Harvard Men's Hockey vs. St. Lawrence Recap

By: Savanna Arral

In a must-win game at St. Lawrence Friday night, Harvard men’s hockey came up short, disappointing the few fans that made the trek up to Canton, NY to watch them play. Essentially repeating their previous game this season against the Saints, the Crimson fell 5-1 at Appleton Arena and dropped to fifth in the ECAC rankings, tied with the Colgate Raiders.

The sole goal came from co-captain Kyle Criscuolo, who tipped in a slapshot from Tyler Moy on the powerplay. The scoring play began with New Jersey Devils prospect Alexander Kerfoot feeding Moy on the blue line after holding onto the puck in the circle to St. Lawrence goaltender Kyle Hayton’s left. In a game short on flashes of brilliance from Harvard, the Criscuolo goal was a reminder of what the Crimson can do when they play to their strengths.

Goaltender Steve Michalek saved 22 shots, but was pulled in the third period for backup Peter Traber. Traber, in his first game of the season, stopped 4 shots, including one sprawling save on one of the many Harvard defensive breakdowns of the night.

The rest of the game was all Saints hockey, as they controlled the play through all three zones and continuously prevented Harvard from carrying the puck for any stretch of time. St. Lawrence goals were scored by Gunnar Hughes, Tommy Thompson, Joe Sullivan, and Mike Marnell. Hughes and Thompson each had 3-point nights, Patrick Doherty, Marnell, and Brian Ward each had 2 a piece.

Harvard is now tied for 19th in the pairwise rankings with none other than the Saints themselves, and looks to be swiftly losing hold on an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

The Crimson play at Clarkson Saturday at 7PM on WHRB.org, looking to split the weekend and keep themselves in contention for a top-4 ECAC slot and a very necessary week one bye.

ECAC Playoff Update

After two games in the first round, only one series is over. Ninth-seeded Dartmouth overcame their home loss to St. Lawrence last weekend to go on the road and sweep the Saints 2-0. Everything else heads to a rubber match tomorrow night. The most dramatic game so far just ended, as Clarkson defeated RPI 4-3 in triple OT to force the decisive game three.


Here are the quarterfinal scenarios depending on who wins tomorrow. My albeit rusty math skills tell me that the number of possible outcomes equals 2^3 or 8, but let me know if I missed one. Harvard's are in bold. The Crimson cannot play fifth seeded Quinnipiac (who will play Colgate if they win), eleventh seeded Princeton (who will play either Union or Cornell if they win, depending on the Brown series) or twelfth seeded Brown (who will play Union if they win)

Harvard Hockey Playoff Scenarios

I do apologize for a) the lack of hockey content in general on this blog and b) the lack of content in the following post but unfortunately real life work is intervening with my blog writing schedule. In years past, I've looked at all the playoff scenarios for the ECAC but this year I'll have to leave that to others to handle. (Though the standings to the right are updated and factor in the tiebreakers correctly.) Here's a quick look though at the playoff scenarios for Harvard.

With tonight's 4-1 win over St. Lawrence, the Crimson have clinched home ice for the playoffs and are currently in 3rd place in the conference. They can only go as high as 3rd place and they can slip as low as 6th place. Here are the scenarios. I've underlined the ones that lead to byes.

If Harvard wins...
The Crimson finish in 3rd place regardless of the result of the Colgate-Union game.

If Harvard ties...
And Colgate wins, the Crimson finish in 4th place regardless of any other results.
And Colgate loses or ties, the Crimson finish in 3rd place regardless of any other results.

If Harvard loses...
And Colgate picks up at least a point, the Crimson finish in 6th place unless the Yale-Quinnipiac game ends in a tie.
And Colgate picks up at least a point, the Crimson finish in 5th place if Yale-Quinnipiac tie. 
And Colgate loses, the Crimson finish in 5th place if Quinnipiac wins.
And Colgate loses, the Crimson finish in 4th place if Quinnipiac does not win.



To summarize: If Harvard wins or ties, they get a bye. If they lose, they need help to get a bye. Otherwise they risk falling as far as 6th place. The games to scoreboard watch are Union at Colgate and Yale at Quinnipiac. Harvard fans should cheer for Union and Yale. Any point for Harvard makes the chase for a bye academic. A win by Harvard makes standings watching moot, as Harvard would be in 3rd. 


PS - Without a doubt, I could not do this easily without the handy ECAC Playoff Possibilities Script created by The Big Red What? It even calculates tiebreaker scenarios, making my life very easy.

