By: Andrew Badillo and Gabbi Riggi
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Andrew:
1. Quinnipiac Bobcats: (19-1-3, 10-0-2)
Previous three: 1/9 vs. Harvard W 5-4, 1/5 vs. Union W 5-0, 1/2 @ Northeastern T 3-3.
Quinnipiac moved up to No. 1 in the USCHO Poll this week and is still No. 1 in the PairWise. The Bobcats have a seven-point lead in the ECAC Standings and it looks like they will remain atop the conference. For a team that has flourished in the regular season and experienced its shortcomings in the postseason in past years, winning in the postseason is a must.
Next three: 1/19 at Maine, 1/21 vs. RPI, 1/29 @ Dartmouth.
Gabbi:
1. Quinnipiac Bobcats: (19-1-3, 10-0-2)
Previous three: 1/9 vs. Harvard W 5-4, 1/5 vs. Union W 5-0, 1/2 @ Northeastern T 3-3.
You can’t contest the No. 1 team in the country at this point. They’ve got a complete team with players really buying into the system. This team needs to end the month with a few wins. Racking up the points helps with two weekend road trips coming up in February.
Next three: 1/19 at Maine, 1/21 vs. RPI, 1/29 @ Dartmouth.
Gabbi:
2. Cornell Big Red: (11-3-3, 6-2-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Union T 3-3 1/15 @ RPI L 1-0, 1/9 vs. Merrimack W 5-2.
I’m still sticking with the Big Red going into the second half of the ECAC season. Even after a loss and a tie this past weekend, they still own a great conference record at 6-2-2 and have a strong penchant for success with the way Mitch Gillam has played in net.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Dartmouth, 1/23 vs. Harvard, 1/29 @ Clarkson.
Andrew:
2. Yale Bulldogs: (11-4-3, 5-3-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Brown W 2-1, 1/15 vs. Brown W 3-2, 1/10 vs. Michigan Tech T 1-1.
Call me crazy for putting the Bulldogs at No. 2, but they have quietly been playing well since the winter break. Defensemen Rob O’Gara has been playing outstanding this season, despite seeing his offensive production dip this year, and Alex Lyon has been great in goal. If the offense can support Lyon, this team can go far. Yale is 8-1 this season when it scores three or more goals.
Next three: 1/22 @ Clarkson, 1/23 @ St. Lawrence, 1/29 vs. Union.
Andrew:
3. RPI Engineers: (12-7-5, 5-1-5 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Colgate T 2-2, 1/15 vs. Cornell W 1-0, 1/7 @ Princeton T 3-3.
RPI escaped the weekend with three points, but ties continue to pull it down into the cluttered mess that is the middle of the ECAC standings. The Engineers are 18th in the PairWise and would not make the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today. RPI will have plenty of opportunity to improve its chances with games remaining against Quinnipiac (two), Yale (one), Cornell (one), Harvard (one), all teams in the top 16 of the PairWise.
Next three: 1/21 @ Quinnipiac, 1/23 vs. Union, 1/29 @ Brown.
Gabbi:
3. RPI Engineers: (12-7-5, 5-1-5 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Colgate T 2-2, 1/15 vs. Cornell W 1-0, 1/7 @ Princeton T 3-3.
RPI jumped up to 16 from 20 in this week’s USCHO polls even after defeating a strong Cornell team and tying an on-the-fence Colgate squad. The Engineers are a point up on the Big Red in the conference, with what I’m anticipating as a great race for second in the ECAC.
Next three: 1/21 @ Quinnipiac, 1/23 vs. Union, 1/29 @ Brown.
Gabbi:
4. Harvard Crimson: (9-4-3, 5-3-3 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Clarkson L 5-1, 1/15 vs. St. Lawrence W 3-2, 1/9 vs. Quinnipiac L 5-4.
They’ve got all the pieces Andrew, but something’s still missing. The Crimson defeated a ranked St. Lawrence on Friday, before dropping to Clarkson by a staggering 5-1 margin Saturday. They have strong players, but they’re missing something. All they need is the chance to hit the Lake Placid ice again, and it could very well end with back-to-back Whitelaw Cups for this team.
Next three: 1/22 @ Colgate, 1/23 @ Cornell, 1/29 vs. Princeton.
Andrew:
4. Cornell Big Red: (11-3-3, 6-2-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Union T 3-3 1/15 @ RPI L 1-0, 1/9 vs. Merrimack W 5-2.
