Dartmouth finally got its first win of the season on Saturday night, as it downed Harvard in the only league game of the weekend. ECAC teams went 5-5-0 in non-league games, which was mediocre but the non-conference slate has to date been successful with a 36-21-5 record.  With the good non-league record comes good positioning in the Krach and Pairwise rankings where five league teams sit pretty heading into the break. The latter is most important in figuring out the NCAA tournament rankings, and the ECAC has five within the top 16.

This weekend features the last full conference game slate until next month as teams will head on holiday and exam breaks. There are a plethora of great games this weekend, as the Battle of the North Country will take center stage when Clarkson and St. Lawrence play a home and home series between two of the biggest surprises within the conference this so far. Also there is just a little matchup that features Quinnipiac and Union at Messa on Saturday. Those teams are currently first and in a tie for second within the conference so it should be quite the matchup in Schenectady. Without further ado there a bunch of story-lines and thoughts to be brought up. (more…)

After weeks of waiting for it, Big Ten Conference play finally happened last weekend. Minnesota and Wisconsin played a pair of games at Mariucci Arena. Ohio State and Michigan battled Friday in Ann Arbor complete with “beat Ohio” chants (the two teams also play tonight in Columbus).

With all apologies to Michigan State’s power play exploding in a sweep of Princeton and Penn State taking the Badgers’ crown Sunday night for the worst last second loss of the weekend, this week’s 3 Things solely focuses on conference games.

Don’t worry Spartans and Nittany Lions. There’s always next week. That’s when the two teams begin its 20 game conference schedule.

(After the jump, Minnesota’s third line impresses in a sweep, Andrew Copp plays for more than 60 and Mike Eaves explains Wisconsin’s inconsistency) (more…)

Hanover, NH – Harvard and Dartmouth met for the 198th time in their illustrious histories on Saturday night in front of 3114 at Thompson Arena, and the early play did not disappoint. The teams played an uptempo scoreless first period that saw few chances for either team. The Crimson scored the game’s first goal at ten minutes, 13 seconds of the second period as Jimmy Vesey backhanded a shot high above Charles Grant to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead. The lead was shortlived, however, as the Big Green answered three minutes and 20 seconds later, when Grant Opperman found a loose puck and put it behind Raphael Girard. The game went to the third period tied at one apiece.

Dartmouth came out in the third period firing everything and anything at Harvard goaltender, Raphael Girard. It outshot the Crimson 10-7 in the period and dominated the play. The Big Green would score the only goal of the third period, as Brandon McNally sent a puck cross-crease to Eric Neiley who was wide open and the latter found the back of the net to give Dartmouth the lead with 2:41 remaining. The Big Green stifiled the Crimson for the remainder of the period and it held on to the 2-1 win over Ivy League rival Harvard. The win was Dartmouth’s first of the season and improved its record to 1-8-0, and 1-6-0 in the ECAC. The loss dropped Harvard to 4-6-1, and 2-5-1 in the ECAC. (more…)

Durham, NH – After a scoreless first period that saw UNH dominate territorially but not in quality chances, the teams exploded in an entertaining second period. Harvard got on the board first at three minutes, 36 seconds of the period when Luke Esposito sent a weak backhander towards UNH goalie, Jeff Wyer. The shot trickled through the five-hole and Harvard took the lead. Harvard added to that lead nearly six minutes later, as Kyle Criscuolo cut to the net and tipped it past Wyer on the fly. UNH would quickly tie it up with two quick goals of its own. The first one Dan Correale deked Harvard defender, Desmond Bergin, and beat Harvard goalie Rapheal Girard. Grayson Downing scored to tie the game at two a minute and a half later. But Harvard came back with a goal by Alexander Kerfoot with 1:20 remaining in the period to give the Crimson the 3-2 second intermission lead.

Harvard would go on to outscore UNH 3-1 in the final stanza, on goals by Kyle Criscuolo, Tommy O’Regan and Patrick McNally. Kyle Criscuolo finished with two goals and an assist, while Patrick McNally finished with a goal and two assists. Harvard cruised to the 6-3 win against UNH. With the win Harvard improved to 4-5-1 overall and with the loss UNH fell to 7-7-1 on the season. (more…)

Finally, conference play is on the horizon. And it couldn’t have come any sooner.

The week of Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect and be thankful. That’s the case with this week’s Three Things, which looks at the odd scheduling quirk with half the conference idle and asks all six Big Ten teams one question.