Harvard Hockey Heads to Fenway

Harvard's Alex Fallstrom and Union's Kelly Zajac at the faceoff dot during the two teams' 3-3 tie at Messa Rink last Friday. Photo courtesy Noel Roche.

 

Hockey returns where it began for the Harvard Crimson and the Union College Dutchmen as the teams get set to meet outdoors at historic Fenway Park as part of the 2012 Sun Life Frozen Fenway Series. Harvard's program played outdoors from its founding in 1898 through 1910, while Union played outdoors from 1904 until 1949. Harvard rallied twice last week at Messa Rink against Union, first from a 1-0 deficit, followed by erasing a 3-1 deficit in the 3rd period.

Gametime Forecast: There's a chance of precipitation all day (depending on the weather site, between 15 and 40% at various times) but that should hopefully be over with by noon. Last night's rain and any today could be detrimental to the ice surface. Players will also have to deal with the wind - it will be blowing in from the SW at around 25 mph and gusts could get near the 50 mph mark. One forecast has it as 36 degrees F at puck drop (wind chill making it feel like 24 degrees) while another has the low being around 27 degrees. (Information based on a composite from weather.com and NOAA.gov.)

Comeback Kids: Including last weekend, Harvard has trailed in ten contests entering the third period, but has come back to rally in six of those games for either a win or a tie. 

Sweet Home Massachusetts: Harvard returns to the Boston area for the first time since before Thanksgiving, a 7-6 win over New Hampshire that saw the Crimson erase a 4-0 deficit. Harvard has played 7 games on the road in that span, visiting UMass, Princeton, North Dakota, Union, and RPI. In those seven games, the Crimson went 1-1-5, with the lone win coming against Princeton and the lone loss coming in the second game against North Dakota. The Crimson are 2-2-2 in the Bay State and 2-2-1 at home.

Power Surge: Tonight's game will see a showdown of two of the best power plays in the nation. Harvard has the nation's top power play at 34.9% while Union is 5th in the nation at 26.9%. In ECAC play, Harvard is converting on 36.2% of its PPs while Union is converting on 24.4%. Last weekend's game featured four PPGs in a row, two for each team.

Can't Make It?: Here are the particulars for tonight's broadcast.
Game Time: 7pm
Pregame Coverage: 6:45pm
Listen Live: 95.3 WHRB-FM and whrb.org
Broadcasters: Brendan Roche and Anton Khodakov (potentially to be joined in progress by Raafi Alidina)

Rain Plan: If, due to weather, the game is cancelled for tonight, we will try to bring you women's hockey vs. Union College. In the event that the game is cancelled too late for us to change our plans, WHRB will have its regularly scheduled classical music program. 

First Semester Grades for Harvard Hockey

With the second semester of hockey almost here, now's a good time to review how things went in the first half of the season. Harvard is 4-3-3 overall and stands 3-3-2 in the ECAC, good for a tie for 4th place with four other teams.

Team Offense: Harvard is a top-10 team in offense so far this season, averaging 3.50 goals per game. That's good for first in the ECAC (Union averages 3.35 GPG for second) and 2nd in Boston (behind BC's 3.53 GPG). Harvard's played less games than everyone, but it's still good company to be in. Digging deeper, of Harvard's 35 goals, 17 have come on the power play. While the Crimson have done a good job drawing penalties at even strength (5.3 power plays per game) the scoring has not come at evens. In conference, these numbers look slightly less impressive. Harvard averages 3 goals per game in ECAC play, 5th in the league. Of their 24 goals, 14 have come on the power play. Harvard draws 5.375 power plays per game, but only 10 even strength goals in 8 games played is a little worrying. Grade: B+

Team Defense: Defensively, Harvard is a bottom-10 team, certainly not what anyone predicted for them this season. They've given up 34 goals this season, or 3.4 goals against per game, 51st in the nation and last in the ECAC. Opposing teams have scored 11 goals on the penalty kill, meaning Harvard has given up 23 goals per game at even strength. Harvard is thus at a -.50 goal differential per game at even strength, giving up 5 more goals than they've scored at evens. The in conference numbers are (slightly) less troubling. Harvard has given up 24 goals in 8 league games, good for the 8th best scoring defense in the league - tied with cellar dwelling RPI but ahead of Dartmouth, Brown, and Princeton. Of those 24 goals, 10 have come down a man, meaning Harvard has given up 14 goals at evens in the ECAC. They are again being outscored by half a goal per game at even strength looking at only conference play. That number needs to become a positive and quickly if Harvard wants to remain in the hunt for a bye. Grade: B-

