PRINCETON, N.J. -- Ivy League women’s ice hockey drops the puck on the 2017-18 campaign on Oct. 20—with 5-of-6 teams in action.
Dartmouth and Harvard will face off on Oct. 20, jumping right into ECAC Hockey and Ivy League play, while Brown, Princeton and Yale will face non-conference foes. Reigning League champion Cornell opens its season on Oct. 27, when it visits ECAC Hockey foe St. Lawrence.
Last season Cornell claimed its first Ivy League title since a stretch of four-straight from 2009-10 to 2012-13. The Big Red also represented the Ivy League in the National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Championship quarterfinals, falling to eventual national champion Clarkson, 3-1. The Golden Knights also defeated the Big Red in the ECAC Hockey Championship final, 1-0.
BROWN
2016-17 Record: 7-22-0 (5-17-0 ECAC, 3-7-0 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. No. 10 Robert Morris, Oct. 20, 6 p.m.
Brown will look to prove its doubters wrong this season, after being picked to finish in the ECAC Hockey cellar. The Bears finished outside of the Ivy League cellar for the first time since 2011-12 a year ago, in large part due to their first regular-season sweep of Dartmouth since 1999-00. Brown has qualified for the ECAC Hockey postseason just once since a conference championship runner-up finish in 2006, as the No. 8 seed in 2012. Third-year head coach
Bob Kenneally will welcome back the majority of his offensive firepower, after graduating just one point-getter in forward
Maddie Woo (1G, 4A). The Bears return their 2016-17 goal, assist and points leader in senior forward
Sam Donovan (9G, 12A), along with each of their five double-digit point-getters. However, the club will have to replace a three-year starter in net in Second Team All-Ivy goaltender
Monica Elvin, who posted a .905 save percentage in 2016-17.
CORNELL
2016-17 Record: 20-9-5 (13-4-5 ECAC, 7-0-3 Ivy)
Season Opener: at St. Lawrence, Oct. 27, 6 p.m.
Reigning and 13-time Ivy League champion Cornell was ranked No. 7 in the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason polls and is currently No. 10/RV. The Big Red, who have been to the ECAC Hockey postseason for an Ivy League-best 10-straight years, were also slated to finish third in ECAC Hockey behind Clarkson and St. Lawrence. 2016-17 Ivy League and ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year
Doug Derraugh returns his top goal scorer in sophomore forward
Kristin O’Neill (14G, 12A), who was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year a season ago. O’Neill and sophomore defender
Jaime Bourbonnais (5G, 11A) were also named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team, while junior defender
Micah Hart (5G, 11A) was First Team All-League in ECAC Hockey. Hart (First Team) and O’Neill (Second Team) joined junior goaltender
Marlene Boissonnault (Second Team) as All-Ivy recipients.
DARTMOUTH
2016-17 Record: 7-21-0 (5-17-0 ECAC, 2-8-0 Ivy)
Season Opener: at Harvard, Oct. 20, 6 p.m.
Just two years removed from a string of five-straight ECAC Hockey postseason appearances, Dartmouth was picked to finish 10th in the conference in 2017-18. The Big Green graduated both of their double-digit point-getters from a year ago, forward
Kennedy Ottenbreit (11G, 6A) and defender
Eleni Tebano (6G, 8A), along with their Second Team All-Ivy goaltender
Robyn Chemago. The club does bring back its assist leader in junior forward
Alyssa Baker (1G, 8A), but has just one returner—sophomore forward
Christina Rombaut (4G, 5A)—who netted more than two goals during the 2016-17 campaign. The Big Green will be led by
interim head coach Joe Marsh, who spent 27 years at the helm of the St. Lawrence men’s ice hockey program—while head coach
Laura Schuler guides the Canadian Women’s National Team in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
HARVARD
2016-17 Record: 5-19-5 (5-13-4 ECAC, 4-5-1 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. Dartmouth, Oct. 20, 6 p.m.
