By: Andrew Weiss and Matt Corso
1. Matt: Clarkson Andrew: Clarkson
Clarkson (10-1-2, 1-1-2 ECAC)
Matt: Although Clarkson is ranked in the middle of the ECAC right now, it has played the most games and has had a tough schedule to date. The Golden Knights have the highest winning percentage of any team in the ECAC. They have had a powerful offense that has been able to score goals, averaging 3.54 per game.
Andrew: Clarkson, the cream of the crop in the ECAC. Three of the top five point scorers in the ECAC are from Clarkson, led by Cayley Mercer, who is first in goals and third in assists. Some of that is due to the fact that Clarkson has played the most games, but they have also played the best schedule. Its only loss, to RPI, was not necessarily a bad loss. Clarkson has looked dominant and has led the ECAC in goals per game. In terms of goals allowed, it is first with 1.29 allowed per game. Both statistics are just out of this world, and it clearly shows why Clarkson is No. 1.
2. Matt: Quinnipiac Andrew: Harvard
3. Matt: Harvard Andrew: Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac (6-1-2, 2-1-1 ECAC), Harvard (3-1-1, 3-1-1 ECAC)
Andrew: I picked Harvard over Quinnipiac because of its schedule and how it has played its games. Quinnipiac has played nine games and its have played solid. However, Harvard has looked a lot better in its games. The Crimson have scored fewer goals, averaging one goal a game less than Quinnipiac. That said, when the Bobcats don’t score goals, they just don’t score goals. They are a boom or bust team, game to game. That is just not something I am comfortable with, even though I still have them third. Harvard is second in the league in goals allowed. The Crimson are one of the best in the ECAC on the power play, and the way they’ve played their schedule doesn’t scare me as much as Quinnipiac did. That’s why I have them higher than the Bobcats.
Matt: I have the opposite of you. Quinnipiac at two and Harvard at three. Quinnipiac is above Harvard for me because although it has not looked impressive at times, its offense is capable. The offense fired 77 shots on goal last weekend combined against Colgate and Cornell. Now the next step is just to convert the shots into goals by working on details. The Bobcats need to prepare and to make sure that those shots will find the net. I put Harvard right below because it has looked good and has an offense that can strike at times. Its ability to put up a high amount of goals like Quinnipiac doesn’t come as often, but their defense has definitely stood their ground. Harvard skated to a scoreless tie against Clarkson at the end of October. I like Harvard at three because it has a good freshman forward in Grace Zarzecki.
Andrew: To me, Quinnipiac isn’t at the same stage as Harvard. Both are great programs and both of its seasons have been pretty good. However, Quinnipiac’s 4-3 loss to Yale was ugly. The scoreless tie against Colgate wasn’t pretty either, especially considering the amount of shots put on net. If you take those two games out of the equation, it’s been spectacular. Look at what T.T. Cianfarano and Melissa Samoskevich have done. Those two players give me a lot of hope for the Bobcats to pass the Crimson and the Golden Knights this season. Those players have yet to prove that to me that Quinnipiac is higher than both of those teams. However, when you have had a team that is so powerful offensively, you have high hopes. Cianfarano is third in the league in points, and Samoskevich was the ECAC rookie of the week recently. Quinnipiac has the talent, so I don’t doubt its ability to finish higher then where I have it right now.
4. Matt: Dartmouth Andrew: Princeton
5. Matt: Princeton Andrew: Dartmouth
Dartmouth (2-2-2, 2-1-2 ECAC), Princeton (5-1-0, 3-1-0 ECAC)
Andrew: I have Princeton at four, and to be honest, its loss to Cornell scares me. Losing 2-1 to a bad team is something that I have kept my eye on. Its Cornell’s only win on the year. In its other games, Princeton has looked solid. It has been very successful in doing what it does, and that is defense. The Tigers are fourth in the conference behind the three that I have before them. That is something Princeton has improved on this year. Its loss to Cornell was due to the lack of offense, which is why I have it at fourth despite it being 5-1 on the year. That record doesn’t sway me, even when it is 3-1 in the conference. That is due to their loss to Cornell, and lack of offense. Its ability to play defense, and to win games, has it at four.
Matt: I have Dartmouth at four and Princeton at five. I have Dartmouth ahead of Princeton because if you look at Dartmouth’s results, it has been shaky. All over the place. However, what is interesting to me is that its beat the better teams early on, and lost to the bad teams. I feel that the Big Green power on offense and defense gives them the opportunity to make a push. It will be interesting to see if they can move up a spot, or maybe move down a couple spots.
Andrew: I do have Dartmouth right behind Princeton for a reason. Dartmouth’s schedule has produced wins that they have needed to win, and it played the better teams well. That said, the Big Green are not those better teams, they are still underdogs. They are not the better teams like Clarkson, Harvard, and Quinnipiac. They have played well though, and they are 2-1-2 in the ECAC. Dartmouth also allows 1.94 goals per game, which is fifth in the conference. My main reason for having Princeton in front of them is because Princeton’s goals allowed per game and save percentage is better than Dartmouth’s. If you want to be in the upper echelon of the ECAC, you need to have a better save percentage than what it has.
6. Matt: Cornell Andrew: Colgate
Cornell (1-4-1, 1-2-1 ECAC), Colgate (4-2-4, 0-1-3 ECAC)
Andrew: At sixth, I have Colgate. It has underperformed in games that it should win, but in games where it should lose, it has battled and not given up. You look at the scoreless tie against Quinnipiac, that’s just an example of how, on occasion, its goaltending can be dominant in net. It owns a .911 save percentage, which is not the best in the ECAC. However, its best trait is its ability to score goals. The Raiders score 3.3 goals per game, good enough for second in the conference. That number is ahead of Quinnipiac, who we lauded as a goal scoring team. Colgate hasn’t performed admirably enough to where it will be in the top three, but it has done well enough for me to put it at sixth on the year, with a good chance of moving up. That depends on how it plays the rest of the year. If the Raiders continue the goal scoring and battling against the better teams, then I do believe that they have a chance to do extremely well.
