Dutchwomen release 2013-2014 schedule

by Ryan Fay

The Dutchwomen released their 2013-2014 schedule on Friday.

The 34 game schedule includes contests against eight non-league opponents and the other 11 members of ECAC Hockey.

Union will get underway when the Ottawa Junior Senators come to Messa Rink for an exhibition on Sep. 21. That is the earliest the Dutchwomen have played in at least ten seasons.

The regular season opens a week later with a trip to Connecticut. The Huskies opened last season at Messa Rink and lost, 3-2.

“We beat them last year but it was a close, hard-fought game,” Dutchwomen head coach Claudia Barcomb said. “I think it will be another close game this year. It will be nice to get our kids on the road early on in the season to get an idea of what we’re all about.”

The regular season home opener is Oct. 4 when Providence comes to Messa Rink for the first of two games. 

Union will be home again the following weekend for single games against Northeastern and Boston University. Both games start at 3:30 as the Dutchmen will have home games against Bowling Green each night.

“BU was in the finals of the national championship game last year, and they’ll be really good again this year,” Barcomb said.

Non-conference action continues through October with trips to Penn State (Oct. 18-19) and to Syracuse on Oct. 26.

League play begins when Dartmouth and Harvard come to Schenectady on Nov. 1-2. Those will be the first of eight straight league games for the Dutchwomen.

“I think we’ll play a good variety of teams before we start league play,” Barcomb said. “With eight games in a row to start league play, it will be a very important stretch for us in the overall picture of our league.”

Other league games in that stretch include dates at Colgate (Nov. 8), at Cornell (Nov. 9), vs Brown (Nov. 15), vs Yale (Nov. 16), at Quinnipiac (Dec. 6), and at Princeton (Dec. 7).

The Dutchwomen will close out 2013 and start 2014 in non-league action. Maine comes to Messa Rink on Dec. 14-15 and RIT pays a visit on Jan. 3-4.

“We play RIT for the first time since I’ve been here and they’re a competitive team in their second year at the Division I level,” Barcomb said. “Scott (McDonald) has put together a pretty good team and it will be a good matchup for us.”

After the two game set against RIT, it's nothing but league play as the final 14 games are against league opponents. Princeton and Quinnipiac make visits to Messa Rink on Jan. 11-12 while the home-and-home against Capital Region rival RPI is Jan. 17-18.

Barcomb, a Harvard graduate, will return to her roots when the Dutchwomen travel to Harvard on Jan. 24, a day before a trip to Dartmouth. The North Country teams, Clarkson and St. Lawrence, travel to Schenectady on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.

Union will hit the road and travel to Brown and Yale on Feb. 7-8. Cornell, this past year's ECAC regular season and tournament champion, comes to Messa Rink on Feb. 14 and Colgate follows suit the next day. 

The regular season ends with a trip to the North Country with dates at St. Lawrence on Feb. 21 and Clarkson on Feb. 22.

“I like the way our schedule is, it’s pretty balanced the whole way through,” Barcomb said. “Our focus has to be to not have any let ups. We’ve told our players to be consistent in their workouts this spring, and hopefully that will continue into the fall.”

Union Women’s Ice Hockey

2013-2014 Schedule

September

21 Ottawa Jr. Senators (EXH.) 4:00 PM

28 @ UCONN 2:00 PM

October

4 Providence 7:00 PM

5 Providence 4:00 PM

11 Northeastern 3:30 PM

12 Boston University 3:30 PM

18 @ Penn State 7:00 PM

19 @ Penn State 4:00 PM

26 @ Syracuse 2:00 PM

November

1 Dartmouth 7:00 PM

2 Harvard 4:00 PM

8 @ Colgate 7:00 PM

9 @ Cornell 4:00 PM

15 Brown 3:30 PM

16 Yale 4:00 PM

December

6 @ Quinnipiac 7:00 PM

7 @ Princeton 4:00 PM

13 Maine 7:00 PM

14 Maine 2:00 PM

January

3 RIT 7:00 PM

4 RIT 4:00 PM

10 Princeton 7:00 PM

11 Quinnipiac 4:00 PM

17 @ RPI 7:00 PM

18 RPI 4:00 PM

24 @ Harvard 7:00 PM

25 @ Dartmouth 4:00 PM

31 Clarkson 7:00 PM

February

1 SLU 4:00 PM

7 @ Yale 7:00 PM

8 @ Brown 4:00 PM

14 Cornell 7:00 PM

15 Colgate 4:00 PM

21 @ SLU 7:00 PM

22 @ Clarkson 4:00 PM