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A RACE TO THE FINISH

By DVCHC Women's Hockey, 01/31/14, 7:30PM EST

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Big Games Shape Standings As Championship Nears

JERSEY PRIDE


The Garden State will send all 3 of her teams to the DVCHC Women’s Championship this year …but in what order?

 

For RUTGERS UNIVERSITY (5-5-1), that question is now out of their hands.  After 11 games, the Scarlet Knights have completed their 1st season in D1 with a .500 so perfect their GF and GA were almost exact.  The two-time, D2 champs earned 5 big wins and handed #1 Navy its only loss.  Amy Loughman and Alyssa Agati (24 points each) led scoring while a hard-working defense helped goalie Laura Sammon block 308 shots & finish with a .885 save %, currently 2nd best.  RU's bench is short on numbers, long on ability – as always, they’ll be a  thrill to watch at playoffs.  Though the jersey girls hold 3rd place, Maryland seems likely to leapfrog and Villanova & Towson could be a threat to overtake in the final two weekends.  Either way, Rutgers is a favorite to finish 4th or 5th .  A fantastic welcome to D1.

 

Further south on the turnpike, The NJ PHOENIX (5-3-0) face off against ROWAN UNIVERSITY (6-2-0) for two games this weekend, a historical first-time match-up.  Last semester they went toe-to-toe in the WAR BETWEEN THE SKATES, now they’ll fight for Jersey bragging rights where it counts.  Should be a great double-header for these two newly minted teams.  NJP is proving a serious contender in D2.  They held IUP to 2-3, twice, and almost surprised UPENN in a 4-6 loss.  They’ve won their last two and look for a possible move into 3rd.  Rowan has been reliably strong all season, their only 2 losses handed down by 1st place UPENN who seems to have their number.  This could be a big chance for them to regain their footing and jump back into the 2 seed.  Both teams are thrilling to watch, are well-coached, supported in the stands and bring a lot of positive intensity --  these are two games not to miss!


BATTLE OF THE BAY


This weekend is Super Bowl (yawn).  It's also the weekend that all 3 Maryland teams fight for Old Bay supremacy (not yawn)!  Navy, Towson & Maryland are going to the playoffs, but jockeying for position is still on.

MARYLAND (6-4-0) takes on the US NAVAL ACADEMY (9-1-0) first.  The Terps have been on a tear since a 2-11 loss to SRU where something clicked.  They rebounded to beat them the next day 8-6 and then went on to win the next 3 games against opponents who had previously bested them. They're hardworking, well-coached and could easily end up with 3rd place.  The last time they faced Navy it was a 2-3 nail-biter.  This one will be a game to watch. Navy has also done just fine, with a near perfect season.  Abigail New and Emily Buzzard have a combined 46 points.  A loss to Rutgers has been the team's only blemish and they locked up the 1st place seed after two wins in Virginia last weekend.  The mids will look to continue the run and make sure Sarah Hutchinson stays the winningist goalie in the division. 

Navy also takes on TOWSON (4-4-0) the morning of the Super Bowl.   Towson has most goals than any team in D1 and has only played 8 games.  Lot of that due to Kaila Frazier who is averaging (are you sitting down), 4.75 points per game.  Their last game vs Navy was an 8-12 affair (that was tied 6-6 at the start of the 3rd).  Towson has added 2 new players with experience this off-season.  With all the firepower on both sides, the score could reach higher than the Super Bowl's this time around.

ROCK, PAPER, CAT CLAWS


Here’s how VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY (5-5-0) started the semester:  In game 1 vs. Rutgers, the Wildcats followed Jacqueline Denning (right) to a heroic 4-3 win.  The freshman was goal-for-goal with Alyssa Agati until the Rutgers ringer tied the game with 1:13 remaining.  Denning answered with the winning goal (her 4th) with 0:48 on the clock.  In game two, Nova showed off their depth.  6 of 10 players recorded points as the cats beat Rutgers again, this time 4-1 thanks to Rebecca Brown’s .923 gem.  The team has been gathering steam and with these two wins now heads to Slippery Rock to challenge the Pride and attempt a real run up the standings.  It’ll be a tough go.  SLIPPERY ROCK (7-2-0) has been dominant in the DVCHC.  League leader Christy Pastucha (40 pts) and teammates Laura Anderson & Kristin Bielewicz have lead their well-rounded team to 72 goals (2nd most) and 7 wins.  SRU was downed 6-8 in their last DVCHC game vs Maryland, all the way back in mid-November, but that's been a rare bump in another fantastic season for team green.  Winning these final two games could lock down 2nd place and an important first round bye for the playoffs.  It all comes down to the series; will the Rock hold or can the cats scramble up?


