After two weeks, Rensselaer has the ECAC lead but several other upstarts have begun the conference slate with success. Harvard and St. Lawrence have also begun their slates undefeated, while Quinnipiac has as well. All three of those teams have four points, while the resurgent Engineers have six points. Cornell has struggled to begin the year. It is one of two teams that have zero points heading into this weekend, joining Brown who also lost a pair last weekend.

It is much too early to look at the conference but one can see trends. Harvard looks as good as any team in the league. Union is struggling with just a lone point in four conference games. Yale has begun quiet and Princeton picked up a win against Cornell last week to give coach Ron Fogarty his first win as a head coach. It is tough to prognosticate so early in the season and the early results have proven that. There is always that mantra, some teams play better in conference. That team may just be RPI. I have seen team’s struggle in non-conference play but win the conference title, it happens. For this week though I will attempt to preview the games, briefly to give you a better idea what to expect.

Clarkson at Cornell

Starting the year 0-3-1 is hardly expected at Cornell, but that is exactly what has happened in the early going. Struggling to score goals, the Big Red have just struggled to get results. It started out with a tie against Omaha, at home, but since Cornell is 0-3-0. It has scored just three goals in four games, which at some point should breakout because there is a ton of talent up front. The goaltending has hardly been a problem, as I felt would be the case. The Big Red have given up just six goals in its four games, which is pretty good.

Clarkson snapped a seven game winless streak on Saturday against Brown, winning 2-1. Like Cornell, Tech has struggled to find the back of the net consistently but has gotten pretty good defense and goaltending so far. The Knights also picked up a tie against Yale on Friday night. Clarkson is 3-1-2 on the road so far this year, with a lone loss at Vermont earlier in the season.

This should be a classic Clarkson-Cornell defensive battle. Cornell is better than its record and the amount of goals it has scored.

Prediction: 2-1 Cornell

Quinnipiac at Union

All of a sudden this matchup doesn’t look so great. Union is winless in its last five contests, while Quinnipiac has a four game winning streak after a tough start. Union has struggled to score a big goal to win it late or in overtime, as the Dutch have played in three straight OT tilts losing two of them. In recent weeks, Union has been let down by its defense and goaltending, which has given up 15 goals in the past five games. That is a far cry from what they were giving up last season.

Quinnipiac has picked up four straight wins, after struggling mightily on defense. The goaltending and defense have been better in recent weeks, which can only bring good things because it was awful in the first few weeks of the season. A 5-0 win against a really good Colgate team last week put the Bobcats back on the map last Friday. Right now Quinnipiac is playing better than Union, hence I will give them a nod.

Prediction: 4-3 Quinnipiac

Princeton at Rensselaer

Rensselaer has been jeckyll and hyde so far, but I think they have turned the corner. The Engineers have won three of four games, beating Dartmouth and Union twice. They have begun to score, using contributions from younger players like Riley Bourbonais among others. They also have that guy in goal named Jason Kasdorf, who is really good.

Princeton has been good on Friday’s but have dropped the ball on Saturdays, getting blown-out 11-2 on that day. Whenever Colton Phinney is good so is Princeton. Princeton is giving up more than 40 shots in its four games and his presence is necessary for them to win. RPI might just be what the doctor ordered because they are 57th in shots per game but the matchup could prove to be ugly.

Prediction: 4-1 RPI

Yale at Dartmouth

This game will be the one that I am at on Friday night, as the Bulldogs and Green should provide a lot of entertainment. Dartmouth split last weekend, defeating Union on Friday night and dropping a decision to RPI on Saturday. Dartmouth has only played three games, so the sample size is really small. Chuck Grant has yet to play a game this year but supposedly he is close to a return. His presence will immediately make Dartmouth a better team, whenever he returns.

Yale won the Liberty Invitational in Newark a few weeks back, which also has by far the worst airport in America (Ok a bit off topic). The Bulldogs have proven to be pretty inconsistent in the early going, with a win, a loss and two ties begin its campaign. Last time out, the Elis ran into a red hot SLU team, getting defeated 4-0 at home. Ivy games are always fun and this one should prove to be the same. I will go with the home team.

Prediction: Dartmouth 3-2

Brown at Harvard

Brown has struggled to begin the season. Since a 4-2 win at Army, the Bears have dropped two consecutive league decisions. They were swept in a weekend trip to the North Country, by St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Friday, it gave up five goals in a 5-2 loss tot he Saints and on Saturday it dropped a 2-1 decision to Clarkson. Nick Lappin is suspended for the weekend, which doesn’t bode well heading into the weekend.

Harvard picked up a huge win against Boston College on Tuesday. It remains the lone unbeaten in ECAC hockey and has looked good in the process. For a team that struggled to find offense last season, the Crimson have had no difficulties this season. Despite just two wins, Harvard is going to be a tough out every night.

Prediction: 5-1 Harvard

St. Lawrence at Colgate

SLU continues to be hot and last weekend continued that, as the Saints swept Brown and Yale on the road. The Saints are now unbeaten in four games and haven’t lost in regulation since its opening night loss to RIT. Kyle Hayton continues his strong play. He has given up just two goals in his last three outings. SLU’s offense continues to be balanced in attack and its shooting percentage of 15.5 percent is second to only UMass-Lowell in the nation.

Colgate dropped a 5-0 decision to Quinnipiac last Friday, in a game it never really competed. Mike Borkowski was injured in that game and he will be out for the remainder of the season. Charlie Finn will still be Charlie Finn and the offense will continue to be balanced. The panic button should not be pressed in Hamilton. They will still be there at the end of the season.

Prediction: SLU 3-2

Saturday Game Predictions

Brown at Dartmouth: Dart 4-3

Yale at Harvard: Harvard 3-2

SLU at Cornell: 4-2 SLU

Clarkson at Colgate: 4-1 Gate

Quinnipiac at RPI: Tie 3-3

Princeton at Union: 5-1 Union

Friday, November 14th, 2014 - 7:22 pm | Blogs, ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings