Women's Hockey - Around the ECAC (Putting Together the Pieces)

Over the past week we’ve looked at the Engineers’ schedule, broken down the teams they’ll face, and opined on some of the strengths and weaknesses of the ECAC opposition. Let’s take a moment to wrap it up with a look at the preseason Coaches’ Poll and our own predictions for the ECAC this season. Below is a chart showing the league’s final standings from the past five seasons, along with the preseason poll results.



Taking a look at the poll and based on our review of the league’s members, there’s not much to disagree with in the coaches’ predictions. As is pretty typical of preseason polls, the coaches followed last season’s results fairly closely. Cornell and Clarkson are clear favorites to take the top two spots, with Harvard and Quinnipiac close behind. Either of the Crimson or the Bobcats could move up if they get a strong performance from their goaltenders.

St. Lawrence, Princeton, RPI, and Dartmouth are good picks to round out the playoff spots, but in what order is anybody’s guess. After the trouble Dartmouth had last season, it’s possible they could miss the playoffs for the second year in a row, something most would have considered unfathomable just a couple seasons ago. The coaches’ prediction of Princeton finishing in 6th could actually be a little on the low side as long as the Tigers’ upperclassmen come back stronger than last season. Experience will work in their favor in 2010-11. RPI, picked 7th, we feel to be pretty accurate. With a lot of talent to replace and a heavy dependence on some upperclassmen who did not have spectacular seasons last year, the Engineers could find themselves out of the playoffs just as easily as they could be in the top half of the league. A lot will depend on the performance of Sonja van der Bliek in net.

Rounding out the bottom of the conference are Colgate, Yale, Brown, and Union, four fairly safe picks to miss the playoffs again in 2010-11. While Brown and Union can pretty much be considered locks to finish 11th and 12th, Colgate and Yale could play spoiler to one of the teams picked to finish 5th-8th. Of Colgate and Yale, the Bulldogs look more likely to be the surprise team to climb out of the bottom third, with returning talent and goaltending that look a little stronger than the Raiders bring to the table.

Looking back a couple seasons in the final standings, it’s fairly obvious that last season’s results represented a big shakeup compared to the typical results of seasons past. This season’s results could give a better indication of whether that shakeup was a fluke, or if years of fairly uniform results could be out the window in favor of a new arrangement where Cornell, Clarkson, and Quinnipiac find themselves in the spotlight while Dartmouth and St. Lawrence struggle in the bottom half of the standings.

The ECAC schedule kicks off October 29th and 30th. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping an eye on these teams during nonconference play in order to get a better feel for what to expect once we get into league play. To catch a glimpse of the Engineers as they take to the ice for the first time this season, make your way to the Field House this Saturday at 4pm following the RPI-WPI football game for the team’s exhibition against the University of Montreal.

Finally, it’s hockey season!

Women's Hockey - Around the ECAC (Part III)

On Sunday, we trudged through the middle of the ECAC schedule and the bottom tier of the ECAC – Yale, Brown, and Union. Today we finish out the conference with Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell, and Colgate.

*****

Dartmouth

• Last Season's Record: 12-14-2, 9-12-1 ECAC (9th)
• Key Players: Amanda Trunzo (F, Sr), Camille Dumais (F, So), Sasha Nanji (D, So)
• Key Losses: Sarah Parsons (F, 20-20-40), Jenna Cunningham (F, 18-13-31), Mariel Lacina (G, .898%, 2.67 GAA)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 2-1 RPI (1/22/10 in Hanover), 5-2 RPI (2/13/10 in Troy)
• 2010-2011 games: 1/7/11 in Troy, 1/22/11 in Hanover.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 8th

RPI made huge strides against the Big Green last season, sweeping the season series to mark the first times the Engineers had defeated the Big Green since first playing them in 2006. Admittedly it was a down season for Dartmouth, who missed the playoffs for the first time with a 9th place finish in the ECAC. RPI could pick up another win or two next season, as Dartmouth suffers a big loss to graduation, including forwards Sarah Parsons and Jenna Cunningham, who combined for 71 points last year on a weak Dartmouth squad. All told, nearly 40% of Dartmouth’s scoring has graduated, leaving a lot to the returning forwards as only one forward arrives for the Big Green in the class of 2014.

