CHF's ECACHL Women's Quarterfinals Preview - Part 1

The eight team field in this year's ECAC(HL) playoffs on the women's side looks to be the most competitive grouping ever. We'll be going over each of the quarterfinal matchups, which are best-of-three series played at the home-ice of the higher seed.

#8 Yale at #1 St. Lawrence

Yale has continued to show throughout the year that they can be a formidable team on any given day. Yale built their 11-13-5 on the back of an extremely strong schedule. In fact, a glance at Yale's schedule only shows one bad loss, that being to Connecticut 3-0 early in the season. They took victories over the teams they were expected to beat, but took heavy losses from teams they were stronger than them. Despite this, Yale's record features victories over Harvard, Brown and Dartmouth this year, all of whom are higher seeds in this year's tournament.

Yale will need to rely on stingy defense and timely scoring if they're going to beat St. Lawrence. Their top scorers, Crysti Howser and Deena Caplette both have 23 points each, which doesn't even match SLU's top scorer combined. This means junior Nina Resor and the rest of Yale's D will have to create turnovers and odd-man rushes to give Sarah Love a chance to steal a game or two for the Bulldogs. Love, a senior has a .921 Save Pct. and a 2.31 GAA for Yale in her final season.

St. Lawrence is the big gun in the ECACHL. Their record only tarnished by losses to Clarkson, St. Cloud and Colgate this year. Their record is 28-3-2, and they're a lock for this year's NCAA Tournament. They hold a 15-2-0 advantage at Appleton Arena this year, which means two things, they're dominant at home, but if you're going to steal a win you have to do it at Appleton against a high-powered offense which is second best in the country only to UNH. The Saints are lead by Patty Kazmeier finalists sophomore forward Sabrina Harbec, and senior goaltender Jessica Moffat.

Harbec has a whopping 58 points this season on 24 goals and 34 assists. She currently leads the country in scoring and assists, while SLU freshman Carson Duggan leads the country in goals with 27. Moffat has a 1.33 GAA and a .939 Save Pct. Moffat is backed up by Meghan Guckian (straight from my hometown of Victor, NY), who actually carries slightly better statistics in those two categories. Regardless, either of them between the pipes means a tough time for opposing teams.

St. Lawrence was victorious in their last two meetings, a 4-2 victory at Appleton, and a 7-1 thumping at Ingalls Rink just two weeks ago. If Yale wants to move on, they'll need to play the toughest D they've ever played, and make the most out of the limited opportunities St. Lawrence will provide. Sarah Love will need to come up big. St. Lawrence needs to make sure their goaltending is quality, throw a significant number of shots on net, and not hang their goaltender out to dry.

Ron's Predicition:

St. Lawrence 2, Yale 1

St. Lawrence 5, Yale 0

St. Lawrence wins 2-0

It's going to be a busy week.

This might be the first and only time that we do this, but since it's going to be a busy week, so we're going to take it easy today.

Each day this week, Brett and I will be previewing each of the ECACHL playoff series on both the men's and women's sides, so keep checking back for that. In addition, the coach of Clarkson's Women's Hockey Team, Rick Seeley should be joining us this week to chat about the season and the upcoming playoffs. I'll be covering the women's series from Harvard's Bright Hockey Center, while Brett will be at Cheel Arena for the Princeton vs. Clarkson tilt on the men's side.

We'd also like to give a shout out to College Hockey News which has kindly linked to us through the CHN Blog featuring CSTV's own Rink Rat, Elliot Olshansky. Elliot seems to have one of the best jobs ever hitting fifty seven college games so far this year.

Clarkson Signs Two Recruits for 2007

Chris Heisenberg's recruiting list is reporting that forward Scott Freeman, and Brian Rufenach have both committed to Clarkson for the 2007 season.

Freeman, a forward from Whitby, Ontario currently has 63 points this season for the Bowmanville Eagles of the OPJHL. He has twenty goals and forty-three assists, good for third on the team. Freeman was named the OPJHL player of the month for October. He also had two goals and an assist so far in this year's OPJHL playoffs in four games.

Rufenach a defenseman out of Cameron, Ontario has 26 points, on 11 goals and 15 assists for the Lindsay Muskies, also of the OPJHL. Rufenach was also named Rookie of the Year for his division.

On a side note, Heisenberg has been covering incoming recruits for a few years now, and has been running his recruiting blog since August. Both sites always a good read for college hockey die-hards.

Heartbreak!

MEN AND WOMEN SWEPT

Women lose to Harvard with with one second left in OT

Will try to get revenge on Harvard next week in Cambridge

Men fall in Cambridge 2-1.

Clarkson v. Princeton in Opening Round

Playoffs is when the magic happens!!

Big Green Bigger than Expected...

The Big Green came out firing on Friday night defeating both Clarkson's Men's and Women's squads on Friday by large margins. In Hanover, the Knights fell 5-2. After trading goals in the first two periods, Clarkson gave up three consecutive goals in the third (one an empty netter) to give Dartmouth the victory. Mike Sullivan and Phil Pacquet had the goals for Clarkson, and David Leggio had 31 saves in the loss.

At Cheel the Women were pounded 6-2. Dartmouth scored six straight goals, including four in the first to down Clarkson. Kira Hurley started and gave up two goals. She was replaced by Stephanie Hansen who fared no better against the Big Green. Jessica Finley then stepped in stopping 14 of 15, while Clarkson scored two goals in the third from Brooke Beazer and Micheleen Devine. As predicted, the team that scored first and outshot was the victor in this one as Dartmouth lead the SOG 28-16.

Here's where they stand going into Saturday Night:

On the men's side Clarkson can finish no higher than seventh. They'll need a win and a Union loss to secure that spot. They will face Princeton, Quinnipiac or Yale (edited, thanks to DaredevilCU) depending on the outcomes of their games. In the ECACHL, it will come down to Cornell, Colgate and Dartmouth in the final night of action. Dartmouth has shockingly snuck up the ranks and is tied with Colgate for first with one game to go. Cornell lies in second, just a point behind. It appears that if there is a tie, Cornell owns the tie-breakers over both teams. While Dartmouth has the tiebreaker over Colgate. Keep in mind it's 1:36 and it's been a long night for me, so no guarantees.

The women remain in third place in the ECACHL thanks to losses by Harvard and Brown. A win or a tie against Harvard or a Brown loss will secure home-ice. Clarkson can still finish third, fourth or fifth in their final game.

CHF ECAC(HL) Weekend Preview for 2/24/06

By now we all are aware of the possibilities for the playoffs and whose winning what games will put teams in what position. So instead of focusing on all that let's take a look at the actual match-ups in the last week of regular season play.

Colgate / Cornell @ RPI / Union

Cornell is in a bit of a rough stretch going 1-2-1 in their last four. Throw this in with the fact that their last lost came against Harvard, at home, on Senior Night, for the Ivy League title, and Cornell is not going to be the happiest hockey team in the Capital District this weekend. Being angry, however, is not the hallmark of team on the rebound. Cornell faces two tough tests from RPI and Union, two teams that went into Lynah and came out with three points the first time around. RPI is coming off a pair of ties to Quinnipiac and Princeton while Union is coming off an overtime win against the Tigers. Both RPI and Union play better at home. Union in particular, is an impressive 10-1-4 at home this year, while RPI is 10-5-1. For Cornell to take home the Cleary Cup they need to get past their recent sluggish play and find a way to get their D back in the game. For RPI and Union to be successful they need to weather the early storm and hold Cornell to no goals in the first 10 minutes, then it should be anyone's game.

Colgate comes in following a weekend split, defeating Harvard and being shutout by Dartmouth. Look for the Raiders to be fired up and make a run at the conference title. I would be very surprised to see Colgate come out flat on Friday at Union. This match-up will provide us with the best goaltending battle in the conference as Kris Mayotte faces Mark Dekanich. Mayotte plays well at home and will have that to his advantage but Dekanich has put up solid numbers all year and is looking to make a run at the Dryden award. A sweep for either team will probably put their goaltender in that spot.

Gobe's Picks:

Cornell 3 at RPI 1

Colgate 4 at Union 2

Colgate 4 at RPI 5

Cornell 4 at Union 3

Ron's Picks:

Cornell 4 at RPI 2

Colgate 3 at Union 2

Colgate 3 at RPI 1

Cornell 4 at Union 3

Princeton / Quinnipiac @ Brown / Yale

All this series will determine is who travels where in the first round. At times Princeton, Yale and Quinnipiac have looked very good, but to quote Bill Parcells, "At this time of year, you are what you are."

Gobe's Picks:

Princeton 5 - Brown 1

Yale 4 - Quinnipiac 2

Quinnipiac 5 - Brown 2

Yale 5 - Princeton 3

Ron's Picks:

Princeton 2 at Brown 3

Quinnipiac 4 at Yale 3

Quinnipiac 3 at Brown 2

Princeton 2 at Yale 4

Clarkson / SLU @ Dartmouth / Harvard

Probably the best matchup of the weekend, this features three teams all looking for a first round bye and all four teams playing some of their best hockey of the year. Clarkson and SLU come off high energy sweeps of Yale and Brown. Dartmouth and Harvard split their weekends against Colgate and Cornell. Dartmouth has been playing its best hockey lately going 6-1-1 in their last eight. At home they are 8-1-0 in conference play and 9-3-0 overall. Clarkson will be without freshman standout Shea Guthrie and will look for another stellar performance from sophomore Matt Isbister on the line with Shawn Weller and Steve Zalewski. Clarkson has been less than great on the road and will look to change things this weekend, but that task is easier said than done against two of the leagues top teams. If their is one beacon of hope for Clarkson is the fact that they are 3-1-1 at Bright since 2000.

St. Lawrence is looking to lock down the last first round bye and can do so with a sweep. They are also looking to avenge an earlier loss to Harvard at Appleton. Harvard will be riding the momentum of an Ivy League title and their first win in Lynah since the Clinton administration. This should be the game of the week as the loser of this game will be virtually out of contention for the first round bye, and potentially at-large NCAA berth.

