ECAC Hockey Roundup: Colgate Gets Stunned, Clarkson On a Roll

After a relatively quiet opening weekend of exhibition games on Sept. 21, ECAC Hockey was in a fuller swing this past weekend, with varied results. One top contender started off hot, another had a surprising start, and the rest... well, just keep reading to find out.

Colgate Splits Weekend with Mercyhurst

Friday: Colgate 3, Mercyhurst 0

Saturday: Mercyhurst 4, Colgate 3 (OT)

It's been a bit of a wild start for the Raiders, who have embarked on their first season in 12 years without Greg Fargo behind the bench. They allowed the first goal in Friday's contest against the Lakers just 17 seconds in and fell behind 2-1 in the opening frame. It was their power play that saved them, as they tallied two (one in the first, the other very late in the second to tie things up at 2), and finally sophomore Kaia Malachino put the Raiders ahead for good early in the third with a tremendous individual effort.

While Saturday's game was a cleaner effort in terms of penalties (two minors as opposed to six in the first game), the Raiders found themselves playing catchup yet again, trailing 3-2 in the third period before Alexis Petford was able to find the back of the net with less than three minutes to go in regulation. Unfortunately for them, just halfway through the OT frame, Makayla Javier took advantage of a rebound off the blocker of Hannah Murphy, sealing the deal for Mercyhurst in a surprising finish.

Full credit to the Lakers, who were able to go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the nation and even outshot them in Saturday's effort. For the Raiders, it's a reminder of the transition they're going through having lost a significant number of key players as well as their head coach. Still, they've got some good young guns, and I think they'll be just fine. It's extremely cool to see a non-conference game being played this close, as that was the exact opposite case in the next matchup we'll be talking about.

Clarkson Dominates Saint Michael's... Seriously, Is This Even Fair?

Friday: Clarkson 9, Saint Michael's 0

Saturday: Clarkson 14, Saint Michael's 0

Emma and I were stunned at the stats in this weekend's series between the Golden Knights and the Purple Knights (so many Knights of different colors, wow). I mean... a combined shot tally of 172-15? A combined score of 23-0? These are some Mighty Ducks numbers. But indeed, the queens of the ECAC rolled to absolute domination over their counterparts from Vermont, who are continuing to look for their first win since Feb. 24, 2023 (against Saint Anselm in the NEWHA first round).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Clarkson Women's Hockey (@clarksongoldenknights)

There really isn't much more to say about this set of games. The usual suspects – Nicole Gosling, Keira Hurry, Sena Catterall, Haley Winn – dotted the scoresheets, and neither Julia Minotti nor Holly Gruber had much to do in net. Nine different Clarkson players scored in each contest, including a few first-timers.

I do feel bad that this weekend was even scheduled, because... well, I mean, someone somewhere had to know this wasn't even going to be a contest. Sure, it's hockey, and anything can happen, but when you have a Frozen Four contender going up against a team that hasn't gotten a win in nearly two years, logic has to kick in at some point.

St. Lawrence Shines in Sole Game of the Weekend

After a tight but tough 3-1 loss to Colgate last weekend, the Saints bounced back on the road in North Andover against Merrimack. Alexia Cote was the standout, as the freshman tallied a goal and an assist, with her first collegiate goal coming off some nice passing work by her linemates. Abby Hustler also contributed in a big way with two primary assists on goals by Aly McLeod and Anna Segedi.

St. Lawrence dominated the shot count early on, and while the Warriors were able to close the gap somewhat over the course of the game, they couldn't beat Emma-Sofie Nordström (24 saves). All three of the Saints' goals were even strength.

Quinnipiac Makes a Case Against Maine

Friday: Quinnipiac 7, Maine 0

Saturday: Quinnipiac 4, Maine 0

Another case of lopsided results – except this one was a bit more evenly played. A handful of new Bobcats hit milestones with their first goals in the blue and gold, including Makayla Watson and Bryn Prier in Friday's matchup and Laurence Frenette in Saturday's game. Kaley Doyle earned both shutouts with a two-game total of 44 saves (20 on Friday, 24 on Saturday).

Maine was able to throw a few shots on net, hitting 20-plus in both games, but it looks like the finish just was not there. Emma touched on the tremendous losses in terms of scoring for the Black Bears in her Hockey East preview, and it looks like she was right – but to be fair, it is very early in the season to right the ship.

Rennselaer, Union With Split Series Out of Conference

Tony Maci won his first game behind the Union bench Saturday as the Garnet Chargers split their weekend series with RMU by scores of 3-1 and 4-2. Friday's contest saw Union take a couple of costly penalties, leading to the eventual win by the Colonials. However, the Chargers bounced back with a trio of power-play goals of their own and held the lead for all 60 minutes of play. Sadly for RMU, the eventual game-winner by Mallory Mauracher was one I think goalie Lucy Phillips will want back:

As for RPI, they got off to a rough start with Holy Cross, allowing a goal just 18 seconds into the first frame, but managed to keep it close with a Friday score of 3-2 on goals by Aylah Cioffi and Morgann Skoda. Turning it around quickly, they got a pair from Andrea Trnkova in Saturday's effort for a 2-0 victory.

Looking Ahead...

Oct. 4-5 see ECAC getting down to business with mostly out-of-conference matchups. RPI and Sacred Heart faceoff in a home-and-home, while Quinnipiac takes to the road against Northeastern. St. Lawrence has a tough test against defending champs Ohio State, and Colgate is hosting Minnesota Duluth in a nice little quartet of ECAC/WCHA games. Clarkson, meanwhile, will be hosting Vermont, and RIT takes a little jaunt down the 90 and visits Union in an Atlantic/ECAC matchup.

For a full slate of games, as well as how to watch, click here.