Last Time Out
The Dutchwomen were swept in their home-and-home series with backyard rivals RPI. On Friday the Dutchwomen trailed by only one goal heading into the third period but couldn't overcome an RPI multi-goal third period as they fell 4-1. On Saturday the Dutchwomen, donning their Pink jerseys in honor of their seventh annual Pink at the Rink game, were unable to register a goal in a penalty filled 3-0 defeat.
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On Friday, Engineer forward Ali Svoboda kicked off the scoring 12:32 into the first period, with the assist going to Mari Mankey. The Engineers doubled their total at the 16-minute mark, as Laura Horwood took an assist from Hannah Behounek. Horwood took control of the puck at the top of the near circle and carried it towards the net before taking a hard shot past junior goaltender Shenae Lundberg.
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Senior forward Stefanie Thomson tallied her nation-leading sixth power play goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the first period. Sophomore forward Kathryn Tomaselli dropped a backhand pass to senior captain Maddy Norton along the right-hand boards. Norton fired a pass to Thomson, who was posted in the slot. Thomson fired a one-timer past the blocker of the Engineer goaltender.
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The teams played a scoreless second period before Rensselaer's Madison Marzario capitalized on a power play opportunity just 46 seconds into the third stanza. Heidi Huhtamaki and Jordan Smelker assisted on the goal.
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Svoboda notched her second goal of the game, and fifth of the season, at 3:31 of the third, as Smelker recorded her second helper of the game, setting the final score.
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RPI controlled the majority of the game, out-shooting Union, 41-11, and holding a 32-22 advantage in faceoffs.
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Lundberg, the Dutchwomen starter, took the loss after just one period of action, making 12 saves. Backup netminder Madeleine Dahl finished with 25 saves, including a game-high 18 in the second period.
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On Saturday the game was determined by a flurry of penalties in the first two periods. The first period saw both teams take three penalties but neither team was able to break through on their power play opportunities.
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The second period saw both teams commit four penalties including a pair of roughing calls dished out to both sides. RPI gained the advantage in the physical play and opened up the scoring on a power play mid way through the period.
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Lauren Walsh tapped in a goal off the shin pads of a Dutchwomen defender. Walsh carried the momentum from her first tally as she tallied just six minutes later off the rush. The period ended with the Engineers leading by two.
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Union continued to battle down the stretch but were unable to capitalize on their two power play opportunities. In a last ditch effort to get on the scoreboard Union pulled junior goaltender Shenae Lundberg with 1:30 left in the period for a 6-4 advantage as the Engineers were already killing off a penalty. Union was unable to capitalize on the advantage as Jordan Smelker tallied the empty net goal with 30 seconds remaining in the period.
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The Dutchwomen outblocked the Engineers 12-9, including three by junior defenseman Alex Tancrell-Fontaine.
Scouting the Crimson
The fifth ranked Crimson come into the weekend with sole possession of first place in the ECAC standings. Coming off a weekend sweep of Colgate and Cornell, Harvard comes into the weekend with a record of 14-2-2 and 10-2-1 in conference play. The Crimson have only been defeated by ECAC opponents this year (Yale 2-0 and RPI 2-1).
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Harvard is skating with a short bench this year as Michelle Picard and Lyndsey Fry join head coach Katey Stone as members of the USA Hockey Women's National team that is competing in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The Crimson have 16 skaters and 2 goalies on the active roster.
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The underclassmen have provided 30 of the team's 52 goals this season.
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The Crimson special teams are the top in the nation (61.1% combined). Harvard has only allowed 2 power play goal on 83 attempts ( 97.6) while they have tallied 10 power play goals on 66 attempts (15.2%)
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The Crimson are led offensively by three forwards who rank in the top 50 scorers in the nation. Junior Hillary Crowe leads the group with 14 points (7-7-14) despite missing four games this season (14 games played). Sophomore Miye D'Oench leads the team in goals with 10 (10-7-17). She has registered at least two points four times on the season. Junior Samantha Reber rounds out the group by contributing 16 points (3-13-16) through 18 games.
