By Ted Rossman, Student Assistant
51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s 2003-04 season ended this past weekend with a 2-1 series loss at national #4 St. Lawrence in the ECAC Quarterfinals. The club finished at 16-17-3 overall, and 6-11-1 in the ECAC, a conference regarded by most experts as the toughest in the nation. All of this came amidst a schedule which, for the first time in school history, was made up entirely of Division 1 opponents.
An important mark of a good team, most coaches will tell you, is a team that beats the opponents it is supposed to beat, and is competitive against the teams that are ranked above it. Perhaps no team in the ultra-competitive ECAC (Dartmouth, Harvard, and St. Lawrence have been ranked in the nation’s top four for much of the season, while Princeton and Brown have joined them in the top ten) better embodied that trait this season than 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.
Whereas last season the Raiders were outscored, in two games apiece, 16-2 by Harvard and 9-0 by Brown, this season was a far different story. Several weeks after falling by a combined four goals in a two-game weekend set at the two schools in early December, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø hosted the pair at Starr Rink. Against #3 Harvard, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø led for more than two periods before falling by a goal, 4-3. The following afternoon, the Raiders battled #11 Brown to a 2-1 overtime loss. Clearly, the tide was turning, and the biggest wave would come in the March 13 playoff victory at St. Lawrence.
The Raiders’ 1-0 win at St. Lawrence in game two of the ECAC Quarterfinals, which evened the series at one game apiece, was nothing short of breath-taking. Junior goaltender Rebecca Lahar (Vienna, Va.) made 50 saves, including 20 in a wild third period which culminated in a six-on-three situation for the Saints. Sophomore center Becky Irvine’s (Lakeview, N.S.) tally on assists from fellow sophomore Allison Paiano (Orleans, Ont.) and junior Amanda Barre (Grafton, Ont.) at 8:47 of the second period stood up as the game-winner in the biggest victory in Raiders’ history. The win marked three firsts for 51³Ô¹ÏÍø: triumph in a Division 1 playoff game, win over a nationally ranked opponent, and defeat of St. Lawrence, one of the nation’s top programs.
While the Raiders lost the series the following afternoon, the weekend marked a tremendous final step in a season filled with leaps and bounds. The Raiders played with only 16 skaters in the final two games of the series including Barre and Shelby Nelson (Osterville, Mass.), who each played through pain compared to the 18 that teams are allowed to dress. Injuries could have been an excuse for the Raiders to give in all season long, but they most certainly did not.
A young team 12 of the Raiders’ 23 players were freshmen and sophomores got even younger throughout the year, as injuries wreaked havoc on upperclassmen in particular. Senior captain Katie Breen, a center from North Andover, Mass., was only able to play in two games all season due to a back injury. Alternate captain Chelsey Rhodes (Champion, Alb.) missed the last 19 games with a torn ACL, and Nelson, a fellow junior, missed 16 games throughout the season. In their absence, the Raiders received breakout performances from several young players, leaving head coach Scott Wiley and Raider fans with much to look forward to in coming seasons.
The scoring line of Barre, Irvine, and Paiano asserted itself as a force to be reckoned with in the ECAC. All three players set career highs in points, Irvine and Paiano with 30 (tying them for 15th in the ECAC) and Barre with 25. Last season, Cheryl Setchell (Sydney, N.S.) led the club with 19 points (she tallied 15 this season). The Barre-Irvine-Paiano line proved on numerous occasions that it is capable of taking over a game, and improved markedly throughout the season, a credit to coaches Scott Wiley, Meghan Maguire, and Bill Dowsland.
Sophomore winger Carly McNaughton (Lethbridge, Alb.) finished the year fourth on the Raiders’ scoring list, scoring 5 goals to go along with 13 assists. McNaughton was a key cog in the Raiders’ power play, which ranked third in the ECAC, converting at a 19 percent clip. She ran the point in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s four forward power play set-up, often setting up Barre, Paiano, and Irvine down low.
Micki King, a sophomore from Akwesasne, N.Y., was the fifth player on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s top power play unit, and one of the Raiders’ top defensemen. She was often counted upon to defend the ECAC’s best offensive players, and was a major reason why 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s defense allowed 36 fewer goals than it did last season.