Okay maybe this week only features two things. Or is it seven? I’m not sure. Either way read more after the jump. (more…)

I figured that I would change the format a bit this week in celebration of Thanksgiving because there are a lot of things that ECAC fans should be thankful for this holiday season.  Let us not forget though, while we are eating Turkey with family or enjoying some football with loved ones, that some teams (St. Lawrence and Princeton in the ECAC) are a long away from home or campus. Also many of the players that we cover and watch on a daily basis won’t be spending it with their families because they love playing the sport we all love watching.

This weekend there were many surprises in the conference, as Princeton snapped Quinnipiac’s 13 game unbeaten streak while both Rensselaer and St. Lawrence had head shaking losses to Atlantic Hockey teams. Cornell was the only team to sweep the weekend, defeating both Brown and Yale. It will be poised for a move up the ECAC Power Rankings this week. With Yale and Quinnipiac dropping games on the weekend there are no longer any undefeated teams within ECAC conference play, so now comes the fun I suppose. What are you thankful for? Here is a list of what I think ECAC fans should be thankful for. (more…)

Another weekend and for two teams it was moving weekend, as Union and Colgate both picked up huge sweeps. Union was CHN’s Team of the Week after sweeping Capital Region Rival, RPI, much to the surprise of many including myself. Colgate picked up the rare sweep in the North Country, of two highly ranked teams in last week’s Power Rankings, St. Lawrence and Clarkson.  Union and Colgate are likewise the biggest movers of the weekend. Some teams will play conference games this weekend while others will not, strange scheduling all around because of the holidays and some schools in the middle of exams, like Union. Without further ado here is the run down of where teams belong.

1. Quinnipiac (11-1-1, 5-0-1) – Last Week 1

Pretty sure this isn’t a question; if it is you have probably been living in a cave somewhere since last November. Read this week’s, Three Things I Think, as I elaborate on the Bobcats. Quinnipiac is on a 12 game unbeaten streak, picking up a sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth over the weekend. (more…)

A lot happened throughout the Big Ten with yet another weekend of non-conference play. Wisconsin traveled to Miami and Michigan went on the big stage to play Nebraska-Omaha in Omaha. Both B1G teams lost on national television Friday while winning the Saturday game, which has been par for the course so far this year. Other than Penn State beating Army to open Pegula Arena, every game initially intended for national broadcast has ended with the Big Ten team falling short.

Even 8-1-1 Minnesota’s tie and loss happened on BTN and NBCSN, respectively.

As conference play gets closer to starting, last weekend’s games – sandwiched around weeks where multiple Big Ten teams are off – does make me wonder what the national perception is so far for the conference. Has television hurt? Or are the non-televised games coming through to show a full picture where half the conference is among the nation’s top dozen teams?

(After the jump, Penn State’s measurement weekend, one area where Minnesota is struggling, and Wisconsin winning a game the Badgers needed.) (more…)

Another weekend in the books and some big surprises from the ECAC, as Union pulled off the sweep of its capital region rival and the North Country went 1-3 against Cornell and Colgate. Not that any of those were very surprising because right now any team within the first 10 positions could end up at the top come the end of the season. Parity is reigning supreme throughout the conference with no team except for Quinnipiac proving to be dominant. But then again it appears that the Bobcats are at the same level that they were last season at this time. It is really scary to think about that I suppose if you’re another team in the ECAC. Here are the noteworthy thoughts of the week. (more…)

Durham, NH – The Huskies and the Wildcats played their second in as many nights, as UNH took home a 3-0 victory down at Matthews Arena on Friday night. On this night, the teams played a very even first half of the game, leaving the first period scoreless and staying that way for the first 30 minutes of the game. The second half of the second period, however, was a much different animal. UNH scored two quick ones in 40 seconds to take a 2-0 lead  in the second period, as Nick Sorkin scored on the power-play and Casey Thrush would answer moments later.

UNH  added a pair of power-play goals in the third period, while its counterpart added a lone goal. New Hampshire was 3-4 on the power-play and Northeastern was 1-7. UNH completed the weekend sweep of the huskies with the 4-1 win. The win was UNH’s fifth consecutive and it improved its record to 6-5-1 overall, 4-2-0 in Hockey East. The loss dropped the Huskies record to 6-5-0, 1-4-0 in the conference. (more…)