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The Crimson blue line is led by Preseason All-ECAC team member Sarah Edney. Edney currently ranks in the top 15 in points per game from a defenseman (.67) after racking up 12 (4-8-12) points through 18 games. The junior is joined by other upperclassmen Elizabeth Parker and Marissa Gedman. Four freshman, Abigail Frazer, Briana Mastel, Natasha Rachlin and Robyn White round out the defense for Harvard.
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Goaltending duties have been handled so far by the December ECAC Goaltender of the Month, Emerance Maschmeyer. Maschmeyer has been outstanding this season, including racking up three ECAC Goaltender of the Week awards. Maschmeyer is 11-2-2 with a 1.33 GAA and a .955 save % (third highest in the nation). She is backed up by freshman Brianna Laing, a product of Noble and Greenough.
Scouting the Big Green
The Big Green come into the weekend sitting directly above the Dutchwomen in the ECAC standings after splitting their weekend series with Cornell (L, 0-3) and Colgate (W, 4-2). Dartmouth is 5-13-1 overall and 4-8-1 in conference play.
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Despite struggling for consistency in the win loss column. The Big Green have been effective in their special teams play. Their combined 53.3% is good for 11th in the nation. They have allowed only 10 power play goals on 96 penalty kills (89.6%) this season. They haven't been as potent on the power play but have racked up 10 power play goals on the season.
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Sophomore forward Lindsey Allen (10-5-15) and junior forward Karlee Odland (3-7-10)lead the Big Green offensively. Freshman Kennedy Ottenbreit is second on the team in goals with four (4-1-5).
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The Big Green are also inexperienced on the defensive side of the ice as senior Lauren Kelly and junior Morgan Illikainen are the only two upperclassmen along the blue line. They are joined by two sophomores Zoe Brennan, Olivia Whitford and two freshman, Emma Korbs and Eleni Tebano to round out the defensive corps for Dartmouth. So far this year Whitford Illikainen and Tebano have led the offense from the blue line after racking up 5 assists a piece.
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Goaltending duties have been mainly handled by senior Lindsay Holdcroft. She has recorded a 5-8-1 record with a 2.83 goals-against-average and .903 in 14 games this season. Freshmen Robyn Chemago has handled relief duties and has racked up a 0-4-0 record with a 3.04 goals-against-average and a .905 save-percentage.
Hockey Humanitarian
Union College women's hockey senior captain
Ashley Johnston has been named among 18 finalists for the 2014 BNY Mellon Hockey Humanitarian Award.
The award is given every year to a single hockey player (NCAA DI-III) who understands the importance of giving back to the community and building strong relationships with those around them. The award is given ever year in conjunction with the Hobey Baker Memorial Award at the Men's Frozen Four.
For her senior project, Johnston, a mechanical engineering major, is currently developing an adjustable below knee prosthetic for children that will grow with the child. The purpose of this project is to limit the financial burden placed on families who have to continually replace prosthetics as their child grows.
Her inspiration for this project came from Kristen Shinebarger, the same girl who is benefiting from the Pink at the Rink game. Johnston has become close with Kristen's family and is pushing her prosthetic through a design phase and should be building a model next semester. She is also pushing her idea on an international scale as she has applied to four conferences in both Canada and the U.S. to discuss her project.
Pink at the Rink
The Union College women's hockey team raised $4,018.50 for Kristen's Kause during the Pink at the Rink festivities during the week of Jan. 13.
The women's hockey student-athletes sold pink bracelets, ribbons, tee shirts and raffle tickets all week long during common hour in Reamer Campus Center. The Union College Athletics Department staff continued collecting donations and selling merchandise at the seventh annual Pink at the Rink game on Saturday Jan. 18.
The game is dedicated each year to raising cancer awareness and helping members of the Union College campus community battling cancer and supporting those living the effects of the disease. This year, the game was dedicated members of the Union community affected by cancer, including baseball student-athlete Justin Lloyd, men's lacrosse student-athlete Nate Greenberg and 11 year old Union fan Kristen Shinebarger.
All proceeds were donated to Kristen's Kause, a Union College Athletics Department wide imitative that was put in place two years ago to support 11-year old Kristen Shinebarger as she continues to overcome the devastating effects of Ewings Sarcoma.