Harvard, which had its streak of 19-straight ECAC Hockey postseason appearances snapped last season, was predicted to finish seventh in the conference’s preseason poll. The Crimson return 4-of-6 double-digit point-getters from the 2016-17 campaign, but did graduate both of their Second Team All-Ivy honorees in forward
Sydney Daniels (11G, 5A) and defender
Briana Mastel (2G, 13A). Senior forward
Lexie Laing (8G, 13A), sophomore forward
Kat Hughes (5G, 10A) and senior forward
Haley Mullins (9G, 4A) are paramount among the returning skaters for 23rd-year head coach
Katey Stone—the winningest coach in the history of NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey with 451 career victories. The Crimson received votes in the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason polls and are currently RV/RV.
PRINCETON
2016-17 Record: 20-10-3 (14-6-2 ECAC, 5-3-2 Ivy)
Season Opener: vs. Providence, Oct. 20, 6 p.m.
Princeton has received votes in multiple national polls this season and was picked to place sixth in ECAC Hockey. The Tigers had a pair of
ECAC Hockey Preseason All-Conference honorees in junior forward
Karlie Lund (21G, 23A) and sophomore goaltender
Stephanie Neatby. Both Lund (Second Team) and Neatby (First Team) were All-League picks in ECAC Hockey and unanimous First Team All-Ivy selections in 2016-17. Sophomore forward
Carly Bullock (20G, 10A) joined Neatby on the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team a year ago. Each was also an ECAC Hockey “of the Year” award recipient—Bullock (Rookie) and Neatby (Goaltender). Despite returning the Ivy League’s leading goal scorer and point-getter, first-year head coach
Cara Morey will miss the contributions of Second Team All-League in ECAC Hockey and First Team All-Ivy defender
Kelsey Koelzer (8G, 23A) and Second Team All-Ivy forward
Cassidy Tucker (13G, 12A).
YALE
2016-17 Record: 10-17-4 (8-12-2 ECAC, 5-3-2 Ivy)
Season Opener: at RIT, Oct. 20, 2 p.m.
Yale was named to the all-important eighth position, which represents the final postseason qualifying spot, in the ECAC Hockey preseason poll. Yale graduated its goal and assist leaders from 2016-17 in forwards
Phoebe Staenz (14G, 10A) and
Krista Yip-Chuck (8G, 19A). Staenz was a First Team All-Ivy honoree and Third Team All-League selection in ECAC Hockey. The Bulldogs will also miss the presence of Second Team All-Ivy defender
Taylor Marchin (7G, 12A), but do welcome back their co-leader in points in senior forward
Eden Murray (9G, 18A). A quartet of double-digit point-getters from Yale’s ECAC Hockey quarterfinal club join Murray in returning for eighth-year head coach
Joakim Flygh. The Bulldogs are still searching for their first Ivy League title since the program’s inception in 1977-78.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, October 20
Yale at RIT, 2 p.m. [
CHA Digital Network]
No. 10 Robert Morris at Brown, 6 p.m. [
ILN]
Dartmouth at Harvard, 6 p.m. [
ILN]
Providence at Princeton, 6 p.m. [
ILN]
Saturday, October 21
No. 10 Robert Morris at Brown, 1 p.m. [
ILN]
Yale at RIT, 1 p.m. [
CHA Digital Network]
Providence at Princeton, 3 p.m. [
ILN]
Sunday, October 22
Dartmouth at New Hampshire, 2 p.m. [
ESPN3]
ECAC Hockey Women’s Coaches Preseason Poll
1. Clarkson (10), 119 Points
2. St. Lawrence (1), 103 Points
3. Cornell (1), 99 Points
4. Colgate, 88 Points
5. Quinnipiac, 85 Points
6. Princeton, 82 Points
7. Harvard, 61 Points
8. Yale, 51 Points
9. Rensselaer, 33 Points
10. Dartmouth, 29 Points
11. Union, 25 Points
12. Brown, 17 Points