W. Hockey Faces Stiff Competition

The ECAC has divided women’s ice hockey into two divisions this year. Dartmouth and St. Lawrence will join Harvard in the Northern division, which could make for an exciting season—these teams were three of the four competing in the Frozen Four last year.

1. Dartmouth

After winning the Ivy League and the ECAC regular season title last year, Dartmouth (26-5-1) looks to have similar success this season.

Despite losing key players to graduation, the Big Green is a well-rounded team with power in all positions. Coach Judy Oberting, now in her fourth season, has brought in six freshmen to fill the void.

In the net the team will have to make up for the loss of last year’s starting goalie, but will have two good players contending for the position. Junior Amy Ferguson will most likely be called upon to fill the hole, after playing in 16 games last year and posting a 2.29 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

Offensively, the team will look to junior Carly Haggard, who scored 21 goals in 27 games last year. Her 36 points were the 10th best in the league in 2000-2001. Last year’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, sophomore Sarah Clark, and first team All-Ivy forward senior Kristin King will also work to provide offensive power for the team.

Senior Correne Bredin will provide stability at the blueline for the Big Green. Bredin earned All-American honors last year after recording 12 goals and 20 assists for a total of 32 points. She is already second on the career points list of Dartmouth defensemen, with 110 points.\

2. St. Lawrence

The St. Lawrence Saints (24-8-3) hope to take the championship away from Dartmouth this season. St. Lawrence knocked off Dartmouth 3-1 in the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four before losing the championship game to Minnesota-Duluth, 4-2.

Even after losing five seniors to graduation, the team brings a wealth of experience to the rink as it has 17 returning players.

The team will look to leading scorer Amanda Sargeant to be as productive this year as she was last year. In 2000-2001, she had 20 goals and 20 assists. Transfer student Ricki-Lee Doyle will also add to the scoring power after having an extremely productive year last season with 26 goals at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.

Second-year captain Meghan Maguire will anchor the defense for St. Lawrence. She is the Saints leader in career points, goals, and assists among defensemen. Behind Maguire will be AHCA All-American sophomore Rachel Barrie, who was also the ECAC Rookie of the Year last year. She was 15-5-2 with 2.07 goals against average, three shutouts and a 0.928 save percentage.

Third year coach Paul Flanagan was the ECAC Coach of the Year in 2000-2001.

St. Lawrence will be an opposing force this season in the new ECAC Northern Division, fighting for the division title.

3. Brown

The Brown Bears (19-7-3) come into this season with a combination of experience and youth, as the team includes seven players who played in every game last season.

The team will be able to rely on its defense.

In goal, the team will mostly likely start junior Pam Dreyer, who was first in the nation in goaltending last year with a .941 save percentage. She also posted seven shutouts and a 1.61 goals against average. She earned second team All-Ivy honors and an Honorable Mention All-ECAC. Sophomore Katie Germain will act as the teams’ reserve goalie. Captain Kim Insalaco, one of the nation’s top forty players, will lead the defense at the blueline.

The offense should round out this year’s team evenly, with the help of junior Kristy Zamora and the speedy Courtney Johnson. Three freshmen will also vie for spots on the front line.

Brown will be a stronger competitor this year, after finishing fourth in the league in 2000-2001. The team is well rounded with a great deal of depth in every position.

4. Harvard

See page B-4.

5. Princeton

Princeton (13-13-3) hopes to improve upon its .500 season in 2000-2001 with the addition of several freshmen to make up for the graduation of three seniors last year. This young team is still learning to skate together, but looks to be more powerful than in the past.

Offensively, the Tigers will have to make up for the fact that would-be senior Andrea Kilbourne will be out of school for the 2001-2002 academic year due to her selection to the 2001-2002 United States Hockey National team. After leading the Tigers in scoring for the past three years, she will be severely missed.

Sophomore Gretchen Anderson and others will be relied on to make up for the loss.

Junior Sarah Ahlquist will steady the defense in the net. In front of her at the blueline, seniors Wanda Mason and Aviva Grumet-Morris will work to stop the opposing offensive line.