Also graduating was Dartmouth’s starting goalie, Mariel Lacina, whose lackluster .898%, 2.67GAA was the best the Big Green had to offer. It’s hard to tell who will take the reins this season between incoming freshman Lindsay Holdcroft - who performed well on a HS boys’ team in the Pittsburgh area, and sophomore Whitney Woodcox, who posted a .871%, 2.73GAA in seven games last season. Neither looks to be a superstar at this point, and coupled with a weak offense, it could be a long season for the Big Green. Picked to take the last playoff spot by the coaches, Dartmouth is going to have to watch its back this season lest one of the other teams fighting for a playoff spot ousts them for the second year in a row.

*****

Harvard

• Last Season's Record: 20-8-5, 13-6-3 ECAC (T-3rd)
• Key Players: Kate Buesser (F, Sr), Jillian Dempsey (F, So), Liza Ryabkina (F, Jr), Leanna Coskren (D, Jr), Josephine Pucci (D, So)
• Key Losses: Christina Kessler (G, .944%, 1.39GAA), Randi Griffin (F, 11-10-21)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 4-2 RPI (1/23/10 in Boston), 3-2 RPI (2/12/10 in Troy)
• 2010-2011 games: 1/8/11 in Troy, 1/21/11 in Boston
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 3rd

Harvard hasn’t finished in the bottom half of the ECAC since the 1997-98 season, and it looks like this season will be another strong one for the Crimson, who return a talented class including Kate Buesser, last season’s New England Hockey Journal Player of the Year. Harvard will be without former top goaltender Christina Kessler, who missed the latter half of last season due to injury and has since graduated. Despite Kessler’s injury, the Crimson went on a tear late in the season, going 10-2-1 in their last 13 ECAC games before sweeping Princeton by a combined 9-2 score in the ECAC quaretfinals. They went on to lose to Clarkson in the ECAC semifinals, and after making the NCAA tournament as an at-large team, fell to Cornell in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Expect to see Laura Bellamy be the starting goalie for the Crimson early in the season, as her .921%, 1.68GAA held strong in the wake of losing Kessler last season. Harvard touts a strong recruiting class of seven freshmen this year, which should help reinforce an already-tough team.

Against the Crimson last season, RPI had the same unexpected success they had against Dartmouth. After earning their first win over the Crimson in the 2009 playoffs, RPI swept the season series against the Crimson in 2009-10, marking the first regular season wins over Harvard, as well as an impressive season sweep of the Harvard/Dartmouth travel pair. For a Harvard team that lost just six league games last season, this was a bit of a shock, and will be a tough feat for the Engineers to repeat this year.

*****

Cornell

• Last Season's Record: 21-9-6, 14-2-6 ECAC (1st)
• 2010 ECAC Tournament Champion
• 2010 NCAA Championship Runner-Up
• Key Players: Rebecca Johnston (F, Jr), Catherine White (F, Jr), Laura Fortino (D, So), Lauriane Rogeau (D, So), Amanda Mazzotta (G, Jr)
• Key Losses: Melanie Jue (F, 9-11-20), Liz Zorn (F, 5-11-16)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 3-1 Cornell (11/7/09 in Troy), 2-1 Cornell (2/19/10 in Ithaca).
• 2010-2011 games: 1/14/11 in Troy, 1/29/11 in Ithaca.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 1st (unanimous)

After challenging for the national championship last year (falling 3-2 in 3OT to Minnesota-Duluth in the championship game), Cornell loses very little during the offseason, and will come back as strong as (or stronger than) last season’s team. Top talent returns to the team in Catherine White, Laura Fortino, Lauriane Rogeau, and most of all junior goalie Amanda Mazzotta (.927%, 1.53GAA).

