1996-1997 ECAC Women final results ================================== ----------------------------------------------- From: Richard Hungerford Subject: ECAC Women's League: final results Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 16:16:41 -0500 Sat 03/08 ECAC League Quarterfinals (campus sites) #1 Brown 6 - #8 Colby 2 7:00 pm #2 Providence 3 - #7 Cornell 1 1:00 pm #4 Northeastern 6 - #5 Dartmouth 2 1:30 pm Sun 03/09 ECAC League Quarterfinals (campus sites) #3 UNH 5 - #6 Princeton 4 OT 1:00 pm Sat 03/15 ECAC League Semifinals @Northeastern's Matthews Arena #1 Brown 1 - #4 Northeastern 2 1:00 pm #2 Providence 3 - #3 UNH 4 OT 4:00 pm Sun 03/16 ECAC League Championship Final @Northeastern's Matthews Arena Tape delay broadcast 8:00 pm on WNDS-TV 50 (Derry, NH) #3 UNH 2 - #4 Northeastern 3 1:00 pm Northeastern wins its third ECAC Women's Championship with a 2-3 win over defending champ UNH. Hilary Witt was the MVP for the Huskies scoring two of the goals. Hail Huskies!!! _____________ / good shooting hungerf _____________/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 18:51:44 -0500 From: Richard Hungerford Subject: UNH Women 2 - Northeastern 3 (FINAL) Sunday afternoon at Matthews the University of New Hampshire Wildcats were defeated 2-3 by the Northeastern University Huskies in the ECAC Women's League Championship final. This 1997 triumph, along with wins in 1988 and 1989, gives Northeastern three ECAC Championships. The tournament MVP was the NU's Hilary Witt who had two of the goals. The final started slow but built into a game with end-to-end action and periods of pressure by both teams. There was no scoring in the opening frame. It was typical final four defensive hockey. At the start of the second, Northeastern came out big. Hilary Witt (Stephanie Acres) opened the scoring when she fired home from the left slot. The play was made by Acres who intercepted a breakout attempt and then provided the lovely soft feed to Witt. UNH had been pinned back but that goal got them pushing NU. Samantha Holmes (Carisa Zaban, Heather Reinke) finished off a wonderful length of the ice break by taking the puck to the net and tucking it under the goalie. The goal was made by the exquisite cross-ice pass from Zaban that set Holmes free. UNH was looking in control and followed up that score with another by Holmes (Brandy Fisher). The Huskie defense had collapsed as Holmes walked in front and drilled her shot. Northeastern came storming back with a ton of pressure. Eventually Erine Metcalf (Jennie Setaro) tied the game at two with a power play blast when she was allowed to waltz down the left wing. NU scored the winner from a power play goal by Witt (Emily Pemrick, Jaime Totten). You could feel that goal coming as the Huskies flipped the puck around in the UNH zone. It was a great period of hockey! In the final period, both teams played wait and hope-for-a-break to start. Gradually Northeastern started putting more pressure on the Wildcats and thus were able to pull out the great victory. New Hampshire looked a tad tired in the third and perhaps yesterday's late overtime contest had an effect. The Wildcats did not produce the elegant passing plays they used to defeat PC. However the defending Champions did give Northeastern a battle. Reinke led the defense with her strong skating and good reads. Fisher made a couple of interesting solo bursts. Holmes was a force today and took her two goals with a flourish. Zaban had another incredible day of passing the puck. She certainly is the driving force for the Wildcats. Northeastern played a much more engaging match in the final. I would have liked to see them go for more goals, but their scores were delightful. My theory on women's college hockey is that you are as good as your first-years. The Huskies seemed to augment that idea today. Naturally they also got strong senior leadership, but with the level of talent rising with each new class, recruiting is the key. All four NU defenders played very well today. Metcalf was able to read the attack and breakup passes and so could go forward and use her heavy slap shot. Setaro used her movement, passing and vision to fly over the ice surface. Totten had a smart weekend on the blue line and helped form a solid backdrop. Keri-Anne Allan played some fine one-on-one marking and supported the attack effectively. In goal, Shannon Meyers had a shaky start but came back to make some important saves. The line of Waldo, Wagner and Cheatham did a ton of muck work which aided the victory. King, Tapani and Scerra did their share of the digging and pulled off some nice moves. Acres, Pemrick and Witt were the big line. Pemrick produced an excellent back- checking game and made the telling passes. Witt exploded in the second period and was the true power forward as she gushed up ice and let her shot rip! The woman of the match and the woman of the weekend was Steph Acres. Whether she was fore-checking and filching the puck with her deft touch, or battling a face-off opponent for a draw Acres was marvelous. Acres ability to know where everyone is on the ice and produce the awesome setup was a major reason Northeastern won their third championship. Overall the final four did not go as I expected, but I am very happy for the Champion Huskies. _____________ / good shooting hungerf _____________/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 09:37:03 -0500 From: Richard Hungerford Subject: PC Women 3 - UNH 4 OT (SEMI-FINAL) Late Saturday afternoon at Matthews, the #2 seeded Providence College Friars were beaten by the #3 seeded University of New Hampshire Wildcats 3-4 in overtime. The game featured some good flow from both sides. UNH ultimately won because it finished its opportunities. The first period began with both teams playing some attractive hockey. The Wildcats had a real nice shape to their attack and I looked for them to put the match away early. As it turned out, there was no scoring in the first period. In the second, PC opened the scoring with a power play goal from Laurie Baker (Alison Wheeler, Katie Lachapelle). Wheeler made a lovely pass to find Baker alone at the side of the net. New Hampshire came back when Brandy Fisher (Courtney Smith, Michelle Zoanetti) fired home. UNH had worked the puck around in the PC zone expertly. The Wildcats immediately went out and took a 1-2 lead when Melisa Heitzman (Samantha Holmes, Carisa Zaban) drilled