Of the teams that have played, the top five are a combined 11-7-3 in non-conference play. Of those 11 wins, 9 of them have come against Hockey East and the CCHA. These wins will increase their chances making the tournament at the end of the season. It is getting to the point that teams will start standing out and this weekend St. Lawrence with their wins at Maine stood out; others have yet to make a big statement but this weekend is another chance to do so.  The Ivies have still yet to play a game, which means that ranking them will again be difficult in this installment. After this weekend, every ECAC team will have played a game and these rankings should take shape even more.

1. Cornell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last week 1

The Big Red have yet to play a game and remain number one in these rankings, but Union is still nipping at their heels for the top spot. We should learn more about Cornell this weekend as they begin their season by hosting Colorado College for a pair at Lynah.

2. Union (2-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 2

Union was idle last weekend and remains in the second spot in the rankings. They will play at American International this weekend.

3. Harvard (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week 3

The Crimson were ranked third in the preseason and have yet to play a game. Harvard will begin their season on Saturday against Bentley.

4. St. Lawrence (3-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week 7

St. Lawrence was CHN’s team of the week and is rewarded with the largest move in this week’s Power Rankings. Few ECAC teams go up to Alfond Arena and come up with a win, but St. Lawrence left Orono with two wins. The wins would have been enough, but the margin of victory in those games is what shoots them up the rankings. On the weekend, the Saints flew past the Black Bears by a 10-2 margin. Kyle Flanagan has propelled himself to early Hobey Baker favorite status with seven points on the weekend. He leaves the weekend as the national leader in points with 11. It will be interesting to see if St. Lawrence can use this weekend to continue an upward trend, or if there is a let-down in the near future.

5.  Yale (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 4

The Bulldogs were ranked fifth in the preseason ECAC rankings and fourth last week. Yale will begin their season this weekend in the Ivy Showcase. On Friday they will play Dartmouth in the opener.

6. Quinnipiac (3-1-1, 0-0-0 ECAC)- Last Week: 5

The Bobcats could be higher in these rankings if it wasn’t for St. Lawrence’s impressive weekend but this week they move down one. Over the weekend, Quinnipiac picked up another win against a top conference school, in Ohio State. Escaping the weekend 1-0-1 should not be viewed as a failure for the Bobcats. Eric Hartzell has become a strength for QU this season and this weekend was no different, as he allowed just 2 goals on 47 shots. Taking advantage of these performances is something that the Bobcats will need to back up going forward.

 8. Renesselaer (1-1-2, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 6

RPI had a solid weekend two weekends ago playing last year’s national runner-up to a win and a tie but were unable to back it up over the weekend on the road. Coming back with a loss and a tie against Minnesota State has to be a disappointment. On Friday night, the Engineers played Minnesota State to a 3-3 tie and on Saturday, another overtime game went into the loss column by the way of a 4-3 defeat. Matt Neal had five points in an impressive weekend for him and the Engineers are idle this weekend.

9.  Dartmouth (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 8

Dartmouth is another Ivy school that has not started its season yet. They will begin their season against Yale in the Ivy Showcase on Friday.

9. Colgate (2-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 9

Colgate stays locked in their position this weekend after a weekend split against Bowling Green. On Friday night, Gate lost 3-1 and on Saturday they were able to pull out the win 4-2. A balanced attack led to victory in the second tilt as four different Raiders scored. On the weekend, Gate played a stifling defense and only gave up 43 shots in the two games.

10. Princeton (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 10

Princeton will begin their season against Brown on Friday night in the Ivy Showcase.

11. Brown (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 11

Brown will look to move up in the rankings this weekend when they play the team directly above them in the rankings, Princeton.

12. Clarkson (0-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Last Week: 12

Clarkson ensured their hold on the 12^th spot this weekend with their loss at home against Holy Cross. Beginning the season 0-3-0 is the last thing any team wants to do but this is the hole that the Knights have dug themselves in. It is still early and the conference season has yet to begin, but Clarkson will be looking to rebound in the upcoming weeks.

Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 - 8:00 am | ECAC, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings