Last week Dartmouth was sitting pretty in these rankings after a win against UNH but have not won since and have lost three games in a row. Quinnipiac proved their ranking at the top with another four point weekend, with wins against Dartmouth and Harvard. Quinnipiac now sits nine points clear of their closest competition in the standings, while the next 11 teams are separated by just seven points. Without further ado we will see where all the teams rank.

1. Quinnipiac (16-3-2, 10-0-0) – Last Week 1

At this point there is no question who the top dog in ECAC is. Last weekend the Bobcats defeated Dartmouth 2-1 on Friday night, while pummeling Harvard 6-2 on Saturday. They are on a 14 game unbeaten streak and are unblemished in ECAC play. A nine point lead is monumental at this point of the season, but it seems as though nine points will be all they need. The question at this point is who will stop their hot streak. Along with being at the top of the ECAC standings, the Bobcats currently sit in second place in the ever important Pairwise Rankings.

2. Colgate (11-7-2, 3-4-1) – Last Week 3

Colgate continues its march up the power rankings this week moving up to the second spot. Normally a sweep of Sacred Heart wouldnt move a team up, but considering Dartmouth is on a three game losing streak it was the only move to be made. They emphatically swept Sacred Heart by an aggregate of 15-2 on the weekend, winning 6-2 on Friday and 9-0 on Saturday. Gate will have another week off until they play again on January 18th against RPI on the road.

3. Dartmouth (8-5-2, 4-3-1) – Last Week 2

The Big Green had a rough weekend losing to Quinnipiac and Princeton over the weekend. They have now lost three in a row, since a win against New Hampshire put them on the national stage just last Sunday. Since starting 5-0-1, the Green have gone just 3-5-1 in their last nine games. The time has come for them to prove whether or not they were meant for the early pairwise ranking they had just last week, peaking at second in those ever-important rankings. They now sit in 11th in those rankings.

4. Yale (7-4-3, 3-3-1) – Last Week 5

Yale played a very good, up-tempo game against one of the best teams in nation, Boston College. It was a game in all honesty that they should have won as they outplayed the Eagles for the whole 65 minutes and outshot them 48-22, but Parker Milner kept the Eagles close and Yale had to settle for a tie in the non-conference matchup. This tie helps them in these rankings and could have moved them up. getting shots is one thing, but finishing is another.

5. Princeton (5-7-4, 4-3-3) – Last Week 9

The biggest mover this week is Princeton. On Friday night, the Tigers took a 3-2 decision against Harvard and on Saturday Princeton gritted out a 2-1 decision against a really good Dartmouth team. They sit second in the ECAC standings behind the Q and have benefited that they are the travel partner to them. A few more W’s would move them even higher in these rankings, but at this point they have jumped a few underachieving teams and could be posed for a quick fall.

6. Union (9-6-4, 3-2-3)- Last Week 4

The underachieving team of the year award in the ECAC would be a toss up between Union and Harvard, but last weekend had to be viewed as a disappointment as the Dutchmen were swept by Lake Superior State in non-conference action. Union has won just one game in their last eight contests and have struggled at times at both ends of the ice. This weekend will see the return of Shayne Gostisbehere one of their best defensemen. His return is key but Union needs to gain consistency going back into conference play, or they will continue to fail on living up to their high expectations of the preseason.

7.  Cornell (7-6-2, 3-3-2) – Last Week 6

Cornell felt cheated of a chance on Saturday night and Schafer made a point to make that clear in his post-game press conference. On the weekend, Cornell was swept on consecutive nights by a very good Denver team, 5-1 and 2-1. The Big Red are on a three game losing streak and will reenter conference play in a tie for fifth place, which isn’t all that bad considering they have games in hand to all of the teams that sit in front of them. They sit 12 points out of first but have three games in hand to Quinnipiac.

8. Rensselaer (6-9-4, 1-5-2) – Last Week 7

RPI has been playing decent hockey over the past few weeks, despite winning only two of their last five games. Last weekend the Engineers gave Boston University everything they could handle to the point that coach Seth Appert said on Saturday night “We really blew a game we should have won last night.” They lost that game on Friday night in overtime and lost to New Hampshire 5-2 on Saturday. The two teams are two of the best in the country and on Saturday night there was no gas left in the tank after a brutal five games in nine days schedule. RPI could make a huge statement on Friday night, as they play the Q. The two losses hardly move them down, considering what the bottom four teams have done in recent weeks.

9. Clarkson (4-10-5, 3-3-1) – Last week 8

Clarkson couldn’t protect the North Country this weekend, as UMass-Lowell swept the Golden Knights on their own home ice. Clarkson has struggled in non-conference play this year going 1-6-4 against teams of another conference. UMass-Lowell is a team on the rise after early struggles but the weekend was not a step in the right direction for Clarkson. They have actually done quite well in conference going 3-3-1. Getting back into the conference schedule should mean a new start for the Golden Knights.

10. St. Lawrence (8-9-2, 1-4-2) – Last Week 11

St. Lawrence split a weekend non-conference series with RIT last weekend. In non-conference play, the Saints have gone 7-5-0 and the break may have been exactly what the doctor ordered. A sweep would have been best for St.Lawrence but a split is ok and moves them up a spot.

11. Harvard (3-5-0, 4-7-1)- Last Week 10

Harvard continues to struggle and have now lost four game consecutively. They are also winless in six games. This weekend will see the return of Jimmy Vesey from the World Junior Championship, and this will be an instant improvement for the Crimson. But they haven’t won since November 16, almost two months ago. No one would have predicted this early in the season but the turmoil and expectations proved too much for them. There is still time to resurrect their season and the Crimson have the talent to do so, but the turnaround needs to start Wednesday night in a non-conference tilt with Boston University.

12. Brown (4-6-4, 0-3-4) – Last Week 12

Brown was idle last weekend and will stay in the 12th position of these rankings.

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 - 8:00 am | Blogs, ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings