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ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT women's hockey team (19-4-3), ranked fourth in the latest USCHO.com Division III Women's Hockey poll, is the No. 3 seed in the 2010 ECAC West Championship Tournament hosted by SUNY Plattsburgh. RIT will play No. 2 Elmira, who is also third in the nation (20-4-1) in the second semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. Top-seeded Plattsburgh, (22-1-2) also the No. 1 team in the nation, will host No. 4 Utica (13-11-2) in the first semfinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. The two winners will meet in the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. All games will be played at the Stafford Ice Arena on the campus of SUNY Plattsurgh.
Ticket prices will be $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children and students with ID per day.
The Tigers went 0-1-1 against Elmira, 2-0 against Utica and 0-2 against Plattsburgh this season. RIT and Elmira skated to a thrilling, 3-3 tie on Jan. 9, while the Soaring Eagles eked out a 2-1 win the following afternoon. RIT swept Utica by scores of 5-3 and 4-1 at Ritter Arena on Jan. 30-31. Plattsbugh swept the Tigers at Stafford Ice Arena on Jan. 22-23, by scores of 4-3 and 5-2. RIT out-shot the Cardinals in each contest.
Plattsburgh, the 2007 and 2008 national champion, has the longest current unbeaten streak in Division III at 17 games (15-0-2). RIT and Elmira both come into Saturday’s game riding identical nine-game winning streaks. Elmira was the national runner-up last season. RIT is the second highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 4.92 goals per game (122 goals in 25 games). The Tigers boast the nation’s leading goal scorer, Katie Stack, who has 31 tallies in 26 games. Sarah Dagg is second nationally with 28 assists and 44 points. Six Tigers have at least 20 points and all but one Tiger skater (forward or defenseman) has at least 10 points this season.
Elmira has the nation’s best power-play (29.9 percent), while Plattsburgh is the third highest scoring team and fourth best defensive squad nationally.
Last weekend, RIT advanced to the ECAC West Semifinals for the third straight season after defeating sixth-seeded SUNY Potsdam, 5-0 in the ECAC West First Round. Utica also advanced after defeating fifth-seeded Neumann, 4-1 on Monday.
RIT will look to advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament for the second time in the last four seasons. The Tigers are 81-17-7 under fourth-year head coach Scott McDonald.
RIT needs one more victory to record its third 20-win season in the last four years. The Tigers have recorded at least 19 wins for four straight seasons.
The winner of this weekend's tournament gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Click here for final ECAC West Standings