Last week may have been one of the strangest weeks that the ECAC could ever have because few expected to win did so. In some ways it should just be a wash because of the strange results, but we did learn some valuable lessons from the weekend. These realizations have changed the rankings immensely.

I am convinced after their win against Union that Dartmouth is a contender and have thus moved them up to the top spot. Harvard is better than their recent results and so is Cornell. But Power Rankings are based more on a what are you doing for me now than what we think of the particular teams. Conference wins and losses also have much more weight than non-conference wins because it is easier to compare teams when they play each other. These concepts leave us with a lot of movement this week.

1. Dartmouth (5-0-1, 4-0-0)- Last Week 4

The Big Green are the final undefeated team remaining in the country and have proven to most casual observers that they may in fact be for real. With a big win against Union under their belt, Dartmouth will hit the road to take on Colgate and Cornell this weekend. They have won five games in a row led by a balanced attack on both offense and defense. The defense is ranked second in the country, allowing a meager 1.50 goals per game. The scary thing about Dartmouth is that their diamond in the rough, Dustin Walsh, has been gaining strength and has seen his playing time increase. Last weekend he was moved up to the second line with proven scorer Eric Robinson. This could be an indication they could be in this position for a while as Walsh will only get better and so will Dartmouth. (more…)

Cambridge, Mass. — Union got off to a quick start against Harvard taking a quick 2-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game, on goals by Charlie Vasaturo and a power-play tally by Greg Coburn. The Dutchmen never looked back as they would go on to defeat the Crimson going away 6-2. Union improves to 6-1-1 on the season and 3-0-0 in ECAC, while Harvard falls to 2-2-0, 1-2-0.

For Union all eyes will turn on the status of their star goalie, Troy Grosenick, who went down early in the second period.  This marks the second weekend in a row that a star has gone down for Union, as defenseman Mat Bodie went down last week and will miss at least a month. The response by Union was fantastic and they went on to outscore Harvard 4-1 after the injury. Harvard was unable to put any sustained pressure on Colin Stevens until late in the third period. (more…)

It is tough to judge so early in the season who is a pretender and who is a contender but we are starting to see some trends as to who might be at the top come season’s end. Dartmouth was one of two teams to secure a four point weekend on the weekend and thus they are rewarded with the biggest jump in the rankings. Union was the other team that left the weekend with a crucial four points in conference play. Last weekend was the first with conference games and it will be interesting to see if the trends stay the same or change, as the season continues because it is still early, we must remember this.

1. Cornell (3-0-1, 1-0-1)- Last Week 1

Cornell had a successful weekend against Colgate, winning on the road Friday and tying at Lynah on Saturday. They will retain the top spot for the third week in a row.

2. Union (5-1-1, 2-0-0)- Last Week 3

It took a few weeks of play, but Union was up to the level many thought they would be at early in the season. On the weekend they outscored the RPI 11-5 and just flat out looked like the better team. Union has a huge tilt against Harvard on Friday night on the road. (more…)

Cambridge, Mass.- Yale needed a bounce-back performance after their game at Dartmouth last night and received exactly that as they outworked Harvard for 60 minutes and defeated them 5-1. The teams played an even first period on goals by Jesse Root and Kyle Crisculo, but Yale would dominate the second and early parts of the third period, outscoring the Crimson 4-0 in those periods to seal the victory.

Yale was led by the line of Kenny Agostino, Jesse Root  and Andrew Miller. This line accounted for four of the five goals for the Bulldogs on the night and led the offense which posted 49 shots in the game. Yale improves to 2-1-1 (1-1-0) on the season and Harvard falls to 2-1-0 (1-1-0).

What I saw

Yale was a completely different team on the night than they were last night and it showed in all aspects of play. Their goaltending was solid, their defense didn’t give up golden opportunities throughout the game and their offense was seemingly clicking on all cylinders. The performance was indicative of their hungry for a win nature, after last night’s dreadful loss. They were the hungrier and more desperate team.

Harvard just looked flat at times and could not gain a break throughout the game. Harvard had opportunities throughout the latter     stages of the game but were unable to find the scoring touch and beat Yale goaltender, Jeff Malcolm. This lack of scoring touch is something that was evident throughout the tilt. (more…)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard opened its ECAC schedule with a 3-2 win over Brown Friday night at the Bright Hockey Center. After falling behind, 1-0, at 3 minutes, 24 seconds of the second period, the Crimson erupted for three goals in a span of 5:06. With 1:46 left in the second period, Matt Lorito halved the Harvard advantage, but a scoreless third period gave the Crimson a win.

Brown goaltender Marco De Filippo made 39 saves in the loss. For the first two periods, De Filippo totaled 27 saves, but not many were particularly dangerous scoring chances. In the third period, however, he made six saves on grade-A looks, and 12 overall to keep Brown with one. Harvard goaltender Raphael Girard matched him, though, with 12 of his own to seal the win for the Crimson.

