Kelly Sabatine Is the Best-Kept Secret in NCAA Women's Hockey

Outside of Cornell, very few players in the recent history of ECAC women’s hockey can boast a continuous increase in points production every season, while leading their squad to a postseason title. One of the most consistent players in ECAC hockey, St. Lawrence Skating Saints forward Kelly Sabatine is definitely one of those few players.

Already a member of the NCAA 100-point club, Sabatine is looking to eclipse the 150-point mark by the end of this season. Having quietly built a very solid career, her first three seasons have seen increases from 24 points to 34 to 47 points (in 2011-12), respectively.

Coming off the heels of her second consecutive scoring title in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (junior women’s hockey in Ontario, Canada) with the Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres by logging 33 goals and 35 assists for 68 points, Sabatine joined the St. Lawrence Skating Saints in the autumn of 2009. Despite only accumulating 24 points in 36 games played, Sabatine finished third on the club in scoring.

The sophomore season would not see Sabatine endure a sophomore slump, as she raised her scoring totals across the board. She increased her goals total from the previous season by six as she finished her sophomore campaign with a respectable 15 goals. Sabatine raised her assists total from 15 to 19 assists. Her point total of 34 would see Sabatine named on the ECAC All-Conference Third Team. With at least one point in 25 games, Sabatine began to establish herself as a key component of the St. Lawrence offense.

The 2011-12 campaign marked her coming-out party. With 22 goals and 25 assists, her 47 regular season points was only a preview of what was to come. In the ECAC Playoffs, she notched a game-winning goal versus Dartmouth Big Green star goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft. It was also her 100th career NCAA point. She would follow it up with another postseason game-winner by logging the marker against a very powerful Harvard Crimson club.

The ECAC Championship game was against top-seeded (and nationally ranked) Cornell. Her game winning goal against Cornell backstop Amanda Mazzotta with one minute and 50 seconds left in the game broke a 1-1 tie, while bringing St. Lawrence a hard-earned postseason title and a berth in the NCAA tournament. With Cornell boasting a prodigious graduating class, including Winter Games gold medalist Rebecca Johnston, Sabatine foiled their plans for another postseason title.

As an ECAC All-Tournament team selection, Sabatine would add to more hardware to her growing collection, as she was the Saints' Most Valuable Player for 2011-12 and an ECAC All-Academic team selection for the second straight year. In addition, she was a nominee for the prestigious Patty Kazmaier Award in 2012.

As the Skating Saints enter her final season with a No. 7 ranking in the national polls, Sabatine is poised to end her career with a 50-point season. For St. Lawrence, the club’s first match of the season against Cornell on October 23 is marked on the calendar—a rematch no ECAC fan will want to miss. There is no question that Sabatine will be a factor in the game. If she can reach the magical 50-point plateau this season, her scoring prowess may be the key to becoming a top five selection in the 2013 CWHL Draft.