As a testament to the talent on the Cornell squad, eight Cornell players (out of nine invited to camp) made the 22-strong roster of the Canadian Under-22 National Team this summer. Among the players selected was forward Rebecca Johnston, a junior who took the 2009-2010 season off to play for Team Canada in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. She finished +9 with one goal and five assists in five Olympic games. In her first two seasons at Cornell she was the recipient of numerous accolades, including being named a RBK All-American, All-Ivy League, first team All-ECAC, and Patty Kazmaier Top 10 Finalist. Her return should give an even bigger punch to an already-strong Cornell offense.

Cornell brings in one of the top recruits of this offseason, last year’s captain and MVP of the Canadian Under-18 team, Jessica Campbell. Between the returning talent and the incoming recruiting class, Cornell is going to be the team to beat in the ECAC, and it would be pretty surprising if they didn’t make a run for the Frozen Four in 2011.

*****

Colgate

• Last Season's Record: 12-20-4, 8-10-4 ECAC (8th)
• Key Players: Brittany Phillips (F, So), Hannah Milan (F, Sr), Jordan Brickner (D, So)
• Key Losses: Katie Stewart (F, 24-15-39), Ali Edell (D, 3-11-14), Evan Minnick (F, 10-15-25), Marissa Dombovy (F, 6-11-17)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 10-4 RPI (11/6/09 in Troy), 3-2 Colgate (2/20/10 in Hamilton)
• 2010-2011 games: 1/15/11 in Troy, 1/28/11 in Hamilton
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 9th

Colgate has been a middle-of-the-road team since they’ve been in the ECAC, and there is little to suggest next season will be a breakout one for the Raiders. Selected to be the first team out of the playoffs by the coaches, Colgate has to worry about graduating three of its top four scorers, weak goaltending, and having a third of its roster comprised of freshmen in 2010-11.

Senior goaltender Lisa Plenderleith finished last season with a .890%, 3.17GAA overall, and an ECAC-worst .900% in ECAC play. With no freshmen goaltenders, the job will be hers to lose, and she’ll need to step it up in order to help a weak Colgate squad stay competitive on the ice. Freshman defenseman Shannon Doyle could help restore some scoring with a knack for setting up goals – she had a 18-79-97 line last season with the Toronto Junior Aeros last season, and earned several awards as a member of the Canadian Under-18 Team.

While it’s possible Colgate will sneak into one of the last playoff spots this season, it’s going to be an uphill battle. It’s more likely that the Raiders will be on the outside looking in come the end of February.

*****

With that, we’ve now had a look at each of the teams in the ECAC. Come back tomorrow when we put together the pieces, review the preseason coaches’ poll, and offer our thoughts on how the season might shake out.

Women's Hockey - Around the ECAC (Part II)

On Friday, we took a look at the first third of the Engineers’ ECAC schedule, consisting of St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Princeton, and Quinnipiac. While that presented a fair cross-section of the league as a whole, today’s teams finished in the bottom three of the ECAC last season. Let’s have a look at them – Yale, Brown, and Union.

*****

Yale

• Last Season's Record: 10-16-3, 8-13-1 ECAC (10th)
• Key Players: Samantha MacLean (D, Sr), Bray Ketchum (F, Sr), Aleca Hughes (F, Jr), Jackee Snikeris (G, Sr)
• Key Losses: Caroline Murphy (F, 8-3-11), Alyssa Clarke (D, 3-6-9)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 4-1 RPI (11/13/09 in Troy), 4-3 Yale (1/16/10 in New Haven).
• 2010-2011 games: 11/12/10 in New Haven, 2/5/11 in Troy.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 10th

Although Yale missed the playoffs last season, things don’t look altogether bleak for the Bulldogs this year. Goalie Jackee Snikeris had a good 09-10 season, posting a .927%, 2.47GAA on the year, and returns for her senior season. Seven of Yale’s eight top scorers return for another go, and they will need to find the net early to see success. In ECAC games where Yale scored first last season, they were 8-1. When surrendering the first goal, they went 0-12-1. Yale returns half of its top defensive pairing in junior Samantha MacLean. The other half, Alyssa Clarke, was one of two defensemen to graduate. A large incoming class of eight freshmen will replenish the roster, but with 17 returning players, youth really shouldn’t be an issue for this Bulldog squad.

