Well, another exciting ECAC hockey season will be here sooner than we know it, though not soon enough for some. I had my first real taste of hockey in my freshman year last October, and I can't wait for this year's opening game. The Division I college hockey programs at many schools have such loyal, enthusiastic fans that make for very exciting games, both on the ice and in the stands. Any Cornell, Vermont, or Clarkson fan can certainly vouch for this. I've been looking around the Internet for what to expect from the ECAC this coming season, and this a composite of what I've found, as well as my two or three cents thrown in:
1. RENSSELAER (RPI)---I was impressed with Rensselaer’s performance at Placid. They placed fourth, and this year they are returning almost the same team, minus one senior to graduation and with the addition of a some promising freshmen. Goalie Scott Prekaski posted 25 saves in RPI’s opening win over UMass-Lowell. They’ve also went up against high-ranked UNH and BU, with BU sending them packing and UNH handing them a close loss. While they managed to play a very good game against UNH, they lack the defense needed to maintain the lead they started with. And as they say, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
2. CORNELL---Call me biased, but I’d say Cornell is a definite contender this year. They’ve lost the Wilsons as well as second-string Pelletier to the Flyers, but they’ve recruited some talented freshmen. The defense looked a little clumsy against Northeastern, and the power play needs to be stepped up, but the offensive line of Knopp-Auger-Moynihan is, in the words of Larry Weintraub, "explosive". Overall the Red seems to play well with each other. And with Coach Mike Schafer and a sold-out Lynah Rink looking for a threepeat, I’d say that the Big Red will once again tear up the ECAC as well as the National polls.
3. CLARKSON---Clarkson put on a good show last year, clinching first place last year at Lynah in a very exciting game. They are losing their very talented captains Todd White and Jean-Francois Houle as well as their head coach. But they still have Dan-o, and they’re looking fairly good, as witnessed by the janitor-style sweep of Bowling Green last week. Hopefully the 6-2 loss and 1-1 tie from Ohio State won’t faze them. Will the Golden Knights manage to gallantly gallop away with this year's ECAC title? They certainly have the fan support to accomplish it. When the Knights scored their only goal in the finals up in Placid, three-quarters of the arena erupted. This will be an interesting season for Clarkson, I pick them as one of the teams to watch.
4. PRINCETON---Princeton’s Tigers was looking very mangy last season. Even with their sloppy puck handling and mediocre goaltending they managed to skate past the mount-a-Cats to qualify for the semifinals. However, I doubt we will see a repeat this season, unless the Tigers recruited some up-and-coming-talent. Even though the blue-line is looking pretty solid, the all-ECAC rookie defenseman Dominique Auger bolted for the Quebec Remparts. So far the Tigers have mauled University of Nebraska at Omaha in their weekend contest 5-2 and 5-3. The problem with Princeton’s program may be that there isn’t a lot of enthusiasm behind the program, as evidenced by the four fans in the Prrrinceton section at Lake Placid. If they place within the top five this season, I'll be shocked.
5. HARVARD---Harvard has one of the better teams in the ECAC, but probably not the number five seat. Their NHL-coveted goalie, J.R. Prestifilippo, did not bring in enough punch to help the Crimson, seeing that they did not qualify for the semifinals. Goaltending may be the backbone of a team, but someone also has to be able to light the lamp at the other end to actually win the games. Harvard didn't have enough firepower to get it done last year. And with Craig McDonald, Ashlin Halfnight and Ethan Philpott gone, this task will only get harder. They looked alright against the seemingly-anemic McGill Redmen the other day, but I would wait on Maybe if Coach Tommasoni were to stop whining about the Lynah Faithful throwing fish at his team and worried more about how they play, they will fare better this year.
6. VERMONT---People are expecting too much of Vermont. Last year, the anticipation of the Munchkins running the show put Vermont at the head of the preseason polls, but Vermont didn't even make the ECAC finals, losing to Prrrinceton in the quarterfinals. They didn't even pass the first round in the NCAA semis in Worcester! And with the Dynamic Duo out chopping wood for the IHL Lumberjacks, I hate to see how the Cats fare this year. They’re playing the top teams, but they’re not dominating or showing the ability to come from behind. Tip to Coach Gallagher: practice manners and sportsmanship. Gutterson at full capacity endlessly droning "Go Cats, go!" a championship team doth not make.
