Quick Women's Preview

Sadly I've been buried and haven't had a chance to put together a complete Women's Preview this week. But let me nail down the basics.

The Women played admirably last weekend. They took it to nationally-ranked Harvard and Dartmouth squads that had a number of Olympians returning between them. They outshot both squads, and both teams rode hot goalies who have been suspect at times in the past to 2-0 wins on both nights. Playing the expected top four teams in the league they've come out with an 0-4-1 record, but they're not blow-outs, they're tight competitive games. Giving this team a little time to grow, they can certainly add some wins to that column on the back-sides of these series.

To the task at hand, Robert Morris is another trap team, but if I was just looking at this at a glance, I'd say it should be a blowout. Why is it a trap? Robert Morris has been highly competitive against teams like Boston University and RPI, who I feel Clarkson is a level above, but are growing stronger. The Colonials have also blown out teams like Union.

Clarkson has an offense that plays with the style of the top offensive teams in the conference and country. Against those same offenses we see tight games. Against teams new to Division-I Women's Hockey we see lots of goals. I suspect one of these games will be closer than we're comfortable with, and the other will be a blow out. Despite the two losses last weekend, Kira Hurley brought her GAA down to 2.29. Despite a lot of L's she and the Knights D are bringing back the form we're expecting.

That's four hockey games in just over 24 hours starting with the Women at 3:00 against RMU. The Men at 7:00 against the Q, then against RMU again at 1:00 and the Men finish up with Princeton starting at 4:30. Bring a sleeping bag!