The women's hockey team, which climbed to sixth in the ECAC East standings with last weekend's 4-1 and 5-4 overtime victory at New England College, had two of its players honored by the league. Sophomore forward Erin Vehec (Washingtonville, NY/Phillips Exeter Academy) was named the “Co-Player of the Week” while sophomore forward Liz Flanagan (Simsbury, CT/Loomis Chaffee) earned a place on the weekly honor roll after helping the Garnet improve its circuit record to 6-5-1 and its overall mark to 7-9-1.
Vehec, who began playing for the Dutchwomen in January after transferring from the University of New Hampshire, scored one goal in the Saturday victory and then contributed two goals and an assist as the Dutchwomen came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period.
Trailing 4-2 with 12:31 left to play, Vehec netted her fifth goal, and her third powerplay tally, in only six games to pull the Dutchwomen back to within 4-3. Then, with 3:31 remaining in regulation, she scored a shorthanded tally to send the game into the extra session.
If that wasn't enough for a day's work, Vehec picked up her third assist of the year on Molly Flanagan's (Simsbury, CT/Loomis Chaffee)–Liz's twin sister–game-winning tally at 1:52 of overtime.
“Erin has been a welcome addition to our team after transferring in from UNH, said head coach Fred Quistgard. “Her speed and hands have added an offensive spark, and she has developed a great chemistry playing with Liz and Molly Flanagan.”
Liz Flanagan had a remarkable weekend as she picked up three assists in the 4-1 victory and assisted on both of Vehec's goals in the overtime win.
Flanagan not only leads the Dutchwomen in scoring with her 27 points (10 goals and 17 assists), she is tied for second in the conference with her 2.25 points per game and is the country's
18th-leading scorer. Her 17 assists puts her on top of the ECAC in that category and leaves her 14th in the nation.
Of her 10 goals, four have been of the shorthanded variety, making her the No. 1 player in the country in that category.
“Liz has been one of our “go-to” players this season,” said Quistgard. “Her teamwork with her sister Molly and Erin Vehec has made them one of the most productive lines in the ECAC. Her tenacious fore-checking and great scoring instincts set the tone for our offense.”
Liz, who along with Jamie Laubisch (Apalachin, NY/Vestal High) were two of eight players named to last season's ECAC All-Rookie Team, goes into this weekend's two-game series with top-ranked Manhattanville having scored 25 goals, 26 assists and 51 points in 42 career games.
Manhattanville, which is riding a 13-game win streak, is ranked No. 3 in the country. The Valiants, 12-0 in the league, have outscored their ECAC competition by a 116-4 margin.
Saturday's game is at Achilles Rink at 7 p.m. with Sunday's face-off scheduled for 3 p.m.