Northeastern Chosen to Repeat as ECAC Women's League Champion
Huskies tabbed as preseason favorite by league coaches
 
Centerville, MA--Northeastern is tabbed as the preseason favorite in the
1997-98 ECAC Women's League Coaches Preseason Poll.  The Huskies, the
1996-97 ECAC Tournament Champions, earned six of the 12 first-place votes
and amassed 135 points.  New Hampshire, the team tabbed as the preseason
favorite in each of the prior two polls, edged out Brown for the number
two slot.  The Wildcats received a pair of first-place votes and tallied
129 points just three points ahead of the Bears.  The Bears totaled 126
points and four first-place votes.
 
Northeastern entered the 1996-97 tournament as the fourth seed but won the
crown on its home ice with a 3-2 victory over New Hampshire.  "We
certainly have made a quite a jump in the poll.  We were ranked fifth in
last season's preseason poll and went on to win the championship.  I guess
now that we are the top ranked team everyone will be gunning for us,"
Northeastern Head Coach Heather Linstad said.  "We have a strong league
and we know that we are not going to be able to sneak up on anyone this
season."
 
Northeastern finished the regular season in fourth place in the ECAC
Women's League last year with a mark of 16-6-0.  The Huskies have never
been ranked higher then fourth in the preseason poll.
 
New Hampshire finished the regular season in a tie for second last season
with a 17-4-1 mark and advanced to the ECAC Championships.  The Wildcats
were the last preseason favorite to go on to win the ECAC Tournament as
they captured the crown in 1996.
 
Brown, the 1996-97 regular season title holders with a perfect 22-0-0
mark, owned the second spot in each of the last two preseason polls.  The
Bears were defeated by Northeastern in the ECAC Women's League semifinals
last season.
 
1997-98 ECAC Women's League Preseason Coaches Poll
 
 1.     Northeastern (6)        135
 2.     New Hampshire (2)       129
 3.     Brown (4)               126
 4.     Providence              109
 5.     Dartmouth                90
 6.     Cornell                  88
 7.     Princeton                74
 8.     Colby                    52
 9.     Harvard                  46
10.     St. Lawrence             41
11.     Boston College           31
12.     Yale                     15
 
 
ECAC Announces Site for 1998 ECAC Women's League Championship
Northeastern to host the semifinals and finals for the second straight
year
 
Centerville, MA--ECAC Ice Hockey Commissioner Jeff Fanter announced that
Northeastern University will host the 1998 ECAC Women's League
Championship on March 14 and March 15.  This marks the second straight
season that Northeastern will play host to the championship.  Last year
the Huskies, seeded fourth, used the home ice to their advantage as they
won the championship, 3-2 over New Hampshire.
 
"Last season's championship was a huge success.  The sport of women's ice
hockey is growing each and every day and I would suspect that by March 14,
just a month after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics where women's ice
hockey will be a medal sport for the first time ever, the popularity of
the sport will be at its highest point ever and just continue to grow from
there.  The ECAC Championship can be that springboard to the future for
the sport at the collegiate level,"  Fanter said.  "Northeastern did a
tremendous job hosting the tournament last season and what a better mix
than having last year's champion, and this year's preseason favorite, host
the 1998 championship.'
 
Two semifinal games will be played on Saturday, March 14 and the finals
will take place on Sunday, March 15.  Game times and ticket information
will be released in mid-November.
 
In addition to the championship the ECAC and Northeastern will once again
play host to the NCAA Regional Yes Clinic, one of the top youth clinics in
the country.  Further information concerning the Yes Clinic will be
available in early November.
 
"Not only is this announcement exciting for Northeastern but it is
exciting for the entire ECAC.  We received terrific exposure in the Boston
area last season and I am sure the same will happen this year and some of
that exposure will be spread throughout the country with the growth of the
sport,"  Northeastern Head Coach Heather Linstad said.  "The Yes Clinic is
a wonderful opportunity for the youth in the area to learn from the top
college women's players in the country."
--      --      --
 
Many thanks to ECAC Ice Hockey Commissioner Jeff Fanter for this timely
release!
 
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