Sure, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start out by ripping off Shakespeare.<\/p>\n
Then again, if the Bard of Avon had been watching the recent Division-I doings as they pertained to the Nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s No. 1 ranking, he might well have summed matters up thusly.<\/p>\n
It has, after all, been a tough time to be seated in the top spot.<\/p>\n
In successive weeks, the bulls-eye shifted from Wisconsin to Minnesota-Duluth then back again, thanks to upsets pulled off first by St. Cloud, then Minnesota.<\/p>\n
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks, indeed.<\/p>\n
Now New Hampshire is taking it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s turn at the top, and it, too (et, tu?) nearly fluffed its lines during the first act, Wednesday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tilt against No. 10 Boston College.<\/p>\n
The Wildcats eventually captured the contest by a hefty 4-1 margin, but not before spending 40 minutes fruitlessly deploying the outrageous fortune of slings and arrows (shots were 19-3 at one point) in its arsenal at BC goalie Molly Schaus.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wondered about [the ranking\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcs effect] in the first period,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said UNH coach Brian McCloskey. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We generated, but we weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really sharp. I felt if we kept working that way, we would score. I think our team generates a lot of chances. The key is to keep them hungry, and not frustrated when the puck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going in.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Junior sniper Sam Faber said that as far as they were concerned, they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t consciously trying to live up to their newly minted status. They were merely trying to beat Boston College.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think we thought about being No. 1,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We knew they (BC) were going to come out as hard as they did because we were No. 1. We just really had to play our game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
And as any old bard will tell you, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the play\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the thing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
One of the biggest surprises seen in the first month of the season has been the swift start registered by RPI.<\/p>\n
The Engineers from Rensselaer have sprinted to an impressive 6-2-1 start in just their third season as a Division-I program.<\/p>\n
This after struggling to a 12-22-1 mark last year, their first as an ECACHL member.<\/p>\n
According to senior defenseman Kelly Barbera, the club isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doing anything different this year than before.<\/p>\n
Just doing it better.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last year we got off to a slow start,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Barbera. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So this year, we concentrated on starting off the season right, and getting a winning record right from the start. It definitely builds our confidence a lot, going into league play.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The Engineers have been keeping their confidence up, and their goals against down, with goalies Ashley Mayr and Sonja van der Bliek combining to record a puny 1.20 GAA.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We definitely think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be very competitive this year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Barbera. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any amazing superstars. But we all work very hard. We all have a common goal of making the playoffs again. Every practice, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re working hard.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Barbera said that she is heartened by the progress made in her team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s play, as well as her own.<\/p>\n
“Personally, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve become quicker with my decisions,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely been a big change. At first I was playing in Division-III, and all of a sudden I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m playing Division-I. You have to make every decision faster. I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the biggest thing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Barbera was a freshman when RPI played its last D-III season, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just one of four seniors who remain from that club.<\/p>\n
She said that that little group, which also includes fellow blue liner Ellen McNamara and forwards Julie Aho and Brooke Thompson, feel like pioneers of a sort.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We feel so lucky to be a part of this team,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We definitely prided ourselves in stepping up to the new level. Having that freshman year in D-III helped keep us well grounded. We realize how amazing it is to be able to play Division-I hockey. We realize more than anyone else in the league, what an accomplishment it is.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Still, she said, the work has just begun.<\/p>\n
She cited RPI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s two defeats, both of which came in overtime to ranked teams BC and Connecticut. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re never happy with a loss,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And losing overtime games like that made us push ourselves that much harder in practice. But going to overtime with top ranked teams, we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really be upset about it. But we definitely want to turn those overtime losses into wins. I think we learned a lot about that last year, when we lost a lot of games by one goal.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
One couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help notice the impressive shutout string woven by North Dakota net minder Brittany Kirkham, who stopped all shots during a span of 201:23.<\/p>\n
That was nearly double the previous women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mark of 112:01 registered by Margaret-Ann Hinkley in 2004, and is second only to Gerald Schultz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s run of 249:41 way back in 1954 among all NoDak net minders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Heavy is the head that wears the crown\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6” Sure, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start out by ripping off Shakespeare. Then again, if the Bard of Avon had been watching the recent Division-I doings as they pertained to the Nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s No. 1 ranking, he might well have summed matters up thusly. It has, after all, been a tough time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n