Special Teams: The power play is the best in the nation (17/53, 32.1%) ahead of Yale at 28%, though Yale has a slightly better conference power play at 33.3% to Harvard's 32.6%. Yale, though, only has 8 power play goals and only 24 attempts, compared to Harvard's 14 PPGs on 43 attempts. As highlighted in the offense section, Harvard's power play accounts for over half their goals in league play (and just about half overall). Harvard might have more difficulty in the second half- some teams began adjusting to Harvard's main play after giving up a few goals within a game to start keeping Harvard off the board. Now having seen the PP once and having video of it, teams might start taking away Harvard's looks. On the opposite side of the coin, Harvard fans can only hope that the long break meant the penalty kill got a new look. It's worst in the nation (24 for 35, 68.6%) and worst in the conference (21 for 31, 67.7%). On the bright side, despite giving up 14.5 PIM per game, Harvard only gives up 3.5 power plays per game. If Harvard can cut down on the majors and misconducts inflating the first number, they have a better shot at minimizing the dangers of their penalty kill. Grade: A- for the PP, gentleman's C- for the PK

Some Quick Thoughts:
Harvard's road does not get much easier any time soon. Two games await with Union and Yale, they still have road games at Cornell and Colgate ahead, as well as a road game at Quinnipiac, where Harvard has had little success historically. Non-conference, they still have (a slightly weaker now) BU and the Beanpot (BU and then BC/NU) after this North Dakota swing.
Part of Harvard's success on the power play has been that Patrick McNally has been a big time player on the blue line from the start of the season. Playing well above expectations for a freshman, McNally gives the Crimson two offensive threats on the point, forcing opposing boxes to spread wider, giving more room to players like Killorn to be a threat down low.
Another part of Harvard's success on the power play is that the second unit looks completely different from Harvard's first unit. The 2nd PP line likes to dump and chase, hit the defenders to cause turnovers, and then work the puck down low. Two of Harvard's PP goals have come from Eric Kroshus doing exactly that, than skating out of the corner to score.
In ECAC play, it's a giant jumble in the middle. Cornell and Colgate pace the league, and RPI is definitively bringing up the rear, but 3rd and 11th are separated by just 3 points. There's still a lot of games left in the league, so expect a lot more volatility in the standings.

Men's Hockey: Checking In on A Storied Rivalry

Danny Biega scored the game winning goal on the power play last season to defeat Cornell at Lynah Rink 4-3. Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletic Dept. Communications.

The Crimson overcame some adversity in the form of a disallowed goal and two one-goal deficits to earn a 2-2 tie against the Bobcats last Saturday. Now they are looking for the first win of the young season and for Harvard fans, it could not come at a better time than over arch-rival Cornell. Cornell, meanwhile, is hoping to avoid a small losing streak after dropping a 5-4 decision to Brown. Other than that, it'll be the same Harvard-Cornell as always in terms of atmosphere.
Key Storylines: For Harvard, it is all about the power play tonight. The Crimson are on a small streak of having scored at least one PPG in their last 6 games, including 13 PPGs in the last 8 ECAC contests, including the 3 scored in Ithaca last season to propel Harvard to the win. No surprises that Harvard's win streak last year came when the PP started clicking. Cornell is 9 of 13 on the PK.
For Cornell, the key is if they will find their defense or not tonight. While they limited Yale to only two goals, they are, on average, giving up 4 goals a game, thanks to giving up 5 goals each to Mercyhurst and Brown. Probably small comfort for the Crimson though as Cornell's also averaging 4.67 goals per game. Not exactly the definition of Cornell hockey but only results matter.

The particulars: You can tune into the game on 95.3 FM WHRB as well as WHRB.org. There's also video with WHRB's audio at GoCrimson.com. The usuals have the call. Game time is at 7pm and pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m.

Men's Hockey: More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

Despite two goals from Alex Killorn, the Crimson fell 4-3 last night to Princeton. Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletic Dept. of Communications. 

It was a tough game to swallow last night for the Harvard Crimson as they dropped their home opener to the Princeton Tigers by a score of 4-3 to fall to 0-1 on the young season. He's only one game into the season but Alex Killorn leads the nation in goals per game at 2 GPG. Now the Crimson take on the No. 19 Quinnipiac Bobcats (7-3, 1-1) who fell 5-4 to the Dartmouth Big Green last night.
Key Storyline: For Harvard, it has to be the penalty kill. Giving up 3 power play goals is bad but doing so in only four opportunities is far worse. The Crimson need to do a much better job blocking the slot and clearing out rebounds, particularly when down a man. Also, don't look now, but Quinnipiac went 2 for 2 with the man advantage last night and are 12 for 58 on the season.
For Quinnipiac, one storyline to watch is whether freshman Matthew Peca can continue his school-record point streak. He's tallied a point in nine-straight games, the most ever by a Bobcat freshman. Bryan "Not that One" Leitch previously had the record at 8 games back in 2006-07.

