ECAC Hockey Power Rankings (and playoff schedule)

by Ryan Fay

Before we get to the power rankings, here is a look at the ECAC playoff schedule:

FIRST-ROUND (Friday, Mar. 8 - Sunday, Mar. 10 - Best-of-three games - campus sites)
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth
No. 11 Colgate at No. 6 St. Lawrence
No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown
No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton

Quinnipiac, Rensselaer, Yale, and Union have first round byes.

QUARTERFINALS (Friday, Mar. 15 - Sunday, Mar. 17 - Best-of-three games - campus sites)
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Quinnipiac
Second lowest remaining seed at No. 2 Rensselaer
Third lowest remaining seed at No. 3 Yale
Fourth lowest remaining seed at No. 4 Union

SEMIFINALS (Friday, Mar. 22 - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Semifinal No. 1 - 4 p.m

Semifinal No. 2 - 7:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP/THIRD PLACE (Saturday, Mar. 23 - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Third-Place Game - 4 p.m.
Championship Game - 7 p.m.

Onto the power rankings -

1. QUINNIPIAC (24-5-5 overall, 17-2-3 ECAC) LAST WEEK (LW): 1
The Bobcats had a tremendous regular season, winning the Cleary Cup, finishing 10 points ahead of second place RPI, and racking up the most points in the regular season (37) since Cornell had 38 in 2004-2005. But don't assume Quinnipiac will go uncontested in the league playoffs. The Bobcats are only 3-2-1 over the last six games and have proven to be human after all.

2. RENSSELAER (17-12-5, 12-7-3) LW: 2
If anyone is going to knock off Quinnipiac, RPI isn't a bad choice. The Engineers went 9-1 over their final 10 league contests while outscoring opponents 35-14. Senior defenseman Nick Bailen closed his final collegiate regular season on a high note with two goals and five assists in the last three contests.

3. YALE (16-10-3, 12-9-1) LW: 5
After a five game skid, Yale ended the season strong, winning its final three games. Saturday's 2-1 win over Cornell was the most impressive of the three as Cornell came into the game riding a five game unbeaten streak. Senior forward Andrew Miller has been especially good lately with two goals and three assists over the final three regular season contests.

4. UNION (17-12-5, 10-8-4) LW: 9
Protecting its home ice is one reason why the Dutchmen ended up getting a first round bye. Union went 6-0-1 over its past seven home games, including beating the St. Lawrence and Clarkson by a combined 9-1 score at crunch time over the weekend. The arrow is pointing back up again.

5. BROWN (11-12-6, 7-9-6) LW: 4
The Bears split over the weekend, losing 4-1 to Cornell on Friday ahead of a 5-1 win over Colgate the next night. The split was good enough to give Brown home ice in the first round, something that hasn't happened since 2005. The Bears are 3-1-1 over their past five games at Meehan Auditorium.

6. ST. LAWRENCE (16-14-4, 9-9-4) LW: 3
St. Lawrence entered the weekend in the mix for a first round bye, but those prospects went out the door with a 5-1 loss at Union and a 4-1 setback at RPI. It marked the first time all season that St. Lawrence lost back-to-back road games. Getting Kyle Flanagan (appendectomy) back for this weekend's series with Colgate would only help, but they should advance anyway.

7. CORNELL (12-14-3, 8-11-3) LW: 6
The Big Red closed out the regular season with a 4-1 triumph over Brown and a 2-1 loss at Yale, the latter being their first defeat in three weeks. Sophomore Joel Lowry, who was drafted by Los Angeles in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL draft, is playing some of his best hockey of the year with three goals and three assists in the final six regular season games. Goalie Andy Illes has come on strong as well, not allowing more than two goals in any of his last seven starts.

8. HARVARD (9-17-3, 6-14-2) LW: 10
Harvard became the second ECAC team to beat Quinnipiac this year after the Crimson held on for a 2-1 victory on Friday. Despite playing much better hockey of late (two losses in past six league games), Harvard couldn't escape the league basement and enter the tournament as the 12th seed. The Crimson will take on fifth-seeded Dartmouth and I'll go out on a limb and say Harvard wins in three.

9. DARTMOUTH (13-11-5, 9-9-4) LW: 8
In order to win in the playoffs, you need to string wins together. But the last time Dartmouth won back to back games was way back in mid January. A lot is made of Dartmouth's home dominance (10-4-1 on the year) but the Big Green are just 2-3-1 in their past six games at Thompson Arena.

