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