The particulars: Brendan Roche and Raafi Alidina will have the call from a top the Bright Hockey Center at 6:45pm on 95.3 FM WHRB, WHRB.org and GoCrimson.com. Drop of the puck is at 7pm.

Last Night's Scoreboard:
Harvard (0-1, 0-1) 3 vs. Princeton (1-2-1, 1-1) 4
Dartmouth (2-1, 1-0) 5 vs. Quinnipiac (7-3, 1-1) 4
Brown (1-2, 0-1) 3 vs. Colgate (5-2-1, 1-0) 5
Yale (1-1-1, 0-1) 2 vs. Cornell (1-1, 1-0) 6
Clarkson (6-1-2, 1-0) 4 vs. RPI (1-7, 0-1) 1
St. Lawrence (0-5, 0-1) 0 vs. Union (4-1-3, 1-0) 2

Men's Hockey: Let's Get It Started

Photo courtesy Harvard Dept. of Athletic Communications

 

 

57 other NCAA hockey programs have already started but finally, number 58 joins them as the Crimson open their season against Ivy rival Princeton.
Last Time Out: Officially for the Crimson, it was back in 2010-11 when they fell 4-3 to Dartmouth in the ECAC Quarterfinals Game 3 but unofficially, it was a 7-4 win over Western Ontario with goals from Marshall Everson, Alex Killorn (2), Luke Greiner (2) and Conor Morrison (2). For Princeton, they moved to 0-2-1 and 0-1 in the league after being beaten by Quinnipiac 5-2 in their home opener. MacDonald and Meland had the goals for the Tigers.
Storyline: New faces in important places - For the Crimson, the early storyline is going to be the inexperience in net. Girard looked good in his half versus the Mustangs while freshman Michalek had some first game jitters. For Princeton, the new face is behind the bench as Bob Prier looks his first win as the Tigers' bench boss.

The Particulars: Listen live at 7pm on 95.3 FM WHRB, WHRB.org and at GoCrimson.com. Pregame coverage begins at 6:45pm. Brendan Roche and Raafi Alidina return for their second season together in the booth.