Yale will be led by a new head coach in 2010-11, as Hillary Witt departed at the end of the 2009-10 season after eight years behind the bench. The Bulldogs made the ECAC playoffs six times in those eight seasons, and Witt was named ECAC Coach of the Year in 2002-2003. She will be succeeded by Joakim Flygh, a nine-year assistant coach at Minnesota-Duluth and Harvard, who has seen his teams make the NCAA tournament five of the past six seasons, and amass a combined .701 winning percentage over those years. Flygh brings to Yale a renewed commitment to success on the ice, and should be expected to start moving Yale back up the standings in the coming seasons. This could mean trouble for the middle of the pack, as the last 4 playoff spots should become even more contested than they already are. Remember that Dartmouth and Yale were both within 3 points of making the playoffs last season, so just an extra win here or there could be the difference that ends up shaking up the bottom of the playoff field.

*****

Brown

• Last Season's Record: 3-21-4, 1-18-3 ECAC (11th)
• Key Players: Laurie Jolin (F, So), Alena Polenska (D/F, So), Erica Kromm (D, Sr), Samantha Stortini (D, Sr), Paige Pyatt (D, Jr)
• Key Losses: Nicole Brown (F, 1-7-8), Sasha Van Muyen (F, 7-1-8)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 1-1 tie (11/14/09 in Troy), 2-0 RPI (1/15/10 in Providence).
• 2010-2011 games: 11/13/10 in Providence, 2/4/11 in Troy.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 11th

Brown has been in a real funk the past several seasons, missing the playoffs four years in a row after being a fixture in the top half of the ECAC standings since the early ‘90s. There has been speculation about a rift between head coach Digit Murphy and her players, as several players have left in the past few seasons before graduation, however Brown has issues that go beyond coaching (financial and administration support for the program being seen as major ones) that could well be contributors. Whatever the root problem, the result has been a mediocre on-ice product, something that comes as a shock to fans and supporters that were used to the Bears teams of yesteryear.

On the ice, the Bears return their top four scorers as well as starting goalie Katie Jamieson, who finished last season with a .911% and 3.21GAA. 4 players graduated but are being replaced by seven incoming freshmen, so there should be some competition for ice time in the coming season, always good for a team. The recruiting class is solid but not outstanding; it’s doubtful they’ll have the impact the Bears need to move out of the bottom third of the league this season.

Last season, RPI outshot Brown handily in two games, but walked away just with a 2-2 tie (one of just four non-losses for the Bears) in one and a 2-0 victory in the other. Despite Brown's several bad seasons in a row, they regularly put up a good fight against the Engineers; don't be shocked to see the Bears challenge the Engineers again this season.

*****

Union

• Last Season's Record: 5-28-1, 1-20-1 ECAC (12th)
• Key Players: Marissa Gentile (F, Sr), Perri Maduri (D, Sr), Alana Marcinko (G, So)
• Key Losses: Jackie Koetteritz (D, 4-1-5)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 2-0 RPI (12/5/09 in Schenectady), 5-0 RPI (12/6/09 in Troy).
• 2010-2011 games: 12/3/10 in Schenectady, 12/4/10 in Troy.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 12th

We’re not going to sugar coat things here – Union has had no success on the ice since elevating to Division I from the ECAC East in 2003-2004. They’ve finished in last place every season since and amassed an impressive (for all the wrong reasons) 2-140-4 conference record in 7 seasons. In our last podcast, Ken Schott from the Schenectady Daily Gazette mentioned that head coach Claudia Asano believed this could be the season the Dutchwomen make the playoffs for the first time – they’re going to have to win more than one game before that happens.

