This week the Dutchmen open up league play on the road against St Lawrence and Clarkson.
This is when things get interesting. For anyone who doesn't know, the point system in college hockey is only based on conference opponents. Basically, right now, the Dutchmen are 3-1-3 with 0 points. Points can only be won in conference play because they only determine seeding within your own conference's playoff. A win is 2 points, a tie is 1, and a loss gets you nothing.
In the past two seasons the Dutchmen have swept both teams in the season series, and they even beat St. Lawrence a third time two years ago in the ECAC semifinals.
This season St. Lawrence has started 0-4-0 in the absence of head coach Joe Marsh who has been on medical leave. Marsh is really one of the best coaches in the ECAC and one of my personal favorites. It is a shame he hasn't been able to be on the Saints bench this year. Here is wishing Joe the best.
As for the guys who are playing, there is not a lot to get excited about. They are 0-4-0, and outside of an overtime game against RIT, haven't even been close to a W.
Their goaltenders have looked dreadful. Three goalies have spent time in net for the Saints. The best numbers of the three belong to senior Robby Ross with a .837 save pct and a 5.73 gaa. He has played in less than 4 periods this season. Matt Weninger, a sophomore, has started the most games for the Saints and started their most recent game, which was against RIT. He gave up six goals in that game. His overall numbers for the season are a .788 save pct and a 5.77 gaa.
Overall, they give up 6.25 goals a game, and their penalty kill has given up a goal 1/3 of the time. Making matters worse, they average over six penalties a game.
There has been a bright spot for St Lawrence offensively. His name is Kyle Flanagan. Flanagan, a junior, has 8 points in 4 games, collecting a multi-point effort in three of the four games. Patrick Doherty is another guy to keep your eyes on. The freshman scored two goals in the Saints most recent game.
Outside of Kyle Flanagan, nothing about the Saints looks that impressive. Still, UNH didn't look too good on paper either, and they beat us last weekend. Also look at who St. Lawrence has played: Ferris State (10th in the nation), Michigan (3rd) and RIT. The loss to RIT came in overtime, after a last second goal by the Tigers tied the game.
The Saints have always play the Dutchmen tough. No reason to look past this game.
One last note: the Saints haven't played a game since Oct. 15th.
Clarkson is the really intriguing game. They are kind of the opposite of St Lawrence.
So far this season they are 5-1-2. Paul Karpowich, their goaltender, was the ECAC goaltender of the month with a .940 save pct and a 1.84 gaa. Their power play is tied for 4th in the nation and their penalty kill is 8th (41-46).
Freshman Sam Lebrecque leads the team with five power play points, which is extremely impressive for a freshmen defenseman.
Their wins have come against AIC, Sacred Heart, and Bentley though. Basically, it is too early in the season to say one team is good and the other is bad. The way things look I would say Clarkson should be pretty good, but not a top four team. As for St. Lawrence, I don't think they are as bad as they have been, but I definitely seem them near the bottom of the league.
Saying all of that, I do expect the Dutchmen to pull out two wins this weekend. Here's hoping for four points!
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