10. PRINCETON (10-14-5, 8-10-4) LW: 12
Getting home ice in the first round may not be the best thing for the Tigers. Princeton is 0-4 in its past four home contests, but hold a 3-0-1 mark its last four road games. Speaking of road games, Princeton went into overtime in both weekend road games, tying Dartmouth, 2-2, and prevailing, 2-1, over Harvard. In the latter game, Princeton pulled goaltender Mike Condon late in overtime, but Andrew Calouf netted an extra skater goal with 37 seconds left on the clock to win it.

11. CLARKSON (9-18-7, 8-11-3) LW: 7
If Clarkson has any chance to beat Brown, they're going to need to score some goals. It sounds simple enough, right? However, scoring goals has been far from simple for the Golden Knights lately. Clarkson enters the league playoffs with scoreless drought of 141:29, the second longest in program history (167:45, set in 2002). You can thank the Clarkson Hockey Blog for that stat.

12. COLGATE (14-16-4, 6-13-3) LW: 11
The Raiders are the definition of limping into the playoffs. Colgate has all of one victory in the past 10 games and they don't appear all that likely to be playing in two weeks. The Raiders drew St. Lawrence in the first round and will be going on the road, where they have two wins all season. The last time Colgate won a league game on the road was Dec. 1 at Clarkson.

ECAC hockey power rankings (2/25/13)

by Ryan Fay

It all comes down to this. The upcoming weekend marks the end of the regular season, but much is yet to be decided. Remarkably, the only lock is Quinnipiac finishing first. Just about everything else is up for grabs with many teams having a wide range of possible finishes.

Lets take a look at how the teams stack up as the regular season is set to close:

1. QUINNIPIAC (23-4-5 overall, 16-1-3 ECAC) LAST WEEK (LW): 1
Saturday's 3-3 tie against Brown will keep the #1/1 Bobcats from being the first ECAC team with 40 points since Harvard finished with 40 during the 1988-1989 campaign. Even with two wins to close out the regular season, Quinnipiac would max out at 39 points, which would rank as the highest single year point total in the league since Cornell racked up 39 in 2002-2003.

2. RPI (15-12-5, 10-7-3) LW: 2
RPI's eight game winning streak in league play came to an end with Friday's 4-1 loss at Cornell and the four goals allowed were the most given up by RPI in a single game since surrendering four at Princeton on Jan. 12. The weekend was salvaged when Matt Neal scored with ten seconds left in overtime to propel the Engineers to a 3-2 win at Colgate on Saturday. The second place Engineers remain in possession of a first round bye.

3. ST. LAWRENCE (16-12-4, 9-7-4) LW: 3
The Saints have a first round bye to lose and going on the road to conclude the regular season isn't the worst thing. With nine road wins, the Saints have the second most victories away from home in the league (Quinnipiac has 10). Additionally, St. Lawrence is the only team in the league with more road wins (9) than home wins (7).

4. BROWN (10-11-6, 6-8-6) LW: 6
Is there a peskier team in the league than the Bears? According to Dartmouth men's hockey SID Patrick Salvas, Brown has not lost a game to the eventual regular season champ last season (Union) or this season (Qunnipiac). The Bears went 2-0 against Union a year ago and are 0-0-2 versus Quinnipiac this season. On Saturday, the Bears used two late third period goals to tie the Bobcats, 3-3.

5. YALE (14-10-3, 10-9-1) LW: 5
The best news for #13/14 Yale over the weekend was the return of netminder Jeff Malcolm, who stopped 17-of-20 shots in Saturday's 4-3 triumph against Princeton. His return couldn't have come soon enough as the team lost all five games he missed. Another encouraging sign was scoring four goals on Saturday, which was as many as Yale had in the previous four games combined.

6. CORNELL (11-13-3, 7-10-3) LW: 11

That horrific stretch from late December through early February looks like a thing of the past. The Big Red are unbeaten in their past four games (3-0-1) and look like they could be peaking at the right time. Cornell handed RPI its first league loss in six weeks on Friday and used three early goals to take Union out of Saturday's game only 10 minutes into play. Greg Miller, who leads Cornell with 14 goals, has been particularly hot lately with six tallies in the past four contests.

