2007 ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Year, Duggan re-directed the shot, fooling Clemis and putting the Saints on top, 1-0.

Just over three minutes later, the red light behind Clemis was on again as senior Sabrina Harbec celebrated her 9th goal of the season at 7:56 of the first period. With St. Lawrence consistently putting pressure on the Dartmouth netminder, Guay unleashed a wrist shot from the point that provided a big rebound which Harbec scooped up and fired it into the net for a 2-0 advantage. Guay and sophomore Brittaney Maschmeyer were credited with assists on the goal.

Though she didn’t face much action in the first period, St. Lawrence goalie Meaghan Guckian was efficient, stopping all seven shots she faced in the first period. Her biggest moment came at the 13:00 minute mark of the period, when she made a huge save on Dartmouth ’s Sarah Toupal’s breakaway chance to protect the home team’s 2-0 lead.

Junior Lisa Batchelor would continue to pour on the offense for the Scarlet and Brown in the opening period, as she buried her 4th goal of the season at 17:26 to give her team all of the momentum headed to the locker room. Senior defenseman Kerri Wallace sent a low shot in front of Clemis, and Batchelor came out of the scrum in front of the goal mouth with the puck and slipped it between the goalie’s pads to put St. Lawrence on top 3-0 after one period.

Though Dartmouth was unable to catch a break in the first, the Big Green began to climb back into the game when they pulled to within two goals at 3-1 at 6:20 of the second period. Marley McMillan sent a soft shot on goal which Guckian easily stopped, but didn’t control the rebound. Dartmouth ’s Carrie Thompson was there to pounce on the loose puck and tally her 5th of the season to cut into the deficit.

Dartmouth nearly pulled to within one only moments later, but Guckian robbed Amana Trunzo with a glove save along the goal line to keep the score 3-1. However, Trunzo would come back to hurt the Saints later in the period, as she notched her 7th goal of the season at 16:33 of the period to make the score 3-2 heading into the third. St. Lawrence penalties in the second period gave Dartmouth several key chances, and Trunzo capitalized by collecting a rebound off of a shot from Julia Bronson and punching it past Guckian to set up a dramatic third period.

Clemis had plenty to do with her team regaining momentum in the contest, as the junior made 17 clutch saves in the period to keep St. Lawrence from adding to their cushion.

The two teams battled in a highly competitive third period, but St. Lawrence proved to be too much for the Big Green, as they scored two goals only 3:02 apart to seal their eighth conference win of the season.

Duggan re-established her team’s two goal lead with her 14th of the season at 11:23 while the Saints skated on the power play. As Harbec worked the puck back to the blue line, Guay let loose a hard slap shot that again provided a big rebound in front of Clemis. Duggan proved to be the beneficiary as she banged home the rebound at 11:23 of the third period to put St. Lawrence ahead 4-2.

With the game’s outcome still in doubt, junior Marianna Locke gave her team a coveted insurance goal at 14:25 to complete the game’s scoring. Wallace again provided the helper as she sent a long shot towards Clemis from the point. However, Locke, who was screening the Dartmouth goaltender, deflected the shot over the goal line to put the Scarlet and Brown on top by the final score of 5-2.

St. Lawrence finished with a 47-24 advantage in shots on goal, while each team was 1-of-6 on the power play. Clemis made 42 saves, including 12 in the final period, but dropped to 8-5-2 on the season. Guckian made 22 saves, including seven in the third period, to improve to 12-7-0 .

“I thought we came out of the gate well and put a lot of pressure on them to grab the early lead,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “I give Dartmouth a ton of credit for their effort climbing back into the game down a few players, but I thought we did a lot of positive things that we can take with us into next weekend’s games.”

St. Lawrence will continue their current home stand next weekend when they welcome the Central New York duo of Cornell and Colgate to Appleton Arena for a pair of ECAC Hockey contests. The puck will drop in the weekend opener between the Saints and Big Red on Friday, January 18 at 7:00pm.

NO. 7 SAINTS UNABLE TO SOLVE KESSLER AS

NO. 3 HARVARD EARNS 2-0 VICTORY

Jan. 11: The No. 7 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team fell behind No. 3 Harvard University only 2:43 into the game, and thanks to a solid performance in net by Christina Kessler, the Crimson never looked back on their way to a 2-0 victory over the Saints in a pivotal ECAC Hockey contest on Friday night in Appleton Arena.

The win moves Harvard to 15-1-0 overall on the season, but perhaps more importantly, it kept the team’s perfect mark in conference play in tact at 12-0-0 and gives the Crimson a big lead in the standings. St. Lawrence, on the other hand, dropped to 14-7-0 ( 7-2-0) on the season after being shut out at home for the first time since January 21, 2006.

Though the first period was very fast-paced and competitive, Harvard’s Anna McDonald put the visiting squad ahead 1-0 at 2:43 of the first period. As McDonald moved in against a St. Lawrence defender, she lofted a soft wrist shot from the right circle that seemed to fool Saint goaltender Meaghan Guckian. The puck snuck under Guckian’s glove and the cross bar to put the Crimson ahead in the early going.

Harvard would have the primary chances to build on their lead in the first, as they were on a 5-on-3 advantage for over a minute. The St. Lawrence penalty kill unit was tough, however, and kept their team within striking distance at 1-0 at the end of one period of play.

St. Lawrence seemed to come out motivated in the second period, building a sizable advantage in shots on goal. However, Kessler was perfect again in the crease, making clutch save after clutch save to keep her team ahead, despite being out-shot 11-4 in the period. The Saints would also have a 5-on-3 advantage of their own midway through the period, but Harvard’s penalty kill unit was fantastic in killing the two player advantage.

With the Saints pressuring in the Crimson zone, the puck kicked out to the blue line, where Harvard’s Deborah Conway tipped it behind a St. Lawrence defender and out of the zone, creating a two-on-one chance with Randi Griffin. Conway showed her skill, bating the defenseman to play her before sending a beautiful pass right on Griffin’s stick. Guckian had little chance of stopping the play, and Harvard built their lead to 2-0 on Griffin’s first of the season at 14:14 of the second period.

The Saints continued to have quality chances throughout the third period, including a bid for senior Chelsea Grills who lifted a shot just high over the cross bar while Kessler was out of the play. Despite out-shooting Harvard 11-8 in the period, and 29-25 in the game, the Scarlet and Brown were unable to solve Kessler, and came away without a goal in Appleton for the first time since their 3-0 loss to Colgate almost two years ago.

Harvard’s penalty kill unit proved to be a difference in the contest, as St. Lawrence managed only nine shots on goal in seven power play opportunities. The Crimson, who remained the nation’s top defensive team allowing only 0.88 goals per game this season, improved to 17-8-4 against St. Lawrence in the all-time series.

“I thought it was a good hockey game, and that we played hard but came away empty-handed,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “They took advantage of a few chances, and we’ll need to come back tomorrow looking to score and pick up a win.”

Neither team was able to get much doing on the power play, as Harvard finished 0-for-5 to St. Lawrence’s

0-for-7 mark. Kessler improved to 14-1-0 on the season behind 29 stops, while Guckian fell to 11-7-0 in a

23-save effort.

St. Lawrence will look to rebound tomorrow afternoon when they welcome Dartmouth College to Appleton Arena for a game that could have major playoff implications down the road. The puck will drop on the Saints and Big Green at 4:00pm.