The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team will face a tough test, or rather, the toughest test, in their ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series at Cornell this weekend.

The Big Red are the nation's top-ranked team in both national polls. Cornell leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 24 goals in 29 games with 11 shutouts. The Big Red ran away with the ECAC Hockey regular season title this season, posting a 19-0-3 league record. Their six-point lead over the rest of the league in the ECAC Hockey standings was the largest margin the league has seen since Cornell won the regular season title by 10 points in 2010-11.

Cornell lost just one game this season, a 3-1 setback at Ohio State in late November, and brings a 19-game unbeaten streak into the playoffs.

But none of that matters, says Saints' head coach Chris Wells '92, because the playoffs is a whole new season.

"Everybody is 0-0 right now," said Wells. "You can flush the regular season and get yourself restarted. Kind of like playing the back nine (in a round) of golf, you go in and get a sandwich and recharge and you're like a new golfer on the 10th tee."

The Saints closed out the home portion of their schedule with a 3-2 win over 10th-ranked Quinnipiac to post their second win over a ranked opponent this season. Two weeks earlier, the Saints fell to the Big Red 3-2 in a game at Lynah Rink.

"We had a good game down there at Cornell so our kids understand what to expect and we feel confident with our abilities to be able to skate with them and play with them," said Wells. "(There's) absolutely no pressure on us heading down there this weekend because I think probably the only people who think we can get it done are the ones who are putting on the gear this weekend. So the underdog mentality is going to be in our favor this weekend for sure."

Game one will be played on Friday, with game two set for Saturday. Game three, if necessary, will be played on Sunday. Opening faceoff for all three games is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The winner of the series will advance to the ECAC Hockey Championship weekend. If Cornell wins, the Big Red will host the semifinal and championship games. If St. Lawrence wins, the semifinal and championship rounds will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed.

All-Time Series Notes

• St. Lawrence has a 25-25-6 record against Cornell since the team moved to NCAA Division I recruiting and compliance rules in the 1997-98 season. The Saints are 13-14-2 in 29 meetings in Ithaca.
• The Saints dominated the Big Red for a decade starting in the 1999-00 season, going 22-2-2 over the next 11 seasons. But over the last 10 years, Cornell has flipped the script, holding a 19-3-4 record against St. Lawrence.
• This season, the Big Red swept the season series, winning 4-1 at SUNY Canton's Roos House Ice Rink on Nov. 8, and 3-2 a Lynah Rink on Feb. 1.
• Grace Graham has scored three goals against the Saints this season, while Amy Curlew has two goals and an assist. Paige Lewis had two assists in both games for the Big Red.
• Rachel Teslak has a goal and an assist in two games against Cornell this season. Julia Gosling and Shailynn Snow also scored goals against the Big Red.

St. Lawrence Notes

• Senior Kayla Vespa leads the team with 32 points on 12 goals and 20 assists. Freshmen Anna Segedi and Shailynn Snow both have 22 points; Segedi has 11 goals and 11 assists, while Snow has six goals and 16 assists. After missing the first 11 games of the season, Julia Gosling has eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points.
• Lucy Morgan has been the Saints' primary goaltender this season. She ranks third in ECAC Hockey with a .934 save percentage and fourth in the league with a 1.66 goals against average.
• St. Lawrence 10-0-1 this season when scoring three or more goals, but just 3-14-6 when scoring two or fewer.
• The Saints are 12-3-6 when allowing fewer than three goals and are 1-11-1 when allowing three or more goals.

Cornell Notes

• Jaime Bourbonnais is one of the nation's best defensemen, ranking second nationally among blueliners with 38 points on seven goals and 31 assists on the season. Maddie Mills has 18 goals and 18 asssts, while Kristin O'Neill has 19 goals and 14 assists.
• Lindsay Browning leads the nation with a 0.80 goals against average and ranks second with a .957 save percentage.
• Cornell's penalty kill also ranks #1 in the nation, allowing just eight power play goals while scoring three shorthanded goals this season. The Big Red have killed off 93% of their opponents' power plays.
• The Big Red have allowed more than one goal in just four games this season. One of those games was the regular season finale — a 5-3 win over Union.

Weekend Preview: The Coach's Show with Chris Wells

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