W. Icers Look to Gain In ECACH Standings

After split results last weekend, the women’s hockey team will travel to take on Quinnipiac today and Princeton tomorrow in two league games that are important for deciding the team’s standings in the ECAC conference.
“Going into this weekend, we need to take what we brought in last weekend and just continue off of that note, because we did really well against Clarkson,” said sophomore defender Amber Moore.[img_assist|nid=34820|title=Moving up|desc=Sophomore defenseman Sam Wauer (11) and the Red would like to improve their seventh-place ranking.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
Cornell (11-10-2, 7-7-2 ECAC) is currently tied for seventh in its conference and would like to rack up more points this weekend in order to improve its standings. The Red split its last two weekends, but the team’s dominant 4-1 win over Clarkson was a good indication that Cornell may be on its way to more success.
“Last time when we played Princeton and Quinnipiac, we kind of left on a sour note, because we lost to Princeton, so I think this will definitely be a chance to come back at full force,” Moore said.
In the Red’s last matchup with Quinnipiac (3-21-4, 2-10-4 ECAC Hockey) earlier this season, the two teams left the game in a 2-2 tie. This time around, Cornell hopes to edge out the Bobcats and secure a clear victory.
“Quinnipiac is a very disciplined team, and we’re just going to have to go into it like we have been with all of the other games,” said sophomore defender Sam Wauer. “Just keep the momentum that we’ve been getting from the last couple wins that we got and the good game that we had against St. Lawrence.”
The Bobcats are coming from two tough games last weekend, having lost to Brown, 3-0 and Yale, 2-1. Freshman forward Chelsea Illchuk scored the team’s only goal in the loss against Yale, and has made three goals for the Bobcats.
Senior forward Elyse Cole leads her team in points with 17, and junior forward Janine Duffy has made nine assists and seven goals. Quinnipiac’s junior goalkeeper Nanna Holm-Glaas holds a .881 saves percentage.
Princeton (13-9-1, 10-6-0 ECAC) is currently ranked fifth in the ECAC standings. On their home ice, the Tigers lead in the series against Cornell 21-8-2, and the team defeated the Red earlier this season, 6-3. The Tigers had mixed results last weekend, and broke their six-game winning streak after defeating Yale, 3-2, but falling to Brown, 2-1, in overtime.
“We know that Princeton is going to be a pretty big challenge so we’re going to have to keep up our game. It’s going to be intense too because it’s an Ivy League game and those are always a lot of fun,” Wauer said.
The Tigers have a strong defensive line, and four of the team’s goals last weekend were scored by defenders — three from senior Katherine Dineen and one from sophomore Laura Martindale. After making two assists last weekend, junior forward Melanie Wallace leads her team with 21 points.
In goal, Princeton’s Kristen Young totaled 29 saves in the team’s two games last weekend and has a .918 saves percentage.
Although taking on this team will be a challenge for the Red, the team is prepared for whatever comes its way this weekend. This is one of the last weekends before the playoffs, and the team knows how to step it up under pressure.
“It’s kind of crunch time at this time of year so everyone’s focused,” Wauer said.