Women's Hockey | 2/24/2011 10:38:00 AM
2011 ECAC West Game Program
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team (22-1-2, 15-1-2 ECAC West), ranked second in Division III, will host the 2011 ECAC West Tournament semifinals and championship on March 5-6 at Ritter Arena. RIT and SUNY Plattsburgh shared the 2011 ECAC West regular season title with identical 15-1-2 records, but the Tigers earned the right to host by holding the tiebreaker over the Cardinals.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students per game and go on sale Wednesday, March 2, at the Gordon Field House Box Office or by calling (585) 475-4121. Box office hours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. As always, children five and under get in free.
The Tigers will host sixth seed Utica at 3 p.m. on Saturday, who advanced after defeating third seed Elmira, 2-1 in an ECAC West first round game on Feb. 26. Plattsburgh will play fourth-seed Neumann at 7 p.m. Satuday. Neumann advanced after defeating fifth seed SUNY Oswego, 2-1 in double overtime in first round action on Feb. 26. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2011 ECAC West Championship on March 6 at 3 p.m. The ECAC West Champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2011 NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Championship Tournament.
RIT, the nation's highest scoring (5.22), and top defensive squad (0.88), has seven players with at least 20 points, and 16 in double figures. Senior forward #
Sarah Dagg (St. George, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks)#, the 2011 ECAC West Player of the Year, leads the team and is second nationally in scoring with 38 points (17-21-38). She needs two points for her third straight 40-point season and is three shy of the RIT career record. Dagg recorded her 150th career point in a 4-1 win over Elmira on Feb. 19.
Senior forward #
Katie Stack (Batavia, NY/Rochester Edge)#, an All-ECAC West first team selection for the second straight season, is tied for the team lead with 17 goals and fifth nationally with 35 points. She has 78 career goals, one goal shy of the program record. Freshman #
Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects)# has 31 points, while #
Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects) leads the nation with 25 assists. Freshman (Pittsburgh, PA/Mountour)Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas)# is tied for the team lead with 17 goals. RIT outscored foes 94-17 in league play and have outscored opponents, 131-22 overall this season.
In net, freshman #
Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects)# is tied for second nationally with 14 wins, and a 0.95 goals against average. She is third with a .948 save percentage and 4-0-2 against ranked opponents this season. Sophomore #
Carley King (Tinley Park, IL)# is 8-0-0 and leads the nation with a 0.72 goals against average, and .953 save percentage.
Despite RIT and Plattsburgh recording the same conference mark and tying their two head-to-head contests, RIT earns the number one seed with a 18-1-0 record against common opponents while Plattsburgh was 16-2-1 against the same opponents.
Plattsburgh, the second seed in the tournament, enters the tournament ranked No. 4 nationally, with a 19-3-3 record, and have recorded seven straight NCAA Tournament Appearances. Senior forwards Steph Moon and Megan DiJulio and sophomore Teal Gove lead the way for the Cardinals, who have won two ECAC West Championships, and will attempt to play in its 10th straight conference championship game. Moon leads the way with 33 points and is second nationally with 24 assists. Teal Gove leads the squad with 15 goals, while DiJulio has 26 points. All-ECAC West first team goaltender Mandy Mackrell is 13-3-3 with a 1.15 goals against average and .945 save percentage.
Neumann (16-6-4, 10-6-2 ECAC West) enters the tournament riding a 10-game unbeaten streak. Senior Jessica Schroeder leads the squad in scoring with 33 points on 13 goals and 20 assists. Shannon Donnelly is 13-4-4 with a 1.59 goals against average and .943 save percentage for the Knights.
Utica (13-13-0, 8-10-0 ECAC West) snapped a three-game losing streak with the win over Elmira. Megan Myers scored both Utica goals in the win. Myers leads the squad with 21 goals, while Darcy Hier has 23 assists and 31 points. Melissa Hotaling made 52 saves in the win over Elmira.
RIT tied Plattsburgh in a pair of contests at Ritter Arena, 2-2 on Jan. 21, and 0-0 the following afternoon. The Tigers swept Neumann at Ritter Arena, 7-1, and 6-1, on Dec. 3-4. and swept Utica, 5-2, and 4-1 on the road on Nov. 13-14.
2010-11 ECAC Women's West Tournament Schedule
Saturday, February 26:
No. 6 Utica 2, at No. 3 Elmira 1
No. 5 Oswego 1, at No. 4 Neumann 2 (2OT)
No. 1 RIT and No. 2 Plattsburgh receive byes
Semifinals: Saturday, March 5
Lowest Remained Seed vs No. 1 RIT – 3 p.m.
Remaining Seed vs No. 2 Plattsburgh – 7 p.m.
Championship: Sunday, March 6 – 3 p.m.
