ECAC Round Up: Harvard Stays in Second Despite Loss to Princeton

The Harvard women's hockey team split its two ECAC games this weekend, beating Yale 4-2 on Saturday before falling to Princeton 3-1 on Sunday. The Crimson (16-7-0, 15-3-0 ECAC) had been hoping to come away with two wins on the weekend and move within striking distance of Dartmouth going into their showdown at Bright on Saturday afternoon.

Instead, even a victory over the Big Green would still leave the Crimson one point behind Dartmouth and in need of help from other teams in the ECAC to claim the championship.

Dartmouth (19-1-1, 16-1-1) was on the road last weekend and played well in a 5-3 non-conference win over Wisconsin. Junior forward Kristen King netted a hat trick for the Big Green. Dartmouth has a tough schedule this weekend with two big showdowns against ECAC foes. The Big Green is on the road against No. 2 Harvard on Saturday and No. 4 Brown on Sunday.

Brown (14-3-3, 11-3-3) was solid in two big victories this past weekend. The Bears soundly defeated Princeton 6-2 on Saturday and shut out Yale 3-0 on Sunday. Brown received goals from six different players, including three in a span of 2:26 in the third period, in the win over the Tigers.

A goal by Brown's Kathleen Kauth just 51 seconds into the game was all the Bears needed in the win over Yale. Brown, fourth in the ECAC standings, will host Boston College on Saturday and Dartmouth on Sunday.

St. Lawrence (17-5-3, 13-3-2) notched two victories this weekend with the help of its high-scoring offense. The Saints defeated Providence 6-3 on Saturday and handed Northeastern a 5-2 loss on Sunday. St. Lawrence was able to capitalize on its power-play opportunities, converting 4-of-6 on Saturday and 2-of-5 on Sunday. The Saints, currently third in the ECAC, will host Maine and New Hampshire next weekend.

New Hampshire (14-13-0, 10-8-0) was walloped 10-1 by Team USA in an exhibition game on Saturday. Junior forward Kira Misikowetz scored the only goal for the Wildcats. New Hampshire will be on the road against Cornell and St. Lawrence next weekend.

Meanwhile, Northeastern (13-11-1, 10-7-1) suffered defeats in each of its games last weekend. The Huskies were beaten 3-2 by Cornell on Saturday and 5-2 by St. Lawrence on Sunday. Northeastern allowed two Big Red power-play goals on nine penalties in its first loss and two more on seven penalties in Sunday afternoon's loss to the Saints.

The Huskies will try and buckle down defensively in their two games versus Providence this weekend.

The Friars (16-9-3, 8-7-3) salvaged last weekend by earning two points in a 4-1 win over Cornell after losing to St. Lawrence 6-3 on Saturday. Freshman defender Meredith Roth scored what would prove to be the game winner for the Friars late in the first period. Providence's first game against Northeastern this weekend will be on the road before returning home to face the Huskies again on Sunday.

Niagara (15-12-3, 7-10-3) and Maine (11-12-1, 6-11-1) split their games this weekend. Niagara, led by Tania Pinelli's 24 saves, shut out Maine 2-0 on Friday night. Maine found its offense on Saturday and held on for a 4-3 advantage over the Purple Eagles despite giving up two goals in the last four minutes of the game.

Maine will be on the road versus St. Lawrence and Cornell this weekend. Niagara will host Princeton Friday night.

Princeton (11-10-2, 6-10-2) followed up its 6-2 loss to Brown on Saturday with a 3-1 upset over Harvard. Despite being outshot by a margin of 2-1 in the game against the Crimson, the Tigers prevailed on the strong goaltending of Sarah Ahlquist and the conversion of its only two power play opportunities with two goals. Princeton will be on the road next Saturday against Niagara.

Cornell (9-13-1, 6-11-1) was a winner on Saturday, upsetting Northeastern 3-2, but found itself on the opposite side of the scoreboard Sunday, falling to Providence 4-1. Danielle Bilodeau scored the game winner over the Huskies on the power play with under five minutes remaining in the third period. The Big Red will play host to New Hampshire and Maine this weekend.

Yale (3-19-2, 2-17-1) lost both its games this past weekend. The Bulldogs only managed two goals the entire weekend, and with only 38 goals on the year, Yale claims the unwanted title of the ECAC team with fewest goals. The 3-0 loss to Brown was the seventh time this season Yale has failed to tally a point in a game.

Yale is idle this weekend and will next take the ice against New Hampshire on Feb. 24.

Boston College (5-23-0, 1-20-0) did not compete in ECAC action this past weekend but did defeat Boston University 5-0 in the Beanpot Consolation on Tuesday night for just their sixth win of the season. Boston College will be back in ECAC action at Brown this Saturday.