Gobe's Picks:

St. Lawrence 4 at Harvard 2

Clarkson 3 at Dartmouth 3

Clarkson 4 at Harvard 2

St. Lawrence 4 at Dartmouth 2

Ron's Picks:

St. Lawrence 4 at Harvard 2

Clarkson 3 at Dartmouth 1

Clarkson 4 at Harvard 3

St. Lawrence 2 at Dartmouth 4

CHF Women's Preview - 2/24/06

Another split last weekend against Yale and Brown eliminated the Clarkson's Women's Hockey Team from the ECACHL title picture, but did inch them closer to a home-ice playoff series in the first round of the ECACHL Tournament, Clarkson's NCAAs this year. With two games remaining, Clarkson sits in 3rd place, a point ahead of Brown, and two points ahead of Harvard. The top four teams in the league will get to host the first round of the tournament, and the top remaining seed will host the ECAC Final Four. Clarkson does control their own destiny, as they could clinch home-ice with a win or a tie against Harvard on Saturday, as Clarkson would win the tie-break in that scenario. A Clarkson win against Dartmouth would not necessarily clinch, as we'd need a little help from our rivals on Rt. 11 against Harvard, or for Brown to get held to just a single point against Princeton and Quinnipiac. In the case of a tie, Brown owns the tie-breaker against Clarkson, and I'm not even going to try to figure out what would happen if Harvard and Clarkson are tied, because we'll need to figure out how the rest of the league is going to shake out.

This brings us to Clarkson v. Dartmouth on Friday at Cheel. Clarkson will likely be buoyed by a decent sized crowd, including a band and bonesaws, an intimidating environment for any team to play in. Despite starting the year ranked in the top 10, Dartmouth fell off the pace early, and has been working to battle back into league contention. After going 0-2-2 though the beginning of February, Dartmouth swept a Colgate and Cornell with one goal games against a pair that has been tough of late. In both games Dartmouth outshot their opponents by strong margins, but both of the weekend's goals were given up on the power play. Shannon Bowman and Maggie Kennedy are the leading scorers on the team. Both freshman, along with senior Danielle Grundy, have scored over twenty points this season. Dartmouth also has a strong tandem in goal with senior Kate Lane, who has started about two-thirds of the games for the Big Green, with freshman Carli Clemis getting the other starts. Both goalies have strong save percentages and GAA's of slightly above 2.00, meaning the Knights offense has their work cut out for them. In their previous matchup, Clarkson defeated Dartmouth in Hanover 1-0 in what was their biggest win to date.

Saturday afternoon, Clarkson will face Harvard, the team that ignited the women's season when they went on a tear defeating Harvard, Dartmouth and St. Lawrence, three of the four teams that played in the 2005 Frozen Four. After losing to Cornell 4-3, in one of the biggest upsets in women's hockey this season, Harvard righted the ship slightly by defeating Colgate 3-1 by throwing 52 shots at Colgate, and behind a strong perfomance by senior Ali Boe. Harvard's Jennifer Raimondi and Jenny Brine are both point-per-game scorers for Harvard which has ten double-digit scorers in 27 games played. As with many teams in the ECACHL, Harvard has a strong tandem of goalies, with Boe and freshman Brittany Murphy both playing extremely well. With home ice on the line we suspect we'll see Boe out there with the pressure on. In their last meeting in Cambridge, Clarkson defeated Harvard 4-3 after Clarkson jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first.

Last weekend, Kira Hurley had a stellar performance and one she'd like to have back. After shutting out Yale the previous evening for her nation leading tenth shutout, she gave up three goals early to Brown and was pulled in favor of Stephanie Hansen who stopped the remaining shots. Clarkson's offense continues to struggle with only five goals in their last five games, two of which were wins. Bottom line this weekend is to take advantage of the power play, and most importantly Clarkson's offense, lead by Ashley Shaidle (27 points) and Brooke Beazer (20 points) needs to shoot often and score first. Clarkson is 16-2-0 when they score first, while Dartmouth is 8-1-2 and Harvard is 11-2-2. Clarkson is a whopping 19-3-1 when outshooting their opponents.

Ron's Picks:
Clarkson 2 - Dartmouth 0
Clarkson 3 - Harvard 1

Gobe's Picks:
Clarkson 4 - Dartmouth 3
Clarkson 5 - Harvard 2

CHF Interview with Head Coach George Roll (2/23/2006)

The head coach of Clarkson's Men's Hockey Team, George Roll was kind enough to join us for a quick chat in advance of the Harvard and Dartmouth weekend as well as the upcoming ECACHL playoffs. As assistant at Clarkson from 1988 to 1996, Roll rejoined Clarkson in 2003 after a seven year stint at Oswego, in which he led the Lakers to the NCAA title game and was named Division III coach of the year. Coach Roll played for four years at Bowling Green where he was a member of the 1983-1984 national championship team. There he played under former Clarkson, and current Boston College coach Jerry York.

CHF: With the playoffs looming, Clarkson could end up facing Yale, Quinnipiac, Princeton or Brown. Any particular team you’d like to avoid in the first round?

Coach Roll: Not really. We feel comfortable playing any of those teams at home. Every team presents different challenges, whatever team comes in we need to be ready to play.

CHF: Why does this team play so well at home? Can you get any momentum from this past weekend to carry over at Dartmouth and Harvard?

Coach Roll: We hope so. We know our record on the road is not good, but we’ve had good performances on the road. Played very good at Colgate, very good at Princeton. If we get past the first round, we know we’ve got to go on the road in the second round. I think this is a real key weekend for us to prove to ourselves more than anybody that we can win on the road.

CHF: What do you make of the “Bonesaw” phenomenon in the student section?

Coach Roll: (laughs) I’m not sure what it’s from. But I like it. Our students and the band have been phenomenal this year. They’ve given us great support, and I think it’s one of the reasons for our success at home. The guys like it, and it’s a real big plus for us having that support. The team has been able to feed off that, and create energy in this building that I haven’t seen since I was an assistant.

CHF: Will you start McNulty if David Leggio has a close loss?

Coach Roll: It remains to be seen. It depends on the scenarios. We spoke to both goalies before Colgate and Cornell, and explained that if one of those guys got hot, we would be coming back with them. David got the reins and has run with it, but that won’t say that Kyle won’t get a start later in the season. David is the guy for us right now, and he’s been solid for four straight games, so I can’t say I wouldn’t go back to him if it were a close loss.

CHF: What's the word on Shea Guthrie? Will he see ice this weekend?

Coach Roll: No, he’s definitely out this weekend. We’ll see how he progresses for next week.

CHF: We've seen a lot of changes on the fourth line. What determines who gets to play on that spot on that particular day?

Coach Roll: Some of it is based on the opponent and their style, as well as how those players are playing. All of those guys work extremely hard in practice, and we know what our top three lines are. We just want to rotate the fourth line and keep them fresh. We’ve been happy with all of the combinations of fourth lines that we’ve had this season. We’ll go out and put the best fourth line out there against each opponent on a given night.

CHF: Who is the unsung hero of the team this year? (Feel free to name a sidekick as well.)

Coach Roll: I think for me, Chris Breklemans. Although he has contributed offensively, I think his leadership and work ethic is second to none on our team, and is the heart of our team, providing outstanding leadership. A lot of the fans will talk about Nick, Shea, and Shawn guys who provide offensive leadership, but I would go with Chris for sure.

CHF: We've heard some stories about your assistants traveling to the ends of the earth on recruiting trips, what are you looking for in a recruit? And how do you bring in someone to Potsdam, considering it is Potsdam?

Coach Roll: For us, Greg and JF, our first two recruiting classes are this year’s freshmen and sophomores, and we’re really proud of those classes, even our Junior class which was a late start for us. We’re really proud of our recruiting efforts. The experience our players have really helps sell the experience to the recruits. The small town commitment and feel with the tight community and tradition, a lot of recruits like that. They’re not always wowed by the Michigans, Ohio States, and those are the type of players we’re looking to bring in here. We’re very confident that Potsdam is a good place, and Clarkson is a great place to play and get a quality education, and we’ll continue to build on it.

CHF: What is the word on the recruits coming in?

Coach Roll: We only lose two guys, so we don’t need a big class. We’re really happy with the core defense and forwards returning next year. We have a number of kids committed for next year. It’s not to say we’re done with what we have for next year, but we’re probably looking for one or two to finish it out. We’re in no hurry because the core group we have, we don’t feel we have to upgrade in many areas.

CHF: You went back to your alma matter, Bowling Green, this year. How was the reception? We're there any butterflies at the opening faceoff?

Coach Roll: Yeah, no question. Obviously winning helps. It was a great experience. I got a nice ovation when I was introduced, and it was a big moment as a coach. It was great to go back and see a lot of old friends and family, and it’s a really positive experience for myself, and the team as well.

CHF: Oswego is vying for the SUNYAC championship. Do you still keep up with your former team?

Coach Roll: Without question. I actually went to a game last night with the assistant coach from Oswego. I talk to Eddie (Gosek) almost daily, and I certainly feel very good about what Eddie has done at Oswego and I follow them every week. I know they’ve got Plattsburgh this week, and I’ll be following that close. It’s a great community and program and I wish Eddie and the team nothing but the best.

CHF: How does it feel to be back-to-back Commissioners Cup Champs? Is it true the cup ended up in the bottom of your pool last year?

Coach Roll: I don’t know anything about that… I think you do follow it, but with the team and our struggles we’ve had over the past two years its secondary. It’s good for the league and something for the league to be proud of. For our program itself, I don’t think it’s been something we’ve focused on at all.

CHF: Bart said you've lost hair and become better dressed since the mid 90's, how do you respond to this?

Coach Roll: I don’t know if I’ve lost hair, it’s gone gray. The dress part I can attribute to Greg and JF, they let me know if what I’m wearing works. If I’ve been improving it’s because of them.

CHF: Do you pay attention to online forums such as the Roundtable and our shenanigans? Rumor has it that you’re really “Goldie Knight” in disguise.

