At the final horn of the Saints 3-2 win over RPI on Saturday, the SLU regular season was finished. It was a season full of ups and downs for St. Lawrence, but was a solid team effort all together.
The Saints opened the year at home against UNH, and won 4-2, with Rylee Smith scoring 2 goals. They then lost their next five games to UNH, a set of non-conference games against Clarkson, and a set against BC, with a 7-0 exhibition win in the middle.
The Saints then began ECAC play, going 5-2-1 in the first eight.
Then they hit a bit of a rough patch. It began with getting swept by Mercyhurst the weekend of November 26, losing both games 3-2. After an extended hiatus, the Saints got back to work against more tough opponents, this time Robert Morris University. They were outscored 7-2 in the weekend series, and were shutout in the second of the two. SLU picked up ECAC play again against Clarkson, who completed the season sweep by shutting the Saints out for the second and third straight game.
After suffering a tough loss at Brown 4-2, which ended their scoreless streak at 3 games, but extended their losing streak to seven games, the Saints played Yale to a 1-1 tie on January 18th, ending the losing streak.
St. Lawrence returned to the friendly confines of Appleton Arena on the 24th and tied Cornell 1-1 in one of the best, and most stressful hockey games I've ever watched. Jenna Marks recorded the lone SLU goal. The next night, they finally got back into the win column against Colgate, defeating the Raiders 3-1 in a game where Margo Lund recorded her first goal since missing last season with injury.
The Saints won their next two games, a road trip to Union and RPI, before returning to Appleton for the Saints Go Social twitter game against Princeton, a tough 2-1 defeat, where Rylee Smith recorded her 50th career goal. They responded by winning all but one of their remaining games, the lone blemish being a 5-2 loss against Harvard. In the final regular season game, Mel Desrochers set a new SLU record for career goals by a defenseman with her 26th career goal.
Now, the Saints move their attentions to the playoffs, where they hold the fifth seed for the third straight year. SLU won the ECAC tournament in 2012 as the fifth seed. SLU faces Quinnipiac this weekend in Hamden in the first round.
For captain Desrochers, these games against the Bobcats are two more games against the ECAC foe, but are" two more important games. We try and prepare more for these".
The Bobcats feature a potent attack, led by senior Kelly Babstock, who reached the 200 career point plateau recently, an impressive mark for any college player. There is a grudging respect among athletes for players of this caliber, and the Saints are well aware of her talents. "She's a great player, when she has the puck, so we want to focus on not turning the puck over, and making her play defense", said Desrochers. Fellow captain, and defensive partner Dayle Wilkinson knows the Saints need to be aware when she's on the ice, and that they need to focus on keeping the puck hemmed in the Quinnipiac zone.
Quinnipiac has Babstock, and the Saints have players like Desrocher and Rylee Smith, but SLU has been getting contributions from everyone on the ice, including their three freshman. Alex Moore and Kirsten Padalis form the Saints second D-pair, and they play significant minutes. They also contribute offensively: Moore had a two goal game against Dartmouth in a 4-1 at Appleton, and Padalis had a multi point effort at RPI. Brooke Webster centers the top line, flanked by Smith and sophomore Abbey McRae. Webster had 7 multi point games and recorded two goals against Cornell in a 6-4 loss.
The efforts have not gone unnoticed. Desrochers knows the Saints had some losses in the offseason, losing Amanda Boulier to injury, in addition to the graduation of Brooke Fernandez, but she says the freshman are skilled, and they "stepped up and deserve to be in the spot they're in". That spot is playing a big time role in a playoff team.
Other players, like Kailee Heidersbach, who is on fire of late, Kayla Raniwsky, and McRae all contribute offensively.
The Saints know they can beat this Quinnipiac team, having gone 1-0-1 against them, allowing just one goal over the two contests. They have offensive talent, can shut down teams on defense, and have a super star goalie in Carmen MacDonald.
But this is the playoffs. Rylee Smith quoted coach Wells, who says "No one wins a championship in January". Its almost March now, which means one thing. Its time to win a championship, and the battle begins Friday at 7:00.
