Yale Daily News

Yale (9-8-4, 6-6-2 ECAC) vs. Dartmouth (11-7-3, 8-5-1) and No. 1 Harvard (17-1, 14-0)

The Bulldogs will need to be at the top of their game to take on this weekend’s opponents. The Big Green currently stands at fourth place with 17 points — three points ahead of the seventh-place Elis, which is by no means an insurmountable margin. The Bulldogs also have momentum on their side, coming off a 5-0 victory over Cornell (9-10-1, 6-7-1), while Dartmouth’s most recent result was a 0-4 loss to Harvard, despite an impressive 39 saves by Big Green goalie Mariel Lacina.

Speaking of the Crimson, Saturday’s match against the No. 1 team in the nation promises to be a tough slog. Harvard has dropped only one game all season, a mid-December contest to No. 2 New Hampshire (21-3-1), and Crimson forward Liza Ryabkina snagged ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors, thanks to her three-point showing in Sunday’s defeat of the Big Green. But Harvard is not alone in fielding an ECAC-honored player this weekend — goaltender Jackee Snikeris ‘11 was named ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week after tallying her fourth shutout against the Big Red. And with the Crimson scoring, on average, 2.78 goals more per game than their opponents, the Bulldogs will need every bit of defensive skill they can muster.