Another full slate of league games awaits us this weekend, as the schedule is a tad more manageable this weekend in comparison to last week’s full slate of non-conference games. Yale hosts Quinnipiac in the game of the week, as the two New Haven area rivals renew their acquaintances at the Whale. Last season, the matchup was as close as possible with two ties in its two meetings. Quinnipiac is still undefeated at 13-0-2, which the best start since Colorado College started 15-0-2 in 1995-1996. St. Lawrence at Cornell is another highlight of Friday night, while RPI and Harvard will play for the second straight week after the Crimson took home the Shillelagh Tournament title back to Cambridge, with a 4-0 win, on Saturday.

Each weekend is crucial within conference play. RPI and Quinnipiac remain tied at the top of the standings with 10 points. The top 7 are separated by just four points, with Brown rounding out the bunch at seven. The conference still has six teams in the top 16 of the Pairwise and wins within league play are so important, because there isn’t a bad loss within the league because of a .648 win pct. in inter-conference play. There are many great matchups this weekend. as always I urge you to hit a rink to see your favorite team play. Also see this week’s Three Things I Think, for more of my thoughts.

Quinnipiac at Yale 6;30 (NESN+, SNY, ASN)

The two New Haven rivals renew there rivalry at Ingalls Rink on Friday evening. Yale has yet to beat Quinnipiac since it had the ultimate triumph against the Bobcats in the 2013 national championship game, but last year it got close as the two tied twice during the season. Yale, for the second weekend in a row, has the opportunity to end a team’s undefeated start. The Bulldogs dropped a close decision to Providence on the road last Saturday, in a game they had chances but were unable to finish it off. Quinnipiac has finished most of its opponents off with ease, outscoring opponents 57-21 this year. The game is on regional television, so I suggest everyone find it and watch, this could be another classic between the two. Also be sure to check out my feature on QU senior, Travis St. Denis who has quietly had a great season.

Prediction: 4-2 Quinnipiac

Princeton at Brown

Last year’s bottom two finishers will meet this weekend, as Princeton visits Meehan Auditorium. Brown is hot and has lost just once in its last six games. It defeated Colgate on Friday 5-0 and it had arguably its most impressive showing of the season on Saturday, tying UMass-Lowell in the Friendship Four Championship Game. Princeton looks better but has still struggled this season. Last weekend, it dropped a pair at Maine including the last one in overtime. Bruno won the season series last year, 1-0-1, and in the last eight meetings the Bears are 5-1-2.

Prediction: 5-1 Brown

Dartmouth at Rensselaer

RPI lost its first game in ten games against Harvard last weekend, which ended an impressive run that tied its longest unbeaten streak (9) since that really long unbeaten streak in 1984-85. The game was an anomoly of the season so far for the Engineers, but is it the expected downswing after the unexepected run? It really did take us by surprise, but nothing in the ECAC should ever surprise us. Dartmouth was run out of Michigan’s Yost Ice Arena on Friday night, in a 7-0 drubbing. But the character in the locker room took over, as it held a late 1-0 on Saturday against the Wolverines and held on for a 1-1 tie. The Green are winless in their last three games and Devin Buffalo got the solid result on Saturday night, so one should expect him. One should assume that Cam Hackett is in the net for the Engineers, barring a finally healthy Kasdorf.

Prediction: 3-2 RPI

Harvard at Union

Union picked up a needed win on the road against Merrimack on Saturday evening, which was only its second in nine games. Before the contest it had limped into the latter stages of November with a 1-6-1 record in an eight game stretch. Harvard continued its dominant play, outscoring Notre Dame and RPI last weekend by an aggregate of 8-1. Merrick Madsen was named goalie of the week in the ECAC during the week and he as well has been dominant. His numbers in five starts indicate that he will probably be the starter for the foreseeable future. He has three shutouts, has stopped 97.9 percent of shots he has seen and has a 0.60 Goals against average (ungodly really). The Dutchmen are 3-1-2 in non-conference play, but just 1-5-0 in non-league play and need points to get momentum.

Prediction: 5-1 Harvard

St. Lawrence at Cornell

The Saints had last weekend off, while Cornell played its bi-anual game against Boston Universitiy at Madison Square Garden. The Big Red held a two goal lead entering the final frame, but were unable to hold off a hard-charging BU squad. The result was a good one for the Big Red, as they continue to surprise some in the league. SLU is having a quiet good season, as it 8-3-2 on the season and has just a lone loss in league play. By the looks this could ultimately be the battle for one of the byes at the end of the season. Cornell is without a win in this series in the last three meetings. Last season the Saints swept the Big Red.

