SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union women's ice hockey team will be concluding their 2012-13 season as they welcome visiting Colgate and No. 3 Cornell to Messa Rink for a pair of games. The game against the Raiders will start Friday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. while the Big Red and Dutchwomen will faceoff Saturday, February 23 at 4:00 p.m.
Class of 2013
Seniors Nicole Bartlett, Rhianna Kurio, Alana Marcinko, Emma Rambo and Jeannie Sabourin will be honored by coaches, teammates, friends and family after the conclusion of Saturday's game against Cornell for "Senior Night."
Last Time Out
Union (7-21-4, 0-16-4 ECAC Hockey) was able to earn one point over the weekend as the Dutchwomen were able to tie against Yale. However, the Bears pounced on the Dutchwomen with a two-goal first period and were able to hang on, giving Union a 2-1 defeat.
After two periods of scoreless play for the Dutchwomen, Stefanie Thomson tallied her fourth goal of the 2012-13 campaign to narrow down the deficit to one. However, the offense could not knock in the equalizer as Brown was able to capture the season series between the two schools in the loss. In the game against Yale, freshman Madeline Dahl made her first collegiate start as she kept Yale off the scoreboard in the first two periods. After a Yale goal by Kate Martini early in the third, the Dutchwomen opted for the extra skater in the final minutes. Co-captain Rhianna Kurio was able to tally the equalizer as she scored with just 16 seconds left in regulation. Shenae Lundberg came in to finish the game for Union as Dahl left with an injury to stop all five shots in overtime to preserve the tie.
Scouting Colgate
Colgate (9-19-3, 4-13-3 ECAC Hockey) comes into the final weekend of play in ninth place and fighting for the final playoff spot. The Raiders were not able to come away with any wins over the weekend as they fell to Dartmouth and Harvard with scores of 3-2 and 5-2 respectively.
Brittany Phillips is the leading scorer for the Raiders as she boasts 21 points on 14 goals and seven assists. Jenna Klynstra paces the squad in assists with 15 as she has five goals to her credit as well. Colgate has six skaters in which have tallied 10 points or more.
In net, Ashlynne Rando has started 23-of-26 games played for the Raiders, holding a 7-13-3 record with a 3.12 goals against average and an .898 save percentage. Susan Allen has started in all eight games she has played this season and has compiled a 2-6-0 record, a 4.41 goals against average and a .865 save percentage.
Offensively, the Raiders average 1.81 goals per game while conceding a league-high 3.61 goals per game. Colgate have been given 135 penalties for 270 minutes this season, averaging out to 8.75 minutes per contest. On the power play, the Raiders rank 29th in Division I with 18 goals in 136 chances, a 13.24% success rate. On the penalty kill, Colgate has been successful 72% of the time going 90-125 when a skater down. Additionally, the Raiders have tallied four shorthanded goals which ranks fifth among Division I members.
Series Against Colgate
The Dutchwomen and Raiders have met 26 times in their history but the Dutchwomen have yet to defeat the Raiders. In their last meeting back on February 2, Colgate struck three times before Union could get a goal as the Raiders came away with a 3-1 win at Starr Rink. Four of the last six contests have been decided by one goal and the two schools have been in only one overtime match in their history.
Scouting Cornell
Into the last week of play, No. 3/4 Cornell (21-5-1, 16-3-1 ECAC Hockey) is ranked first in ECAC Hockey after coming away with a win against Harvard and a tie against Dartmouth. The Big Red were able to take down the Crimson 3-1 but were unable to score the go-ahead goal as Cornell settled for a 1-1 draw against the Big Green.
Brianne Jenner paces ECAC Hockey in scoring as she has eclipsed the 50-point mark with 28 goals and 25 assists for 53 points. Only nine other skaters in Division I have more than 50 points and she is just one of two skaters that hail from ECAC Hockey. Jillian Saulnier leads the team in assists as she has dished out 31 assists for the squad. Cornell holds 11 skaters that have scored 10 points or more this season.