What I Saw

• Harvard missed far too many opportunities in the first period, making the game closer than it should’ve been. Early-season rust aside, the puck movement the Crimson displayed simply deserved better finishing. Against Bentley last Saturday, the Crimson’s goals came, mostly, on some serious displays of skill. Its puck movement improvement significantly on Friday, and the Bears seemed happy to give Harvard as much space as it wanted. After Brown broke through in the second, the Crimson clicked offensively. Still, this game should never have finished, 3-2. Brown’s De Filippo played fairly well in goal, but missed Harvard chances made him look better than he really was. Harvard will take the two points to kick off ECAC play, but it needs to finish those chances against the ECAC’s elite. (more…)

Hanover, NH.- The first two periods were an offensive showcase, or a showcase in a lack of defense, as the teams skated to a 6-3 Dartmouth lead after two. In the first six and a half minutes the teams combined for four goals. The lead was enough for Dartmouth and they would hold on to win 7-4. Dartmouth improved to 2-0-1 (1-0-0) and Yale falls to 1-1-1 (0-1-0).

Dartmouth raced out to an early lead three minutes and 27 seconds in as Matt Lindblad scored on a bad rebound off the pad of Yale goaltender, Nick Maricic. The 1-0 lead would not last long as Yale’s, Stu Wilson, would send a puck from right below the goal-line off the shoulder of Dartmouth goaltender, Charles Grant, to tie the game at one. The tie would last all of 47 seconds as Eric Robinson received a feed in the high slot and sent a wicked wrister past the Yale goaltender to make it 2-1. Dartmouth would again be the beneficiary of a bad rebound by Maricic as Dustin Walsh and Eric Linblad came in on a 2 on 1. Walsh took the original shot and Linblad put it under Maricic to make it 3-1 and end the goalies night. Yale would again make it a one goal game off a rebound goal scored by Antoine Lageniere late in the first period.

In the second period, Dartmouth would add three more to their total, while Yale added another. Brandon McNally and Eric Robinson scored even strength and Tyler Sikura scored a shorthanded goal for Dartmouth. Antoine Laganiere added his second of the night for Yale at 12:35 of the second to make it a three goal game after two. Dartmouth had three players with two goals, as Tyler Sikura, Matt Lindblad and Eric Robinson all had two markers in the game.

What I Saw

Yale struggled on defense for much of the first two periods. Defensive breakdowns were abounded throughout, even when   Dartmouth wasn’t scoring. From leaving skaters wide-open in the slots and just bad positioning the Yale defense fought the puck the whole night.

All ECAC teams have finally played a game so things are starting to take shape. Cornell had a big weekend defeating Colorado College twice and Dartmouth won the annual Ivy Shootout. This week has two top movers as Dartmouth and Colgate both jump two spots. Quinnipiac and RPI both fell two positions on the week.

ECAC hockey has had a strong start to the year in terms of non-conference play. In the first three weeks of the season, the teams have a combined 16-10-5 record against teams in the other conferences, including a 3-1-0 record against Hockey East and a 7-4-2 record against the CCHA. This weekend will mark the beginning of the conference season for most teams and the teams that belong at the top will begin to stick out while the others will start to fall. (more…)

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. (more…)

This week’s installment of the ECAC power rankings will probably be the most difficult to do all season. It is tough to rank teams that have not played against teams that have already played games. The Ivy schools begin their season in the Ivy Shootout, the weekend of October 26^th and 27^th.The Non-Ivy schools have already begun their seasons.

So far on the season, the ECAC has posted a 7-7-1 record in non-conference action. The big surprises have been a Union loss to Merrimack College and a Quinnipiac win at Maine, both of which occurred on opening night last Saturday.

1. Cornell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) – Preseason: 2

The Big Red have yet to play a game. Cornell was ranked second in the preseason rankings, paired with a Union loss to Merrimack College in week one Cornell moves up one to the top spot. (more…)

Orono, Maine. – Maine dominated the first period against Quinnipiac and scored a quick goal 3:41 into the game off the stick of Steven Swavely. The goal came off a face-off where his brother, Jon Swavely tipped the puck and Steven buried it under the arm of Quinnipiac senior goaltender Eric Hartzell. The goal was not enough as Quinnipiac would used a strong performance from their goaltender Eric Hartzell and defeated Quinnipiac 2-1.

The Quinnipiac goaltender was strong all night and helped Rand Pecknold’s troops to the win, possibly in some ways a steal win. The goal early in the second period changed the momentum of the game. When Travis St-Denis scored two minutes into the second it turned a game that Maine was dominating into a game that Quinnipiac actually had a shot to win. Despite not showing much for most of the third period, Quinnipiac got the game winner with 1:26 left to go in the game. The goal proved to be a dagger on opening night for Maine. (more…)