Coach Roll: No disrespect to the forums, but fans are fans, and we know we’ve got a job to do here and we put the best effort we can and we feel that we’re heading in the right direction. They have opinions on different issues, but it’s not something that I look at regularly. It’s not something that I dwell on, I know in my heart we’re doing the right thing, and very shortly we’re going to be a great team on the national level. In fact, I’m lucky to turn the computer on at all.

CHF: Dunkin’ Donuts or Tim Hortons?:

Coach Roll: Tim’s. Greg would kill me if I didn’t say Tim’s.

CHF: What’s your favorite hockey cliché?

Coach Roll: Don’t worry about the rabbits or the elephants will getcha. Essentially don’t worry about the small stuff., the things you can’t control. I got that from Jerry York.

5 on 3's, ghosts and a guy named Nittymaki

Team USA's run at the Olympics came to an end on Wednesday, as Finland defeated the Americans 4-3 in Quarterfinal Play. Despite storming back from a 2-0 deficit early on, the US gave up not one, but two 5 on 3 penalties in the second, resulting in a 4-2 lead going into the third. The US opened up the 3rd on the power play, but couldn't convert, and then were down for four minutes on a phantom double minor to Derian Hatcher, who hit Teemu Selanne in the face with a stick below the waist on a follow through. After killing off the penalty, the US closed within one, on a goal by Brian Gionta off a highlight reel pass from Chris Drury. After a bunch of attempts with Rick DiPietro pulled, Antero Nittymaki made some huge saves off some big US faceoff wins and preserved the victory for the undefeated Finnish team. USA outshot Finland 28-25, including 16-3 in the 3rd period. Team USA lost all four of their games by one goal.

Craig Conroy had an assist on Team USA's second goal from Matthieu Schneider, and Erik Cole who was pretty much a maniac the entire game, had an assist on Gionta's goal. At one point Cole was running double shifts, and still creating havoc for the Finns. Conroy finishes the tournament with one goal and four assists, tied for the team lead in points. Cole had a goal and two assists for the tournament. After these performances, if Craig and Erik can continue their production at the NHL level, they're likely candidates for future international play, and justified their spots in this year's team with some great play.

CHF ECAC End of Year Awards

With the last weekend of the season rapidly approaching, here is how we think the ECAC End of the Year Awards will break down. Keep in mind the ECAC's propensity towards selecting upperclassmen and our unwavering homerism.

First Team:

F - TJ Treveylan - SLU - The league's leading scorer, and the heart and soul of the St. Lawrence offense. TJ has put up 1.5 points per game in conference play and has 1.28 points per game overall. This has been the crowning year on a career that has seen him put up 147 points in 142 games. TJ should be under consideration for the Hobey Baker trophy as well.

F - Mike Ouellette - Dartmouth - Has quietly put the Big Green into a top four spot after a very slow start. Leads Dartmouth in points with 30 which correlates with his four year average of one point per game, racking up 131 points in 130 games.

F - Kyle Wilson - Colgate - Leads the Raiders in scoring, goals scored, powerplay goals, and shorthanded goals. Leads the league with 22 goals, and is second in the conference with 10 powerplay goals. Is four points short of 100 for his career.

D - Reid Cashman - Quinnipiac - Has put up big numbers from the blue line and has helped Quinnipiac win some big games in their inaugural ECAC season. 32 assists leads the league, 35 points good for fifth amongst all league skaters.

D - Mike Madill - SLU - This was a tough choice, but Madill came through not just for his offensive stats, which are second best in terms of D-Men, but as the lone senior in SLU's D-Corps Madill has helped put SLU into position for a first round bye, and has anchored a young SLU defense.

G - Kris Mayotte - Union - The senior netminder has posted a .916 save percentage and a 2.45 GAA in 33 games. Mayotte is tied for second in the nation with five shutouts and has backboned the Dutchmen to home ice in the first round and a possible first round bye.

Second Team:
F - Nick Dodge - Clarkson - Dodge is tied for 2nd in points in the league with an impressive 1.16 points per game average in just his sophomore season. Dodge leads the Golden Knights in scoring and has proven that he deserves the A on his shoulder this season.

F - Kevin Croxton - RPI - RPI's leading scorer has filled the shoes of sidelined captain Kirk McDonald nicely. Paired with Oren Ezienman and Jonathan Ornelas the combo proved early on to be one of the most potent lines in the ECAC this year.

F - Matt Moulson - Cornell - Tenth in the league in scoring with 32 points for a 1.19 point per game average. Moulson has been the standout on a Cornell team that has epitomized the word team this year. Leads the Big Red and the league with 11 power play goals and has anchored the Big Red in his senior season.

D - Keith McWilliams - RPI - Has provided a lift for RPI when the team was struggling to find goals. His nine goals lead all ECAC defensemen. 20 points good for fourth on the team in scoring.

D - Ryne O'Byrne - Cornell - In Cornell head coach's system defense is key. The biggest part of this system is Ryne O'Byrne. When O'Byrne is healthy the Big Red benefit and have the capability of winning on any given night. While the offensive numbers aren't there for O'Byrne, this year one can not discount his value on the blue line.

G - Mark Dekanich - Colgate - Leads the league in GAA and save percentage in conference play. Overall has posted a 2.46 GAA and a .917 save percentage to lead Colgate to what will probably be a first round bye.

Honorable Mention

F - Tyler Burton - Colgate
F - Eric Przepiorka - Dartmouth
F - Grant Goeckner-Zoeller - Princeton
D - Brad Farynuk - RPI
D - Mike Campaner - Colgate
G - David McKee - Cornell

Rookie Team
F - Brian Leitch - Quinnipiac - Leading scorer for the Bobcats and their impressive freshman class. 37 points ties Leitch for second in the league in scoring.

F - David Marshall - Quinnipiac - Second amongst rookies in scoring with 28 points with 15 of these coming in league play. 18 goals leads all rookies. Two game winners in league play leads the Bobcats.

F - Shea Guthrie - Clarkson - Has been a main part of Clarkson's offense with 25 points, good for fourth on the team. Two game winners, including one over St. Lawrence, leads the team.

D - Nick St. Pierre - Colgate - Has played in all 32 of Colgates games to date. 14 points is second amongst rookie defensemen, and place him in the top ten in points on the team.

D - Matt Generous - SLU - Leads rookie D-Men in scoring with 15 points. 13 points have come in ECAC play.

G - Matias Lange - RPI - Has backboned RPI to first round home ice, and leads rookie netminders in GAA (2.62) and save percentage (.909) in league play.

Honorable Mention
F - Kevin DeVergilio - SLU
F- Chris D'Alvise - Clarkson
F - Augie D'Marzo - Union
D - Shawn Fensel - SLU
D - Brian McCafferty - Harvard
G - Alec Richards - Yale

Player of the Year - TJ Treveylan
Rookie of the Year - Brian Leitch
Dryden Award - Kris Mayotte
Coach of the Year - Joe Marsh - SLU
(Though we wouldn't be surprised if Rand Pecknold got some votes, or even Nate Leaman.)

Scoring Drought Ends; USA v. Finland in Quarters

Even though they scored a team high for goals in this Olympic Tournament, Team USA fell to Russia in the final game of the preliminary round of play 5-4 earlier today. The game actually meant nothing in terms of standings, but it didn't seem that way on the ice, as we saw one of the fastest and most physical games of the opening round.

Craig Conroy had yet another sweet assist, setting up Brian Rolston by sending a pass through the crease that Rolston snuck home. Erik Cole was finally rewarded for the attention he's been drawing from opposing teams, when he came around from behind the net and stuffed his first goal of the tournament past the Russian netminder.

The Americans will face Finland on Wednesday at 11:30a. The game will be live on USA as well as Universal HD. The Finns were 5-0 in Group A play, while the Americans finished 1-3-1, Despite their record, Team USA has not really been dominated outchancing and outshooting their opponents in nearly every game in the preliminary round, the exception being 26-25 to Sweden.

The game is an elimination game, and the loser goes home. The winner will face the winner of the Canada/Russia matchup. The other pairing are Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Switzerland against Sweden. Potentially the best day of hockey that you will find all year long. Call in sick if you need to.

Playoff Possibilities

Albert tries to explain how SLU winning is a good thing.

After this past weekend Clarkson has locked up at least an 8th place finish, in turn the highest they can finish is 5th. Here's a list of scenarios involving the other three teams, RPI, Union and Harvard, in contention for you to ponder heading into the weekend.

Starting with the worst case and working our way up:

0 Points
Even with all the other teams losing, Clarkson would take 8th.

1 Point
If RPI is swept and Clarkson takes one point, Clarkson jumps to 7th. If RPI takes one or more points Clarkson is back to 8th.

2 Points
Taking two points this weekend combined with Union and RPI losing twice will put the Knights into 6th spot. This is due to Clarkson's winning tie break over Union in the record versus the league's top four. However, if Union, Clarkson, and RPI end up in a three way tie, the Knights fall to the bottom of the list due to the combined head to head record. This puts Union in 6th, RPI in 7th and Clarkson in 8th.

3 Points
Here's were things start getting interesting. Three points with a win over Harvard can put Clarkson into 5th place as long as SLU beats Harvard the previous night and Union and RPI both take one point or less on the weekend. A tie with Harvard goes to the Knights due to a head to head sweep. A three way tie with Union, Harvard, and Clarkson puts Clarkson in 5th, Union in 6th and Harvard in 7th. A four way tie puts Union in 5th, RPI in 6th, Clarkson in 7th and Harvard in 8th.

4 Points
Even taking four points this weekend can still put the Knights in 8th place if RPI sweeps, Union takes two points, and Harvard beats SLU on Friday. All the scenarios from the three point weekend still apply and Clarkson could end up anywhere from 5th to 8th with a weekend sweep.

Just your average end of the year in the ECAC(HL)

Genovy, D'Alvise take League Honors

Clarkson senior forward Jeff Genovy was named ECACHL Player of the Week and line mate Chris D'Alvise was named ECACHL Rookie of the Week for their efforts in Clarkson's sweep of Brown and Yale.