The Saints opened the year at home against UNH, and won 4-2, with Rylee Smith scoring 2 goals. They then lost their next five games to UNH, a set of non-conference games against Clarkson, and a set against BC, with a 7-0 exhibition win in the middle.
The Saints then began ECAC play, going 5-2-1 in the first eight.
Then they hit a bit of a rough patch. It began with getting swept by Mercyhurst the weekend of November 26, losing both games 3-2. After an extended hiatus, the Saints got back to work against more tough opponents, this time Robert Morris University. They were outscored 7-2 in the weekend series, and were shutout in the second of the two. SLU picked up ECAC play again against Clarkson, who completed the season sweep by shutting the Saints out for the second and third straight game.
After suffering a tough loss at Brown 4-2, which ended their scoreless streak at 3 games, but extended their losing streak to seven games, the Saints played Yale to a 1-1 tie on January 18th, ending the losing streak.
St. Lawrence returned to the friendly confines of Appleton Arena on the 24th and tied Cornell 1-1 in one of the best, and most stressful hockey games I've ever watched. Jenna Marks recorded the lone SLU goal. The next night, they finally got back into the win column against Colgate, defeating the Raiders 3-1 in a game where Margo Lund recorded her first goal since missing last season with injury.
The Saints won their next two games, a road trip to Union and RPI, before returning to Appleton for the Saints Go Social twitter game against Princeton, a tough 2-1 defeat, where Rylee Smith recorded her 50th career goal. They responded by winning all but one of their remaining games, the lone blemish being a 5-2 loss against Harvard. In the final regular season game, Mel Desrochers set a new SLU record for career goals by a defenseman with her 26th career goal.
Now, the Saints move their attentions to the playoffs, where they hold the fifth seed for the third straight year. SLU won the ECAC tournament in 2012 as the fifth seed. SLU faces Quinnipiac this weekend in Hamden in the first round.
For captain Desrochers, these games against the Bobcats are two more games against the ECAC foe, but are" two more important games. We try and prepare more for these".
The Bobcats feature a potent attack, led by senior Kelly Babstock, who reached the 200 career point plateau recently, an impressive mark for any college player. There is a grudging respect among athletes for players of this caliber, and the Saints are well aware of her talents. "She's a great player, when she has the puck, so we want to focus on not turning the puck over, and making her play defense", said Desrochers. Fellow captain, and defensive partner Dayle Wilkinson knows the Saints need to be aware when she's on the ice, and that they need to focus on keeping the puck hemmed in the Quinnipiac zone.
Quinnipiac has Babstock, and the Saints have players like Desrocher and Rylee Smith, but SLU has been getting contributions from everyone on the ice, including their three freshman. Alex Moore and Kirsten Padalis form the Saints second D-pair, and they play significant minutes. They also contribute offensively: Moore had a two goal game against Dartmouth in a 4-1 at Appleton, and Padalis had a multi point effort at RPI. Brooke Webster centers the top line, flanked by Smith and sophomore Abbey McRae. Webster had 7 multi point games and recorded two goals against Cornell in a 6-4 loss.
The efforts have not gone unnoticed. Desrochers knows the Saints had some losses in the offseason, losing Amanda Boulier to injury, in addition to the graduation of Brooke Fernandez, but she says the freshman are skilled, and they "stepped up and deserve to be in the spot they're in". That spot is playing a big time role in a playoff team.
Other players, like Kailee Heidersbach, who is on fire of late, Kayla Raniwsky, and McRae all contribute offensively.
The Saints know they can beat this Quinnipiac team, having gone 1-0-1 against them, allowing just one goal over the two contests. They have offensive talent, can shut down teams on defense, and have a super star goalie in Carmen MacDonald.
But this is the playoffs. Rylee Smith quoted coach Wells, who says "No one wins a championship in January". Its almost March now, which means one thing. Its time to win a championship, and the battle begins Friday at 7:00.
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