7. CLARKSON (9-16-7, 8-9-3) LW: 7
Which team is tied with St. Lawrence for the second highest goals per game (GPG) average in league play? Quinnipiac? Nah, they comfortably top the list at 3.40 GPG. RPI? Nope, the Engineers are seventh at 2.60. It's Clarkson at 2.90 GPG. The Golden Knights wouldn't have been my first guess, either. According to USCHO.com ECAC columnist Brian Sullivan, Clarkson can finish as high as third and as low as 11th after next weekend. The Knights travel to RPI and Union to wrap up the regular season.

8. DARTMOUTH (13-10-4, 9-8-3) LW: 8
#19/RV Dartmouth is tied with Yale for the final first round bye and return home for a chance to solidify their positioning. The good news? The Big Green protect their home as well as anyone in the league, as evidenced by a 10-3 mark in games played at Thompson Arena this season. The bad news? The clubs coming in, Princeton and Quinnipiac, are 2-0 against Dartmouth this year.

9. UNION (15-12-5, 8-8-4) LW: 4
After two home wins last weekend, there was a feeling the team had righted the ship and looked poised for a strong finish. But this past weekend erased those thoughts. On Friday, the Dutchmen lost, 4-1, to a Colgate team which entered the game on a six game winless streak. The next night, Union essentially lost the game in the first ten minutes after falling behind 3-0 at Cornell. There were some strong spurts later in the contest, but it was an inconsistent effort that left a desire for a full sixty minute effort. I don't think there are many people who know what to expect from #20 Union going forward.

10. HARVARD (8-16-3, 5-13-2) LW: 10
You want your best players to step up late in the season and that's happening for Harvard. Top scorer Alex Fallstrom has a point in six straight contests, his longest streak of the season, and Marshall Everson has scored seven of his 11 goals in the same six game run. In that span, the Crimson are 5-1.

11. COLGATE (14-14-4, 6-11-3) LW: 12
If Colgate has a run in them, it will come from their underclassmen. Five of the team's top seven point getters are either freshmen or sophomores. The top three goal scorers, Kyle Baun, Tylor Spink, and Darcy Murphy are all freshmen. Even if the rest of the season fails to yield desirable results, a nice foundation is in place in Hamilton.

12. PRINCETON (9-14-4, 7-10-3) LW: 9
The Tigers haven't had much roar lately. Princeton has lost its past four contests, and worse yet, all four losses have been at home. Before the slide, Princeton was beaten at home just two times in the first four-plus months of the season. Their regular season ends with trips to Dartmouth and Harvard.

ECAC Hockey Power Rankings (2/18/13)

by Ryan Fay

There are only two more weekends of regular season action. But there's a lot more yet to be decided. Lets see how the teams stack up right now:

1. QUINNIPIAC (22-4-4 overall, 15-1-2 ECAC) LAST WEEK (LW): 1

It finally happened. #1/1 Quinnipiac suffered its first league loss of the season after St. Lawrence held on for a 2-1 victory on Friday. There were some close calls earlier this season (i.e 1-1 ties against RPI and Brown) but it was Saints who finished the job. While the loss ruined a chance at an undefeated league season, it wasn't all that damaging. After Union knocked off Yale, the Bobcats clinched the Cleary Cup on Friday anyway. Concerns about a letdown performance on Saturday versus Clarkson were quelled with a 2-1 win.

2. RPI (14-11-5, 9-6-3) LW: 3

With all due respect to Quinnipiac, RPI may well be the ECAC team one would least want to face right now. The boys from Troy have fired off eight league wins in a row and have looked dominant in the process. RPI has allowed three goals or less in every game during the run with two shutouts mixed in. During the streak, the Engineers have outscored their opponents 30-10. You'd hate to be Colgate and Cornell this weekend.

3. ST. LAWRENCE (15-11-4, 8-6-4) LW: 4

If the Saints had any chance to beat Quinnipiac, they were going to need their best players to come up big. And that's what happened. Greg Carey, who leads the nation with 23 goals, scored both St. Lawrence goals on Friday. The junior has at least one goal in nine straight contests dating back to Jan. 19 at Clarkson. Currently tied with Union for third place, the Saints have a chance to solidify a first round bye with Dartmouth, Harvard, and Union coming up on the calendar. St. Lawrence is 3-0 against them this year.

4. UNION (15-10-5, 8-6-4) LW: 6

After starting the month on a three game winless streak, and losing grip on a first round bye, there was some concern the season may be starting to slip away from the two-time defending league champions. But the Dutchmen earned four huge points after beating #9/10 Yale 4-2 on Friday and blanking Brown 2-0 the next night. A week after getting yanked in consecutive starts, Troy Grosenick rebounded and accumulated 61 saves over the weekend. Currently tied with St. Lawerence for third place, Union once again has a first round bye to lose.

