This week, the ECAC returns to full conference play, with Princeton and Quinnipiac having the weekend off. There are many intriguing matchups on the docket, but to me the game of the week is RPI and Cornell on Friday night. RPI has struggled of sorts of late, while Cornell has continued its strong play. Harvard and SLU will also meet on Friday night, with both teams carrying losing skids and in need of wins. A lot of teams can do themselves good in both the conference and national picture, but some teams need wins more than others. SLU and RPI would be most beneficial to the national picture if they could pick up sweeps, while teams like Harvard and Cornell could further their position in the league standings. All told, it should be a pretty good weekend of action throughout the league.

Cornell at RPI

Cornell enters the weekend after a home sweep of Merrimack last weekend. The Big Red finished up its non-conference slate at an impressive 5-1-1 mark. Cornell had a pretty good first half in the ECAC, as well, and has the all important second position in the league standings. Rensselaer sits in third and has been quite impressive at home this season, with a 6-2-2 record at Houston Field House. The Engineers are 7-2 in one goal games and have tied four times. RPI has owned the recent series. Cornell has just one win in the last seven meetings, RPI is 4-1-3 since 2011.

Before the game. RPI legend Joe Juneau ’91 will receive the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, which is given annually to six former student-athletes for their collegiate and professional achievements.

Prediction: RPI 3-2

St. Lawrence at Harvard

Both of these teams need wins in the worst way. St. Lawrence has lost three in a row and five of its last seven. Harvard had defensive meltdowns late against Boston University and early against Quinnipiac. The Crimson lost both and have seemingly been exposed. SLU has had the recent edge in this series and are undefeated in six games against the Crimson, at 5-0-1. Last year, SLU took the season series in a big way. It won both games, 5-1.

Prediction: SLU: 4-1

Colgate at Union

These two have met in a recent ECAC final, but both have fallen from their perches this year. The Dutchmen have been riding a wave recently,but they dropped a game against Quinnipiac and could only manage a tie against Princeton. Before last weekend, the Dutchmen were undefeated in seven game and had won five in a row. Colgate picked up a much needed win against Maine on Saturday night in Orono, winning 5-1. The Spink twins combined for seven points in that game, which should be a sign of good things for the Raiders. Gate is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings between the teams.

Prediction: Union 4-3

Clarkson at Dartmouth

Clarkson picked up a much needed win on Tuesday against St. Lawrence. The win marked the  first in the ECAC for a team that I pegged as a team that could surprise this year in the preseason (so much for my predictions :)). This road has been a huge challenge for the Golden Knights this season, as it is a paltry 2-6-1 on the road this season. For comparison purposes, it is 7-1-1 at home. Dartmouth much like its opponent, has seen a bunch of home success this year. It has won its last three home games and is 4-2-0 at home. The last six meetings between these teams are split, with each winning three.

Prediction: Dartmouth 5-1

Brown at Yale, Yale at Brown (Friday and Saturday)

Yale returns to the east coast this week, after a trip to Arizona. It came back with a win against Arizona State and a tie against Michigan Tech. It will be interesting to see the response, because eastern college hockey teams are hardly used to long range flights on short rest. The Eli’s usual problems reared their ugly heads against MTU, as despite chances it struggled to pot them home. Yale enters on a four game unbeaten streak and is 3-1-0 in those games.  Brown enters the weekend off of a win against Providence and is well rested, as it didn’t play last weekend. These two teams are polar opposites in corsi and style of play. Whereas the Bears struggle on defense, Yale excels at it. Brown does have the better offense, but it may not mean anything. Yale has won the last three meetings.

Prediction: Split, home teams win

Saturday

Clarkson at Harvard

These two teams couldn’t be more different. Harvard plays a free-flowing game, while Clarkson is much more organized and defense oriented. The Crimson have the sixth best offense in the country, while the Golden Knights are 39th in scoring. Clarkson gets a ton of possession, but it struggles to score. Harvard has won nine of the last 11 meetings between the schools.

Prediction: Harvard 4-1

St. Lawrence at Dartmouth

Dartmouth has come on of late and has looked like one of the better teams in the conference. SLU has fallen from ninth in the pairwise just a week ago, to 25th today. Its sweep at hands of Northeastern was painful and it will plague any hopes that the Saints have in making the NCAA tournament with an at large bid. Dartmouth has played a tough schedule and is now ahead of SLU in the Pairwise, despite a 6-8-1 record. This series has been pretty even of late, but the Saints did take both games against the Green last year.

Prediction: SLU 4-1

Colgate at RPI

RPI is 5-1-0 against Colgate in the last six meetings between these two schools. Rensselaer has scored six shorthanded goals this year, which is second most in College hockey. Colgate gets a ton of production from its top line, but its bottom six have really struggled. The defense has also had its hardships this year, with Gate being 59th in goals allowed out of 60 teams.

Prediction: RPI 5-4

Cornell at Union

Cornell has won this season because its offense has been much improved, while it still has a defense that is one of the best in college hockey. Despite an eight goal onslaught by Ohio State, the Big Red still have the seventh best defense in the country that gives up two goals per game. Union on the other hand gives up near a goal more per game and is ranked 29th. Union has scored and given up the same amount of goals this year.

Prediction: 2-1 Cornell

Friday, January 15th, 2016 - 1:31 am | Blogs, Commentary, ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings