By Rob Ciambra and Sierra Goodwill
Sierra:
1. Melissa Samoskevich (Forward, Quinnipiac)
Another week gone by, another ECAC Rookie of the Week award for Samo. She sits atop my rankings yet again after recording two goals and an assist this past weekend. Quinnipiac came out with three points after defeating St. Lawrence 3-0, and tying Clarkson 2-2. Her power play goal against Clarkson further exemplified her patience and knowledge of being in the right place at the right time.
Rob:
1. Melissa Samoskevich (Forward, Quinnipiac)
One hundred percent agree Sierra. Another impressive weekend from the freshman who registered her 31st point of the season, passing teammate T.T. Cianfarano’s freshman year mark, and is two away from matching Nicole Kosta’s. Kosta’s is second all-time at Quinnipiac (No. 1 held by the legendary Kelly Babstock who had a staggering 59 points her in her first collegiate season). I also don’t want to leave out that her goal against St. Lawrence was her nation-leading eighth game-winning goal of the season.
Rob:
2. Cayley Mercer (Forward, Clarkson)
Have mercy, Mercer! She had an impressive game-tying goal to avoid a loss to the Bobcats on Saturday, and throughout the whole game was impressive. I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll continue to say it, Mercer is a key player on the Golden Knights. She could be a thorn in the side of any opponent come ECAC and NCAA Tournament time if she’s not carefully defended against.
Sierra:
2. Cayley Mercer (Forward, Clarkson)
Being able to see Mercer in action on Saturday against Quinnipiac solidified her placement at No. 2 in my rankings, as well. Her speed and efforts on both sides of the ice drives this Clarkson team to be so competitive. And of course, her game-tying goal with 56 seconds left was quite impressive, too.
Sierra:
3. Kelsey Koelzer (Defenseman, Princeton)
Putting Koelzer at No. 3 is my bold move of the week. She scored the game-winning goal 25 seconds into overtime on Saturday when Princeton faced St. Lawrence. She also netted the lone goal the day before in Princeton’s 2-1 loss against Clarkson. Koelzer and the Tigers may surprise some teams come tournament time.
Rob:
3. Emma Woods (Forward, Quinnipiac)
Bold move indeed, Sierra! But, Woods had quite a weekend herself. Bobcats head coach Cassandra Turner put her back on a line with T.T. Cianfarano and Samoskevich after splitting them up back in November, and the line itself did not disappoint this weekend. Woods got 11 shots on goal this weekend and picked up two goals and two assists. There was a decline in production earlier in the season, but with the trio picking it back up right before playoff time, this is only a preview of what’s to come if they stay hot.
Rob:
4. Kelsey Koelzer (Forward, Princeton)
The game-winner 25 seconds into overtime was a huge goal for Koelzer and a huge win for Princeton to help split the weekend and keep it tied for third place in the ECAC with Colgate (which swept its weekend). It keeps them afloat in the top four teams heading into the final weekend of the regular season, holding onto a bid for home ice in the quarterfinal round of the ECAC Tournament. Though you can never count out a road upset, home ice is key, especially in a best-of-three series.
Sierra:
4. Sydney Rossman (Goaltender, Quinnipiac)
Rossman recorded her 13th shutout of the season against St. Lawrence on Friday with 25 saves. The loss against Colgate seemed long gone from her mind. More impressive, however, was her performance against Clarkson, holding a team who averages nearly four goals a game to just two. She had 26 saves in Quinnipiac’s 2-2 tie against Clarkson.
Sierra:
5. T.T. Cianfarano (Forward, Quinnipiac)
Just because she did not score a goal definitely does not mean Cianfarano performance this past weekend went unnoticed. She tallied two assists to give her 43 points on the season, good to lead the ECAC. Her plus/minus rating improved to plus-43, also an ECAC leading statistic in that category.
Rob:
5. Shea Tiley (Goaltender, Clarkson)
I think Tiley had a good weekend, maybe not her greatest, but definitely not her worst. She made some key saves to keep her team in both games. Though Kimberly Newell of Princeton faced 14 more shots than her on Friday, Tiley had to stay extra sharp in the third period when her team went up 2-1, and she came through.