her shot from the left slot. New Hampshire followed that up with a power play goal by Heitzman (Zaban, Kerry Maher). Zaban was rolling out of the corners and made two beautiful passes to set up these slot shots. Providence came back with a 5 on 3 power play goal when Jennifer Wagner (Catherine Hanson, Laurie Baker) knocked in a rebound from a point shot. The Friars tied the game at three shortly thereafter with a power play goal from Baker (Myia Yates, Lachapelle). Basically all the penalties had proved was that both defenses buckled under pressure. There was no scoring in the third interval. Play became very tight as both teams seemed to want to play some more overtime! In extra time, UNH was doing everything but putting the puck in the net. PC produced some breaks, but not nearly has threatening. Zaban (Heather Reinke, Maher) pushed the Wildcats into the final with a 4 on 3 power play goal, when she deflected home a point shot. New Hampshire played well, but did not come out and control this match like I thought they would. It was extremely nice to see the Wildcats throwing the puck around so well today. The touch passing of Zaban - Heitzman - Fisher on the power play was splendid. I was also pleased to see former PC coach John Marchetti as a temporary assistant with UNH today. There is a singular nature to the time continuum. The defense was led by Reinke and Melissa McKenzie. Reinke made some tough plays today with her fine skating. First-year McKenzie provided some excellent man-to-man marking. Up front, Fisher laid off some wonderful passes and made a number of super individual breaks. Heitzman was sharp. She dashed over the ice and finished her chances perfectly. The woman of the match was Carisa Zaban. Her passing was superb today. Zaban made three or four memorable surging rushes that blew by the PC defense. Overall, if UNH can control the flow in the final, they should repeat as ECAC Women's League Champions. Providence College had its moments. As someone remarked to me: "There's no trace of the former great Friars of a few years ago." A sad but true statement. PC seems wrapped up in the negative side of the game and even its occasional flares seem off edge. Lachapelle and Katherine Cahill led the blue liners with some strong defensive play. Lachapelle is a fine skater and passer of the puck. Wheeler and Kelly Clark were the two forwards who stayed positive. Wheeler's passes are delicious. First-year Clark made a number of good rushes with her line. Overall it is painful to see PC slip. _____________ / good shooting hungerf _____________/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 21:24:23 -0500 From: Richard Hungerford Subject: Brown Women 1 - NU 2 (SEMI-FINAL) Saturday afternoon at Matthews Arena, the #1 seeded Brown University Bears were upset by the #4 seed and host Northeastern University Huskies 1-2. It was not an elegant semifinal match. NU used clutch and grab hockey to help slow down Bruno. Brown countered with its share of illicit actions while not playing their big skating game. In the end, Northeastern hung on for a huge win and a spot in the final. The match started with both teams looking uptight. The only player on the ice that looked ready to move was Brown's Katie King. King (Tara Mounsey) went on a long break up the left wing boards, dusted the NU defense and demi-deked the goalie before throwing her shot in at the high near post. Lovely goal! Brown continued to apply pressure in the first, but Northeastern hung in there, and there was no more scoring. In the second NU came out and stepped up their play. Neither team was setting the ice on fire, but the Huskies seemed to be controlling play. Emily Pemrick (Erine Metcalf, Hilary Witt) scored a 5 on 3 power play goal for NU to tie the match at one. Northeastern had worked the puck around the zone and found Pemrick completely unmarked. At that point, though it didn't seem possible, things got even tighter. Eventually the Brown defense gave the puck up in their own zone and NU's Courtney King pounced on the chance for the go-ahead goal. In the final stretch there was no scoring. Both sides were doing anything to win and it got pretty ugly at times. I kept waiting for Brown to wake up, hit the jets and put the contest away, but it never happened. Most people would say Northeastern played a very smart game. I can not say I enjoyed the victory at all. How you achieve success does count. I was not proud of the Huskies. There were a number of players who played a tough defensive style, but cleanly. The woman of the match was Keri-Anne Allan. The junior defender anticipated Bruno's moves so well. Allan also made several well-time rushes that put the pressure back on Brown. Jennie Setaro was moving and passing extremely well on the blue line. In goal, Shannon Meyers held her ground, even when under crash-the-net tactics. Up front, Witt came out gunning and was the first period hero for the Huskies. Stephanie Acres created some wonderful attacks with her skating and passing. Kathryn Waldo was the other standout performer. She had a ton of energy and engineered many good breaks. Overall, I hope we see Northeastern's skate and pass game tomorrow in the final. It was so sad to watch Brown lose this semifinal. They are an excellent group of players and why they froze today I do not know. Bruno has been recruiting some of the best talent in the league, but I believe the General Manager needs to find a coach. In 1994-95 when Russ McCurdy was an assistant at Brown, he helped make the players look so special. They played brilliantly as a team. Today there were individuals trying to be superstars, but the overall attacking scheme was lacking. King was Brown's outstanding player today. Her dynamic moves in the first, coupled with her turbo speed made her fantastic to watch. Becky Kellar was a presence on the Bruno blue line and also looked good up front in the third period. Jaime Abel was the other defender who hung tough. In goal Alison Brewer made some key saves to keep the game as close as it was. I had counted on watching the sensational Bruno seniors go out with a Championship and somehow today's events make me miss them even more. _____________ / good shooting hungerf _____________/ ------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------- File last Updated: Mon Mar 17 14:51:08 EST 1997 -----------------------------------------------