Genovy, who is having a breakout year, scored four goals on the weekend while D'Alvise had his best weekend as a Knight, netting one goal and adding four assists.

This marks the first time this season the Knights have taken two of the leagues top three awards of the week, and the first time any Knight has taken an award since Shea Guthrie won Rookie of the Week in October.

Clarkson Takes Two Points, Controls Their Destiny

On Friday, Clarkson's Women's Hockey team skated to a victory over Yale, thanks to another sterling performance by netminder Kira Hurley. In an insane third period where Clarkson's offense fell off of the face of the planet, Clarkson was outshot 16-1, and Hurley stopped them all. Fortunately for the Knights, that one shot was an empty netter to give the Knights a 2-0 victory. Once again the Knights made the most of their opportunities when Jessica Cloutier scored a power play tally in the second, and once again only gave up six minutes of penalties. It was Hurley's nation leading 10th shutout of the season.

Saturday was another story for Hurley and the Knights though, as the Brown Bears mysteriously found some offense and scored three times on six shots, ending Kira's evening. Stephanie Hansen stepped up and stopped the remaining 14 shots, but only Marie-Jo Gaudet could get one of Clarkson's shots by Brown's top goalie and all-name team candidate O'Hara Shipe. Shipe effectively shut down the Knights and eliminating Clarkson from regular season title contention.

Clarkson can now finish anywhere from second to fifth. Clarkson controls their home ice destiny this weekend as they face Harvard and Dartmouth. A Clarkson victory or tie against Harvard at Cheel will seal home ice indefinitely, a Clarkson victory over Dartmouth, along with a Brown or Harvard loss should do the trick as well. Clarkson currently sits in third place, a point ahead of Brown, and two points ahead of Harvard. The top four teams receive home ice in the first round.

Conroy and Cole Shine for USA in Losses

Craig Conroy tallied himself another point on a sweet assist to Mike Modano earlier today against Sweden, but Team USA could not gain the point they needed to clinch a berth to the medal round, losing 2-1. Erik Cole made his presence known all over the ice, putting shots on net, chasing down pucks and being a general menace. Despite being nailed a few times, sending him off to the bench slowly, he came back, forcing Sweden to mob him for a good portion of the game. Conroy is currently tied with Scott Gomez as the leading scorers for the tough luck USA team, which continues to generate opportunity after opportunity just can't put the puck in the back of the net.

The top four teams in each group advance to the medal round. Team USA sits in fourth place, and currently has three points in pool play, while Latvia in fifth, has a single point with a game to play. Even with a Latvian victory in their final game, the first tiebreaker is goal differential. Team USA is currently +1, and Latvia is currently -13, so it is likely the American team will advance in what is looking like one of the toughest Olympic tournaments in recent memory. Team USA has Russia on Tuesday at 2:30p on, well, USA.

Clarkson Drops Eight Spot on Brown!

HOME ICE SECURE!

RPI Tie, Princeton and Yale losses provide lock.

Genovy, Brekelmans shine on Senior Night.

Leggio Stops 24 in victory.

SMASHING!

CLARKSON BEATS YALE 3-2

Women win too, 2-0!!

Genovy gets two markers. Leggio Stops 29.

Guthrie injured in victory, early reports say two weeks.

Glass shattered in the third.

Conga line envelopes Cheel during delay.

These recaps without Brett, less witty!

CHF's ECAC(HL) Preview for 2/17/2006

Coming down the stretch in the ECAC(HL) and it's still a tight race between the top six teams. We know Cornell can not miss home ice for the first round of the playoffs, and that Brown can not play at home at all in the playoffs this year, other than that it is just a normal year of parity that the fans have come to love or hate in the ECAC.

Harvard / Dartmouth @ Colgate / Cornell

These are the matchups of the week as the top four teams in the league face off in central New York. The four game set features what some would consider the best rivalry in the ECAC. These people would be wrong, but we'll save that for another discussion. Harvard comes into Lynah coming off a solid 5-0 win over Northeastern in the BU Invitational Consolation game. Cornell is coming off a rough weekend in the North Country earning only one point from Clarkson and SLU. Harvard head coach Ted Donato had this to say after the Northeastern game Monday, "I think we went a stretch where we were having trouble scoring for six or seven games there, so we tried to simplify things, throw a lot more pucks on the net. We knew we weren't going to score more goals by shooting less. We need to give ourselves a chance to get second and third opportunities."

Despite using nearly every hockey cliche known to man, he was able to convey the point that Harvard had not been scoring lately, which wasn't entirely true as they had scored five goals in their previous game against Princeton, but had not scored more than three goals since November 26th in a 4-3 win at SLU. A more poignant quote would have contained a mention of Harvard's play in one goal games as they are 8-6 in such contests. The Beanpot third place game marked the third time in the last nine games in which Harvard was not involved in a one goal game.

The Big Red have seen their fair share of one goal games, and have emerged with a 6-2 record in them. Ithaca gears up for this game and the team responds to the crowd on the ice. Throw in the added enthusiasm generated from having the game televised on CSTV and you're looking at a home-ice advantage that really can sink a visiting team. This home ice and Cornell's propensity for winning close games will be the margin of victory for Cornell.

Dartmouth has rattled off a six game unbeaten streak and is looking to lock down a first round bye this weekend. They are the one team in the league that consistently gives Cornell fits. This plays well for Dartmouth as Cornell might be thinking ahead to Saturday night. Schafer is a good coach and probably wouldn't allow this to happen, but it's hard to keep any team focused, especially in a trap game such as this. The key for Dartmouth is to get an early lead and play fundamental hockey while allowing a young goaltender to get hot and stymie Cornell's chances is in the third, aka the Clarkson System. This is easier said than done.

Colgate is slipping into another bad stretch and is clinging onto second place. They are currently in a four game winless streak in which they have lost three by a combined total of five goals. Granted, this is the Raiders toughest stretch of the season, but losses are losses and Colgate needs some help this weekend. Colgate took care of Dartmouth in Hanover, but could not handle Harvard at Bright back in November. Colgate plays very well at home while Harvard and Dartmouth are less than stellar on the road. Look for Colgate to play two physical games to booster their chances with teams that might just have Cornell on their minds.

Gobe's Picks:

Colgate 4 - Dartmouth 2

Colgate 3 - Harvard 2

Dartmouth 3 - Cornell 1

Cornell 2 - Harvard 1

Ron's Picks:

Dartmouth 2 - Cornell 4

Harvard 3 - Colgate 2

Dartmouth 2 - Colgate 3

Harvard 3 - Cornell 2

RPI / Union @ Quinnipiac / Princeton

In a series that is more important for RPI and Union than it is for Quinnipiac and Princeton, the two Capital District teams will be a couple men short. RPI will be down its normal squad of injured reserve. To RPI's credit they have made the best of a bad situation and have won enough games to hold on to a home playoff spot in the first round. A marked improvement compared to where they were sitting last year at this time. RPI is two points ahead of eighth place Clarkson. With the right combination of wins and some help from other teams, they could be looking at a first round bye after the weekend is out.

Union is two points ahead of RPI and has first round bye on their collective minds. This task was challenged this week when two freshmen were suspended for the rest of the season. These suspensions did not seem to bother Union last weekend as they swept Brown and Yale, posting a five spot on the Bulldogs. However these were two of the team's best freshmen and Union will need to have its senior leadership step up. This leadership starts in net, with senior Kris Mayotte. In conference play Mayotte is first in the league with a .928 save percentage and second in the league with 2.16 GAA. If Mayotte can continue putting up these numbers, Union will be in solid shape for home ice.

Princeton is coming into the weekend following two overtime losses to Harvard and Dartmouth on the road. This snapped the Tigers five game ECAC unbeaten streak. Princeton now sits in tenth place and is three points out of a home playoff spot. The Tigers are 6-4-1 in Hobey Baker rink this year and are very dependent on goaltender Eric Leroux. If Leroux can get on a streak the Tigers should be able to hang with the Capital District teams.

It's a similar situation for Quinnipiac. After strong play in the early going and recent 5-1 stretch the Bobcats fell to Dartmouth 5-4 in Hanover. This put The Q into 11th place but only four points out of a home ice spot. With a 9-4-0 record at home the Bobcats are a formidable opponent in Northford or Ingalls, and should prove to be a good test for both RPI and Union.

Gobe's Picks:

RPI 3 - Princeton 2

Quinnipiac 3 - RPI 1

Union 4 - Quinnipiac 2

Princeton 3 - Union 2

Ron's Picks:

Princeton 3 - RPI 2

RPI 4 - Quinnipiac 2

Princeton 3 - Union 1

Quinnipiac 3 - Union 2

Yale / Brown @ Clarkson / SLU

After making some noise a few weeks ago, the Yale Bulldogs have gone on an 0-4-1 snap in their last five league games. They are 2-8-2 on the road this year and have been outscored 46-29 away from Ingalls. This does not bode well for Yale as they take on two of the top home teams in the league. Following the 2-1 loss at RPI last Friday head coach Tim Taylor had nothing but high praise for his teams effort. "I liked so much of what I saw out there in the second and third periods, but we just have to stay out of the penalty box. We have to be more disciplined. We are playing well enough to win but need to tweak a few things."

This did not help the Eli's the next night as they were pasted by Union 5-1. The story for Yale this weekend will depend on whichever team shows up.. With two solid efforts the Bulldogs can be in very strong home ice contention, with two poor efforts, they will be looking at a first round match up, possibly back in the North Country.

The last time Brown won a league game it was a sweep of the North Country duo at home in November. It's been a long winter in Providence. Since that weekend Brown has had nine overtime games and has yet to win a game that goes into the extra frame. They have yet to win a game on the road and have been outscored by a 2 to 1 margin away from home. Brown is pretty much locked into the 12th spot and will be on the road in the first round of the playoffs.