ECAC Hockey: Dialing It Down To 11? An Editorial

With today's announcement that Notre Dame now considers itself an East Coast team in every sport but football and has thus joined Hockey East, there are now vultures circling over the ECAC. Eleven teams is difficult (though not impossible) to schedule so it's possible that once again, a former ECAC team will be joining the original "superconference." The candidates for Hockey East, at least from an ECAC-centric view, are RPI and Quinnipiac. (Okay, there are some people mentioning Cornell based on traditional strength and Harvard based on geography. It's not going to happen though, so let's all just move on from the Ivies for a second.) There are some Atlantic Hockey teams that Hockey East may go after (well, UConn) that would make sense and just to not be cruel, Alabama-Huntsville is probably getting dolled up and pointing out they are about as east as Notre Dame. For more on almost all of these possibilities and why they will or won't happen, read this post by Without a Peer, an RPI site.
While that's all well and good for Hockey East, the biggest concern on this blog is the future of the ECAC's team. If RPI or Quinnipiac leave, it's now the ECAC that has to find a 12th team, again. So let's go through the candidates.
Rochester Institute of Technology (Atlantic Hockey) - InsideHockey.com's Jason Klump told us RIT is the "blatantly obvious" choice for the potential 12th spot in the conference. They certainly fit the profile, especially if RPI is the team that jumps. Strong academics, Division III team in Liberty League, like most of the ECAC, doesn't offer athletic scholarships, etc. Here's the one problem - they are in Rochester. I don't mean to say this to denigrate the fine city of Rochester itself but to point out that Rochester's location doesn't quite fit the ECAC blueprint. RIT's closest team would be Cornell, a good 2 hour drive away. RIT would thus likely become Cornell's travel partner, while Colgate, about an hour and a half from Ithaca and the Big Red's geographic rival, would probably get paired with Union, over two hours away. If it's Quinnipiac that leaves (and judging by the value they've been placing in athletics, as evidenced by their big and shiny new sports complex, you have to imagine President Lahey is outside Joe Bertagna's office with a boombox blaring power ballads), then the same thing probably happens, with RPI becoming Harvard's travel partner, Brown and Dartmouth pairing together, and Yale and Princeton becoming an item. While Rochester wouldn't be the furthest trip in the league, with that distinction belonging to the Princeton-North Country swing, it is still a long trip (7 hours from Cambridge, though blissfully as a broadcaster, almost all highway driving.)
Army (Atlantic Hockey) In some ways I think Army makes the most sense of any team to add for the ECAC. A Division-I school, does not offer scholarships, Patriot League ties with Colgate, strong academics, great location that it could easily become either Union or Princeton's travel partner depending on who leaves and that is also close to New Haven. Plus they were an ECAC team two decades ago. The problem is that Army is not going to leave fellow military academy Air Force behind, and those West Point to Colorado Springs Friday-Saturday trips don't seem too appealing. It's just not going to happen.
Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) I admit, this is probably the most appealing option to me in terms of adding teams. Again, a Division I institution that does not offer scholarships, it has Patriot League ties with Colgate and a Bay State rivalry with Harvard in other sports (they are the tradition season opener in football and typically on the basketball schedule as well.) There's no denying that the Ivy League and Patriot League get along together so it would be a great fit in that regard. Worcester could also be an easy pairing with either Union if RPI leaves, or with some reshuffling, Harvard if Quinnipiac leaves. On the other hand, there's a reason Holy Cross did not get brought on board when Vermont left in 2004 and that isn't changing.
Connecticut (Atlantic Hockey) First, let me make the pitch for Hockey East to leave the ECAC alone and go after UConn. The Huskies are traditional rivals with Notre Dame in Big East basketball. They were once rivals with Boston College and want to head to the ACC in other sports to be reunited with Boston College. They are a large state school and fit the profile of many of the Hockey East teams. Plus they are already playing women's hockey in your conference. Alright, that being done with, here are the problems for UConn and Hockey East, though not necessarily problems for UConn and the ECAC. Not a great rink, can't offer men's scholarships thanks to Title IX (so come to a conference where over half the league doesn't offer scholarships, is my thinking). That said, UConn doesn't really "feel" like an ECAC school but frankly, their big name, even if not in hockey, should be a plus for the ECAC, feelings aside. Also, if Quinnipiac leaves, this is sort of a slam dunk in terms of geography.
Other Atlantic Hockey Schools/Alabama-Hunstville Geographically, probably not close enough. Sorry.
Penn/Columbia/MIT/Other Schools Without Hockey Teams Unless Terry Pagula accidentally leaves out the "State" when sending his giant check to the "Penn State Hockey Team," Penn's not getting a hockey team in time to be the 12th team. Same with anyone else that would fit the academic and/or geographic profile.
Callup from Division III If the ECAC is trying to get Tufts or UMass-Boston or any other school to make the jump (not to pick on those schools, they were just first to come to mind), the ECAC is probably in trouble.

Alright, looking at all that, geography aside I think RIT is probably the best choice for the league, but I like Holy Cross or UConn more personally. That said, I think there's another solution that everyone is missing and after thinking it through, it is the solution I'm most in favor of. What is it and why have I grown to like it? Find out after the jump.

My ECAC Media Ballot

Edit - As Without a Peer just pointed out to me, Joel Malchuk of RPI graduated, but has an extra year of eligibility and thus will still be on the roster for this year. 
When the deadline for ECAC selections was coming up in early September, I was truly in the depths of confusion. It's hard enough to pick this league, but with wholesale changes going on, it seemed like the league would be even closer than last year. In the end, I came up with a quick system of how I was going to evaluate teams.
1. Amount of points returning last year - According to College Hockey, Inc., 18 of the 21 scorers in the NCAA last year were upperclassmen. While I didn't know that when I made this my first criterion, it reinforces the point- experience helps. Therefore, I looked at what teams had the most points returning from last season.
2. Who is back on the blue line - If there's anything an admirer of Ken Daneyko's style of play can tell you, it's that what good defensemen do doesn't always show up in the points statistics. Here I just looked at who was returning.
3. Goaltenders - A lot of the league is going to have new goaltenders, which are big question marks. The rest of the league has returning goaltenders. Some are good, some not so much. This is a pretty important part of the equation.
4. Status Trends Toward Quo - Meaning I try not to move teams too much from where they finished last year, unless they really deserve it. I probably broke this rule a lot more this year than last year though.
5. Gut Feeling - It's not all just numbers here. Sometimes when teams are close, you just have to go with your gut and always remember the mantra "You're probably going to be very wrong anyway, so why worry?"
What's Not Evaluated:
1. Incoming Freshmen - It's not that freshmen can't or don't have an impact. It's just that they are complete wildcards. Further, I don't know all the freshmen coming into the league equally, creating a huge artifact. So I just tend to ignore what freshmen are coming in.
A Note on My All-Conference Team: I tend to select players that did well statisically or stood out in my mind from the previous season. I also try to limit how many players from each team I pick. I also tweeted a 2nd team all-conference after my ballot went in. That's not something the media submits but I decided I would do it anyway.