5. YALE (13-9-3, 9-8-1) LW: 2

This isn't the kind of stretch run the Bulldogs wanted to have. Yale is 1-5 over their past six games, including four straight losses. The team misses starting goaltender Jeff Malcolm, who is out for an undetermined amount of time. Backup Nick Maricic was pulled after letting up a couple soft goals against Union on Friday and third-stringer Conor Wilson allowed three goals on 21 shots in Saturday's loss at RPI. The offense isn't helping, either. Yale has scored five goals in the current four game skid. 

6. BROWN (9-11-5, 5-8-5) LW: 5

Brown's three game week began on a high note with a 1-0 blanking of Yale on Tuesday, but the weekend was a different story. A 5-1 rout at RPI preceded a 2-0 defeat at Union on Saturday. In the latter, the Bears were outhot 48-23. One concern with Brown is a lack of scoring depth. With 26 points, Matt Lorito has twice as many as any other player on the roster (Garnet Hathaway - 13). Lorito's 14 goals are more than double the next highest figure on the squad (Nick Lappin's six).

7. CLARKSON (8-15-7, 7-8-3) LW: 10

Clarkson handed Princeton just its third home loss of the season with Friday's 3-2 triumph. The next night, they hung tough with league-leading Quinnipiac, but dropped a 2-1 decision. He's no Greg Carey, but Allen McPherson has been on quite the streak himself. Of his nine goals this season, five of them have come in the past six games.

8. DARTMOUTH (12-9-4, 8-7-3) LW: 9

If you want to talk about a bad loss, #17 Dartmouth's 4-2 setback to Cornell on Friday would qualify. Not only did Cornell enter the game 1-10 over its last 11 games, the game was played at Dartmouth, where the Big Green were 9-2 on the season going into the weekend. Dartmouth rebounded on Saturday with a 5-4 win over Colgate and stand tied with Yale for fourth place.

9. PRINCETON (9-12-4, 7-8-3) LW: 7

The Tigers are a tough nut to crack. Last weekend, they picked up two wins on the road after entering that weekend with one road win all year. This past weekend, Princeton brought a 6-2 home record into home games with Clarkson and St. Lawrence. They lost both.

10. HARVARD (7-15-3, 4-12-2) LW: 11

Don't look now, but Harvard is unbeaten in its last four contests (2-0-2). It's certainly a welcome sight after the Crimson had a stretch with one win in 16 games. Harvard put up seven goals on Tuesday in a 7-4 win over #/11/13 Boston University in the Beanpot consolation game. The strong effort was followed by a 4-1 win over Colgate on Friday and a 2-2 draw with Cornell on Saturday.

11. CORNELL (9-13-3, 5-10-3) LW: 12
With a win and a tie, Cornell had its first league weekend with more than two points since picking up four points against Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Nov. 30-Dec 1. Cornell closes out the regular season portion of its home schedule this weekend against RPI and Union.

12. COLGATE (13-13-4, 5-10-3) LW: 8

With four straight defeats, the Raiders are sputtering to the finish line. The recent struggles can at least partly be blamed on a power play unit that has gone belly up after spending most of the season as one of the best in the conference. Over the past four games, the Colgate power play is 1-for-19.

ECAC Media Make Their Top 4 Picks

by Ryan Fay

While Quinnipiac has run away with first place, the other three first round byes remain just about anyone's to take. With only six points separating the team in second place (Yale) from the team in tenth place (Colgate), it's shaping up to be a wild final three weekends in the regular season.

I polled several ECAC media members and asked how they see the top four finishing up. I threw my two cents in for good measure.

For the consensus finishes, I added up each predicted finish. A first place prediction meant four points, a second place prediction meant three, a third place prediction meant two, a fourth place meant one point, and unranked meant no points.

The consensus top four is: Quinnipiac (1st, 36 points), Yale (2nd, 21 points), RPI (3rd, 14 points) and Dartmouth (4th, 11 points). Princeton and St. Lawrence, and Union finished with two points.

Individual ballots are below.

WHAT THEY SAID

USCHO.com ECAC correspondent Brian Sullivan on Quinnipiac: "The Bobcats need two points in their remaining six games to clinch the Cleary Cup. I'm almost positive my beer-league team could accomplish that. But only if we get to wear those yellow sweaters."

