We here at WHRB hope all of our listeners enjoyed their
Thanksgiving breaks. So far, we have too, with the Crimson taking down the
University of New Hampshire by a 6-3 tally on Tuesday night. Ahead of the
Crimson’s matchup with their more familiar New Hampshire rivals, Dartmouth, we
present our Thanksgiving ECAC Power Rankings.
1. #5 Quinnipiac (6-1-1, 12-2-1)
Freshman Sam Anas, third in the nation in
points, is grabbing all the headlines. But the real credit goes to head coach
Rand Pecknold, who has the Bobcats leading the nation in goals against despite
starting as many as four rookies on the blue lines.
2. #15 Union (5-1-0, 6-3-2)
The Dutchmen overwhelmed Harvard a few weeks
back at the Bright-Landry, and lately they’ve been overwhelming everyone. Union
has already taken six of six conference points from RPI and Cornell. WHRB
favorite Shayne Gostisbehere leads all defensemen in conference scoring.
3. #9 Yale (3-1-2, 5-2-2)
The defending champs are riding a top-ten
offense led by seniors Jesse Root and Kenny Agostino. The biggest concern is
the penalty kill. Sixth-worst in the nation at 73.5%, it has made life more
difficult than it arguably should be for freshman goaltending tandem Alex Lyon
and Patrick Spano.
4. #19 RPI (2-3-2, 7-5-2)
The Engineers have slowly been falling in the
national rankings due to some surprising losses, including one to the Crimson.
Never mind all that. This team is still loaded. Even if there is truth in the
whispers that Jason Kasdorf’s shoulder injury is season-ending, Scott Diebold
has looked great in net behind a team that just needs to find its defensive
game.
5. #10 Clarkson (4-2-0, 10-3-1)
On one hand, the Golden Knights already have
double-digit wins and are only allowing 2.05 goals per game. On the other hand,
only one of those wins came over an impressive opponent in Cornell and their
underlying numbers aren’t that great. Perhaps the hardest team to judge in the
conference.
6. #14 Cornell (5-3-0, 7-7-1)
I am only ranking the Big Red below Clarkson
by virtue of the Big Red’s loss in their one head-to-head meeting. And like the
Golden Knights, the men from Ithaca only have one good win so far over the Yale
Bulldogs. The return of Cole Bardreau may be just what they need to
definitively move into the top tier of ECAC teams.
7. Colgate (4-3-1, 7-3-1)
Between the Spink twins, Kyle Baun, Darcy
Murphy, and Mike Borkowski, the Raiders might have the most impressive class of
sophomore forwards in the country. The quintet are the top five point-getters
for Colgate, and even if they don’t push towards the top of the conference this
year, they’re already meeting expectations.
8. St. Lawrence (2-2-2, 7-5-2)
Greg Carey leads a deep and talented
offensive squad. The senior is currently second in scoring to Boston College’s
Johnny Gaudreau and making another run at the Hobey Baker. The question is
whether the Saints can stop anyone. Their 3.6 goals against per game is good
for 51st out of 59 D-1 teams.
9. Harvard (2-4-1, 4-5-1)
A single powerplay goal in each of
the last six games is a great sign. So is the triumphant return of pro prospect
Patrick McNally. The team is improving on the fly, and thank goodness, because
Raphael Girard isn’t going to keep up his .947 save percentage. Nor will the
team continue to kill penalties at a clip of 90%.
10. Brown (1-4-1, 3-5-1)
As predicted, the Bears are struggling to
score. After the top line of Lappin-Lorito-Naclerio, there just is not a lot of
talent there. To make matters worse, inconsistent goaltending has Brown
allowing almost three goals a game in conference play. Someone fetch Anthony
Borelli back from Italy.
11. Princeton (1-4-1, 3-5-1)
A shock win over Quinnipiac has been the lone
bright spot so far. Princeon is in the bottom two in the ECAC and bottom ten in
the country in goals scored and in goals allowed. The loss of Andrew Calof
might make this campaign unbearable for Tigers fans.
12. Dartmouth (0-6-0, 0-8-0)
The Big Green are allowing 4.8 goals allowed
per game and over 5 in conference games. They are killing penalties at a rate
of 68.6%. James Kruger has a save percentage of .850 from one start—and that’s
the best of Dartmouth’s three goaltenders. What in the world is going on in
Hanover?