SLU has the most to gain from this weekend. After taking three points from the leagues top pair, the Saints have worked into a tie for fourth place in the league, but at the moment lose the head to head tiebreaker against Harvard. The teams have one game remaining against each other, but SLU is looking to jump past the Crimson this weekend as Harvard is facing a difficult road weekend. SLU will come out fast and look to stake an early lead. Expect the top line of Trevelyan, Zbriger and Zeiler to put up some decent numbers against two of the softer D's in the conference.

After a rough start to 2006, Clarkson looks to continue its improved play and cement themselves into a home ice spot for the first round. Taking three points from Cornell and Colgate put the Knights into 8th place in the league and determined a starting goaltender. David Leggio was given the Saturday night starters job for the first time all season. His 24 saves gave him 47 for the weekend and earned him ECAC(HL) Honor Roll accolades. In some peoples opinions he should have earned Goaltender of the Week, but who are we to doubt the infinite wisdom of the ECACHL?

Clarkson looks to continue its strong play at home in which they are 10-2-2 this season and 3-0-1 in the calendar year 2006. Home ice in the first round is critical to the Knights, look for the team to put a strong effort in front of what should be a good home crowd.

Gobe's Picks:

Clarkson 5 - Yale 2

Clarkson 6 - Brown 1

SLU 4 - Brown 0

SLU 5 - Yale 3

Ron's Picks:

Clarkson 3 - Yale 0

Clarkson 5 - Brown 2

SLU 5 - Brown 1

SLU 4 - Yale 3

Quick Team USA Update

Team USA defeated Kazakhstan 4-1 last night in Italy. Erik Cole scored his first point of the tournament, a spectacular assist to Mike Modano on this goal to put Team USA up 4-1. If you're wondering where Cole is, he's behind the net and to the right (our left), just after making the goalie chase, and dishing a sick pass over to Modano for the easy empty netter. Craig Conroy was scoreless in the game, but made up for it with some spectacular work on the stick, talking up Mike Eurzione. Team USA has Slovakia at 2:00 tomorrow on USA.

Women Face Ivies

After a split in Central NY last weekend, Clarkson's Women's Hockey Team heads to New England to face Brown and Yale, in hopes of getting closer to locking up a home playoff series while keeping their eyes on the top of the ECACHL. With four games to go, Clarkson sits in 3rd Place, with 22 points and only six points separates first through fifth, meaning nothing is certain with two weeks to go. Clarkson with a sweep and a lot of help could get something nailed down this weekend, but with the parity in the top half of the conference this year, anything goes.

On Friday, Clarkson will face the Yale Bulldogs, who with a victory over Brown on Tuesday climbed back to the .500 mark for the first time since November. Despite the .500 record, Yale is a very dangerous team that can play at a top level on any given day. The Bulldogs enter this weekend without losing in the past month, pounding the bottom of the conference, but also taking wins from Brown and Dartmouth and tying Colgate and Harvard along the way. Yale features a balanced sheet with forwards Deena Caplette, Crysti Howser, and Kristin Savard all above the twenty point mark this season, and seven players total in double digits. The Knights we'll likely see senior Sarah Love in net for Yale, who has had a strong senior year, with a 2.21 GAA and a .925 save pct. In their last meeting the Knights took a hard fought 1-0 victory at Cheel Arena.

Saturday, the Knights head to Providence, where they'll face a Brown team that despite a serious lack of scoring (36 goals) have managed to hang in at the top of the ECACHL, sitting just behind Clarkson in 4th place with 21 points. In January, while holding the Bears to six shots, the Knights fell 1-0 at Cheel in January. The Bears are 6-1 in one goal games this season. Brown is lead by sophomore forward Hayley Moore who has 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists) and Keaton Zucker with 21 (10 goals and 11 assists.) No other player on the Brown roster has more than 10 points. Recently, net time has been split between sophomore O'Hara Shipe (1.95 GAA, .932 Save Pct.) and freshman Nicole Stock (1.84 GAA, .927 Save Pct.) We suspect the goalie perfomance on Friday against St. Lawrence will dictate who we see on Saturday, but we'll look for Shipe who currently ranks sixth in the country in Save Pct. to be between the pipes.

Entering this weekend, Clarkson has nine players in double digit scoring with junior Ashley Shaidle leading the way with 26 points. Kira Hurley continues to shine in goal with a GAA of 1.14 good for third in the country, and tops among full-time goalies. She ranks fourth in save percentage (0.938), minutes played and is tops in the country in shutouts with nine. Clarkson has the best penalty kill in the country, and is the least penalized team in Division I. Clarkson is 15-2-0 when they score first.

Ron's Picks:
Clarkson 1 - Yale 0
Clarkson 2 - Brown 0

Brett's Picks:
Clarkson 3 - Yale 1
Clarkson 1 - Brown 1

One last thought, be sure to get over to PattyKaz.com and get in your write-in vote for Kira Hurley, as well as the other players you think are worthy of the highest award in women's college hockey!

Hang a Banner!

Back to Back Champs! You might not have noticed with all of the modesty, but a dynasty was born last weekend when Yale defeated UConn and secured the ECACHL's second consecutive Commissioner's Cup, which is awarded to College Hockey's most dominate conference. While the WCHA and Hockey East were obviously in a rebuilding phase, the ECACHL held up its end of the bargain, coming away with this year's trophy. Clarkson defeated Providence from the Hockey East, 5-2 to add a critical two points. No word on if the cup will end up in the bottom of Coach Roll's pool again, but we can only hope to see the cup at a post-game buffet sometime in the near future.

Final Standings;
1. ECACHL - 7-4-0 (14)
2. CCHA - 6-4-1 (13)
3. CHA- 5-5-1 (11)
4. Atlantic Hockey - 5-6-0 (10)
5. WCHA - 5-6-0 (10)
6. Hockey East - 4-7-0 (8)

Conroy gets his first!

Craig Conroy got his first two points in international play yesterday in Team USA's preliminary matchup against Latvia. At the 10:38 mark of the 2nd, Craig got his first goal unassisted, with a hard shot from a bad angle that snuck beneath Arturs Irbe's right arm and past his forty year old pads to make the game 2-0.

Team USA fell apart after that though, giving up three goals in about a minute and a half before settling down. Conroy assisted on the game tying goal, winning a key faceoff that resulted in Jordan Leopold's first goal of the tournament. Despite outshooting Latvia 19-6 in the 3rd, Team USA was unable to pull ahead, with the game ending in a 3-3 tie. Conroy created several opportunities in the flurry, and delivered a clean, ferocious open ice check that prompted a "daaaaaaaamn!" from everyone watching.

Conroy skated on a line with Mike Knuble and Jason Blake, while Erik Cole was paired with Mike Modano and Brian Rolston. The US plays Kazakhstan at 3:00p today which can be seen on USA.

Our Hobey Baker

We were asked to participate in the Western College Hockey Blog's roundtable discussion on the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. To make things a little more interesting we will tie in our picks with the 5 nominees for best animated short film at the 78th Annual Academy Awards ®.

1. Badgered - Brian Elliott, G, Wisconsin - This is actually pretty easy, when Elliot plays the Badgers are 18-2-2, when Elliot does not play the Badgers are 2-5-0. In his 22 games Elliot has stopped 518 out of 549 shots for a .944 save percentage, leading the nation, and in 1328 minutes he has posted a 1.40 GAA, leading the nation. Bottom line is when Elliot is in net, the Badgers are almost unbeatable. Despite a knee injury he has been the best player in the country this season.

2. The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello - Matt Carle, D, Denver - Staying out on the West Coast for our second selection, Matt Carle is Denver's leading scorer. This is impressive, even more impressive is that he is doing this from the blue line. In Denver's current seven game winning streak he has at least a point in six of them, including five assists on DU's seven goals against Minnesota State.

3. One Man Band - Chris Collins, F, Boston College - Collins is the nation's leading scorer with 48 points right now, and will probably end up with 55-65 before the season is over. Those 48 points are 13 better than teammate Brian Boyle and represent 19% of BC's scoring this year.

4. The Moon and the Sun: An Imagined Conversation - TJ Trevelyan, F, St. Lawrence - Trevelyan anchors what could be considered the best line in the ECAC. Along with fellow seniors John Zeiler and Mike Zbriger the line has generated 39 goals, 48 assists and 87 points accounting for one third of SLU's offense. Trevelyan leads the Saints with 17 goals and 23 assists, and for his career is at a 1.04 point per game average.

5. 9 - Torrey Mitchell, F, Vermont - This is our wildcard/homer pick. Just a sophomore, Mitchell leads UVM in scoring and assists. He is a very good skater and has moves that would put some basketball players to shame. He has killed Clarkson at nearly every opportunity, including a jaw dropping highlight reel goal in the championship game of this year's Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup. Careerwise against the Knights he is 2-1-1 with 2 goals and 2 assists, and we would be happy if we never see him again.

The Quest for the Expensive Doughnut Begins!

The Men's Olympic Hockey Tournament begins this Wednesday in Group Play, and Team USA features two former Clarkson players who you may have heard of: Craig Conroy and Erik Cole. We'll be keeping track of Craig and Erik's progress as they're two of the top scoring players from the NHL on Team USA. Here's a schedule of the games and their broadcast times:

Wednesday, February 15th - Latvia v. USA (USA, 3:00p)

Thursday, February 16th - USA v. Kazakhstan (USA, 3:00p)

Saturday, February 18th - Slovakia v. USA (NBC, 2:00p)

Sunday, February 19th - USA v. Sweden (NBC, 11:00a)

Tuesday, February 21st - USA v. Russia (USA, 2:30p)

Wednesday, February 22nd - 1st Round (TBD)

Friday, February 24th - Semifinals (TBD, 10:30a, 3:00p)

Saturday, February 25th - Bronze Medal Game (NBC, 2:30p)

Sunday, February 26th - Gold Medal Game (NBC, 8:00a!)

With the awkward game times, it looks like a lot of taping and Tivo will be going on. As a courtesy, we'll not update you on any highlights until the following day. It's going to be hard enough to duck the scores to begin with, you don't need us messing with you too.

