Coming off two victories last weekend in the final games of its exhibition schedule, the Red women’s hockey team will take the ice at Lynah Rink this evening to kick off the regular season with an ECACHL game against Yale. On Saturday, the squad will play its second game in as many days when it takes on Brown in the afternoon.
The first of the Red’s two wins the previous weekend was a 2-1 defeat of York on Saturday night, behind goals from senior assistant captain Vicki Hodgkinson and sophomore Beth DiBella. On Sunday afternoon, Hodgkinson once again found the back of the net as the Red topped the University of Toronto, 3-1. Sophomores Brittany Forgues and Miranda Callaghan added the Red’s two other goals to round out the scoring.
“I think the best thing that came out of our last two preseason games was that we played as a team and we stayed within our system,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “We created chances on the offensive side by crashing the net, and we did not give up many opportunities on the other end. In other words, we just played a very solid game all around.”
When the squad takes the ice tonight it will be returning the top-6 scorers from a year ago, including its leading scorer, sophomore Brianne Schmidt. Schmidt had nine goals and seven assists for 16 points as a freshman in 2004-05. Hodgkinson was second on the team with five goals and eight assists, a total of 13 points. Junior Halina Kristalyn and senior assistant captain Jen Munhofen were tied for third on the team with 12 points each.
On the other end of the ice, the Red brings back all three goalies from last year’s team, with senior Flora Vineberg leading the way. The most experienced of the squad’s goalies, Vineberg will share time with juniors Beth Baronick and Sarah McConnachie. All three have seen time in between the pipes for the Red, which only adds to the team’s depth.
Yale enters the weekend having already played two games this season. The Bulldogs are 0-1-1 overall and 0-0-1 in the ECACHL. Yale kicked off the season with a 2-2 tie against the newest member of the ECACHL, Quinnipiac. The Bobcats scored two goals in the final 8:01 of the game, including a shorthanded goal, to pull even with the Bulldogs and deny them the extra point.
After losing the two-goal lead against Quinnipiac, Yale took on Connecticut in the Nutmeg Classic and fell 3-0.
“To beat Yale we are going to have to be disciplined in all facets of the game, not only penalty-wise but also position-wise,” Derraugh said. “[Yale] has a very strong goaltender and some very fast forwards, so we are going to have to be very alert on defense to score goals. We are also going to have to get to the net and try to create second chance opportunities.”
Saturday’s opponent, Brown, has also played two games, going 1-1-0 this season. The Bears played a home-and-home series with New Hampshire to start the year, splitting the two games. The first game of the series, which took place on Oct. 28, saw the Bears fall 5-1. Two days later Brown rebounded, topping New Hampshire 3-2. Hayley Moore leads the team in scoring with two goals and an assist for three points this season.
“I haven’t personally seen Brown,” Derraugh said, “but from what I have heard you really need to be aware of what is happening on the ice when you play them. You have to know what you are going to do as soon as you get the puck because they really do pressure you all over the ice.”
Archived article by Jacob Lieberman
Sun Staff Writer