The Tigers will suffer this year from the loss of Kilbourne, but the team still has enough depth to compete to earn a spot in the middle of the division at the end of the year.

6. Cornell

Despite losing only three seniors to graduation last year, Cornell (10-18-1) has one of the largest groups of freshman it has had in many years. Seven newcomers look to add depth to the Big Red’s team.

Co-captain Sarah Olivier will lead the Big Red offense this season. Olivier was recently named to play for the ECAC North All-Star team in a game against the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team on Oct. 28. She had the third most points on the team last year, with 22. Last year’s second-leading scorer Lindsay Murao will join Olivier on the attack. Murao had 23 points last year.

On defense, the team will rely on junior Brooke Bestwick, who was named to the ECAC North team with Olivier. She had 20 points as a defenseman last season, tops among Big Red defensemen.

In goal, junior Sanya Sandahl will probably get the most minutes, after posting an impressive .875 save percentage for Cornell last seas

On paper, the Big Red lacks the leaadership and firepower to be a particularly outstanding team this season, but will look to the future with its large incoming class.

7. Yale

Yale (3-23-2) has only two seniors on its team this year but hopes that its strong group of underclassmen can work together to put wins on the board.

Captain Katie Hirte will split time in the net for the Bulldogs with sophomore Nicolette Franck. Last season Hirte had 315 saves, and Franck posted a 1.91 goals against average in her rookie year. This combination will provide extraordinary depth for Yale this season.

Junior Kaitlin Procaro will support the duo of goaltenders at the blueline. She led all Eli defensemen in goals last year.

Senior Sara Wood will lead the team offensively. She had the second most assists and the third most goals and points scored last season. Wood was selected for the ECAC All-Academic team the past two years. Junior Deanna McDevitt will join Wood on the front line. Despite tearing her ACL in the middle of last season, McDevitt had the second most goals and total points for Yale.

Yale will have a good anchor in goal this year, but its offense may not have the scoring power needed to win crucial games.

8. Colgate

The 2001-2002 season will mark the first year that Colgate (15-8-3) will play at a Division I level. The team has gone from being a club team to playing at the highest collegiate level in only four years.

It has been playing in a Division III bracket since it first earned varsity status under head coach Ted Wisner.

In addition to adjusting to the higher level of play, Colgate will also have to make up for the fact that three time all-American Heather Murphy is taking the fall semester abroad. Murphy is Colgate’s all time career-scoring leader, and the Raiders relied heavily on her last season. She will rejoin the team November 30, but the Raiders will not want to fall too far behind in the standings before she returns.

Sophomore Caitlin Hornyak, the second leading scoring player last year, will be joined by five freshman additions to keep the offense going while Murphy is gone.

On defense, second year captain Kelly Roos will lead the Raiders after earning 2001 ECAC All-Tournament honors last year. She has 42 career points. Behind the defense, two freshmen will vie with junior Jen Burtraw for the starting position in the net. Freshman Rebecca Lahar was one of the top five recruited goaltenders in the nation. Her decision to go to Colgate shows how hard Wisner has worked to bring in new recruits.

The team is young and new to the league, so this will be an educational season.

9. Vermont

Like Colgate, Vermont (14-8-2) is one of the expansion teams added to the Women’s ECAC this year. The team only earned varsity status in 1998 and spent the last few seasons in Division III.

The Catamounts will not only have to learn how to play at a higher level, but will have to overcome the graduation of 10 seniors last year, the most the team has ever lost.

The team will feel the blow the most on offense. The Catamounts’ three top scorers from last year’s squad graduated in the spring.

At the blueline, four players will return, including co-captain Jillian Giardina who has not missed a game since joining the team her freshman year. Lindsey Neilson will accompany Giardina on defense. Neilson was named to the 2001 ECAC D-III All-Rookie team last year.

In goal the team will rely on 2001 ECAC D-III Goaltender of the Year Tiffany Hayes.

The team earned its way into Division I with its play last year, but cannot be expected to give incredible production at the higher level. In years to come, after a few more recruiting classes come in, it may be a powerful force in the Northern division.