FTW


It’s been a frustrating season for the South.  LIBERTY UNIVERSITY (0-6-0), though anchored by the DVCHC’s top net-minder Leanne Niemi, has only mustered 6 goals and is without a win.  Only Alyssa Davis, Alena Steiger & Maghan Nawyn have points.  Niemi, closing her career in All-Star fashion, has faced 426 shots and stopped 401 of them.  That’s almost 100 more than the next closest goalie …and that goalie has played FIVE more games.  Despite the shooting gallery, Niemi has a .941 save percentage, best in the DVCHC.  Amazing.  This weekend could be a chance for her teammates to find the twine against the UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA (0-9-1), who has had the opposite slant on the ice.  With a bench of 8 skaters in the difficult D1, UVA has managed miracles.  Every player has points and Carly Buckholz and Jennifer Morgan are top 10 in the league for goals.  They’ve allowed the most goals (68) but have also rained shots: in each of their first SIX games the Hoos scored no less than 4 goals.  Recently they tied Rutgers on the road and gave the top teams close calls.  If they had another 3 players, we’d see orange jerseys at playoffs.  Unfortunately, both Liberty and UVA have been eliminated.  THIS weekend, they’ll get a chance to face one another.  Between one roaring offense and one impenetrable defense, one team will skate away with the satisfaction of win #1 and 4 points in the standings.

 

In a work of fate, D2's two winless teams will also face one another this coming weekend.  SAINT JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY (0-7-1) has been without a W but has grown stronger with each game.  Sydney Flemister leads the team with 7 goals but Julie Stephano might be the biggest reasons SRU has keep all of the league's top teams within 3 goals (save UPENN who won by 5).  She has the most saves in D2 (297 shots) and still has the 2nd best save % of any starter, .895!  This weekend the defense held Phoenix to 3 goals, now they'll play for a chance at win #1 and a possible trip to playoffs.  By the numbers, opponent COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (0-7-0) has had a losing season, but numbers often mask progress.  At their outdoor game on Nov 23, Columbia scored 3 goals on #1 UPENN.  The roster has grown to 21 players, thanks to recruitment efforts by Allyson Gronowitz.  Most of all, the fun and individual improvement that CU has been demonstrating all season long has been remarkable.  The team in blue has grown in ways that are unmatched in its long hockey history.  These next two games will be against their most closely matched opponent yet -- a great chance for the New Yorkers to show all they've learned this season.  Wins here are possible and could send them to the playoffs.  It's an opportunity.  Which team will take it?

HIGH TIDE, LOW TIDE


Once a D1 champion, team AMERICAN (1-7-1) has spent this semester limping to the D2 finish line.  After graduating their top two goal-scorers and all but one defender, the Lady Eagles welcomed beginner Caitlyn Jasberg to the starting goalie position in January.  The young Jasberg has proven phenomenal, a good sign for the future, but with her learning curve and only 8 skaters in front of her (most with less than 2 years of experience) the team’s hard work hasn’t gotten far.  It will be a rebuilding process to get the Eagles on track.  A rebuilding process their visitors, UPENN (8-0-0), are all too familiar with.  Also a D1 champion, the Quakers came to D2 when roster shortages grew critical and wins disappeared.  After a few years in the division, the team has regained its stride.  UPENN has allowed only 14 goals all season and has a deep and talented roster of 24 athletes (11 players have 4 or more points).  If they win in DC they will clinch 1st place for the second year in a row.  The only thing that’s eluded them is a D2 championship and this tough team is readying themselves for the chance at one next month.  Both American and UPENN have a long history of highs and lows in the DVCHC, this contest may see them at their sharpest contrast.

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