Cornell took a step back this past weekend and missed out on an opportunity to move up in the PairWise rankings. It turned in a bad 1-0 loss to RPI on Friday after outshooting the Engineers 44-to-16. The Big Red didn’t play much better in their next game against the Dutchmen as they collapsed in the third period letting in two goals (one being the tying goal) in the last four minutes.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Dartmouth, 1/23 vs. Harvard, 1/29 @ Clarkson.
Andrew:
5. Dartmouth Big Green: (8-8-1, 5-5 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. St. Lawrence W 4-2, 1/15 vs. Clarkson W 5-2, 1/10 vs. Holy Cross W 5-2.
The Big Green moved up four spots in my rankings thanks to two solid wins over the weekend and mediocre play from the rest of the conference. Goalie Charles Grant has reassured head coach Bob Gaudet that he is the man in goal. Grant is 5-1 with a 1.34 goals against average since the winter break.
Next three: 1/22 @ Cornell, 1/23 @ Colgate, 1/29 vs. Quinnipiac.
Gabbi:
5. Yale Bulldogs: (11-4-3, 5-3-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Brown W 2-1, 1/15 vs. Brown W 3-2, 1/10 vs. Michigan Tech T 1-1.
I don’t agree with the No. 2 ranking you gave them Andrew. They’ve had a good string of wins going for sure, but beating Michigan Tech (technically a shootout loss) and sweeping a bad Brown team just doesn’t do it for me. There’s a lot of overtime results on this team’s record, and I think that’s all due to the excellent work of Alex Lyon in net.
Next three: 1/22 @ Clarkson, 1/23 @ St. Lawrence, 1/29 vs. Union.
Gabbi:
6. Dartmouth Big Green: (8-8-1, 5-5 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. St. Lawrence W 4-2, 1/15 vs. Clarkson W 5-2, 1/10 vs. Holy Cross W 5-2.
Who poked the green beast in New Hampshire? Winners of five of their last six, putting up 14 goals in their last three. I’m happy to see this team in the playoff mix, harkening back to the days when they made it to the ECAC playoffs in Atlantic City. This next weekend against Cornell and Colgate may be able to separate them a bit from the glut of teams in the middle of the conference.
Next three: 1/22 @ Cornell, 1/23 @ Colgate, 1/29 vs. Quinnipiac.
Andrew:
6. Harvard Crimson: (9-4-3, 5-3-3 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Clarkson L 5-1, 1/15 vs. St. Lawrence W 3-2, 1/9 vs. Quinnipiac L 5-4.
What is going on with the Crimson? After Jimmy Vesey torched St. Lawrence on Friday scoring three goals en route to a 3-2 win, Harvard imploded Saturday against Clarkson 5-1. I agree with you Gabbi that this team would play better up in Lake Placid using the Olympic size ice to their advantage. But, the way its been playing lately, getting to Lake Placid is no foregone conclusion.
Next three: 1/22 @ Colgate, 1/23 @ Cornell, 1/29 vs. Princeton.
Andrew:
7. St. Lawrence Saints: (10-10-2, 4-5-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Dartmouth L 4-2, 1/15 @ Harvard L 3-2, 1/12 @ Clarkson L 3-1.
The Saints have been awful of late and have fallen all the way to 24th in the PairWise after losing twice this past weekend and five in a row. Defense has been the issue of late for head coach Greg Carvel and his team. During its current five-game losing streak St. Lawrence has allowed an average of 3.4 goals per game.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Brown, 1/23 vs. Yale, 1/29 vs. Colgate.
Gabbi:
7. St. Lawrence Saints: (10-10-2, 4-5-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Dartmouth L 4-2, 1/15 @ Harvard L 3-2, 1/12 @ Clarkson L 3-1.
The Saints have turned to sinners and lost their last five to kickstart 2016. A strong home showing with back to back weekends in North Country may right the ship and get this team back to .500 in conference, but until then they just have to hold on.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Brown, 1/23 vs. Yale, 1/29 vs. Colgate.
Gabbi:
8. Union Dutchmen: (9-8-6, 2-7-3 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Cornell T 3-3, 1/15 vs. Colgate L 4-2, 1/8 @ Princeton T 4-4.
It’s too bad the Dutchmen couldn’t have the whole season played out of conference. A paltry 2-7-3 ECAC mark puts them at their impressive 7-1-3 out of conference record to shame. The strong team now looks like a team that can only hope to play spoiler for big games down the road.
