We're in the homestretch in the ECAC Hockey season. There are four weekends left in the regular season, and 10 of the 12 teams have eight games left.
A few weeks ago, it looked like Cornell and Princeton were going to run away from the rest of the league. But those two teams have stumbled recently, and now, there is a battle for an ECACH tournament first-round bye.
Here are the standings:
Cornell 9-2-3 21 points
Yale 10-3-1 21
Dartmouth 8-4 2 18
Princeton 9-5-0 18
Quinnipiac 7-5-2 16
St. Lawrence 6-6-2 14
Harvard 5-6-4 14
Clarkson 5-7-2 12
RPI 5-8-1 11
Union 5-8-1 11
Colgate 2-9-3 7
Brown 2-10-3 7
With possible exception of Brown and Colgate, any team can finish in the top four. For teams like Clarkson, RPI and Union, a lot of work needs to be done.
As the teams prepare for the final four weeks, here is my analysis on each team, and where they will end up.
Cornell
Analysis: Two weeks ago, this team looked like it was a Frozen Four contender. Now, after a 1-2-1 slide, which included a shocking 8-1 loss against St. Lawrence, the Big Red are just trying to hold on to a top-four spot.
Key games: Saturday at home against Princeton, Feb. 13 at Dartmouth and Feb. 28 at Yale. These are the three teams Cornell is battling for first place.
Where they will finish: The Big Red will get a first-round bye, but will finish second.
Yale
Analysis: After stumbling at home in a loss to Clarkson and a tie against St. Lawrence, Yale is back on track with four straight wins, including one at Cornell and a 5-4 overtime victory at Colgate, a game the Bulldogs were down, 4-0, in the third period.
Key games: Saturday vs. Dartmouth, Feb. 21 at Princeton and Feb. 28 vs. Cornell.
Where they will finish: The Bulldogs are rolling. First place, and a first-round bye for them.
Dartmouth
Analysis: Picked near the bottom of the standings in the preseason polls, Dartmouth has been a surprise team. Freshman goalie Jody O'Neill is a leading candidate for ECACH Rookie of the Year. After stopping 95 of 99 shots in two games against Union, the Dutchmen will certainly vouch for that.
Key games: Saturday at Yale, Feb. 13 vs. Cornell and Feb. 27 vs. Princeton.
Where they will finish: They will get a first-round bye and finish third.
Princeton
Analysis: Picked to finish first, the Tigers just ended a four-game ECACH losing streak with a 5-1 win at Brown on Saturday. Senior forward Lee Jubinville, the league's Player of the Year last season, has been a non-factor this year with just five goals and seven assists.
Key games: Feb. 14 vs. St. Lawrence and Feb. 27 at Dartmouth.
Where they will finish: While the Tigers are in the hunt for a first-round bye, they still have to look over their shoulder at a hard-charging St, Lawrence team. The Tigers will be home for the playoffs, but it will be in the first round. They will finish fifth.
Quinnipiac
Analysis: Inconsistent team. The Bobcats have the scoring, but the goaltending is suspect again.
Key games: Feb. 13 vs. St. Lawrence and Feb. 28 at Dartmouth.
Where they will finish: Sixth, and they get a first-round bye.
St. Lawrence
Analysis: Team is jelling at the right time. Three straight wins, including the blowout of Cornell.
Key games: Friday vs. Clarkson and Saturday at Clarkson.
Where they will finish: Fourth.
Harvard
Analysis: The Crimson have been struggling to find consistency all season. Their 3-1 win over Union on Friday ended a 13-game winless streak.
Key games: Feb. 20 at St. Lawrence and Feb. 21 at Clarkson.
Where they will finish: I can't see the Crimson being at home at all in the playoffs. They will finish 10th.
Clarkson
Analysis: Injuries and inconsistent play have plagued the Golden Knights.
Key games: Friday at St. Lawrence, Saturday vs. St. Lawrence and Feb. 21 vs. Harvard.
Where they will finish: No home ice this season for the Knights. They will finish ninth.
RPI
Analysis: The Engineers are 3-3-1 in their last seven. They probably should be 5-2.
Key games: Friday vs. Union, Saturday at Union, Feb. 27 vs. Clarkson and Feb. 28 vs. St. Lawrence.
Where they will finish: If they can win three of those key games, and I think they can, the Engineers will finish seventh.
Union
Analysis: A three-game losing streak against teams near them in the standings may have hurt the Dutchmen's chances of a second straight first-round bye.
