William Smith College first-year forward Izzy Friedman was named the United Collegiate Hockey Conference North Division’s Rookie of the Week following her efforts in William Smith’s upset victory over then No. 4 Elmira on Sunday.
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Friedman recorded a pair of assists in the win. At the 1:42 mark of the first period, she set up junior Alison Weiss’ goal that tied the game 1-1. In the second period, she raced the length of the ice and fired a cross ice pass to junior Emily Martino to set up William Smith’s second goal of the day. It was Friedman’s first career multi-point game. Through 23 games this season, she has six points on a goal and five assists.
Thirty seconds into the overtime period, junior Julia Mings’ redirected a shot from fellow junior Jules Kennedy past Elizabeth Hanson to seal the upset bid. Senior Gina Scibetta added a goal and sophomore Amanda Aalto made 22 saves in just over 60 minutes of action in goal.
The Herons are 16-7-0 overall with a 12-2-0 mark in UCHC play and are riding a nine-game win streak into the final weekend of the regular season. It is the second longest win streak in program history. William Smith’s upset victory earned them a vote in the USCHO.com poll announced yesterday.
The Herons enter the weekend in a three-way tie atop the conference standings with fifth-ranked Elmira and Nazareth. If William Smith wins its final two games they will clinch at least a share of their first regular season title. The Herons host Utica and Nazareth at The Cooler this weekend, Feb. 22-23.
The Herons will take on the Pioneers, who locked up the No. 4 seed in the UCHC North Division, Saturday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. Utica is 9-13-1 overall with a 9-4-1 mark in conference play. William Smith defeated the Pioneers 1-0 back on Nov. 22 in Utica.
The next day, William Smith will take on the Golden Flyers at 4 p.m. Nazareth enters the weekend with a 17-3-3 overall record and a 11-1-2 mark in conference play and will be at Elmira on Saturday. The Golden Flyers edged William Smith 2-1 in Rochester on Nov. 23. If both William Smith and Nazareth win on Saturday, Sunday’s game could decide the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Sunday’s game will be the final regular season home game for the three members of William Smith’s Class of 2020. Kate Klimaszewski, Morgan McMinn and Gina Scibetta have compiled a four-year record of 57-33-12 and will graduate as the winningest class in program history.