On defense, Lauren Slebodnick ranks sixth among all Division I goaltenders in goals against average as the junior has compiled a 1.41 GAA with a .931 save percentage and 18-5-1 record. Katelyn Pippy and Stefannie Moak has each appeared in three games for Cornell this season. Pippy has started in two of the three games and has a shutout to her credit while Moak has one start under her belt.
The Big Red boasts the league's best offensive output averaging 3.93 goals per contest and the league's second best defense limiting their opponents to 1.52 goals per game. Cornell has tallied 19 goals on the man-advantage going 19-for-115, a 16.52% success rate. The penalty kill unit for Cornell ranks second best in the league and in Division I as the Big Red has just conceded 10 power play goals in 131 chances, a 92.4% conversion rate. However, Cornell surrenders the most penalty minutes in the league, averaging 10.81 minutes per contest.
Series Against Cornell
The Dutchwomen has just one win in 18 contests against Cornell in their history. The last win against Cornell dates back to February 28, 2004 in which Union defeated the Big Red 3-1 at Messa Rink. Union is still seeking their first-ever win against a ranked opponent in the Division I era.
Break Out the Erasers
Christine Valente continues to excel for the Dutchwomen special teams unit as she netted her fourth power play goal in the loss against Quinnipiac. Her four power play goals tie a single-season record, which is held by Lauren Hoffman (2007-08) and Elizabeth Flanagan (2001-02).
Coach Claudia Asano Barcomb has posted the most wins in her head-coaching career in a single season with seven thus far. She needs four more to tie the program high in a single season in the Division I era (Fred Quistgard - 11, 2002-03).
Getting the “W”
The Dutchwomen have registered seven wins this season, the third most in their program history and the second most in the Division I era. Union has compiled the most wins since the 2009-10 campaign in which Claudia Asano Barcomb guided the Dutchwomen to five wins. Additionally, the Dutchwomen set a new season-high in their Division I era in non-conference wins with seven this season.
Salvaging the Tie
Union has matched their program-high of four ties in their come from behind bid against Yale. In three of the four draws, the Dutchwomen were trailing in the match to level the score. The last time Union earned four ties in a season was last season when they went 4-26-4.
Flashing the Glove
Shenae Lundberg has eclipsed over 1,000 career saves this season. The Peterborough, N.H. native ranks fourth among all goaltenders in saves (719) in the ECAC and ninth in Division I in minutes played. She also set a new personal season-high in saves with her performance against Harvard and Dartmouth back on January 4 and 5th. She also tallied her first collegiate shutout in a 1-0 win against Penn State. She now has 1,101 saves in 43 games played.
Cast the First Stone
When the Dutchwomen have scored the first goal of the match, the Dutchwomen hold a 6-3-1 record against their opponents.
Record Book Watch
With the Dutchwomen's wins against Maine, Shenae Lundberg notched her seventh win of her career, putting her tied for second in all-time wins in program history with Heather Olney (2001-02). Lundberg also ranks second in wins in a single season (6), eighth in career saves (1,101) and within the top-10 in save percentage and goals against average in a single season. Teammate Alana Marcinko has six wins, which ranks tied for third in team history and ranks fifth in career saves with 1239. In addition, one more shutout will give the netminder the all-time record in career shutouts. Forward Stefanie Thomson is now ninth in career goals (15) with her goal in the contest against Brown. Christine Valente trumped her season-high of three power play goals last year with her score against Quinnipiac (Dec. 1). Valente needs one more to break the program high in power play goals in one season. Only two Dutchwomen skaters have accomplished this feat, Lauren Hoffman (2008-09) and Elizabeth Flanagan (2001-02). Additionally, her and teammate Rhianna Kurio ranks tied for second in career power play goals with Jackie Koetteritz '10 and Elizabeth Flanagan. Kurio also is on pace to tie former teammate Dania Simmonds '12 all-time games played mark of 136 if she plays both games this weekend.