On the bright side for Union, they graduated just one senior in 2010, and so return a stronger and more experienced squad, if nothing else. Union is going to need to find some serious offense if they intend to compete in their ECAC games, as they scored more than one goal just twice in ECAC play last season, in a 3-0 win over Brown and a 6-3 loss to Princeton. For comparison’s sake, they were shut out 12 times in those same 22 ECAC games. Sophomore starting goalie Alana Marcinko, who posted a respectable .908%, 3.14GAA last season (facing an average of 34 shots per game), returns as well. If Union is to make any strides in the ECAC, expect it to start from the net out. Like Lundy Day before her, Marcinko keeps the games from getting out of hand – it will be up to the rest of the team to start putting the puck in the net in order to win some games.

Perhaps the real story this offseason was Union’s addition of former Harvard standout, Patty Kazmaier Award winner, and three-time US Olympian Julie Chu as assistant coach. Chu previously coached at Minnesota-Duluth, where she was an assistant coach to the 07-08 Bulldogs team that won the national championship. While coaching changes, especially assistants, frequently don’t yield results immediately, this addition sends a message that Union is starting to get serious about their women’s program. Expect Chu, who is already a legend in women’s hockey at age 28, to add serious name recognition to the program and increase Union’s odds at landing more talented players.

*****

With seven teams down and four to go, check back on Wednesday as we round out the ECAC with a look at Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell, and Colgate. On Thursday we’ll wrap up the preseason coverage with a birds-eye view of the league, review of the coaches’ preseason poll, and our thoughts on how things will shake out by the end of the season.

Women's Hockey - Around the ECAC (Part I)

While we ran through the season at a glance on Wednesday, breaking down some of the non-conference matchups and hitting each game on the schedule, the meat and potatoes of the Engineers’ schedule comes from competition within the ECAC. Over the course of the next week, we’ll break down RPI’s ECAC opponents a few at a time before pulling it all together next week before the team hits the ice against Montreal.

Hitting the Engineers’ competition in the same order they’ll see them on the ice, in this installment we’ll take a look at travel partner pairs St. Lawrence and Clarkson, and Princeton and Quinnipiac. Sunday we’ll break down Yale, Brown, and Union, and tackle Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell, and Colgate on Wednesday.

*****

St. Lawrence

• Last Season's Record: 16-14-7, 11-8-3 ECAC (7th)
• Key Players: Vanessa Emond (F, Jr), Kelly Sabatine (F, So), Kayla Sullivan (F, So)
• Key Losses: Britni Smith (D, 8-17-25), Brittony Chartier (G, .909%, 2.32GAA), Maxie Weisz (G, .918%, 1.89GAA), Tara Akstull (F, 7-10-17)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 3-1 SLU (1/8/10 in Troy), 3-1 SLU (2/6/10 in Canton).
• 2010-2011 games: 10/29/10 in Canton, 2/19/11 in Troy.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 5th

St. Lawrence is coming off a disappointing season, having finished 7th in a conference they had shown dominance in for years. After finishing in the ECAC’s top three every season since 2000-2001, SLU faced a reality check when the were forced to hit the road in the 2010 playoffs and take on rival Clarkson, the second seed in league and one of the top teams in the nation. Although they squeaked out a win in game two of that series, Clarkson outscored the Saints by a combined 10-3 across three games en route to punching a quick ticket to the offseason.

Against RPI, SLU has had better luck. To call the series lopsided doesn’t do it justice; the Saints are 11-0 all-time against the Engineers and are the only team in the ECAC that has consistently had RPI’s number whether having a good season or bad. When RPI took a big step forward last season picking up wins against Harvard and Dartmouth both, SLU still handed RPI a pair of 3-1 losses without much trouble.

