ECAC Hockey: Men's Playoff Update 2, Women's Playoff Update 5

Wrapup of Saturday's ECAC action
Men's Hockey
Potsdam, NY- A scoreless first period did not indicate the flow of the game as the Harvard Crimson and Clarkson Golden Knights combined for 10 goals over the next two periods in their ECAC First Round Contest. Harvard started the first period off with some offensive pop, generating 19 shots, one more than they had mustered in all of Game 1, but this time Paul Karpowich stood tall to keep the game 0-0. Nik Pokoluk opened the scoring in the second period, beating Ryan Carroll five-hole with a point shot to give the home Knights their first lead of the series. The teams traded goals back and forth and Clarkson entered the final frame with a 3-2 lead after Brandon DeFazio scored just 11 seconds after Alex Fallstrom had tied things up for the visiting Crimson. At the end of the period, Pokuluk was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for "contact to the head" and the Crimson started the 3rd with 4:22 of power play time. Daniel Moriarty scored twice on the major, with the second goal a pass deflected off the back of Mark Borowiecki's leg to give Harvard it's first lead of the game. Michael Biega and Ben Sexton traded goals with around 13 minutes to play before Alex Killorn sealed the win for the Crimson 6-4. Harvard swept the Golden Knights and advanced to the ECAC Quarterfinals.

Troy, NY- Nick Prockow scored less than two minutes into the first period and the visiting Colgate Raiders would never trail as they took on the RPI Engineers. Chase Polacek tied things up for RPI with a shorthanded goal in the second, but Francois Brisebois put the visitors up for good despite Polacek adding a PP tally later in the period. Down 3-2, RPI tried to equalize but Prockow and Brisebois each added their second goals of the night, both coming with the net empty, to give the visitors a 5-2 win and setup a decisive Game 3 on Sunday night.

Hamden, CT- It was deja vu all over again for the Brown Bears who once again saw themselves shut out by the Quinnipiac Bobcats by a score of 4-0. After a scoreless first period, the home squad wasted little time grabbing the lead in the second as Zach Currie converted on the power play at the 35 second mark for the eventual game winner. Jeremy Langlois doubled the lead two minutes later while the Bobcats added 2 more scores in the third period to put the game out of reach and chase netminder Mike Clemente after the third goal. Eric Hartzell picked up the win tonight, equaling teammate Dan Clarke's shutout performance the night before. With the win, the Bobcats swept the Bears to advance to the quarterfinals of the ECACs.

Princeton, NJ- The St. Lawrence Saints were on the brink of elimination but rallied from two one-goal deficits as they eventually prevailed over the Princeton Tigers. The Tigers got on the board first with Rob Kleebaum's tally at the 5:50 mark of the first but St. Lawrence answered back with a PP goal from Greg Carey less than four minutes later. Andrew Calof broke the deadlock in the second period, again in Princeton's favor, before Carey answered again on the power play to knot things up at 2 heading into the last period. Just before the halfway point of the third, the Saints grabbed their first lead of the game and it would stand up as the game-winner as Kyle Essery sent the Saints to a decisive Game 3 to be held Sunday afternoon.

Three Stars of the Nights
1. Greg Carey, St. Lawrence- 2 Goals (2 PPG)
2. Daniel Moriarty, Harvard- 2 Goals (2 PPG)
3. Chase Polacek, RPI- 2 Goals (1 PPG and 1 SHG)

Women's Hockey
Ithaca, NY- The Cornell Big Red avenged their only ECAC regular season loss as they defeated the Dartmouth Big Green 3-0 for the ECAC tournament championship in front of 2711 fans at Lynah Rink. Chelsea Karpenko opened the scoring six minutes into the first and then added her second tally on the power play in the second period to propel the Big Red to the win. The Big Red doubled Dartmouth in shots 28-14. With the win, Cornell earned its second straight league title, the ECAC double as well as the ECAC autobid to the NCAA tournament. The two teams will meet again for the fourth time this season in the NCAA tournament as Cornell, a 2 seed, will once again host the 7th seeded Big Green. The two are the only ECAC teams to make the tournament.

Three Stars of the Night
1. Chelsea Karpeno, Cornell- 2 Goals (1 PPG, GWG)
2. Hayley Hughes, Cornell- 1 Goal, 2 Assists
3. Amanda Mazzotta, Cornell- 14 saves, Shutout