ECAC Power Rankings, Nov. 5
Posted by: Josh SeguinWell last week was just dandy. A week removed from being put in the dungeon, after a sweep at the hands of Bentley, I am sure everyone predicted (I stupidly did not) that Rensselaer would sweep Union. Anybody that predicted that put your hands down, because you did not. On Friday, the Engineers came out flying in a 6-1 win over the Dutchmen at home. On Saturday, Spencer Foo got the Dutch fans a little excited early only for them to find it was just FOOOOS gold. The Engineers received an overtime goal from Viktor Liljegren to propel them to a sweep, well now where did that come from? Tons of great results that involved league teams. St. Lawrence won and tied Clarkson in a non-league pair, while Dartmouth and Harvard played to an entertaining tie, well based on what I saw anyway. I guess we should move on to the rankings…
1. Colgate (6-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week 1
Some of you will give the whole, Colgate lost to an Atlantic Team. Ya, ya, ya and I don’t want to hear it. Mercyhurst is not your typical Atlantic squad and I explain it in this blog. Losing to an Atlantic team used to be a big deal, but not anymore. In other news, sophomore goaltender Charlie Finn is pretty damn good. He was also the national player of the month.
2. Dartmouth (0-0-1, 0-0-1) – Last Week 4
This Dartmouth team is going to be fun to watch. I was able to get a preview last Saturday and it was a good first impression. A healthy Eric Robinson, alongside Tyler Sikura is going to bone-chilling for opponents. The two combined for a goal and two assists against the Crimson, but the amount they created was a lot. What else can I say? A tie moves them up because of what its nearest competition did over the weekend.
3. Cornell (0-1-1, 0-0-0) – Last Week 3
Cornell had a mixed weekend, but failed to pick up a win against Nebraska Omaha. On Friday, the premiere of its season, the Big Red squeaked out a 1-1 tie despite giving up 39 shots. Mitch Gillam had its back on that night making 38 saves. On Saturday, the offense again struggled to find the twine. Cornell scored a single goal, again on Saturday falling to Omaha 2-1. The positive for Cornell is it received goaltending, it really should have never
4. Union (5-3-0, 0-2-0) – Last Week 2
Ya I am not going to overreact for the first time in my life. Honestly though, whatever happened against RPI is seriously concerning for a team that started the season looking so good. Giving up six goals to a team that had just five on the season, it was surely tricking and not treating. I can just hear Rick Bennett saying, On to Dartmouth. Union is now on a three game losing streak, which equals half the number of losses it had all of last season.
5. Brown (1-0-0, 0-0-0) – Last Week 5
Brown travelled to West Point and took care of business against Army. Here is a scary thought. In a 4-1 win, Matt Lorito, Nick Lappin nor Mark Naclerio scored a goal. A win when those guys didn’t score has been rare over the past few years, so when they don’t and the Bears win it is HUGE news. But then again Army is known more for its marching and other important stuff it does, than its sports.
6. Yale (1-0-1, 0-0-0) – Last Week 6
The Elis let liberty win and brought home the title. It tied Princeton and defeated the Tigers in the shootout to advance to the final. On Sunday, Yale defeated UConn 2-1 to take home the crown. Like the rest of the Ivies, we do not have much to work off of so they stay pat.
7. Harvard (0-0-1, 0-0-1) – Last Week 7
This is a make or break season for the Crimson. The talent is there, I have been saying it for a little bit. I saw a really fantastic hockey game on Saturday night and I felt as though it was because both teams were really good. It is a little early to say that, but the mood interviewing them was different too. Donato was smiling and so were the players, which hasn’t been the case in a while. Harvard might be on to something here…
8. St. Lawrence (4-3-1, 0-0-0) – Last Week 8
A win and a tie for St. Lawrence is a good result against its top rival, because the Saints have failed to do much marching against Clarkson. A surprising start, has the Saints up to eight but they are still getting bailed out by its stud freshman goaltender, Kyle Hayton. Hayton stopped 64 of 66 shots on the weekend. He was named the ECAC rookie of the month earlier in the week and it should have been unanimous. He has saved more shots than any other goaltender in the country. SLU continues to get balanced scoring on few shots, which seems to be a positive. The Saints have marched steady this week.
9. Rensselaer (3-5-0, 2-0-0) – Last Week 12
Last weekend really happened, right? Well again I am not going to overreact because against everyone else RPI has looked pretty bad. The Engineers also have had the Dutchmen’s number. Three of Union’s last five losses have been to RPI. We will find out a lot about them this weekend, as it hosts Harvard and Dartmouth.
10. Quinnipiac (3-2-1, 0-0-0) – Last Week 9
I usually move teams that win twice up, but this is not the case. On Sunday, Quinnipiac played a game without flow, took tons of penalties and did not dominate possession against a team that usually struggles with that aspect of the game. It was hardly impressive, but QU has been less than stellar all season. Its opponent entered the weekend 0-4-0 on the year and had scored just four goals in its four contests. Over the weekend, NU scored five times, including taking a 2-0 lead on Sunday. Quinnipiac won both, but just did not impress. Do I think Quinnipiac is a tenth place team? It shouldn’t be but right now it is playing like one. The defense looked better, just barely. Beat Colgate or Cornell and it moves up.
11. Clarkson (2-4-2, 0-0-0) – Last Week 10
Another week, another Clarkson move down in the Power Rankings. Since beginning the year 2-0-0, the Knights have gone 0-4-2. A six game winless streak with that defense seems to be an abomination but against Clarkson failed to score. It scored just twice on the weekend and was shutout for the second time on the season, on Saturday.
12. Princeton (0-1-1, 0-0-0) – Last Week 11
A tie with Yale was a great result for the Tigers. But two days later, they regressed beyond the mean and were trounced by Merrimack, 6-1. It really is hardly fair that Merrimack had played for weeks, while the Tigers were in only its second game.