Sullivan on Yale: "I'm not putting any money on the Bulldogs to hold onto No. 2. In my eyes, that bet went sour with Yale's 1-0 loss at Brown on Tuesday. Goalie Jeff Malcolm is still out - not sure when or if he'll return this season - and the rest of Yale's game has gone all pear-shaped as well."

Anonymous ECAC broadcaster on RPI: "Surging at the right time and they have the right guy between the pipes. They should have gone to Jason Kasdorf much earlier.

USCHO.com ECAC correspondent Nate Owen on Dartmouth: "The Big Green have dealt with some injuries and inconsistency, but I think they'll have enough to hang on."

Anonymous ECAC broadcaster on craziness of league: "Pretty interesting to note that there's a decent chance that three of the top four from last year (Union, Cornell, Harvard, Colgate) could end up in the bottom four this year. And it's possible ALL four, but since Cornell/Colgate play Union, it would be pretty difficult for all three to end up 9 through 11."

KEN SCHOTT	SEAN MARTIN	MARK DIVVER	JASON KLUMP
1. Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac
2. Yale	Yale	Yale	RPI
3. Dartmouth	Dartmouth	Dartmouth	Yale
4. RPI	Princeton	RPI	Union

JOSH SEGUIN	BROADCASTER	NATE OWEN	BRIAN SULLIVAN	ME
1. Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac
2. RPI	Yale	Yale	Dartmouth	RPI
3. Yale	RPI	Dartmouth	Yale	Yale
4. Union	St. Lawrence	RPI	Princeton	St. Lawrence

AFFILIATIONS

Ken Schott - Daily Gazette
Sean Martin - Times Union
Mark Divver - Providence Journal
Jason Klump - ex College Hockey News / recent RPI radio fill-in
Josh Seguin  - College Hockey News
Anonymous Broadcaster - One of the ECAC teams
Nate Owen - USCHO
Brian Sullivan - USCHO
Me - Union Hockey News

Union Wins The Cleary Cup on Senior Night

Last night was such a great feeling. The emotions of when the final buzzer sounded, all the way to the post-game celebration was perfect. I am so proud of the guys for everything they accomplished, and everything the seniors have done in their four years. The reception the seniors received from the fans was awesome and well deserved. I was also honored and shocked when Andrew Buote gave me a shout out during his speech. I really appreciated it and am just honored to be a very small part of this amazing senior class and Union Hockey.

It was also great to see Luke Cain and Stephane Boileau score goals on Senior Night. They both don't dress every game, so it was awesome to see them capitalize. You could tell how excited they were to score, especially Boileau (check the highlights). John Simpson also added an empty netter.

Union's power-play once again did a great job last night as they scored twice with the man advantage. They lead the nation with a 30.97% conversion rate. Union went 3-for-4 last night and 4-for-6 on the weekend. Daniel Carr netted a PP goal and added an even strength goal later. He is now tied with New Hampshire's Paul Thompson and Colorado College's Tyler Johnson for the nation's lead with 12 power-play goals. Thompson and Johnson are both seniors, while Carr is a freshman. His two first period goals gave Union an 3-0 first period lead. Three has been the magic number this season as the Dutchmen are 21-1-2 in games where they've scored at least three goals.

Keith Kinkaid had another great weekend once again. He made 35 saves (including 17 in the second period) last night to pick up his third shutout of the season. Kinkaid leads the nation with a 1.93 GAA and 24 wins.

Well, now it's on to the playoffs. Union gets the weekend off with the first round bye. Here are the first round matchups:
(5) RPI vs. (12) Colgate
(6) Princeton vs. (11) St. Lawrence
(7) Clarkson vs. (10) Harvard
(8) Quinnipiac vs. (9) Brown

For more on the game check out:
USCHO
Union Athletics
Ken Schott's Blog
Times Union (Sean Martin)
Times Union (Mark McGuire)

I also want to make a special shout out to former Union College president Roger Hull. In January 2004 he said:

"Let me tell you of my idea of being competitive: fielding a team that has a reasonable chance of winning every time it steps on the ice... And when they got to 40 percent [winning percentage], I was proud, and when they reached nearly 50 percent a few years ago, I was tremendously proud of them."

I wonder if he's super-tremendously-ridiculously-doing hand stands proud of this team.

