The first full weekend of league action begins this weekend with some juicy matchups. Princeton at Dartmouth is probably the game of the weekend, but Harvard hosting the Tigers and Quinnipiac are both right on its heels. In New York, it seems like the matchup of the week will be Union, who will try to recover from its weekend sweep at the hands of RPI, against Clarkson. As usual, league games will be tight and there will be a surprise here and there.

Friday

Brown (0-2-0, 0-1-0 ECAC) at Colgate (2-3-0, 0-0-0); 7pm.

Bruno probably deserved a better fate in both games it played last weekend, but it was unable to get a result. The Raiders started 2-0, but have lost three in a row, and will look to get on track. Gate won both meetings last season and will seek to regain the momentum it had to start the year. Despite the two game sweep of New Hampshire opening weekend, the Raiders will be looking for goals, as they have scored just six in five games.

Gate 3-2

Yale (1-0-0, 1-0-0) at Cornell (0-2-0, 0-0-0), 7pm.

The Big Red will look to rebound after a surprising sweep at the hands of Michigan State, while the Bulldogs hope to build after its win against Brown. Cornell allowed nine goals, in two games, and struggled to gain a consistent footing all weekend. The Elis, meanwhile, got a pair of goals from Joe Snively and picked up a second period winning, from Luke Stevens, to defeat Brown 3-0. Yale could be a surprising team this year, but only time will tell.

Cornell 4-1

St. Lawrence (1-5-0, 0-0-0) at Union (4-2-1, 0-2-0), 7pm.

SLU scored just a lone goal in a weekend sweep at the hands of Michigan and will need to continue to progress. For Union, one should expect them to come out angry, considering Rick Bennett came out and said his team “took the pedal off the gas” last weekend. Bennett teams tend to respond and I would expect them to do so this weekend.

Union 5-1

Clarkson (3-2-0, 0-0-0) at Rensselaer (2-3-0, 2-0-0), 7pm.

It’s early, but the Engineers are the current top dog in the ECAC. After a shock sweep of Union, RPI should come into this weekend a confident bunch. The interesting nature of this weekend, is that we will see just how they respond to the winning feeling. Clarkson has won three in a row, since dropping a pair on opening weekend to Penn State. I expect Clarkson to quiet the crowd this weekend, in the tech school rivalry.

Clarkson 3-2

Quinnipiac (5-0-0, 0-0-0) at Harvard (0-1-0, 0-1-0), 7pm.

I am expecting this one to be a battle of the trenches, as both these defenses are very talented. Quinnipiac put on a show on Saturday night against AIC, scoring nine goals, but they weren’t playing the likes of Adam Fox, John Marino and Reilly Walsh. Harvard gave up seven to Dartmouth, but one should expect them to settle. Quinnipiac hasn’t beat Harvard in its last four meetings, but the teams did tie in early January.

Harvard 4-1

Princeton (0-1-0, 0-0-0) at Dartmouth (1-0-0, 0-0-0), 7pm.

WATCH OUT FOR TENNIS BALLS. No seriously, if you’re at the game, please do. Dartmouth scored seven in its opening against Harvard and this one could be another offensive showacase. Although, Max Verroneau and Ryan Kuffner, struggled in a 4-2 loss to Penn State, one should expect them to come alive soon. Maybe we shouldn’t expect another 7-6 game, but considering these two will be able to score goals, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

Dartmouth 5-4

Saturday

Yale at Colgate, 7pm.

This should be a good battle between two teams that will be in the mess of teams that should finish from fifth to ninth. At home, I will go with the Raiders, but the goals have to come.

Gate 3-1

Brown at Cornell, 7pm.

Cornell should get back on track this weekend, or at least I am expecting them too. If they don’t, I am going to start to wonder if the balance in the team is right.

Cornell 5-1

Quinnipiac at Dartmouth, 7pm.

The fight for the Pat Salvas cup 2018-19 will commence on Saturday as the Big Green and Quinnipiac will meet for the first time this season. QU had won 11 of 12 in this series before last season, where Dartmouth picked up a win and a tie. This should be one of the games of the weekend, and I am torn, but I will take the home team because the Green usually play well in Hanover.

Dartmouth 4-2

Princeton at Harvard, 7pm.

Another juicy matchup will pit strong defense and an electric offense. This is a tough weekend for Harvard, at home, and it would hard to see Princeton starting the year 0-3. I think the Tigers maul the Crimson on Saturday.

Tigers 4-1

St. Lawrence at RPI, 7pm.

After a solid weekend against Union, it may setup perfectly for an Engineer letdown. This should be an intriguing game and tell us a lot about how the bottom of the league will play out, but I think the Saints pick up the win here.

SLU 3-2

Clarkson at Union, 7pm.

This is another intriguing matchup, but as I said above I think Union fights back in a big way…

Union 4-2

Thursday, November 1st, 2018 - 5:51 pm | Blogs, Commentary, ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings