One last conference weekend before the break should shake up the standings even more in the ECAC. With everyone so close from positions 1-9, as a mere five points separate the top nine in the standings, movement up and down should be aplenty. Cornell and Colgate have big non-conference tests this week, as Cornell hosts Denver for a weekend series and Colgate travels to Providence for a lone game against PC. There should be tons of action around the conference this weekend and here is what I think is important to watch this weekend.

Clarkson Looks to find Consistency, while St. Lawrence looks to continue its great play

Whenever Clarkson and St. Lawrence meet on the ice it is a spectacle. It is always heated and being the third meeting of the season should make this game even more event-filled. The Saints took home a 4-0 win from Cheel Arena on November 1st and the two teams tied the night before at Appelton Arena. Those games didn’t mean as much as this one does because it was non-conference, but the season series is still up for grabs. For these teams bragging rights are ever important in the North Country.

Clarkson has struggled offensively. Those struggles were on full display last weekend, as it scored a lone goal in a weekend sweep at the hands of Merrimack College. Its defense is fine, but getting production has proved to be difficult. Clarkson’s great defense struggles to move the puck. I call it old fashioned in a way because it is. The struggle to move the puck from the back leads to a struggle up front but offensive consistency is a must going forward because the skill level and goal scoring in the conference is high. Clarkson’s struggles outside of league play, have hardly found its way into the conference season. Tech is coming off a big weekend, as it swept Quinnipiac and Princeton in league play just two weeks ago. Sitting in the mess for second place, anything is possible for them. If you ask me, it will be a scary team come March. Usually teams that struggle offensively find it and its defense is already one of the best in country.

St Lawrence had last weekend off, which was well deserved because it had played two games a weekend since the first week of the season. Kyle Hayton, I am sure was the one that most needed the rest. His half has been surprising to all, including me. He leads the nation in saves so far and his .935 save percentage puts him in 11th nationally. The offense was clicking too, as the Saints have used the most balanced scoring in the country to sit eighth nationally in scoring, doing so at a 3.43 goals per game clip. SLU also sits in the mess for second place in the league two points behind.

The two long-time rivals will faceoff in a game this weekend that could set the direction of its seasons. With both sitting in second, the winner could find itself even closer to the top.

Cornell’s Big Non-conference weekend

The Big Red fresh off its win at Madison Square Garden last Saturday against Penn State will host one of the bigger non-conference weekends in the league this season. Cornell will take on Denver in a pair of games at Lynah Rink, Friday and Saturday. The NCHC has been the strongest, deepest conference in the country so far this season and the ECAC has struggled against it this season. The league has a 32-20-3 against Hockey East, Atlantic Hockey, the WCHA and the Big Ten. But against the NCHC, the league is just a balmy 3-7-2 on the season. Yes the sample size is small, but these records have a huge impact on how many teams the league gets into the NCAA tournament. Right now the ECAC has the second best record in terms of non-conference play, while the NCHC has the best ten percentage points higher (.561 ECAC and .667).

Cornell already hosted an NCHC team for a pair this season, as it took a tie and a loss to Nebraska-Omaha at home. For Cornell these game’s probably have more meaning because it will already lose some important common matchups comparisons, unless UNO just beats everyone.

Right now Denver is the last of five NCHC teams that is in the top 16 Pairwise, as it sits in thirteenth. Because Denver is in the NCHC, it will have a strong schedule and thus just splitting with the Pioneers would be a good result. With bonus points, probably at play at the end of the season, this series could possibly be the difference between three, four or even five ECAC teams making into the tournament at the end of the season. Denver will also travel to the Dartmouth tournament next month, so we will see a lot of Denver in the coming weeks.

Quinnipiac has more to prove than its opponents this weekend

Usually by this point, Quinnipiac has proven what it is capable of moreso than its opponents. So far this season, the Bobcats have been wildly inconsistent. Although it sits all alone at the top of the league, Quinnipiac’s losses in and out of conference have been head-scratchers. Last weekend the inconsistency continued, as it dropped a game at home against Massachusetts. It has also dropped games against UConn and in-conference against a Clarkson team that has struggled to find wins.