The Saints lose some talent as senior goaltenders Brittony Chartier and Maxie Weisz both graduate, leaving incoming freshman Caitlyn Lahonen and senior Nicolien Bongaerts (who saw all of 15 minutes of ice time last season) to take charge in net. Also out is defenseman Britney Smith, the team’s second leading scorer in 2009-2010. Fortunately for the Saints they return five of their six top scorers and have just two freshman forwards, but defense may be a sore point. With only six defensemen currently listed on the roster – three freshmen, a sophomore, a junior, and a senior – the Saints are going to need to be very careful to avoid injuries and will be relying on a lot of young players on the blue line. For a team that ranked 5th defensively in the ECAC last season, this could be a tough pill to swallow.

Each of the goal scorers that gave RPI trouble last year return for another season, however, and RPI will need to step up its game to avoid giving up 3 or more goals a game to SLU. If the Engineers can be opportunistic and take advantage of a young Saints defense, this may be the season we see RPI’s first win in the series, but don’t expect it to come easy.

*****

Clarkson

• Last Season's Record: 23-12-5, 14-5-3 ECAC (2nd)
• 2010 ECAC Tournament Runner-Up
• 2010 NCAA Playoff Berth (Eliminated in quarterfinals)
• Key Players: Juana Baribeau (F, Jr), Melissa Waldie (F, Sr), Lauren Dahm (G, Sr)
• Key Losses: Dominique Thibault (F, 21-19-40), Britney Selina (F, 10-26-36), Carlee Eusepi (D, 6-13-19), Genevieve Lavoie (F, 3-9-12)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 1-1 tie (1/9/10 in Troy), 3-1 RPI (2/5/10 in Potsdam)
• 2010-2011 games: 10/30/10 in Potsdam, 2/18/11 in Troy.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 2nd

Clarkson has been an up-and down team for the past several seasons – last season marked a new high for the Golden Knights as they rolled to a second place finish with a 14-5-3 record, also finishing second in the ECAC tournament to Cornell, who would go on to play in the national championship game. While recent history might predict a down year for Clarkson in 2010-2011, chances are good that they will remain one of the top teams in the league for at least another year.

The Golden Knights graduate four out of seven top scorers including overall leader Dominique Thibault who finished the season with 21 goals and 40 points, including 12 goals in conference play. However they return starting goalie Lauren Dahm and most of their defensive corps, a good start for last season’s second best defense in the ECAC. Add a talented recruiting class to the mix and Clarkson isn’t likely to suffer very significant growing pains in the coming year.

Last season the Engineers matched up well against the Golden Knights, skating to a 1-1 tie in Troy followed by an impressive 3-1 win in Potsdam late in the season that saw RPI hold a 27-19 shot advantage despite having to kill four consecutive penalties (three of them in nearly six straight minutes) late in the game to pick up the win. A tight Clarkson defense could spell trouble for RPI in 2010-2011, who may find themselves at a loss for goals and struggling to compete in a couple of low-scoring, hard-fought games.

*****

Princeton

• Last Season's Record: 13-14-4, 11-7-4 ECAC (T-5th)
• Key Players: Paula Romanchuck (F, Jr), Danielle DiCesare (F, Jr), Laura Martindale (D, Sr), Sasha Sherry (D, Sr)
• Key Losses: Melanie Wallace (F, 7-13-20), Stephanie Denino (D, 1-7-8)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 2-2 tie (10/31/09 in Princeton), 1-1 tie (1/30/10 in Troy).
• 2010-2011 games: 11/5/10 in Troy, 2/12/11 in Princeton.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 6th

Princeton is a tough team to figure out. They seem to bring in solid talent each year, going on a run at some point or another during the season - but have an increasingly disturbing habit of forgetting how to play once the playoffs arrive, having made an exit in the ECAC quarterfinals seven of the past nine seasons. There have been rumblings about the coaching staff failing to prepare the team for the postseason, but the fact remains that from season to season Princeton reliably puts a viable team on the ice, only to see it fizzle out when the games count most.

