On Ice Information

East, West continue battle on the Road to Duluth...

Harvard University's women's ice hockey team stayed atop the USCHO and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine polls this week, extending its nation-best winning streak to 17 games. The Crimson are 20-1 overall and a perfect 9-0 in the ECAC. Harvard survived its toughest test since early December with a 2-1 win over Dartmouth College in Boston on Feb. 7. The high-powered Crimson have outscored their opponents by an incredible margin of 138-20. Senior forward Jennifer Botterill leads the nation in scoring with 3.68 points per game while freshman forward Julie Chu is second (2.71 ppg) and junior defender Angela Ruggiero, is third (2.67 PPG).

Two-time defending NCAA champion University of Minnesota-Duluth has rebounded from a Jan. 17 loss to the University of Wisconsin for seven-straight wins. The second-ranked Bulldogs, 24-2-2 overall, built a six-point lead in the WCHA after a sweep of St. Cloud State University (10-3 and 7-4) last weekend. Junior forward Jenny Potter tops the nation in total assists (43) and points (71) and is fourth in points on a per game basis (2.54 PPG).

The University of Minnesota remained third in the US College Hockey Online poll and Pairwise rankings. The Golden Gophers, 22-3-1 overall, are second in the WCHA and have won five-straight since a 6-3 loss at Dartmouth, Jan. 17. Minnesota suffered a major loss this week as forward Krissy Wendell suffered a fractured clavicle in Saturday's 2-1 win over Ohio State. Wendell, who is sixth in the nation in scoring (2.30 PPG), is out for the rest of the regular season and will be reevaluated for the post season.

Dartmouth stayed at No. 4 in the latest Pairwise rankings, with a solid showing against Harvard in a losing effort.. The Big Green have still won six of seven, and will close their home season this weekend with Cornell (Sat.) and Colgate (Sun.). Dartmouth, which is also fourth in the USCHO and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine polls, is 17-6 overall and second place in the ECAC at 9-3.

The Hockey East race is heating up with fifth ranked University of New Hampshire and eighth ranked Providence College, Feb. 1. The Friars, 11-1-1 in league play, hold a one-point lead over UNH, but the Wildcats, 11-1-0 in Hockey East, have one more game to play down the stretch. The two teams meet in Providence on Saturday, Feb. 22. UNH, 22-5-2 overall, plays three of its last five at home before the Hockey East Tournament, March 15-16.

Sixth ranked St. Lawrence University, is unbeaten in its last seven (6-0-1) outings. The Saints are third in the ECAC at 8-3-1 (18-6-3 overall) and have a huge home series this weekend (Feb. 14-15) with top-ranked Harvard.

USCHO Poll

USA TODAY/AMERICAN
HOCKEY MAGAZINE Poll

For complete WCHA, ECAC and Hockey East standings and statistics visit: www.collegehokeystats.com

Coming Up...

Games of the Week: No. 3 Minnesota at No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth, Feb. 14-15, Duluth, MN -- You thought the Connecticut-Tennessee women's basketball rivalry was hot?? The pride of the Northern Star Trophy is on the line this weekend as Minnesota and UMD renew acquaintances. The Bulldogs swept Minnesota in Minneapolis in early December, and a sweep here would give UMD the regular season WCHA title. Minnesota needs wins here to keep WCHA title hopes alive and to hold positioning for the NCAA Women's Frozen Four. The series is not being played at UMD's regular home, the DECC, but at cozy Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth. A scheduling conflict at the DECC forced the games to be moved to the 1,200-seat facility.