Key games: At RPI Friday, vs. RPI Saturday, Feb. 20 at Colgate and Feb. 28 vs. Clarkson.
Where they will finish: The game at Colgate is listed because Union has won just once in 17 tries at Colgate, and this could be its best chance for a second win. Pencil the Dutchmen in for eighth.
Colgate
Analysis: No goaltending and the blown lead against Yale have made this a rough season for the Raiders.
Key games: None.
Where they will finish: 11th.
Brown
Analysis: The only good thing about the Bears is their power play, which ranks fourth in the league at 18.6 percent (22 of 118).
Key games: None.
Where they will finish: 12th.
Daily Gazette ECACH Team of the Week — St. Lawrence
The Saints did something that teams rarely do against Cornell — blow them out.
St. Lawrence's 8-1 win on Friday was amazing. It chased Big Red goalie Ben Scrivens midway through the game after scoring four goals. And, as the Big Red outshot the Saints, 22-10, in the third period, St. Lawrence outscored Cornell, 4-1.
The Saints complete the weekend with a 4-2 win over Colgate. They are ranked 20th in the latest USCHO.com/CBS College Sports top-20 poll.
Appert, Leaman on 'Big Board Sports'
RPI coach and Union coach Nate Leaman will be the guests on the "Slap Schotts" segment of "Big Board Sports" at 11:05 a.m. Thursday on WOFX-AM (980). We'll talk about this weekend's games between the Capital Region rivals.
Union recruits
The Dutchmen have landed two more recruits, one for next season and one for 2010-11.
St. Louis Bandits goalie Keith Kinkaid will be joining the Dutchmen next season. He has a 22-4-4 record with 1 .98 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage and five shutouts.
Berkshire School forward Kevin Sullivan will be coming to Union the following season. He is the team's second-leading scorer with 12 goals and 15 assists in 23 games.
New No. 1
Notre Dame's run as the No. 1 team in the country, as well as its 20-game unbeaten streak, ended when Michigan beat the Fighting Irish, 2-1, Friday.
Boston University is the new No. 1 team. Notre Dame dropped to No. 2.
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll
Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Boston University (33) 19-5-1 983 2
2 Notre Dame (17) 20-4-3 967 1
3 Northeastern 17-6-2 826 3
4 Michigan 19-9-0 781 8
5 Cornell 14-3-4 751 4
6 Denver 16-8-3 741 7
7 Vermont 14-6-4 724 6
8 Miami 16-8-4 664 10
9 Minnesota 12-7-5 608 5
10 Princeton 15-6-0 548 9
11 New Hampshire 12-8-4 466 13
12 Boston College 11-8-4 410 11
13 North Dakota 16-11-3 399 12
14 Yale 15-5-1 360 18
15 Ohio State 17-8-3 319 14
16 Wisconsin 14-11-3 237 15
17 Minnesota-Duluth 14-8-6 229 16
18 Colorado College 13-9-6 194 17
19 Dartmouth 11-7-3 77 20
20 St. Lawrence 14-10-2 56 NR
Others Receiving Votes: St. Cloud State 53, Minnesota State 47, RIT 21, Alaska 15, Air Force 11, Nebraska-Omaha 7, Massachusetts 4, Mass.-Lowell 1, Niagara 1.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)
Rank School Last Week's Ranking 2008-09 Record Weeks in Top 15
1 Boston University, 503 (27) 2 19-5-1 17
2 University of Notre Dame, 483 (7) 1 20-4-3 17
3 Northeastern University, 400 3 17-6-2 14
4 University of Michigan, 362 7 19-9-0 17
5 Cornell University, 350 4 14-3-4 11
6 Miami (Ohio) University, 329 10 16-8-4 17
7 University of Vermont, 320 6 14-6-4 12
8 University of Denver, 296 8 16-8-3 17
9 University of Minnesota, 236 5 12-7-5 17
10 Princeton University, 204 9 15-6-0 16
11 University of New Hampshire, 155 14 12-8-4 16
12 Boston College,135 11 11-8-4 17
13 University of North Dakota, 94 12 16-11-3 8
14 Yale University, 87 NR 15-5-1 1
15 The Ohio State University, 66 13 17-8-3 5
Others receiving votes: Colorado College, 21; University of Wisconsin, 17; University of Minnesota Duluth, 11; St. Lawrence University, 6; Rochester Institute of Technology, 3; Minnesota State University, 2.