The Tigers are relatively unscathed by graduation this season, returning all but one of their top 10 scorers from 09-10. Goaltenders Rachel Weber and Cassie Seguin, who split playing time last season, both return for another, along with the top two scorers from last season, Danielle DiCesare and Paula Romanchuk. Some serious talent exists in the freshman class, including defenseman Rose Alleva who averaged 60 points in her junior and senior high school seasons in Minnesota, and forward Sally Butler, who notched 73 points, won 64% of faceoffs taken, and finished the season with a +61 rating and a PWHL championship with the Toronto Junior Aeros last year.

RPI and Princeton were evenly matched last season, skating to a pair of ties in their two conference games, and the two teams had nearly identical offense and defense stats by the end of the season. Princeton’s recruiting class coupled with RPI’s significant graduation losses may tilt the scales in the Tigers’ favor this season, but the games shouldn’t be a blowout in either direction.

*****

Quinnipiac

• Last Season's Record: 19-10-8, 11-4-7 ECAC (T-3rd)
• Key Players: Victoria Vigilante (G, So), Heather Hughes (F, So), Bethany Dymarcyak (D, Jr), Jordan Elkins (D, Jr)
• Key Losses: Janine Duffy (F, 11-14-25), Kallie Flor (F, 14-8-22)
• Last Season vs. RPI: 6-1 Quinnipiac (10/31/09 in Hamden), 1-0 RPI (1/29/10 in Troy), 2-1 Quinnipiac (2OT, 2/26/10 in Hamden – ECAC Quarterfinals), 1-0 RPI (2/27/10 in Hamden – ECAC Quarterfinals), 2-1 RPI (5OT, 2/28/10 in Hamden – ECAC Quarterfinals).
• 2010-2011 games: 11/6/10 in Troy, 2/11/11 in Hamden.
• 2010-2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll: 4th

Quinnipiac will hit the ice next season with a special kind of axe to grind with RPI – the type that comes from a quarterfinal playoff series that spans 16 periods of hockey in a single weekend, two multiple-overtime games, and a heartbreaking loss in five overtimes to eliminate the Bobcats from the playoffs and send RPI on to the championship weekend. After a 6-1 Quinnipiac trouncing of RPI early in the season (after which the Engineers bounced back to put Colgate through the ringer in a 10-4 bloodbath), the teams were perhaps the most evenly matched of any two in the league, with their remaining four matchups all decided by one goal.

Sophomore goaltender Victoria Vigilante, last season’s goalie and rookie of the year (and the coaches' preseason pick as the All-League goalie) had a phenomenal freshman season and is poised to carry the Bobcats through the next several years. Coupled with just a single defenseman graduate, Quinnipiac stands to be one of the top defensive teams in the conference this season. Offense was a problem last year, when the Bobcats only managed to outscore Colgate, Brown, and Union in league play. While high scoring forwards Janine Duffy and Kallie Flor both graduated, Quinnipiac boasts an enormous recruiting class of 11 players, including 8 forwards.

Freshman Kelly Babstock, a teammate of Princeton’s Sally Butler on last year’s championship Toronto Junior Aeros team, led that team in points and assists. Several other freshman saw accolade-filled seasons precede their jump to the college ranks, so while Quinnipiac may stumble a bit out of the gate, expect a strong finish as the young players adapt to the college game and hit their stride as the season wears on. The coaches pick Quinnipiac to finish 4th, and a higher finish is not out of the question if Vigilanti continues to play her game while the recruits step up and play smart hockey. In a lot of ways this Bobcat team parallels the Engineers, with a top notch goalie and a lot riding on the freshmen – however, Quinnipiac’s recruiting class could very well give the Bobcats an edge this season.

*****

Check back on Sunday for Part II of the ECAC preview as we take a look at Yale, Brown, and Union, last season’s 10th, 11th, and 12th place teams.