With that, here was my media ballot for the 2011-12 ECAC Season. Full explanation is below the jump.
1. Union 2. Yale 3. Dartmouth 4. Cornell 5. Quinnipiac 6. Harvard 7. Princeton 8. Brown 9. RPI 10. St. Lawrence 11. Colgate 12. Clarkson
Preseason All-Conference Team: G: James Mello (Dartmouth); D: Danny Biega (Harvard) and Nick Bailen (RPI); F: Kelly Zajac (Union), Brian O'Neill (Yale) and Andrew Calof (Princeton)
Preseason All-Conference 2nd Team: G: Eric Hartzell (Quinnipiac); D: Connor Goggin (Dartmouth) and Braden Birch (Cornell); F: Andrew Miller (Yale), Greg Carey (St. Lawrence) and Jack Maclellan (Brown).

ECAC Teleconference Day: Audio of Ted Donato

The ECAC Hockey season draws nearer and today the coaches and media gathered by phone for the annual teleconference. Also released today were the coaches' poll and the media poll. In the former, the Crimson were picked to finish in 7th place while the media voted for Harvard to be dead last. Yale took top billing in both of those polls. Danny Biega was named as a defenseman for both the coaches' and the media's preseason all-conference team. WHRB will present our media ballot selections sometime next week as part of our annual ECAC Hockey season preview.

We also have the audio of head coach Ted Donato's 10 minutes with the media. Hear what he had to say about the media's picks, some of the impact freshmen to watch, the goaltending situation, and his thoughts on last season.





League Release:
Coaches' Preseason All Conference Team
Coaches' Poll

Media Preseason All-Conferene Team and Media Poll

Guest Post: A Look at Men Hockey's Newest Assistant

Editor's note- After Harvard announced that Albie O'Connell, an assistant coach at Northeastern for three years, had been named the new assistant coach for the Crimson, we contacted WRBB, Northeastern student radio, for a little inside scoop about Harvard's newest hire. The following was written by Ben Horner, men's hockey broadcaster and the sports director over at WRBB.

It's hard to quantify what Albie O'Connell brings to a college hockey program.  While you might be hard-pressed to find someone who would sing the praises of his coaching ability from a purely "X's and O's" standpoint, you certainly won't have to search hard to find a player to "pump his tires", to quote a certain NHL. goaltender. 

O'Connell's biggest strength is his ability to connect with players on their level, speaking to them instead of at them, etc..  In short, O'Connell is at his best when he is recruiting players, selling the virtues of a program and university as a whole.  During his time with the Huskies, it was not uncommon to hear stories of Albie being the one to do the majority of the recruiting, with players only meeting former head coach Greg Cronin at the very end of the process.  One need look no further than the quick, impulse reactions of some of Northeastern's recruiting class following his departure to understand what a valuable asset Albie O'Connell is to a program.

-Ben Horner. WRBB

The 2011 NHL Entry Draft Part III: The Future Crimson

Four incoming Harvard freshmen were picked in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the best in the league. Total, that makes 5 incoming freshmen with their NHL draft rights accounted for, as Patrick McNally was taken in the 2010 Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. This does not represent all of Harvard's incoming class as that has yet to be officially announced. While we'll have something on McNally and the other incoming freshmen once there is an announcement, for now we'll focus on the four Crimson players selected today.

The first Crimson player drafted today was goaltender Stephen Michalek, taken 161st overall by the draft hosting Minnesota Wild. The fourth round selection out of Loomis-Chaffee was ranked fifth among North American goaltenders. Describing his prep school season, NEHJ writer Kirk Luedeke wrote that Michalek "redefined standing on his head" for the Pelicans. That's because Michalek faced somewhere in the ballpark of 1000+ shots and yet put up almost a .920 SV% despite his team's 3-20-2 record (Hartford Courant). His coach described to the NEHJ one 3-2 OT loss where the young netminder faced 50 shots, with 30 being scoring opportunities. In other words, Michalek was, if I may embrace my inner-Stan Fischler, the prep school Al Rollins, the Chicago Blackhawks goaltender who won the Hart Trophy in 1954 despite a 12-47 record. Michalek initially made a name for himself on the US U-18 team at the Ivan Hlinka tournament last summer, leading the US to the silver medal after a 1-0 loss to Canada in the championship game. The lone goal to beat the incoming goaltender was, incidentally, by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the number one overall pick in the 2011 draft. Michalek trained with Jonathan Quick of the LA Kings in his youth and cited the Beanpot as an influence on his decision to come to Harvard. He becomes the first Harvard draft pick of Harvard alum and Wild GM Chuck Fletcher '90 since junior Alex Fallstrom in 2009, though Fallstrom's rights were later traded to the Boston Bruins in 2010.