To keep you busy, the Syracuse Post-Standard has a great article featuring Craig and Erik, as well as Rochester's Brian Gionta, and Whiteboro's Robert Esche. USA Hockey has put together a really great looking Media Guide (PDF). Clarkson has a sweet little poster that you can print out and plaster everywhere. For a more convention defying experience, we highly recommend printing it out with a plotter and wrapping stuff up with 'em.

Women Take 2 from Central New York

The Clarkson woman's team split the weekend with Cornell and Colgate, taking 2 points from the Big Red, 2-1, and falling at Starr rink 2-0.

Friday in Ithaca the Knights came back from a 1-0 deficit late in the third period when Jessica Cloutier scored her 6th goal of the season at the 15:40 mark of the period. The goal was assisted by Ashley Shaidle and Brooke Beazer. The Knights got the game winner on Amanda Dittmer's powerplay marker 1 minute and 25 seconds later. Dittmer was assisted by Kimberly McKenney and Micheleen Devine. Kira Hurley stopped 23 shots out of 24 for the win. Clarkson outshot Cornell 49-24 for the game.

Saturday was not as kind to the Knights as they were blanked by Colgate 2-0. Kira Hurley made 20 saves.

Currently the Knights sit in 3rd place in the ECACHL with 4 games remaining. Clarkson has locked up a playoff spot and is looking to secure a home series in the first round this weekend when they travel to Brown and Yale.

3 Point Weekend

GOLDEN KNIGHTS TIE RAIDERS

Leggio starts second consecutive night.

Weller tallies powerplay marker, on a sweet pass from Nick Dodge.

Volleyball friend of Tom Hanks ties it up in the third.

Did Leggio win the starter's roll?

47 saves on 49 shots for the weekend say, Yes.

HOME COOKIN

CLARKSON UPENDS CORNELL

Mason scores his first goal as a Knight.

Guthrie hits the post, but Genovy hits a rebound for the game winner.

Dodge tacks on some insurance.

Leggio stands tall in 23 save effort.

All the right moves? McKee pulled after 2 goal first period.

Fearless Prognostications - ECAC(HL) Preview

Last week I went 0 for the weekend. Will this stop me from making baseless picks with nonsensical commentary? No.

Colgate / Cornell @ SLU / Clarkson

Clarkson and SLU are facing their biggest test of the year. Clarkson has lost seven of their last eight, SLU has lost five of their last six and has fallen out of the polls for the first time since November. To put things bluntly, the wheels have come off in the North Country. What do the travel partners have to look forward to in their return to home ice? The leagues top two teams. To make matters worse Cornell, while not playing their “best” hockey, owns the best record in the nation and the #3 ranking in the latest polls. Compound this with an angry Colgate team who isn’t getting much respect in the league and we get a formula for a sweep. If the Saints and Knights can find any relief, it will be at home. The two teams are a combined 18-4-1 in St. Lawrence County this year, and have outscored their opponents 96-67. The North Country is again a tough place to win in the ECAC. This will be the make or break weekend for the Knights and Saints.

Gobe’s Picks:

Cornell 4 – Clarkson 3

Colgate 4 – Clarkson 2

SLU 3 – Colgate 1

Cornell 4 – SLU 2

Ron’s Picks:

Clarkson 4 – Cornell 2

Clarkson 2 – Colgate 1

SLU 3 – Colgate 1

Cornell 3 – SLU 3

Quinnipiac / Princeton @ Dartmouth / Harvard

The league's hottest teams, Princeton and Quinnipiac, look to keep on winning and gain ground on the vulnerable middle of the pack this weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard. Princeton has gone 4-0-1 in their last 5 ECAC games and are coming off an impressive sweep of SLU and Clarkson. Quinnipiac is also coming off a sweep and is 5-1-0 in their last 6. Both teams will play Dartmouth who is putting a run together of their own. The Big Green are 5-1-1 since a heartbreaking loss against UNH. They are guided by two of the league's best seniors, Eric Przepiorka and Mike Oullette. This year the two have put up 19 goals and 33 assists in 23 games, and no one has seemed to notice. Dartmouth still has received very few accolades in the national press due to their slow start, but this is a team no one wants to face in the playoffs, just ask Cornell. Harvard is still in their Beanpot week and will only play Princeton. The Crimson are in a slump right now and are 2-3-1 in 2006. This trend will not get any easier as they head to Colgate and Cornell after the Beanpot Consolation game on Monday.

Gobe’s Picks:

Dartmouth 4 – Quinnipiac 3

Princeton 4 – Dartmouth 2

Princeton 3 – Harvard 1

Ron’s Picks:

Quinnipiac 5 - Dartmouth 2

Princeton 4 - Dartmouth 2

Princeton 3 - Harvard 2

Brown / Yale @ Union / RPI

The last preview brings us to one of the ECAC(HL)’s best traditions. The RPI Big Red Freakout! © This started in the 70’s allowing all of the engineers at Troy to cut loose, get rid of the skinny black ties and pocket protectors for one weekend, get really drunk and go to a hockey game. This is how engineers go crazy, they watch hockey. I have only been to one Freakout, © and it was the worst game ever, or it was the best game ever depending who you asked in the parking lot afterwards. RPI has been rumored to be kicking around a new name for this game, but “The Visiting Team Will Lose This Game Classic,” was deemed to be a little too forward. RPI has not lost a Freakout! © game since Bush was President, the first Bush. Fortunately for RPI they will see a familiar Freakout! © foe. The Brown Bears will be in town to try and snap out of the funk they have been in since November. Brown has played in ten overtime games this year and has 0-4-6 record in those games. They are a dismal 1-6 in one goal games to boot.

If things could get any worse for Brown, it does on Friday night as they take on Union at Messa Rink at the Achilles Center. Union has lost only once at home this year, while Brown has not won on the road all year. Saturday night Union will take on Yale. Yale is currently in sixth but has played inconsistently since their sweep of RPI and Union at home two weeks ago. This is a tough weekend for the Bulldogs as the Capital District teams are a 16-6-5 at home this season.

Gobe’s Predictions:

Union 3 - Brown 0

Union 3 – Yale 2

Yale 3 – RPI 2

RPI 7 – Brown 0

Ron’s Predictions:

Union 4 – Brown 1

Yale 4 – Union 3

Yale 3 – RPI 2

RPI 5 – Brown 0

Women @ Colgate / Cornell

The Women's Hockey Team hits the road for an important two game set with two teams that are definitively "Jekyll and Hyde" as they travel to Cornell and Colgate. With five teams separated by four points in the ECACHL heading into this weekend's play. Clarkson sits in a tie with Princeton for third place with 20 points behind league leaders St. Lawrence (22) and Brown (21) with just six more games to go in the regular season.

Friday Night the Golden Knights will face a Big Red team that has won three of their last four, after a six game stretch where they were pummeled by the top of the league. Cornell is 8-14-0 overall this year, with a 4-12-0 record in conference play. With four ECACHL games left this season, Cornell sits in ninth place in the ECACHL, and will essentially need to win out the rest of the season and get some help to have any chance at the conference playoffs. The Big Red are lead by sophomore forward Caeleigh Beerworth who in 22 games has 19 points on six goals and thirteen assists. Sophomore Brittany Forgues leads the team in goals with 10. In net we'll likely see Beth Baronick who has been the hot hand of the Cornell trio as of late. She's 4-7-0 with a 3.01 GAA and a .899 save percentage.

In their previous matchup, Clarkson skated to a 3-0 victory over Cornell putting 31 shots on net, and holding Cornell to just seven shots.

Ron's Prediction: Clarkson 4 - Cornell 1

Clarkson winds down the weekend with an afternoon matinee against with unpredictable Colgate at Starr Rink. Despite rifling off a bunch of wins early in the season, Colgate ran into a rut where they were smacked around by Princeton, New Hampshire and Harvard before suddenly becoming competitive against top tier teams. In the past month they've played a tight game with Princeton, defeated St. Lawrence 3-0, and tied a strong Mercyhurst team not once, but twice last weekend. The Raiders currently stand at a deceiving 9-10-7, but have a 6-5-3 record in ECACHL play, good enough for sixth with six games to go. Colgate has three 20+ scorers right now, lead by freshman Sam Hunt who has thirteen goals and eleven assists in 26 games played. The majority of the time in net has gone to junior Brooke Wheeler who in 19 games has a 7-7-5 record, with a 2.47 GAA and a .915 save pct. We could see her backup and heir apparent freshman Elayna Hamashuk though, who in nine games has an impressive 1.65 GAA and a .942 save percentage. She stopped 43 shots in Saturday's 1-1 tie to Mercyhurst.

Three weeks ago at Cheel, the Golden Knights skated to a 3-1 victory over Colgate in what appeared to be a pretty evenly played game. Clarkson outshot Colgate 23-18 in that match up.

Ron's Prediction: Clarkson 2 - Colgate 1

With Ashley Shaidle on a scoring run right now (four goals in her last three games) and PattyKaz write-in candidate Kira Hurley playing the net as well as she's had all year, everything is in place for a potential four point weekend. This weekend is key to keep pace with the league leaders as it's a mess at the top of the division. With Brown idle this weekend, this is the opportunity to pick up that game in hand, while Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth will be battling each other.

RPI Charity Campaign

Sure RPI is our rival. In our minds they suck slightly less than SLU. No matter, we'd like to point out that their campaign to raise awareness about testicular cancer is coming to an end this weekend at their annual Big Red Freakout! which will be played against Brown this year.

Each player has had their head shaved after a home game this year, and the final three guys are going bald this weekend, including RPI senior Kirk MacDonald. Kirk, RPI's leading scorer last year was diagnosed with testicular cancer last April, and the Men's Hockey Team has been leading efforts for raising money for cancer research through the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Their goal this weekend is to raise a dollar for every person at the arena hoping to bring their total for the year to near $10,000.

While we suspect most Clarkson fans will be paying attention to the weekend at Cheel and won't have a chance to make it to Troy for this weekend's festivities, if you're interested in contributing to their efforts, there's more information here, or you can contact Kevin Beattie, RPI's sports information director, via phone at 518-276-2187 or e-mail.

