After 21 weeks of predicting all of the ECAC Hockey regular-season games, it’s time to take it to the next level. It’s time for the ECAC Hockey tournament predictions.
Before we get to that, let’s review last weekend’s results. I finally won a week, going 7-4-1, and I was the only one to have a winning record. StillCrazyInSection17 went 5-6-1, and RedLiner36 was a dismal 3-8-1.
I finished the regular season 139-73-23. StillCrazy was 123-81-26. RedLiner went 73-49-15.
Now, everyone is on a level playing field. Let’s see which one of us comes through in the postseason. And you can us by posting your picks at the bottom of this page.
No. 9 Clarkson at No. 8 Union
These two teams meet for the third time in the postseason, all at Union. The Golden Knights swept the Dutchmen in 2004, and then won the following year, two games to one, with all three games decided in overtime.
Union has dominated Clarkson at Messa Rink in the last eight ECACH regular-season games, going 5-0-3. The Dutchmen just beat the Knights, 2-1, last Saturday at Messa to earn home ice.
Of course, Union’s problem has been its inability to win a playoff series. The Dutchmen are 2-21 in the postseason. Eight of the last nine Union playoff games have been decided by a goal.
Can the Dutchmen end the playoff jinx? I think it comes down to Dutchmen goalie Corey Milan. If he plays like he did last Saturday, making 29 saves and being aggressive, then the Dutchmen will win.
Still, I believe the series goes three.
The pick: Union wins, 3-2, 1-2 and 4-2.
No. 11 RPI at No. 6 Dartmouth
I don’t see this series as much of a contest. RPI lost its last five, and went 1-7 in February.
Dartmouth, expected to finish near the bottom of the league, almost earned a first-round bye. A 4-1 loss to Quinnipiac last Saturday ended that hope.
But it won’t be devastating enough to lose to RPI.
The pick: Dartmouth wins in two, 5-2 and 4-1.
No. 12 Brown at No. 5 Harvard
Do they have to play this series? Brown is 3-21-5. The Bears don’t deserve to be in the postseason.
Harvard closed out the season with a 4-0-2 run. Not bad for a team that went through an 0-9-4 slump midway through the season.
The only saving grace for Brown is that it tied both games against Harvard this season. No such lick this time.
The pick: Harvard wins in two, 5-0 and 7-1.
No. 10 Colgate at No. 7 Quinnipiac
Colgate may have finished 10th, but this is a team that, with a few breaks, could have been playing at home.
The Raiders tied an NCAA record by playing in 16 overtime games this season. Their last four games have gone an extra period, and they went 2-0-2. They beat ECACH regular-season champion Yale, 3-2, in OT last Sunday at Ingalls Rink. Colgate has been getting strong play from goalie Charles Long.
Long will need to be strong as he faces some of the league’s top scorers in Bryan Leitch and David Marshall.
This is my upset special.
The pick: Colgate wins in three, 3-2, 1-4 and 4-3 (OT).