Next to go for the Harvard Crimson was Petr Placek, perhaps the steal of the draft if he can remain healthy. Reaching as high as being the 54th ranked North American skater, Placek fell out of the rankings entirely due to a knee injury that kept him out of high school hockey action most of the year. Thus, after being projected as a mid round pick, he fell to the Philadelphia Flyers who selected him 176th overall. The big Czech RW came to the US to play for Hotchkiss Prep and his size will both help the Crimson and make him a perfect fit for the Broad Street Bullies. He is 6'4" and 210 lbs. and will likely add to that frame during his time in Cambridge. Reading about him reminds me of a young Bobby Holik. His best season was 2009-10 when he scored 32 points in 24 games. For another take on Placek, including a comparison to Jason Arnott, see Dan Sallows.

A guy who will be looked upon to add a scoring touch to the lineup in Cambridge will be the next pick out of Harvard, incoming freshman Colin Blackwell, who was selected by the San Jose Sharks 194th overall. Blackwell set a record for St. John's Prep, amassing 66 points in only 25 games en route to being named Massachusetts high school player of the year by Massachusetts HS Coaches as well as ESPN Boston. While some believed Blackwell would spend a year, either in the EJHL with the Jr. Bruins or in the USHL, he is enrolled as a freshman at Harvard and is listed in the Harvard student directory. A two-sport athlete (he also plays lacrosse), Blackwell rejected Boston College as well as several Ivy and ECAC programs because he felt Harvard was "the perfect fit" (Salem News). Listed at 5'9" and 170 lbs., Blackwell will not be one of the bigger guys but could play well with similarly built Conor Morrison. The NEHJ listed him as a draft sleeper and as a "dynamic little scoring forward" (NEHJ). Both Harvard and San Jose fans would not mind seeing him develop into a Brian Gionta or Martin St. Louis type player while in college.

The final pick from the Crimson comes with a familiar name, as defenseman Max Everson out of Edina, MN was drafted by Brian Burke, Harvard Law School '81, and the Toronto Maple Leafs with the 203rd overall pick. Everson is projected to be a two way defenseman at the college level. He is 6'1" and can put more on his frame as he is listed as only 185 lbs. One scout, Max Giese of the USHL, said Everson's pros are his transition game, hard shot, and ability to quarterback a PP but that negatives are a flawed skating motion, a lack of improvement in skating speed over the past two years, and a lack of creativity- Everson often takes what is there instead of creating an opportunity from nothing (Bruins 2011 Draft Watch). While creativity is hard to teach, the Crimson will need to focus on Everson's skating both for their own improvement as a team but also to help Everson transition to the professional ranks. His coach, former NHL defenseman Curt Giles, adds Everson has the ability to get to around 200 lbs. and add a couple of inches as well. Giles cited Everson's improvement in lateral movement as well as his already hard shot as strengths Everson will bring to the NCAA and perhaps pro ranks (Minnesota Sun). Everson rejected an offer from the University of Minnesota to join his older brother Marshall Everson, a rising junior.

Thanks to Harvard Athletics for providing some of the links and info used in this post.

Check out out other draft post: Part 1, a look at the draft class of Harvard's non-conference opponents, and Part 2, a look at the draft class for the ECAC.

The 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Part II: The ECAC

As a conference, the ECAC had a very nice draft day, with 14 current or future players being picked by NHL teams. Teams that saw someone with their name called were Harvard, Cornell, Yale, Brown, RPI and Quinnipiac. We'll get to the Crimson in part 3 of our series but for now, let's just focus on the rest of the league. In part 1 of our series, we looked at the selections of the Crimson's non-conference opponents.

Brown - The Brown Bears had the quietest draft day of the teams above, with only one player getting selected. That was 6 foot, 195 lbs. rising sophomore Dennis Robertson, selected 173rd overall by Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Robertson was 4th on the Bears in points last season with 17.