Next three: 1/23 vs. RPI, 1/29 @ Yale, 1/30 @ Brown.
Andrew:
8. Union Dutchmen: (9-8-6, 2-7-3 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Cornell T 3-3, 1/15 vs. Colgate L 4-2, 1/8 @ Princeton T 4-4.
You pretty much said it all Gabbi, it just hasn’t been Union’s year in conference play. Anything can happen come playoff time though, the Dutchmen have dominated the postseason the past few seasons.
Next three: 1/23 vs. RPI, 1/29 @ Yale, 1/30 @ Brown.
Andrew:
9. Clarkson Golden Knights: (10-10-2, 2-6-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Harvard W 5-1, 1/15 @ Dartmouth L 5-2, 1/12 vs. St. Lawrence L 3-1.
Big 5-1 win for Clarkson against Harvard this past weekend. Unfortunately for the Golden Knights the win only put them in a tie with Brown for last place in the ECAC.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Yale, 1/23 vs. Brown, 1/29 vs. Cornell.
Gabbi:
9. Colgate Raiders: (6-14-1, 2-6-1 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ RPI T 2-2, 1/15 @ Union W 4-2, 1/9 @ Maine W 5-1.
There’s been a big drop in the team that went to Lake Placid last year to the team that hit the ice now. They’ve ben outscored in conference play 32-20, and have a losing ECAC record on home ice. They still have those strong pieces in the Spink twins and Charlie Finn, but they all seem to have hit a roadblock this year.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Harvard, 1/23 vs. Dartmouth, 1/29 @ St. Lawrence.
Gabbi:
10. Clarkson Golden Knights: (10-10-2, 2-6-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ Harvard W 5-1, 1/15 @ Dartmouth L 5-2, 1/12 vs. St. Lawrence L 3-1.
Welcome to the win column! I finally feel justified in bumping this team up a few spots. While they still are 2-6-2 on the season, two of those ties came up between Harvard and Quinnipiac. Even it’s a tough season, those are games the Golden Knights have something to hang their hat on.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Yale, 1/23 vs. Brown, 1/29 vs. Cornell.
Andrew:
10. Colgate Raiders: (7-14-2, 3-6-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 @ RPI T 2-2, 1/15 @ Union W 4-2, 1/9 @ Maine W 5-1.
The Raiders are on a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) for the first time all season, but they are still marred by inconsistency. Colgate has just not been able to put it all together this season after making it to Lake Placid last season.
Next three: 1/22 vs. Harvard, 1/23 vs. Dartmouth, 1/29 @ St. Lawrence.
Andrew:
11. Princeton Tigers: (4-12-2, 3-7-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/8 vs. Union T 4-4, 1/7 vs. RPI T 3-3, 1/2 @ Holy Cross L 4-3.
Princeton wasn’t in action along with travel partner Quinnipiac this past weekend.
Next three: 1/26 vs. AIC, 1/29 @ Harvard, 1/30 @ Dartmouth.
Gabbi:
11. Princeton Tigers: (4-12-2, 3-7-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/8 vs. Union T 4-4, 1/7 vs. RPI T 3-3, 1/2 @ Holy Cross L 4-3.
The recent group of ties has come as a buoy after a string of losses. Even after surprising wins at Brown and Yale in December, this team still has a lot of growing to do.
Next three: 1/26 vs. AIC, 1/29 @ Harvard, 1/30 @ Dartmouth.
Gabbi:
12. Brown Bears: (4-10-3, 2-7-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Yale L 2-1, 1/15 @ Yale L 3-2, 1/3 vs. Providence W 4-3.
It looks like the Bears have gone into hibernation. An underclassmen heavy team can use this as a regrouping and learning season.
Next three: 1/22 @ St. Lawrence, 1/23 @ Clarkson, 1/29 vs. RPI.
Andrew:
12. Brown Bears: (4-10-3, 2-7-2 ECAC)
Previous three: 1/16 vs. Yale L 2-1, 1/15 @ Yale L 3-2, 1/3 vs. Providence W 4-3.
The parity in the ECAC is unmatched Yes, Brown has been bad this year. But, they are more than capable of upsetting a top team.
Next three: 1/22 @ St. Lawrence, 1/23 @ Clarkson, 1/29 vs. RPI.