Prediction: 3-2 SLU

Clarkson at Colgate

Colgate struggled mightily in Belfast and with such a short bench one has to think the struggles continue. I didn’t expect the Raiders to head to Belfast and get run out of the country, by a 12-1 margin, but Gate has struggled for sometime and the results shouldn’t be overly surprising. Gate has just one win in its seven league games, with a lone triumph against Princeton at home. The Raiders have given up 57 goals in its 15 games. Clarkson has been struggling in league play and remains the only team without a win. Last weekend, it swept Arizona State in a non-league pair up in Potsdam. The Golden Knights need consistent goaltending to be successful but this is one it probably should have.

Prediction: 7-1 Clarkson

Saturday

Quinnipiac at Brown

Brown has messed with the long range plans of Quinnipiac before. The year Quinnipiac advanced to the national championship game (2013), Brown defeated the Bobcats in the semifinals of the ECAC tournament. The Bears are one of few teams that have had success against the Bobcats in recent years, as it is 2-2-3 in the last seven meetings against the schools that have recently been at opposite ends of the standings. Brown has some impressive results recently, but I am not sure they can stop the juggernaut offense of Quinnipiac. Hell with it, I am picking Brown as I think Quinnipiac letsdown after a solid performance against Yale.

Prediction: 5-4 Brown

Princeton at Yale

The Tigers don’t score much, and the Bulldogs have a stingy defense. This seems like a game that Princeton would struggle in but we have to remember the Tigers are improved and gave the Bulldogs fits in its opener, a 3-1 win by Yale in a non-conference tournament game. Princeton is winless in its last 11 games against the Elis, with a record of 0-10-1. Alex Lyon vs Colton Phinney is an interesting goalie matchup, but I think Yale’s dominance over its Ivy Rival continues.

Prediction: 4-1 Yale

St. Lawrence at Colgate

This a rematch of last years second ECAC semifinal that Colgate won to advance to its second straight ECAC championship game. This year however these teams appear to be going in opposite directions. Kyle Hayton has again been solid and Charlie Finn has struggled. With all the travel and the lack of depth this may be a struggle for Colgate and could be rather lopsided for the visitors.

Prediction: 6-1 SLU

Clarkson at Cornell

Historically these two teams have been rivals for years, as both have seen their share of success. Tech needs a big weekend to rescue its season, while Cornell would like to continue its recent success in league play. At 4-1-1, the Big Red are one of the biggest surprises in ECAC league play and have been dealing with a plehtora of injuries so one should think they will only get better. Cornell has won five of the last six matchups between the teams.

Prediction: Cornell 3-2

Harvard at Rensselaer

Last weekend, Harvard defeated the Engineers and continued its hot play. RPI at home. The Engineers are 3-1-1 on home ice this season and have results in the last four games, since a loss to Michigan at Houston. One shouldn’t expect much different this week in comparison to last week, but I assume it is closer. Jimmy Vesey was the ECAC player of the Month with six goals and four assists in ten November games. He also had three game winning goals to his credit.

Prediction: 3-1 Harvard

Dartmouth at Union

Dartmouth was away for the holiday, while the Dutchmen made the 3 hour ride to North Andover Massachusetts to take on Merrimack. These two teams have both been inconsistent and have been giving up a ton of goals. This is an interesting matchup to me, plainly for me to see where each team is in their development this season. Dartmouth swept Union last season in a pair of games.

Prediction: 3-2 Dartmouth

Power Rankings

1. Quinnipiac (13-0-2. 4-0-2 ECAC)

2. Harvard (6-1-1, 4-1-1)

3. Cornell (6-1-2, 4-1-1)

4. Yale (5-2-2, 3-1-2)

5. Rensselaer (8-5-2, 4-0-2)

6. St. Lawrence (8-3-2, 3-1-1)

7. Brown (2-4-3, 2-3-2)

8. Clarkson (7-4-2, 0-3-2)

9. Union (4-6-3, 1-5-0)

10. Dartmouth (2-5-1, 2-4-0)

11. Princeton (2-8-0, 1-5-0)

12. Colgate (4-10-1, 1-5-1)

Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 - 9:33 pm | Blogs, ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings