Another weekend of league-wide struggles in non-conference play has made it difficult to really gauge where the league is and which teams belong near the top. The break is always a good thing for some teams, while for others it turns out to be a bad thing. For Harvard, it seems  that it came it at the wrong time. The Crimson are 10-1-2 on the season, with a win after the break against Rensselaer, but have played a lone game this half. Before a loss to Northeastern on Tuesday night, Yale had won three consecutive games and six of seven contests.

Most teams will return to league play this weekend. Quinnipiac currently leads the standings, but near every team has games in hand on the Bobcats. The national picture for ECAC teams is downright ugly and I will admit it. At the present moment the first three out would be ECAC teams, as Quinnipiac, Yale and Colgate are currently 16, 17 and 18 in the Pairwise rankings. With most non-conference tilts done, the ECAC will need to battle just to get two or three teams in the tournament. Unless some teams like Union and Dartmouth get going,it may be a rough March for the league.

1. Harvard (10-1-2, 6-1-2 ECAC) – Last Time 1

Harvard is on a seven game winning streak and is rated first in the Pairwise rankings. The Crimson have played just once since break and it has a huge game against Yale this weekend at Madison Square Garden. Yale handed the Crimson its only loss this season on November 15th. Since that game Harvard has gone 7-0-0. The Crimson are the only team that are comfortable in the Pairwise within the ECAC.

2. Quinnipiac (13-6-1, 8-2-0) – Last Time 2

The Bobcats are interesting to me, because each and every time I have seen them I have been unimpressed. The defense though should be good and it has been good in recent weeks. Since a 5-2 thrashing at home against Harvard, it has allowed just four goals in the four games since (3-1-0). Last weekend it split at St. Cloud of the NCHC, which in terms of its national hopes was a big deal. Quinnipiac now sits in 16th in the all important Pairwise rankings and first in the ECAC standings, with a two point lead on Harvard. I am trying to be careful on not over-hyping, because it has played more conference games than most league teams and both games against Princeton have now been played.

3. Yale (8-4-2, 4-3-1) – Last Time 3

Yale has been the most consistent team in recent weeks. before a loss against Northeastern on Tuesday night, the Elis had won five of six games and had gotten itself in good poistion in the national picture. Now sitting on the outside looking in, Yale has some work to do. It is still the only team to beat Harvard this season and quite frankly it is the only team I see giving them trouble within the conference this year. It will play the Rivalry on Ice game against Harvard this weekend at Madison Square Garden. The game is also on NBCSN if you cant make it to Manhattan.

4. Colgate (11-6-1, 3-2-1) – Last Time 6

Colgate needed the break to regroup, as the team most of us thought would be the team to beat in the league has been hardly that. Since the last time I did these rankings, Tylor Spink has returned to the lineup. As a leading scorer last season, Colgate needed his presence in the lineup. Now healthy, with the exception of Mike Borkowski, Colgate is again the deepest team in the conference. This will make the Raiders dangerous in the second half and I assume they will get going. Colgate picked up two wins at three Rivers Classic, winning the tournament title against Robert Morris after defeating Western Michigan the night before.

5. Union (10-7-2, 3-4-1) – Last Time 5

Union had an impressive tie against Boston University over the weekend, a game which was featured on NBCSN. A lot of people will forget but Union as the national champions are seeing the best of every team. Union actually has handled it pretty well but a loss to a struggling UConn team on December 27th just does not look good. The Dutchmen return to league play this weekend with games against Princeton and Quinnipiac. Since an 0-4-1 conference start, Union has won three consecutive league games.

6. Dartmouth (6-5-2, 3-4-1) – Last Time 7

Dartmouth has been interesting to say they least but it scheduled the strongest non-league schedule in the conference and has actually fared quite well. Last weekend, the Big Green picked up a tie against Denver and lost to Boston College. In both games it looked great and if not for a late goal, and a US loss in the WJC quarters, it probably would have left with a win and a tie. But such is hockey the late goal against BC sunk them, but a tie against Denver is a great result. Look for Dartmouth to rise in the second half.

7. Cornell (5-6-2, 3-3-0) – Last Time 4

Cornell has played two games so far since the break and both really haven’t been good ones. To begin the second half, it had a tie against Lake Superior State. LSSU is now 4-17-1 on the year and for what it is worth, the Lakers picked up the tournament title in a win against Notre Dame. In the Big red’s second game it was over matched in a 3-0 loss to Miami. It has received great goaltending this season but has struggled to score consistently. Cornell has struggled  for most of the season so far.

8. Clarkson (7-8-4, 4-1-2) – Last Time 8

Clarkson sits in third in the league standings but is a disappointing 3-7-2 in non-league play. The Golden Knights picked up a 3-2 win against AIC in is lone game since the break. It is another team struggling to find the twine this season.

9. St. Lawrence (8-9-2, 4-3-0) – Last Time 9

St. Lawrence is in a regression after a successful start to the season, which was kind of a surprise. Last weekend, the Saints lost and tied with Northeastern. The winless weekend upped its winless streak to six games. During the streak it hasn’t been the defensive side of the puck that has let them down but it has been the offense. SLU will get that going at some point, one should assume.

10. Rensselaer (6-15-1, 4-5-0) -Last Time 10

Rensselaer has struggled recently and even suspended its whole leadership group for the weekend series against Miami at Houston Field House. The Engineers are in a tail spin of their own as it has lost seven games since a 2-1 win at UNH. The four captains have since been reinstated and will play this weekend when the team travels to Quinnipiac and Princeton.

11. Princeton (2-12-1, 1-9-0) – Last Time 11

The Tigers have played just two games since the break, two losses to Quinnipiac. Princeton actually played well in both games and allowed just 42 shots on the weekend to a really good team. It has lost six games in a row.

12. Brown (3-10-0, 1-7-0) – Last Time 12

Brown is struggling with injuries on the backline and confidence. Brown played well against Denver and led the Pios 2-0 after 35 minutes to play. The lead was gone however before the end of the second period. The Bears ended up dropping the game, 5-3. A loss Friday against Boston College led to an upset Brendan Whittet, who felt his team lacked effort and confrontation of the puck. The Bears are down to just five defensemen for the foreseeable future. The Bears have lost five games in a row.

Wednesday, January 7th, 2015 - 10:25 pm | Blogs, ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings