ECAC Roundup: Oct. 11-13, 2024

Some wild last-minute goals, a sparkling debut in net, and a top dog continues to slip down the ranks, all in this week's ECAC roundup. Keep scrolling for more. Do it. You know you want to.

No. 8/9 Colgate Settles for a Split vs. RIT

I certainly didn't have this on my NCAA BINGO card, so no worries if you didn't either. It's been an inconsistent run for the Raiders, to say the least, and here we are at .500 after six games, on the heels of a series split with a surprisingly strong-starting RIT squad. Friday saw a 5-1 win, with four of those goals coming at 5v5 and junior Hannah Murphy making 17 saves in her 50th career win. Unfortunately, the Raiders couldn't get out of their own way on Saturday, losing 4-2 on the back of a slew of penalties.

The positives? On top of an always-good power play, they're getting some even-strength scoring, and they're doing well in the faceoff dot (53 percent cumulatively, with Kristýna Kaltounková leading in that respect). Junior forward Elyssa Biederman is also having a great start to her season, with eight points in six games played (tallying three points over the course of the RIT series).

Still, it's a marked contrast from last year, where they held teams to an average of 21.9 shots per game and forced nearly 40 of their own; now, goalies Murphy and Farah Walker are seeing a lot more action on their own end of the ice. Walker alone faced 30-plus shots in her collegiate debut on Saturday, and as a team right now the Raiders are forcing fewer shots (28.8 per game) than they're seeing (30.3). I think we're past the days of the Raiders just steamrolling the competition – instead, we're seeing the start of a strong, yet beatable force in the ECAC.

No. 3/4 Clarkson The Ones to Beat After Sweep of Robert Morris

The Golden Knights, meanwhile, remain one of the only two undefeated teams thus far in the rankings alongside Wisconsin after sweeping the Colonials by 4-0 and 3-0 scores respectively. While Robert Morris was able to skate with the Knights for a good portion of the weekend, they couldn't muster up any goals, as the Clarkson defense stood tall and the offensive output from their forwards (seven goals, 71 combined shots forced throughout the weekend) shortcircuited any effort put forth by RMU's forwards.

Both Friday's and Saturday's games in fact saw Clarkson with just a one-goal lead heading into the final frame of each match, which is a testament to the strength of both Maggie Hatch and Lucy Phillips in net for RMU. Still, the Knights were able to cut loose in the third of each game. Jenna Goodwin scored a goal in each contest, and multiple Golden Knights (Haley Winn, Jenna Smellie, Andie Proulx, and Shelby Laidlaw) recorded multi-point games.

RPI, No. 7 St. Lawrence Both Come Out Victorious

The Engineers and Saints both had good weekends, with some tightly played hockey between both Syracuse and Mercyhurst. Syracuse held a 1-0 lead for over a full period against RPI, but early in the third, Aylah Cioffi finally found the back of the net to tie it up. Then, over halfway through the final frame, Ellie Kaiser ended up snapping the tie on a fortuitous power play, stunning the Orange and giving Rensselaer the 2-1 win in regulation.

A similarly tight game on Saturday actually went 0-0 until the third period, where Andrea Trnkova capitalized on a delayed penalty call about seven minutes in. This time it was the Orange who forced a tie and then extra time – but Sophie Helgeson's one-timer secured the win for the Engineers less than two minutes into OT, giving RPI another 2-1 win and a respectable 4-2 record heading into their fourth week of play.

As for the Saints, they handled things well on Friday, giving Emma-Sofie Nordström light work (18 saves) in a 3-0 shutout of the Lakers. Kennedy Wilson had a solid night with two assists, and Taylor Lum, Melissa Jefferies, and Hillary Sterling all scored. Mercyhurst surely wanted some revenge on Saturday, and they nearly got it after Thea Johansson scored just 14 seconds into the game. But Tori Verbeek tied things up in the second period, and then Anna Segedi completely stole the show and the game with a last-minute goal right in front of the net (her 100th career point, as a matter of fact!). Segedi and Nordström both won Forward and Goalie of the Week honors for their efforts.

Winn, Ambrass Earn Weekly Honors

In addition to the names above for St. Lawrence, Haley Winn earned Defender of the Week for the second week in a row after a solid outing for the Knights; meanwhile, Maelee Ambrass got recognition in net for a tremendous debut for RPI, earning both wins and posting .973 for the weekend. Not too shabby, kid!

For more scores and recaps, click here.

What's Next...

We finally have Ivy League action, y'all! Cornell, Brown, and Princeton all start their seasons this weekend against non-conference opponents – the Big Red travel to Mercyhurst, Princeton is heading to RMU, and the Brown Bears take on Franklin Pierce at home. Dartmouth also has a road contest against Penn State, all on Friday. Saturday sees Harvard get in on the action against UConn. (Worth noting: Yale and Brown both won their exhibitions this past weekend against McGill by respective scores of 5-1 and 6-0. Poor McGill could not catch a break, eh?)

As for the non-Ivies, Colgate hosts Post Thursday and Friday, while Rensselaer also takes on RIT on those days. Quinnipiac hosts Syracuse Friday and Saturday, while it looks like St. Lawrence, Union, Yale, and Clarkson have bye weekends until Yale takes on Saint Anselm next Tuesday, Oct. 22.

For a full slate of games, click here.