7. ST. LAWRENCE---This team has some definite potential. The advantage Saint Lawrence has over the Ivy League is the athletic scholarship. The recruiters worked this asset well this year, with possibly the best bunch of recruits in the league. They’ve lost ‘tender Clint "Undisclosed Violation = Marijuana" Owen to the Nashville Ice Flyers, but hopefully frontman Pete DiFrancesco, a definite contender for ECAC Player of the Year as well as Ironman of the Year (for his return to play after getting 22 stitches in his ear), will be able to keep the Saints alive with scoring. This team could give the upper echelon a run for their money if they hone their skills a little more. Miami won both games in the series, but SLU didn’t make it an easy job for them. Their physical play gets a bit rough at times, but with a little more work on their defense I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the Final Five.
8. YALE---Yale did not impress me very much last season. Although they had a few good wins, the Bulldogs didn’t fetch any good. They’ve lost Josh Rabjohns and Sani Silvinoinnen, but they could surprise us this season, with Matt Cumming and Jeff Hamilton up front and Ray Giroux on D. They’ve already handed Air Force and McGill big losses this weekend - 5-1 and 7-1, respectively. Maybe Yale will be the recipient of 1997-1998 ECAC Overachiever Award.
9. COLGATE---Colgate has started its season with a bang. They upset #5 seed Michigan with a loss at Yost, the first in five years. And although ‘Gate lost the second game, they still played very impressively. They also skated past Northeastern in a 6-3 win. What they lack in size they make up with in speed and skill. Colgate lost Mike Harder and David Debuscherre, and their defense is unripe, but their offense seems to be fairly potent. They barely scraped out an OT win against a very weak Army, but hopefully that was just a bad day. The Red Radiers took home three ECAC player-of-the-week awards October 20, and this team may provide some good competition.
10. UNION---Union comes into this season with Trevor Koenig’s award-winning goaltending and arguably the best coach in the ECAC, but with a very young team. The Dutchmen are returning minus 13 players from last season, including Russ Monteith and Andrew Will, and their 4-1 loss to Umass-Lowell may show that they have to grow up fast as a team and score points in order to have success this season. It will be up to veterans Brent Ozarowski, Mark Szucs and Ryan Campbell and head coach Stan Moore to help Union realize this goal.
11. DARTMOUTH---Can Bob Gaudet, an alum netminder, bring to Dartmouth the success that Mike Schafer brought to Cornell his first year coaching? Gaudet has a lot to work out. Darren Wercinski and Owen Hughes are gone, defense is shaky, and there is still question over who will play between the posts. At the Cornell-Dartmouth game last year Cornell scored two or three short-handed goals off the Big Green. But they have excellent scoring potential, as four of their top scorers are back for another season. Read: Dartmouth gave Army a good spanking this past weekend, 7-1. We soon shall see.
(On a side note, why does Army continue to humiliate itself in the ECAC? They just can’t seem to win this year. Maybe their head coach is a closet masochist, but I digress…)
12. BROWN---Around the bowl and down the hole, that’s where Brown went last year. Switching coaching staff with the second-worst team in the ECAC doesn’t seem like the most logical thing to do, but maybe all the Bruins need is some new enthusiasm to shake things up a bit. Goaltending needs work, but hopefully last year’s top defenseman and top scorer, Jimmy Andersson and Damian Prescott, will be able to hold the fort down. Otherwise, the only entertainment at Meehan Auditorium will be the skating Brown University Pep Band (which, if I remember correctly, didn’t get music right on dry land.)
This season should prove to be very exciting. Many teams lost blue-chip players, either to graduation or to the pros. I have a feeling that a few different teams will gain high status in the league because of this. And with the new Final Five playoff format, the race for the ECAC champion should be tense.
It’s time to DROP THE PUCK!
Next article: The Final Five: An extra day of good hockey or an extra waste of time and money?
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