Tonight's Lineups vs. Princeton (2/26/11)

Union
Presizniuk - Zajac - Hatch
Carr - Welsh - Jooris
Boileau - J. Simpson - W. Simpson
Buote - Pallos - K. Bodie

Forgaard - Cain
M. Bodie - Matheson
Coburn - Stuart

Kinkaid
Milan
Grosenick

Notes: For Senior Night all the seniors will dress. Luke Cain is listed as the 6th defenseman, but I assume he'll just fill in on forward lines throughout the game. Also, Stephane Boileau replaces Kevin Sullivan on the Simpson line. We'll see if Milan gets a shot to see some minutes. From what I heard Union will be wearing their black jerseys tonight, which have been a good luck charm so far this season.

Princeton
Kleebaum - Calof - Kramer
Arhontas - Meland - Lohry
Ammon - Zuk - Farris
Carlson - Berger - Kerr

Fedun - Ritchie
Pallis - Rush
Sdao - Godlewski

Condon
Bonar

Notes: Sdao is a draft pick of the Ottawa Senators.

Players To Watch This Senior Weekend

I think this is the weekend Union fans have been waiting for for a long time. With two games left in the regular season the Dutchmen control their own destiny in winning the Cleary Cup. They are one point ahead of Yale in the standings, and if they match the Bulldogs point-for-point this weekend they will win the Cleary Cup for the first time in program history. Yale hosts Colgate and Cornell this weekend (click here).

But, to get to the cup the Dutchmen will have to go through the Quinnipiac Bobcats and Princeton Tigers. Union played these two teams on the road two weekends ago. They came back to beat the Tigers 7-4, and then came back again to beat the Bobcats 2-1 in overtime the following night.

This is our moment.... Let's take it!

Quinnipiac
Jeremy Langlois: the sophomore forward leads the team with 15 goals (5th in the ECAC), and is tied for the team lead with six power-play goals.
Loren Barron: the sophomore defenseman leads the team with 14 assists, and leads all Bobcat defensemen with 15 points.
Scott Zurevinski: the Bobcats' leading scorer (21 points) has tallied a point in five of his past six games.

Princeton
Andrew Calof: the freshman forward leads the Tigers with 23 assists (third in the ECAC) and 29 points.
Mike Kramer: the senior forward has been very hot of late. He's picked up a point in nine of his past 10 games, including nine goals and six assists over that span. Kramer leads the team with 13 goals and is second in assists (15) and points (28).
Taylor Fedun: the senior defenseman has 10 goals on the season, which is tied for the league lead in goals by a defenseman. His seven power-play goals is the most among ECAC defenseman, and tops on the team.

Union
Kelly Zajac: Zaj is Union's leading scorer with 37 points. He got hurt last Saturday night, but Coach Leaman says he will play this weekend. Let's see if that injury bothers him or not.
Wayne Simpson: the younger Simpson has been extremely hot of late. He's picked up a point in 10 of his last 12 games, and has scored a goal in four of his last five games.
Class of 2011: I'm sure the seniors want to make their final regular season weekend a memorable one where they lift the Cleary Cup over the heads. In last year's regular season finale EVERY senior made a contribution to Union's victory. I expect the same this year. Read my post from last Senior Night to know what I'm talking about.

For more check out:
Union Athletics.com
Quinnipiac Bobcats.com
Go Princeton Tigers.com

Here's what happened the last time Princeton and Quinnipiac played at Messa Rink during the regular season:

Union Travels to #19 Princeton and Quinnipiac

Ok I got to make this quick since I'm leaving for Boston in a few minutes.

The Dutchmen head south this weekend to take on two hot teams. Princeton has only lost once in their past 11 games, while Quinnipiac is unbeaten in their last five. Every ECAC game has become more important as the season goes on and each of these game are equally important. The Dutchmen might have to win every ECAC game for the rest of the season if they have any hope in catching Yale and fending off the likes of Princeton, RPI, and Dartmouth.

Players To Watch
Andrew Calof (Princeton): the freshman leads the team with 18 assists.
Taylor Fedun (Princeton): the senior defenseman leads all Tiger defensemen with six goals and 10 assists.
Kevin Lohry (Princeton): leads team with nine goals.
Connor and Kellen Jones (Quinnipiac): the freshman twin brothers have both accumulated 16 points so far this season. Connor has seven goals, while Kellen has 11 assists.
Jeremy Langlois (Quinnipiac): leads team with 13 goals and 18 points.
Adam Presizniuk (Union): let's see if he keeps up his scoring touch after a break out performance last weekend.
Shawn Stuart (Union): he wore the red jersey (because of a shoulder injury) in Wednesday's practice.
Mike Ingoldsby is already out indefinitely and the Dutchmen don't have any solid replacements if Stuart were to go down.