Rob:
6. Sydney Rossman (Goaltender, Quinnipiac)
It was tough deciding where to put Tiley and Rossman this week given the weekend they had, but both played well. Rossman Picked up her 13th shutout of the year on Friday against St. Lawrence, stopping all 25 shots she saw. And I agree, Sierra. Her performance against Clarkson was even more impressive. If these two teams meet in the postseason at all, that is going to be one exciting matchup.
Sierra:
6. Shea Tiley (Goaltender, Clarkson)
Interesting that you put Tiley in front of Rossman, Rob. Regardless, the Clarkson goalie remains a rock in net, only averaging 1.37 goals against. Only letting up three goals all weekend against Princeton and Quinnipiac, two extremely tough competitors, was indeed impressive. Her consistency allows for her team to remain top five in the nation week-after-week.
Sierra:
7. Emma Woods (Forward, Quinnipiac)
Like you said Rob, Woods is thriving on that first line. Her goal against Clarkson just over a minute into the game was an absolute snipe from the circle. Woods proved to any doubters that she belongs on that front line alongside Samo and Cianfarano this past weekend. The Bobcats feed off of her incredibly competitive nature.
Rob:
7. T.T. Cianfarano (Forward, Quinnipiac)
Cianfarano had a good weekend, and I agree, it’s not all about scoring goals. The assists were just as nice as the goals scored by her teammates. She’s not scoring at the “Babstockian” rate anymore like I said a few weeks ago, but she doesn’t necessarily have to, because of her other teammates chipping in, helping the Bobcats to continue to win. Like I said above, with her back on a line with Woods and Samoskevich producing goals right before the playoffs, Quinnipiac is going into the final weekend of the regular season looking even more dangerous than before.
Rob:
8. Emerance Maschmeyer (Goaltender, Harvard)
It’s been a trying second half of the season for Harvard, but one thing has been constant, and that is Maschmeyer making the saves in net and keeping the Crimson in these games. This past weekend, she stopped all 23 shots she faced in a 3-0 win against Union, and stopped 25 of 26 in a 1-1 tie with RPI. She can only do so much for her squad, and by still putting up great numbers and making some incredible saves, it looks like she really is doing every little thing she can as the season winds down. It’s going to be up to her defense if the Crimson are planning on returning to the NCAA Tournament, let alone get through the ECAC Quarterfinals, which is what comes next for them.
Sierra:
8. Karlie Lund (Forward, Princeton)
I pick Princeton to be the surprise threat of the ECAC tournament. The team has been consistently improving every single week and a big part of that is attributed to the dominance of Karlie Lund. She picked up two assists in Saturday’s overtime thriller against St. Lawrence. Lund sits at third in the conference in points with 36.
Sierra:
9. Shea Labbe (Forward, Colgate)
Labbe had just one assist this weekend in Colgate’s 2-0 win over Yale, but she appears in my top ten for her play without the puck. With 29 points and a plus/minus rating of plus-18, she has been one of the most consistent players in the ECAC. This Colgate team is peaking at the right time heading into playoffs and is proving their worth at No. 10 in the nation.
Rob:
9. Hanna Bunton (Forward, Cornell)
Two goals and an assist in a weekend sweep of Brown and Yale is impressive and teamed up with the weekend her teammate Taylor Woods had (see below), keeps the Big Red one point out of playoff contention behind Yale. For Cornell, it’s going to be this type of offense they’ll need against Dartmouth and Harvard for an attempt at the very end to sneak into the ECAC Tournament. Cornell has the upper hand, in my humble opinion, because they’re on their home ice and Dartmouth and Harvard have to make the treacherous trek up to Ithaca.
Rob:
10. Taylor Woods (Forward, Cornell)
Another Woods in the top 10 for me this week. Taylor Woods had two goals and two assists this weekend in the sweep. Like I said, the Big Red need Woods and Bunton to have an identical, if not, even better effort next weekend, especially throwing everything that they have in the tank at Emerance Maschmeyer of Harvard, to try and catapult over Yale (And even possibly RPI & St. Lawrence) for a playoff spot (if Yale, RPI, and/or SLU all drop one or both of their respective games as well).
Sierra:
10. Miye D’Oench (Forward, Harvard)
A somewhat struggling Harvard squad is staying afloat by its offensive leader, D’Oench. Her experience as a senior is allowing her to keep the Crimson motivated heading into ECAC playoffs. D’ Oench notched an assist Saturday in Harvard’s 3-0 win against Union, bringing her to a total of 32 points in her finale season.
