ECAC Power Rankings 10/31/2012
Posted by: Josh SeguinAll ECAC teams have finally played a game so things are starting to take shape. Cornell had a big weekend defeating Colorado College twice and Dartmouth won the annual Ivy Shootout. This week has two top movers as Dartmouth and Colgate both jump two spots. Quinnipiac and RPI both fell two positions on the week.
ECAC hockey has had a strong start to the year in terms of non-conference play. In the first three weeks of the season, the teams have a combined 16-10-5 record against teams in the other conferences, including a 3-1-0 record against Hockey East and a 7-4-2 record against the CCHA. This weekend will mark the beginning of the conference season for most teams and the teams that belong at the top will begin to stick out while the others will start to fall.
1. Cornell (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last week 1
Cornell began the 2012-2013 season strong with a sweep of Colorado College at Lynah Rink. The Big Red scored five power-play goals on the weekend, which accounted for all of their offensive production. They were led by a two goal night by John Esposito on Friday night. Joel Lowry scored two markers on Saturday night. Andy Iles started his season strong with a shutout and allowing just two on Saturday.
2. Harvard (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 3
Harvard began their season on Saturday night with a 5-0 win over Bentley. Jimmy Vesey had three points in the game on two goals and an assist, while Alex Fallstrom and Danny Biega had two assists each. A win against Bentley would normally not be enough to move a team up the rankings, but paired with a Union tie against UConn the win was enough.
3. Union (3-1-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week 2
A tie against UConn on Saturday must have felt like a loss to the Dutchmen, but it is not the end of the world. So far the non-conference schedule for Union has been a bit on the weak side and they have for the most part taken advantage of it. On Friday night, Union defeated American International 8-0. Kyle Bodie had five points on the weekend, on two goals and and three assists. Troy Grosenick has a consistent season going this season, but so far not up to the level of last year at 2.21 goals against per game.
4. St. Lawrence (3-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week 4
St. Lawrence was idle last weekend and will host Alabama-Huntsville for a pair over the weekend.
5. Yale (1-0-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 5
The Bulldogs had a consistent start to the year with a win and a tie on the weekend. Despite losing in a shootout to Dartmouth in the Ivy Shootout, Yale will stay put in this week’s rankings because this loss does not reflect in the overall standings. Yale was led offensively by Antoine Laganiere who had 3 goals on the weekend and Clinton Boubonais assisted on all three of the markers. Nic Maricic and Jeff Malcolm split time in net, each giving up two goals.
6. Dartmouth (1-0-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 8
Dartmouth won the Ivy Shootout with their 4-0 win over Brown on Saturday night and a shootout win over Yale on Friday night. Dartmouth got solid goaltending on the weekend, with Cab Morris giving up two against Yale and Charles Grant earning the shutout against Brown. Dartmouth had a balanced attack on offense as five different skaters scored a goal, led by Eric Robinson’s two goals. Matt Linblad also pitched in three assists in the two games. Dartmouth will play the same two teams at home this weekend.
7. Colgate (4-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 9
Colgate jumps ahead of Quinnipiac after a convincing 5-1 non-conference win over Quinnipiac and a 6-3 win over RIT. The offense led the way on the weekend as the Raiders scored 11 goals on the weekend. No player scored more than two goals for Gate and goaltender Eric Mihalik had a solid weekend giving up four goals.
8. Quinnipiac (3-2-1, 0-0-0 ECAC)- Last Week: 6
I am seemingly overreacting here, but in the end not so much. An early season win at Maine is beginning to look a little less stellar and a loss to Colgate Saturday has moved them below said team. Since the opening night game, the Bobcats have gone 2-2-1, with losses to Gate and Robert Morris. The results have been disappointing but the season is still young.
9. Renesselaer (1-1-2, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 7
Unfortunately I need to see more body of work to move one win RPI above three win QU. RPI was idle over the weekend and will face rival Union for a pair this weekend.
10. Brown (1-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 11
Brown won the opening night game against Princeton and lost to Dartmouth in the championship game of the Ivy Shootout. The win over Princeton moves the Bears above the Tigers in the rankings but no further. On Friday against Princeton, Brown got a solid performance in goal by Marco De Fillippo who saved 24 out of 25 shots. On Saturday the offense was dormant in a shutout and De Fillippo gave up three goals on 32 shots.
11. Princeton (0-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 10
Princeton moves down a position in this week’s rankings following two losses in the Ivy Shootout, at the hands of Brown and Yale. The Tigers lost by an aggregate of two so the weekend wasn’t a total loss for them. The Princeton offense was led by a two goal weekend from Tyler Maugeri, who scored two of three of their goals on the weekend. They also received a solid weekend from their veteran goaltender, Mike Condon, who allowed five goals on 56 shots.
12. Clarkson (0-4-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 12
Clarkson will continue its hold on the 12th spot in the ECAC rankings this week following a loss and a tie against Niagara. Clarkson remains winless on the season and has posted a 0-2-1 record against Atlantic Hockey teams. Clarkson has been the one sour spot in a relatively positive year for ECAC hockey as a whole. We should not forget that Niagara lost 10-2 against seventh ranked Colgate earlier in the season. Clarkson has scored goals this year, but they have given up a league worst 3.74 per game. A .876 save percentage from the goaltenders is not helping, but in the end the porous start to the year has been a team effort.