I predict that both Capital Region teams keep it rolling and seep the Tigers and Bobcats.

I also want to point out that the Quinnipiac arena is the nicest in the ECAC, so I recommend on checking it out.

For more on the weekend check out:
Union Athletics.com
Go Princeton Tigers.com
Quinnipiac Bobcats.com

ALSO IF YOU ARE STAYING IN SCHENECTADY THIS WEEKEND GO CHECK OUT THE WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM!!!!! THIS WEEKEND IS "PINK IN THE RINK."
More info...

Here's a video of Quinnipiac promoting the games this weekend:


And here's what happened the last time Union and Quinnipiac played each other:

Dutchmen clinch first round bye

Last night in the press box I was told that in order for the Dutchmen to clinch a first round bye in the playoffs they would have to win tonight against Quinnipiac. Well, I just found out this morning that that was wrong and Union has already clinched a first round bye in the ECAC playoffs. So, my article on USCHO.com is incorrect. Just don't pay attention to the fourth to last paragraph haha. For more detailed information about how the Dutchmen clinched the bye check out the Extra Frame Blog.

It was nice to see Kinkaid bounce back with a solid performance after last weekend's debacle. Kyle Bodie scored once again for his third time in three weekends. He could be a secret weapon heading into the playoffs. Also, congratulations to 'Super' Mario Valery-Trabucco for breaking the program's Division I single season point record.

I can't seem to figure out Princeton goaltender Zane Kalemba. Last season he was the best goalie in the ECAC and an all-American, and this year his stats are pretty awful. He seems a little slow in the net and unfocused. I'm not sure why he's had such a let down this year; only he knows.

For more on last night's game check out Union Athletics.com, Daily Gazette.com, Times Union.com, and Ken Schott's Blog.

Tonight's Lineups (2/19/10 vs. Princeton)

FINAL UPDATE: 4-1, Union... Bodie scores and Zajac socres empty netter.

2nd PERIOD UPDATE: 2-0, Union... Union looks a little better. Mario scored Union's first goal a little over four minuets into the period. With the goal he breaks the Division I single-season points record with 39 points. Jeremy Welsh scored Union's second goal with 7:10 remaining in the period. Princeton has the favor in shots 25-20.

1st PERIOD UPDATE: 0-0... The Dutchmen are looking sloppy in the first. The timing on their passes are way off. They have gone offsides way to many times. Keith Kinkaid is looking a little shaky in goal as he has had some trouble controlling dump-ins on net and playing the puck. Princeton looks pretty decent. They're moving fast and blocking a lot of shots in the slot.

Union:

Prez - Wally - Mario

Welsh - J. Simpson - Boileau

Cain - Zajac - W. Simpson

Buote - Lareau - Bodie

Matheson - Forgaard

Wakita - Julseth-White

Schreiber - Stuart

Kinkaid
Milan

Princeton:

Zuk - Bartlett - Meland

Arhontas - Magnowski - Kleebaum

Lohry - MacDonald - Hagel

Sabky - - Crane

Pallis - Fedun

Godlewski - Schroeder

Sdao - Pederson

Kalemba

Reynolds

Players to watch this weekend

Union:

• Mario Valery-Trabucco: he currently has 38 points on the season, which is tied for most in a single season in program history. Linemate Adam Presizniuk set the record last season. He leads the team with 17 goals and is tied with Prez in assists with 21. He also leads the team with 1.31 points per game. Mario has registered at least one point in five of his last six games, has scored a goal in three out the last four games, and has tallied 10 points in the last four games.
  
• Jason Walters: Wally has 35 points on the season and potentially break Prez's record this weekend as well. He has registered a point in his past four games, and seven points in total.


• For more on the Dutchmen go to Union Athletics.com.

Princeton:

• Dan Bartlett: leads team in goals (16) and points (25). Bartlett has registered a point in 10 out of his last 12 games where he has tallied 10 goals and 5 assists.


• Mike Kramer: is second on the team with 11 goals and 21 points. He got his four game goal streak snapped last Saturday against St. Lawrence.


• Mark Magnowski: leads the team with 13 assists. Magnowski has tallied an assist in seven of his last eight games.


• Princeton is second to last in the ECAC with 2.69 goals per game.