Chat with Josh Bartell - Part 2

Our chat with Clarkson Hockey commentator Josh Bartell '96 continues. If you missed Part 1, click here!

CHF: You've been noted with some memorable quotes such as, "Roughing in hockey is like speeding in NASCAR." and "It's almost time to take your shirt off. Yours not mine." Do you find it easier to come up with quotes off the cuff, or do you plan them out in advance?

Josh Bartell: Just make them up. That's probably why they don't work well with women. The best was the whole Mercyhurst debacle with P.J. Hiscock. Nuff said.

CHF: So Josh, when you walk into the room with a couple of doughnuts, does Bob do one of these: "IT COULD BE A BAGEL no just a doughnut... IS IT CUSTARD CREME no just powdered…"

Josh Bartell: He is too busy eating the doughnut to talk. We aren't the best looking tandem in the ECAC for nothing. I swear his proclamation of a Clarkson goal has sent more people skidding off the road in the North Country than black ice and deer combined.

CHF: Any particular arenas you don’t like covering a game at?

Josh Bartell: Arenas... I hate Houston (RPI) because I dread heights. "The Messa Rink at the Achilles Center", because of the name and they stick us in horrible locations.

CHF: Getting back to doughnuts, take your pick, Tim Horton’s, or Dunkin’ Donuts?

Josh Bartell: Coffee, Tim's : Donuts, push:

CHF: Seeley said he's never been to either. Do you believe this?

Josh Bartell: Played softball and hockey with him and he’s in pretty good shape. I would buy it.

CHF: Speaking of staying in shape, we were wondering how much can you bench right now?

Josh Bartell: Bench was never my bag. Now if you want to talk squats... I still skate twice a week, with former Knights, Rodger Huiatt, Jamie Sutton, Gasper Sekelj. Good men's league up here. I lift in the summers with one of my kids and anytime Coley's in town.

CHF: What your team's name?

Josh Bartell: George's Tavern

CHF: Are you contenders for the league title?

Josh Bartell: I have been able to stockpile the team with former Knights who come back for grad school. Last year O'Flaherty and Evans were with us. Nate Strong was a tough guy for us one year. We are in contention again this year.

CHF: Did Nate take a 10 minute misconduct before the game in that league too?

Josh Bartell: No, but his first game saw him get his first game misconduct for fighting. A guy on our team had already been ejected so Nate, "didn't want him to have to drink alone in the locker room."

CHF: A couple weeks ago we heard your son broke his arm in a game? Is he back to 100%?

Josh Bartell: Back in November, first shift of the season gets hit from behind and breaks his wrist… Back playing with a cast within 3 weeks. He plays on a line with George's son.

CHF: One last question before we leave you. What's your favorite hockey cliche?

Josh Bartell: Any player that has no shot and hits the goalie square in the chest everytime: "Uh, I was trying to go five hole.”

CHF: Has your son ever said that?

Josh Bartell: They can't hit the net yet! The kids I coach miss the net so much the dasher behind looks like a herd of zebras.

Hurley for Kaz! Do it. Do it.

Yes, that's right. It's time to get the masses in gear. PattyKaz.com wants your input on who should win this year's Patty Kazmeier award given to the top player in Women's Hockey.

Upon further review, they've pre-selected some nominees for us, but seemed to have forgotten someone... Clarkson's own Kira Hurley. Apparently they decided on offering us not one, not two but SIX goalies ranked below her nationally. What gives?!

The time to make a difference is now. Head over and vote for Kira by writing her in at the bottom of the poll, and selecting '1' in the pull down. While you're at it, don't forget to choose who you believe should get a 2nd Place and 3rd Place vote, or else the ballot is void. No need to do any ridiculous stuffing, just make sure your voice is heard.

The dirt on Kira:

#1 in the country in shutouts (9)

#3 in the country in GAA (1.11)

#4 in the country Save. Pct (.939)

#4 in the country minutes played.

#2 in the country wins (18)

Chat with Josh Bartell - Part 1

This week, Josh Bartell has been kind enough to join us to chat about Golden Knights Hockey, and a bunch of stuff in between. Josh was a Golden Knight defenseman from 1992-1996 where he was a member of the 1995 ECAC Regular Season Champions, and the 1993 ECAC Tournament Champions. The color man for Clarkson Hockey on Cool 95.3, Josh has been on a line with Bob Ahfeld since the Cornell game in 1998 when Willie Mitchell hit Cornell coach Mike Schafer in the head with a clearing attempt, drawing blood and the ire of every Big Red Fan.

CHF: It's been a rough stretch recently for the Golden Knights right now, what's going wrong with this team right now, and how do they fix it?

Josh Bartell: They are in a stretch where goals have been hard to come by. The more you struggle to score the more the problem compounds itself, especially with young players.

CHF: Is there any fix for this Josh, or does this just come with experience?

Josh Bartell: This team is playing hard and creating chances so they just have to stay the course and relax. Not stressing around the net will help change that luck. Experience helps… A Hugo Belanger or Todd White was a lot more patient around the net as a junior or senior, than when they were freshman.

CHF: Which player do you think works hardest on the ice?

Josh Bartell: Different areas have different guys. On the penalty kill I like the way Brodie Rutherglen and Nick Dodge kill penalites. David Cayer and Mike Sullivan have shown great consistent effort along with Dodge offensively. Chris Brekelmans works hard every game, a great leader in that sense. As a former defenseman, I would have to admit, I would hate to take a peek over my shoulder while going back for a puck and see Weller coming after me. He attacks hard and quick.

CHF: Anybody on the team remind you of yourself as a Knight?

Josh Bartell: No one has that bad of a set of hands!!!

CHF: What do you think the strongest part of this team is?

Josh Bartell: Coaching and raw talent. The talent level is now there and the coaches have been getting that talent to play well. Even during this latest slide the team is still competing while other teams could have just packed it in.

CHF: Speaking of the coaching, you mentioned that you were coached by George and Greg when they were assistants, how have they changed over the past ten years?

Josh Bartell: Less hair, but better dressed.

CHF: It’s gonna be tough to follow that one.

Josh Bartell: They haven't changed much in their approach to the game, work hard, be honest. These guys are also big on being a good citizen on campus and in the community.

CHF: Do you think the strong play at home is tied into experience level?

Josh Bartell: I think the home success is tied to level of experience. Cheel is actually not much of a home ice advantage.

CHF: Why not?

Josh Bartell: The younger kids may feel more comfortable at home, but Cheel is not that intimidating noise wise. The students have been great this year, but it still is not that crazy when compared to Lynah or the Gut. Also it is nice in the rink. That sounds crazy, but a former Harvard goalie told me they loved playing there because, "You had nice locker rooms, right next to the kitchen, the place was clean and there was a good crowd.”

CHF: Can Cheel ever get to a Walker like atmosphere?

Josh Bartell: Walker v. Cheel, I take Walker for games and Cheel for practice. It is a different era and the size of the building would not lend to Cheel being that intimate an atmosphere.

CHF: Clarkson changes jerseys almost every year, what's your favorite?

Josh Bartell: One of my favorites was from around 84, home white with KNIGHTS scripted across the front. Next would have to be the 96 home white with the CLARKSON across the front with the number below it. Very classy.

CHF: Least favorite?

Josh Bartell: The shimmering gold late 90's and the Notre Dame gold attempt; I think the change is good every once in a while. Tradition is in the win and losses not in the fabric.

More from Josh tomorrow morning...

Number Crunchers

Clarkson can finish anywhere from first to last, however...

With a win or tie on Friday, Cornell will eliminate the Golden Knights from regular season championship contention.

Nick Dodge has 33 points for the season and 51 for his career. The last sophomore to accumulate more than 50 points in two years was Randy Jones.

The point breakdown per class looks like this:
Seniors - 10 goals, 19 assists, 29 points
Juniors - 20 goals, 34 assists, 54 points
Sophomores - 47 goals, 66 assists, 113 points
Freshmen - 14 goals, 35 assists, 49 points

The team's two top scorers are undrafted.

Nick Dodge is 27th in the nation with a 1.18 PPG average, and tied for first in the nation with four shorthanded goals.

Shea Guthrie is tied for 14th amongst rookie scorers with 0.85 points per game.

Ashley Shaidle is tied for 11th in nation with six powerplay goals, and 4th in the nation with five game winning goals.

Kira Hurley is #3 in the country with a 1.11 GAA. #4 in the nation with a .939 save percentage, and #1 in the nation with nine shutouts.

The Clarkson women have the #1 defense in the country and the #1 penalty kill in the country.

The Clarkson women are 17-0-0 when entering the second period with a lead.

The women's team has locked up an ECAC playoff birth. They can greatly improve their home ice chances with a pair of wins this weekend.

Women Earn Two

The Clarkson Women's Team faced a tough pair of teams from the Tri-State region at Cheel this past weekend, and came away with two points and a heartbreaking loss. On Friday, the Knights broke out to a two goal lead in the first and never looked back as they defeated Quinnipiac 3-0. Ashley Shaidle tallied two goals, and Amanda Dittmer added an insurance marker in the third to seal the deal. Kira Hurley recorded her nation-leading ninth shutout of the season, stopping all nineteen shots that she faced.

On Saturday, despite an outstanding effort by Clarkson netminder Kira Hurley, Clarkson fell to Princeton 1-0 in OT. Hurley stopped 40 shots, but it was the 41st with a minute and change left to go that did the Knights in. Princeton, the eighth ranked team in the country took both league games against Clarkson this season.

After last weekend the Knights currently sits in a tie for 3rd place with Princeton just two points behind the league leader St. Lawrence with six games left to go in the regular season. They'll face Cornell and Colgate on the road next weekend.

Due to Blogger being glitchy, my post over the weekend was eaten by the Blogger Monster. Sorry bout that. I'll make it up to you. I promise.