Career High
Sophomores Christine Valente, Shenae Lundberg, Kelly McGrath and Bryanne Panchuk, junior Stefanie Thomson and senior Rhianna Kurio are on pace to set personal bests this year. Valente set a new career-high in assists and points in the loss against No. 5 Cornell. Lundberg has set career highs in every statistical category for goaltenders and earned her first shutout of her collegiate career in a 1-0 win against Penn State. Tancrell-Fontaine doubled her points from last season and leads all Union defenseman in points. McGrath has surpassed her rookie season in all offensive categories while Panchuk eclipsed her assist tally from last season, tallying on in a loss against Brown. Thomson has set a new career-high in assists and has matched her personal best in points. Kurio has set a new career-high in points with nine with her game-tying goal against Yale.
100 Games Club
Four skaters have played in 100 games or more in their seasons with the Dutchwomen. Co-captain Rhianna Kurio leads the entire team with 134 games played followed by Emma Rambo (133), Jeannie Sabourin (122) and Nicole Bartlett (117). The next skater that is on pace to break a hundred games this season is Maddy Norton (99).
Penalties
The Dutchwomen are the second least penalized team in Division I averaging 6.84 (104-for-219) penalty minutes per game and second lowest in the ECAC. Union has skated in two games in which the Dutchwomen have not committed a penalty in regulation (Dec. 8 vs. Brown and Jan. 4 vs. Harvard). Union is on pace to set the second lowest amount of penalty minutes per season. The lowest season total was 189 back in the 2002-03 season.
ECAC Accolades
Lundberg compiled a 2-2-1 overall record in the month of December with 144 saves, a .928 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average en route to earning ECAC Goaltender of the Month for December. The Peterborough, N.H. native was credited with two wins against Maine and earned a tie against Yale. Additionally, she tied her career-high of 41 saves in a losing effort against Quinnipiac.
This was the first time a Union women's hockey player has been named for a monthly award by the ECAC. Lundberg has also been named ECAC Goaltender of the Week twice this season back on October 23 and November 13.
Nailbiters
In the seven games that Union has won this season, six of the games have come with a one-goal margin. In each of those wins, Union has scored in the third period for the game-winner. The Dutchwomen are 6-6-2 in games decided by one goal while all three overtime games have ended in a draw.
Light the Lamp
When Union scores at least three goals in a game, the Dutchwomen are 5-0-0. However, when an opponent holds Union to under three goals, Union is 2-19-3.
Game-Tying Goals
Rhianna Kurio's last minute game-tying goal against Princeton (Nov. 10) and Yale (Feb. 16) as well as Alex Tancrell-Fontaine's power play goal against Yale (Dec. 7) puts the duo with nine other skaters in the ECAC with game-tying goals this season. The reigning Unsung Hero award recipient is just one of four skaters in the league with multiple game-tying goals.
Power Play
The Dutchwomen have tallied 17 goals on the man-advantage this season, which sets a new program high in a season. Christine Valente, Courtney Turner, Jessica Kaminsky and Rhianna Kurio have all tallied at least three power play goals. The Dutchwomen have four of their seven wins on the season when the power play unit scores at least once.
When Valente Registers a Point
Christine Valente has registered at least one point in every tie or win the Dutchwomen have earned this season. The only exception was Union's win against Penn State in a 2-1 victory. (Jan. 12). Union is 6-2-3 when Valente has tallied a point. In games that Valente has not registered a point, the Dutchwomen are 1-16-0.
Class of 2016
Rebecca Babiak, Jessica Kaminsky, Kathryn Tomaselli and Courtney Turner have all netted goals on the season. Turner leads all skaters in points (5-8-13) and Kaminsky paces the Dutchwomen in goals scored with six. The Class of 2016 has already surpassed the goal total of the previous three freshman classes.