• For more on the Tigers check out Go Princeton Tigers.com

Quinnipiac:

• Brandon 'All Night' Wong: leads the Bobcats with 15 goals and 30 points. When on top of his game he is one of the most lethal players in the ECAC. Wong is the go-to guy on the power-play as he has scored 11 goals on the power-play. But, lately he hasn't been so stellar. In his last 13 games he has tallied only six points where he has only scored three goals, only one of which came against an ECAC opponent.


• Eric Lampe: the same can be said about Lampe as he is second on the team with 28 points and leads the team with 17 assists, but has not been great lately. In his last eight games he as only put up one goal and one assist.
  
• The Bobcats recently snapped their 12 game winless streak as they won back-to-back games by shutting out their opponent. In goal has been sophomore Dan Clarke, who is third in the ECAC with a 2.47 goals against average, and is tied for third with a .913 save percentage.
  
• For more on QU check out Quinnipiac Bobcats.com.

Players to watch for this weekend

Princeton:

The Princeton offense is led by senior Dan Bartlett who leads the team with 11 goals, 17 points, four power-play goals, and a .297 shooting percentage. He is also second on the team with six assists and a +1 rating. Also look out for forward Mike Kramer who leads all forwards with seven assists, and Mark Magnowski who is second on the team with three power-play goals. In the pipes last season for the Tigers was Zane Kalemba who was named the ECAC Player of the Year, Goalie of the Year, and first team all-ECAC along with being a second team All-American. But, after being named a pre-season first team All-American by Inside College Hockey Online in October he has been very disappointing. This season as a senior he has gone 2-5-2 with a 3.63 GAA and a .894 save percentage. For his poor play he is now a part of a tandem with junior Alan Reynolds who has been more successful this year. He has accumulated a 4-2-0 record with a 2.63 GAA and a .911 save percentage. He played in Princeton's last game in their win over Quinnipiac.

Quinnipiac:

The Bobcats have been known for their scoring abilities for the past few years and are still one of the highest flying offenses in the nation and lead the ECAC with 71 goals this season. The offense is led by five senior forwards lead by Brandon "All Night" Wong. Wong leads the team with 12 goals, 24 points, four game-winning goals, eight power-play goals (tied for second most in the nation), and 1.26 points per game. The other seniors include Eric Lampe (9g, 14a, 23pts), Jean-Marc Beaudoin (5g, 10a, 15pts), Greg Holt (5g, 9a, 14 pts), and Mike Atkinson (7g, 5a, 12pts). Also be aware of sophomore forward and the Bobcats top faceoff man Scott Zurevinksi (9g, 7a, 16pts), and senior defenseman Zach Hansen (1g, 11a, 12pts). In goal for Quinnipiac has been sophomore Dan Clarke who has been pretty solid while posting a 8-4-1 record, 2.50 GAA, and a .919 save percentage.

This will be a very important weekend for the Dutchmen as it kicks off the 2010 ECAC schedule, is always a very difficult road trip, and could possibly be a weekend where they could climb higher into the standings. As a Dutchmen fan I would be happy with two points and any other points would be just icing on the cake.

You can read previews for the weekend on Union Athletics.com, Go Princeton Tigers.com, and Quinnipiac Bobcats.com.

Hot Princeton tops cold Quinnipiac 4-3 in overtime

Heading into Friday's game against the Dutchmen the Tigers have gone unbeaten in their past four games where they have played four nationally ranked teams (UMass-Lowell, Maine, Cornell, and now Quinnipiac) after going winless in their previous seven games. Quinnipiac has gone the opposite way as after winning 12 of their first 13 games they have only won one game in their past six, where four of the losses have come against league opponents.

What this means for the Dutchmen is that this weekend will be a tough won. Princeton is lower in the standings but are riding a hot streak, while Quinnipiac is on top of the ECAC but have fallen apart of late. A few weeks ago the Dutchmen might have looked over the Tigers and looked straight to the Bobcats, but because these recent streaks this will not be true.

You can read the game summary on the ECAC Hockey website.

Quinnipiac at Princeton tonight

This upcoming weekend the Dutchmen will travel to Princeton and Quinnipiac to open up ECAC play in 2010. Tonight will be a great scouting opportunity for the coaching staff and even Union fans as the Bobcats will travel to Hobey Baker Rink to face the Tigers in an ECAC matchup. This will be a great opportunity for the Dutchmen to see what they will be up against this weekend.

You can read about the game on the ECAC website.