Swept Away

The Clarkson's Men's team lost last night at Princeton 4-2. The final score is not indicative of the teams play which was 10 times better than the effort given Friday night. However the Knights rang the post 4 times and hit the crossbar twice and were stymied several times by Princeton net minder Eric Leroux. Clarkson has now lost 7 of their last 8 and have lost their last 9 games on the road. Things wont get any easier as league leaders Cornell and Colgate come into Cheel this weekend.

And you will know my name is Quinnipiac

When I lay my vengence upon thee.


Quinnipiac 6 - Clarkson 1

ECAC(HL) Weekend Preview - 2/3/06

This week in the ECAC(HL) we have two home and home matchups between travel partners, the North Country duo making its longest road trip of the season, and three games that will have a big impact on the standings of the league.

Colgate / Cornell @ Cornell / Colgate

The league's top two teams meet for the 125th and 126th time with Cornell holding a 62-53-9 edge over the Raiders. After being swept by Princeton three weeks ago, both teams have gone undefeated in their last five with Colgate going 5-0 and Cornell going 4-0-1. However, Cornell had a bit more difficulty against Yale and Brown, needing overtime to defeat the 12th place Brown Bears. The effort of his team prompted head coach Mike Schafer to say, "I'm not very happy with the way we played," and "It's only character building if they come back tomorrow night and they're ready to execute."

The effort was questionable again the second night as the Big Red could only muster a 2-2 tie against the Bulldogs of Yale. Leaving Schafer with this, "It definitely was a hard fought, brawl type game. It's a tough tie. In a lot of ways it feels a little bit like a loss." Unconfirmed rumors have been spreading that there were quite a few dogs kicked in Ithaca that night.

Bruised canines aside, that kind of reaction from Schafer in addition to the magnitude of the weekend leads one to believe that Cornell will come out and play inspired hockey. This however should not take away from the great play of the Colgate Raiders. The Raiders are 11-2-1 in conference and could take an absolute stranglehold on the league this weekend. They are a tough, gritty hockey team who seems to find ways to win game in and game out. They have balanced scoring with six players over 20 points and three lines that can score the big goals when they need to. Colgate is looking to leave little doubt in anyone's mind that they are the team to beat in the ECAC.

This type of series could go 2-0 either way and no one would be surprised. It could go 1-1 and no one would be surprised. It could go 0-0-2 and one person would be surprised. It's the type of series you just don't want to pick, because you're going to be wrong. While the popular consensus would be to take each team on their home ice, I am not a man of popular consensus. I will step on to the branch not known to many and predict a sweep by the Colgate Raiders. Yes, while Ron and Tim McDonald will predict ties and splits. I will put my record at stake and say that Colgate has the upper hand and is playing better hockey at the current moment.

Gobe's Prediction:
Colgate 3 - Cornell 2
Colgate 4 - Cornell 2

Ron's Prediction:
Colgate 2 - Cornell 2
Colgate 3 - Cornell 2

RPI / Union @ Union / RPI

The second home and home series features the Capital District duo facing off for what would be known in D-III football as the battle for the shoes. These two grid iron warriors play for a bronzed set of shoes once worn by someone important a long time ago. It's that kind of crazy trophy that leads us into the wild world of hockey. Union is like your little brother. He's socially awkward, he has acne, his voice cracks, and he's just kind of pain in the ass. However once in a while he beats you at Parcheesi. He never seems to win more than half of the time, in fact you can probably pin his winning percentage at 40%. Nothing great, but enough wins to get you upset. Then he gets the nerve to say he's proud of his winning percentage and is happy when ever he can take 4 out of 10 games with you. Then in the middle of a game, when he gets his first piece to the center of the board, what does this guy do? He throws an orange at you! An orange! This has nothing to do with anything you or he stands for. This was just a piece of fruit that was lying on the counter. Not to mention the fact that it was his first piece. He still has 7 to go. An orange! Now you're pissed. You fight back with all your might and you get two pieces in the center, while he's still gloating about the first. Then when he lands his second piece, here comes another orange. After the second orange comes flying the Parcheesi ref comes in and assesses your brother a penalty. This in turn causes you to bring home the rest of your pieces with out much distraction from your brother. He is still high-fiving his buddies about the last orange he threw. You win the game but you still can't get that annoying kid out of your face because he threw an orange at you. This best describes the relationship between RPI and Union.

Gobe's Prediction:
RPI 2 - Union 1
RPI 3 - Union 0

Ron's Prediction:
Union 3 - RPI 2
RPI 3 - Union 2

Harvard @ Brown; Dartmouth @ Yale / Brown

These three games could have the biggest impact on seeding for the ECAC tournament and could have a big impact on Roger Grillo's 2006-2007 employment status. Brown played its heart out in central New York last weekend and all it got in return was a sweep. After the particularly rough 4-3 OT loss to Cornell, head coach Roger Grillo said, "It's kind of a microcosm of our season. It's a little frustrating for us, but I was pleased with how our guys battled at the beginning."

Sadly, he was correct. After starting out the season 2-2 with a sweep of SLU and Clarkson, Brown has gone 1-11-5 in their last 17 games and has been eliminated from contention of the ECAC regular season title. About the only thing going well for Brown is that they play Harvard on the week before the Beanpot. Harvard is entering their odd stretch of the schedule by coming off a 2-1 loss to Union. Take that loss and throw in the fact that Monday they will be taking on one of the hottest teams in the country, Boston University, in a tournament that the Terriers almost always win the first round in, and you have what could be known as a trap game. Harvard can not lose focus against Bruno, otherwise things could become unraveled in a hurry. If Brown is going to save Grillo's job then this is the game to do it in. I also realize that in this paragraph, I have created double the excitement that will be felt inside Meehan Auditorium on Friday night.

Dartmouth is coming off an impressive sweep of RPI and Union and looks to continue their strong play and strengthen their position for a first round bye. The matchup with Yale on Friday provides one of the best for the weekend. Yale, while only picking up one point last weekend, has been playing their best hockey all year and has outscored their last three opponents at home 13-7. Dartmouth is 2-6-1 on the road and 0-10-0 when trailing after the second period. Look for Yale to try and get the jump on Dartmouth early.

Gobe's Predictions:
Yale 3 - Dartmouth 1
Harvard 2 - Brown 2
Dartmouth 5 - Brown 1

Ron's Predictions:
Yale 5 - Dartmouth 4
Harvard 4 - Brown 0
Dartmouth 3 - Brown 2

Clarkson / SLU @ Quinnipiac / Princeton

After an intense split in the North Country, Clarkson and SLU head out on their longest trip of the year, traveling to New Jersey and Connecticut to take on the league's 10th and 11th place teams. Even though last week's series was draining for the Knights and Saints, to prove to the rest of the league that they belong at the top, they need to take four points from the teams below them. Clarkson is mired in a 1-5 stretch with all five losses coming on the road. About the only thing the Golden Knights have to look forward to is the inconsistent play of their opponents this weekend. Quinnipiac is currently on a 3-1 stretch with 2 weekends against Niagara and RIT. However they are 2-11 in their last 13 league games and have not fared well in the ECAC since November.

Princeton is another team bogged down by inconsistent play. The Tigers had their first sweep of ECAC opponents since 2002 when they swept the league leaders Colgate and Cornell. They then followed this performance up with an uninspired 5-2 loss to Robert Morrris on Tuesday. Princeton has always been a team that depended on its physicality. They had a tough time keeping against the much faster Saints and Knights in their last meeting. Based on the inconsistency of their play combined with the North Country duo coming off an emotional weekend I will predict tough sledding for the Tigers this weekend.

Gobe's Prediction:
Clarkson 4 - Quinnipiac 1
Clarkson 5 - Princeton 2
SLU 4 - Princeton 3
SLU 3 - Quinnipiac 1

Ron's Prediction:
Clarkson 5 - Quinnipiac 3
Clarkson 4 - Princeton 2
SLU 4 - Princeton 1
SLU 5 - Quinnipiac 4

Women Look to Capitalize at Home

The #9 ranked Clarkson women's hockey team wraps up an impressive eight game homestand this weekend against Quinnipiac and #8 ranked Princeton. The Knights are currently 5-1-0 on the stand and have outscored their opponents 20-3. This quality play has propelled Clarkson into a tie for second in the ECAC hockey league standings with SLU and Princeton at 18 points. Brown currently sits in first with 19 points but has played one more game than the rest of the league leaders. The Golden Knights have limited their last nine opponents to 1 or fewer goals and are #1 in the nation in team defense.

Clarkson opens up the series Friday night as Quinnipiac comes in with a 9-13-4 overall record and a 3-9-2 record in conference. This places the Bobcats in 9th place one point out of the final playoff spot. They are led by junior forward Vicky Graham who in 26 games has tallied 19 points on 11 goals and 8 assists. In net freshman Connie Craig has made 23 starts and posted a 8-13-3 record with a 2.79 GAA and a .911 save percentage. In their previous meeting in Connecticut, Clarkson scored four goals in the second period and coasted on to a 5-1 win.

Gobe's prediction: Clarkson 5 - Quinnipiac 1
Ron's prediction: Clarkson 4 - Quinnipiac 0

Clarkson's second game of the weekend is a Saturday afternoon affair against the Princeton Tigers. Princeton defeated the Knights 2-1 in their last matchup on November 18th. Since then the Tigers have gone 8-3-3 while the Knights have posted a 9-4-0 record. These teams are very evenly matched and this should be one of the premier match ups of the weekend in the ECAC(HL). Princeton is lead by junior forward Kim Pearce and freshman forward Annie Greenwood. These two account for nearly one-third of all of Princeton's offense. In goal senior Roxanne Gaudiel has made 20 starts and has posted a .923 save percentage and a 1.76 GAA in a 11-4-4 campaign.

Clarkson is playing some its best hockey right now, and this matchup against the Tigers should provide a good barometer to how the team stacks up against the rest of the ECAC elite. Look for a low scoring game that should be back and forth in momentum.

Gobe's prediction: Clarkson 2 - Princeton 1
Ron's prediction: Clarkson 2 - Princeton 1