Junior Kristy MacDonald (Cobourg, Ont.) centered the Raiders’ third line, along with senior wingers Caitlin Hornyak (Middletown, Conn.) and Avery McGlenn (Coaldale, Alb.). The trio were solid all season long, providing veteran leadership and stability to the Raiders’ line-up. McGlenn stepped in as the Raiders’ captain after Breen her roommate and close friend was injured early in the season, and Hornyak served as an alternate captain. Altogether, the line accounted for 23 points in 2003-04. There will always be a special place in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø lore for Breen, McGlenn, and Hornyak, who are the last remaining players from the Division III era at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø. The playoff victory over St. Lawrence is a much-deserved send-off for the three seniors.
Junior Maura Kehoe (Chelsea, Que.) joined McNaughton and Setchell on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s top line, which tallied 47 points for the second straight season. The three forwards were often matched up against some of the best players in the nation, and more than held their own. All three will return next season Kehoe and Setchell are among eight rising juniors and look to keep 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Hockey rolling in the right direction.
Junior right wing Kristin Cirbus (Jamestown, N.Y.) often found herself playing with a pair of talented freshmen, Ashley Bradford (Burnaby, B.C.) and Ashley Johnston (Duxbury, Mass.). The line developed good chemistry as the season progressed. Bradford and Johnston seemed to play their best in big games, with goals against #4 St. Lawrence and #11 Brown, respectively. Cirbus’ 44 career points place her fourth among active Raiders.
One of the biggest reasons for 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s vast improvement this season was its strong defensive play. The Raiders allowed just 90 goals this season in 36 games, compared to 126 in 34 games a year ago. All of this came despite the injuries to Rhodes and Nelson, which left 51³Ô¹ÏÍø with five healthy defensemen (three sophomores and two freshmen) for many games late in the season. Each of the season’s last three weekends, Irvine, who played some defense in her prep school days, added extra help by logging some shifts on the blueline as well as at her customary center position.
Standing out among the young defensemen was freshman Tara French (Truro, N.S.). French continued the Raiders’ strong Nova Scotia connection Irvine and Setchell are also from the province by earning solid ice time. French was increasingly paired with King on the top defensive unit as the season progressed, and looks to be a force to be reckoned with on the Raider blueline for years to come. Her 11 points ranked her seventh among league freshmen and sixth among all ECAC defensemen.
Alix Warren (West Windsor, N.J.), the Raiders’ other freshman defenseman, made similar strides throughout the season. She was instrumental in the playoff victory over St. Lawrence, as was her defense pair, sophomore Brittany Briggs (Brighton, Mich.). Briggs, a Boston College transfer, scored her first collegiate goal in game one of the Raiders’ quarterfinal series versus St. Lawrence.
Kara Bachman (Chicago, Ill.) was a key member of the Raiders’ defense for much of the season. Unfortunately, Bachman was unable to play in the St. Lawrence series due to injury. During much of the regular season, Bachman teamed with Nelson, a junior, to contribute solid physical play on the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø blueline.
In net, Lahar again earned the bulk of the starts, and posted an impressive 2.49 goals against average, good for sixth in the ECAC. Her .927 save percentage ranked third in the league. Her 50 saves in the playoff win over St. Lawrence will go down as one of the best performances ever by a Raider netminder. Lahar will enter her senior season as a prime candidate for ECAC Goaltender of the Year honors.
Back-up goaltender Brook Wheeler (Brussels, Ont.) earned playing time in seven games, including 44 minutes of playoff action. In that action, spread over games one and three, Wheeler made 15 saves on 16 shots against the fourth-ranked Saints. Her play improved throughout the season, and she finished with a 2.18 goals against average and four wins to her credit.
Melanie Barclay (Trowbridge, Ont.), the Raiders’ third goaltender, followed up a year in which she was named the Raiders’ Most Improved Player with more solid practice play. Due to the success of Lahar and Wheeler, Melanie’s playing time was limited, but Barclay saved all four shots against her in the third period of a 9-1 win over Union on November 14.
The Raiders swept two games apiece from developing Division 1 programs Findlay, Quinnipiac, Cornell, Clarkson, Union, and Niagara, while battling top clubs such as Harvard, Brown, and St. Lawrence to the bitter end. It is a true credit to the Raiders’ players and coaches that, after the program’s third Division 1 season, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Women’s Hockey has already reached a higher level. The addition of scholarships next season, coupled with the momentum of the tremendous successes they achieved in 2003-04, has the Raiders entering 2004-05 on the verge of greatness in college hockey’s best conference.