Quinnipiac will host hard-charging Harvard, whom has beaten Boston College, Boston University and UMass-Lowell. Harvard has started its season 7-1-2 and was named CHN team of the week last week. The Crimson have dropped a lone game against Yale, in a game that it really could have won. Like Harvard, Dartmouth does not have a bad loss on its record and has begun its season strong. The Green have a loss and a tie to Harvard but have played good in every game this season. Last weekend it dominated a really good BU team for long stretches at home. For those two much have been proven because they have played and won big games.

Quinnipiac’s best win is against the 22nd rated Krach team, Cornell. The Bobcats struggled in a weekend series against Lowell early in the year, who is currently 14th in those rankings. Its schedule in comparison to others in the conference has been relatively weak, although to be fair it should have been a strong one on paper. Its defense is still suspect, I know I won’t let it down. i hardly can get a feel on Quinnpiac because I have seen all its bad games and never any of the good. It just seems as though, at least to me, that Quinnipiac has tons at stake this weekend. Not only can it continue its great league play but it can earn and it can beat two really good opponents, who will be in the races come the end of the season.

Predictions:

Friday

Dartmouth at Quinnipiac: Tie 3-3. The Big Green are going to be a tough out, just ask BU. Something has to give in this game, as both like to be possession hogs. Dartmouth controls the play but makes a key mistake late that will lead to a tie.

Harvard at Princeton: Harvard 5-1 . I just don’t see this game as being close. The Crimson have flown out of the gate with key wins, while Princeton has struggled to score and keep the puck out of its own net. Look for Harvard to dominate this one.

Union at Brown: Brown 4-3. Both of these teams are struggling, but at some point Brown will get is first win of the season. One should think that Union will get better goaltending, but on the road it needs to prove it. This could go down as a loss that could wreck the Dutchmen’s season, but two teams struggling in key positions could lead to an unexpected result. I think Brown pulls it out somehow, I will take the home team.

Rensselaer at Yale: Yale 4-1. RPI struggled last weekend against Michigan and didn’t look great in a win against UNH. Yale has gotten great defense and goaltending so far, which is ranked fourth in the country allowing a paltry 1.67 goals per contest. Look for Yale to win this one.

Denver at Cornell: Cornell 3-2. This has split written all over it, but it won’t be easy for the Big Red. So much at stake. If this series was at Magness, I would pick a Denver sweep but I will look for Cornell to win Friday.

Saturday

Clarkson at St. Lawrence: 4-1 SLU. One team can score and the other has struggled to do so. Kyle Hayton continues his godly play and SLU gets its first win against Clarkson in nearly five seasons.

Harvard at Quinnipiac: 5-1 Harvard. First place could be on the line, if the Crimson and Bobcats win on Saturday. Harvard continues to roll and will head to its break on a high note and it will find holes the Quinnipiac defense.

Dartmouth at Princeton: 5-1 Dartmouth . Princeton’s struggles continue, while I think Dartmouth begins to break out as one of the better teams in the conference.

Union at Yale: 5-2 Yale. Goaltending is king for Yale, as it has two great ones. Meanwhile Union’s fanbase hits an all out panic, after a weekend sweep on the road.

Rensselaer at Brown: 3-1 RPI. Brown has struggled and it wont win consecutive games for the first time this season. Rensselaer’s strong defense and goaltending prove to be too much.

Denver at Cornell: 3-2 Denver. As I said above, this series has a split written all over it. Cornell’s improvement on offense continues.

Tuesday

Colgate at Providence: 3-2 Providence. Colgate struggled against BU last weekend, and one should expect another Hockey East team to present a similar challenge. Darcy Murphy will return from his suspension and his entrance into the lineup should make this one close, he is a big piece to the puzzle.

 

 

Thursday, December 4th, 2014 - 9:01 pm | Blogs, Commentary, ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings