In the ECACHL, only 10 points separate the top team and Clarkson, Rensselaer, and Union, who are all in a seventh-place tie. Yet, what really shows the competitiveness of the league is the fact that the 10th-place team, Princeton, swept a weekend against Colgate and Cornell two weekends ago. This past weekend, conference action really heated up, as Quinnipiac was the only team to play a non-conference slate. Lynah Rink was one of seven rinks where ECACHL squads skated this past weekend, as the No. 5 Red (14-4-3, 9-3-2 ECACHL) took down Brown (3-13-5, 2-9-3), 4-3, on Friday night, and tied Yale (7-11-3, 6-7-2), on Saturday evening. Here’s a recap of what happened at the other six rinks:
Friday Night
Clarkson 3, St. Lawrence 2
The Saints (15-10-1, 9-5-0) got a late third-period goal from T.J. Trevelyan to make the score 2-2, but it was not enough, as the Golden Knights’ (13-11-2, 6-7-1) Shea Guthrie netted the game-winner at the 8:10 mark to seal the win at Clarkson’s Cheel Arena. The game was the first in the home-and-home weekend series between the two rivals.
Colgate 2, Yale 1 O.T.
Before skating to a tie with the Red the next night, the Bulldogs stormed into Colgate’s Starr Rink, battling the Raiders to the bitter end before succumbing to an overtime goal by Jon Smyth. The goalies stole the show in this matchup, as Yale’s Alec Richards made 36 stops, while his counterpart, Colgate’s Mark Dekanich, recorded 25 saves.
Dartmouth 5, Union 1
Much like its Nov. 12 win over the Red, the Green (10-10-1, 8-5-1), dismantled Union (12-11-5, 5-6-3), 5-1, prompting Dutchmen head coach Nate Leaman to pull starting goaltender Kris Mayotte, just as Cornell head coach Mike Schafer ’86 did with junior David McKee during Dartmouth’s 6-1 drubbing of the Red. Nick Johnson and David Jones, who each tallied a goal and an assist, led the Green in the convincing win.
Harvard 3, Rensselaer 1
The Crimson’s Bright Hockey Center was good to the Engineers (11-13-3, 5-6-3) for two periods, as they led 1-0 going into the final frame. Yet, Harvard (11-8-2, 8-7-1) got goals from Steve Mandes, Dan Murphy and Charlie Johnson before the midway point in the third period to seal the win.
Niagara 4, Quinnipiac 3
The day’s only non-conference game was also the only game in which the home team fell. Quinnipiac (13-14-0, 4-11-0), playing at the Northford Ice Pavillion, got three second-period goals to take a one-goal lead into the third period. But Niagara’s Tim Madsen and Les Reaney notched the game-tying and game-winning goals, respectively, to upend the Bobcats. Purple Eagle goaltender Scott Mollison made 35 stops on the night for the win.
Saturday Night
St. Lawrence 5, Clarkson 4
The Saints returned the favor to the Golden Knights at their home Appleton Arena after going down 3-1 in the first period. Trevelyan, who notched a pair of goals and an assist, led St. Lawrence on the offensive end. Despite giving up the three early goals, Saints goalie Justin Pesony settled down, allowing just a late goal on a 4-on-4 situation, and finished with 28 stops.
Colgate 5, Brown 2
After a heartbreaking loss to the Red the night before, the Bears became the second victim of the weekend at Starr Rink. The ECACHL-leading Raiders jumped all over Brown, as Ben Camper, Tyler Burton and Kyle Wilson all recorded scores in a three-goal run to start the game. Burton led the squad with a pair of tallies. Brown goalie Adam D’Alba was yanked from net after allowing all five Colgate goals.
Union 2, Harvard 1
Torren Delforte put home the game-winner at 9:18 in the second period, as the Dutchmen earned a road weekend split with the win at Bright Hockey Center. Delforte also recorded an assist on Union’s first score. Mayotte shook off his rust from the night before, stopping 26 shots, including 12 during the third period to preserve the one-goal lead.
Dartmouth 6, Rensselaer 3
The Green continued its scoring raid on its home ice at Thompson Arena, behind two goals from Kevin Swallow. The game not only gave Dartmouth a weekend sweep, it also marked the second time in as many nights that the opposing goalie was pulled, as Mathias Lange sat down in favor of Jordan Alford after allowing the first five goals of the game.
Quinnipiac 5, Niagara 2
The Bobcats earned revenge from the previous night’s loss, attacking the Purple Eagles early and often in the non-conference contest. In the first period, Quinnipiac out-shot Niagara 20-2, resulting in an early 2-0 lead. The shots never let up, as the Bobcats peppered the Purple Eagle net with 54 shots on the night.
Archived article by Chris Mascaro
Sun Sports Editor