Matt: My No. 6, which I am questioning, is Cornell. It has had a tough schedule, but it has had some bad losses. Its defense needs to step up when it plays teams in the top ten, like Boston College. It beat Princeton, which was its best game they have played this year. Next week, however, the Big Red will be lower in my rankings if they don’t get a couple of wins.
7. Matt: St. Lawrence Andrew: St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence (6-6-1, 3-1-0 ECAC)
Matt: At seven I have St. Lawrence. Looking at its schedule, it has shown the ability to score. But, when you score goals you also need to have defense to make sure your opponent doesn’t score more. The Saints offense is there, as they are fifth in ECAC scoring 2.77 goals per game. I just think their defense needs to step up.
Andrew: I feel the exact same way. Now we are heading into the middle of the ECAC. We both have them at 7, which is basically calling them average in the ECAC, right about in the middle. That is what they are. Fifth in the league in goals scored per game, but ninth in goals allowed at 2.91 per game. They are one of only four teams in the ECAC with a save percentage under .900. They aren’t a great team, but they have a couple positives, such as goals scored. The power play is not horrid, not top notch, but they are fifth. That said, they do not have a good penalty kill, at only 77% on the year. They have the ability to score goals, but they can’t keep it out of their net. When you have that problem, and you’re not the best team in the league in scoring, there is a problem. When you’re one of the worst teams in terms of goals allowed, and you don’t have the firepower to keep up with the top teams, then you are going to lose a lot of games.
8. Matt: RPI Andrew: RPI
RPI (4-5-1, 2-1-1 ECAC)
Andrew: I have RPI at eight because that is where it belongs. It is ninth in the league in goals scored per game and sixth in the league in goals allowed per game. Both of those stats are average. Goaltending hasn’t been bad at all with a .929 save percentage, which is good enough for fifth in the league. However, that’s also considering the amount of shots that have come against them in 10 games. They have given up 289 shots, which is 3rd in the conference. Clearly not one of the top ECAC teams, which is why I have them at eighth.
Matt: I think the Engineers are below average, yet they have a spark. The reason they do have that spark is because they have had a couple good wins, ties and close loses, as they beat Clarkson 2-1. Also, they skated to a tie against the Raiders, and they beat the Big Red. RPI has been able to show some form of offense; I just don’t see it making a push to the top of the ECAC.
9. Matt: Colgate Andrew: Yale
Yale (1-4-1, 1-2-1 ECAC)
Matt: At nine I have Colgate. Its deceiving because it has scored a lot. The Raiders are scoring 3.3 goals per game, which puts them second in the ECAC. That is a promising stat because if Colgate can score the goals and close the gaps in its defense, then I feel that it can move up. Interesting to see what it can do in upcoming weeks.
Andrew: You know how I feel about Colgate. I believe that its higher than where you have it, but we can agree to disagree for now. For me, I have Yale where you have Colgate at ninth. Yale has shown flashes of being a good team, such as their 4-3 win against Quinnipiac. They can finish their shots, four goals on nine shots in that game. However, that fact can be misleading. The Bulldogs only put nine shots on net, so you can credit that win to Sydney Rossman, in net for Quinnipiac, because she had an awful game. That said, it gave Yale its only win on the season, and it came against one of the better goalies in the conference in Rossman. As for every other stat, Yale is in the bottom for a reason. It is giving up 4.27 goals per game, which is worst in the ECAC. It has the worst save percentage as well, and in 6 games it has given up 166 shots. That shot count isn’t terrible, but the Bulldogs have allowed 26 goals on those shots. Their goaltending and defense has been dreadful.
10. Matt: Yale Andrew: Cornell
Matt: I have Yale at ten. Its win against Quinnipiac was luck. You never know if they will explode for five goals or only score one. It need to improve its defense to really make anything happen.
Andrew: At ten I have Cornell. As you mentioned earlier, it has a good chance of dropping, and I couldn’t agree more with that. Tenth in the league in goals scored per game isn’t good. Tenth in the league in goals allowed per game isn’t good. Tenth in the league in save percentage isn’t good. You can guess why I have them at tenth. The Big Red’s record is bad, and their games looked worse. The only other reason I have them at tenth and not lower is because of how bad Union and Brown are.
11. Matt: Union Andrew: Union
Union (0-7-4, 0-2-2 ECAC)
Matt: I have Union at 11 because it doesn’t have the power to turn its record around. The Dutchmen are a very weak team, especially in the ECAC.
Andrew: I couldn’t agree more with that. Union just looks dreadful, and it is only at 11 because of how bad Brown is. 11 in the league in goals scored per game, at one goal per game, showcases its awful offense. Strangely, they are eighth in the league in goals allowed per game. That is still not good enough for me to rank the Dutchmen higher. Their record speaks for itself, as they have no wins on the season.
12. Matt: Brown Andrew: Brown
Brown (0-6-0, 0-4-0 ECAC)
Matt: Brown is averaging .33 goals per game and it is second to last in the ECAC in goals allowed. That combination is terrible, as it doesn’t have anything going for them.
Andrew: Brown is 0-6-0 on the year, and 0-4-0 in the ECAC. Not even a point to show for, and it is the only team to have that distinction. I can’t think of a situation as bad as being a Brown fan now just because of how bad their team has been. Brown is a disappointment in every matter because they have refused to fire on any cylinder.