Cornell - The Cornell Big Red had one of the best draft days in the league, garnering the first three picks to come out of the league. The Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, led by a Harvard front office, dipped into the familiar territory of an ECAC pick by selecting Big Red incoming freshman Brian Ferlin with the 121st pick of the draft. Ferlin, a Floridian, spent two years with the Indiana Ice of the USHL. The big 6'2", 201 lbs. RW put up 16 points in his rookie season in juniors, but followed that up with an impressive 25 goals, 48 assists for 73 points, including 23 points on the PP (11 PPG, 12 PPA). With that type of build and scoring touch, Ferlin strikes me as potentially being a Colin Greening type forward for the Big Red. Cornell also had the next two picks from the ECAC, with the first being Joel Lowry, selected 140th by Los Angeles. Listed at 6'1", 180 lbs., the LW will likely look to fill out his frame in the weight room. Lowry put up impressive numbers in his two seasons with the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL, including 24 goals and 43 assists in the past season. His brother Adam, who went the WHL route, was drafted 3rd overall and his father is Dave Lowry, assistant coach of the Calgary Flames and former NHLer. The next and final pick for Cornell was at 145th overall, as incoming Big Red forward Phillipe Hudon got drafted by the Red Wings. The Choate Prep product said in 2010 that he bases his game off of Milan Lucic (The Hockey News), meaning the power forward should have no problem fitting into Cornell's system. Hudon can play either center or wing- he has a center's mentality but his talents fit in better on the wing.

Yale - The Yale Bulldogs saw two commits get drafted into the NHL in the later rounds, though neither player is expected on campus until 2012. The first future Bulldog to go was Rob O'Gara, who was taken 151st overall by the Boston Bruins. The local blueliner, who won the New England prep championship this year with Milton Academy, already has size at 6'3" and has good skills moving the puck, though he's seen as a project for the NHL (NESN). The thought that he has another year to grow physically as well should certainly frighten the other 11 teams in the ECAC. The second commit to go was Colin Sullivan, another future Bulldog defenseman, as Sullivan was drafted 198th overall by Montreal. A local Connecticut product, Sullivan is described as a great skater (Bruins 2011 Draft Watch) despite his 6'0", 200 lbs. frame, certainly fitting the Eli blueprint.

Quinnipiac - Keeping up with their Connecticut rivals, the Bobcats also had two future players drafted in the later rounds of the Entry Draft. Incoming freshman Matthew Peca was the 2nd of their two picks, going 201st overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Pembroke River Kings center won the 2009-10 CJHL Rookie of the Year title in 2009-10 after scoring 47 points in 60 games. Despite playing 10 less games in 2010-11, Peca put up 72 points, scoring 26 times and adding 46 assists. Peca is diminutive at 5'9" and only 165 lbs. yet is a solid playmaker, hard worker and two way talent with speed that is problematic for defensemen (Ottawa Sun). He is also apparently not related to Michael Peca. Quinnipiac will add another NHL pick to the roster in 2012, when Josh Manson, 160th overall and an Anaheim Ducks selection, is expected to enroll. The 6'3", 205 lbs. forward-turned-defenseman played in the BCHL for Salmon Arm. After 24 points as a forward in his first year with Salmon Arm, Manson converted to the blue line and increased that total, scoring 12 goals and adding 35 assists. His father is former NHLer Dave Manson.

RPI - The 'Tute was also a well represented team at the NHL Entry Draft, with two Engineers getting drafted in the later rounds. The first was rising sophomore defenseman Patrick Koudys, who went 147th overall to the Washington Capitals. Not far after his was RPI's second selection was goaltender Jason Kasdorf, selected 157th overall by the newly reformed Winnipeg Jets, his hometown team. Originally a 2012 prospect, Kasdorf is expected to attend RPI in the fall to share the goaltending duties with Bryce Merriam after the early departure of Allen York to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kasdorf, who once played for the Winnipeg Thrashers midget AAA program, had hoped that the formerly Atlanta Thrashers and now hometown Winnipeg Jets would select him and they did. He led the Portage Terriers to the Anavet Cup. Here's a link to audio from Portage coach Blake Spiller (Portage Online).

Men's Hockey: ECAC Playoffs Update 7; Women's Hockey: NCAA Playoffs Update 2

Men's Hockey
Atlantic City, NJ- The ECAC semifinals marked their first season at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and two shutout wins propelled two Ivy League squads to the ECAC finals. In the early game, Yale quashed Colgate's Cinderella run with a 4-0 win. After a scoreless first, Chris Cahill got on the board for the Bulldogs five minutes into the second period. In the third, Kenny Agostino, Andrew Miller and Antoine Laganiere added goals for the Elis with the last goal coming into an empty net. Ryan Rondeau made 22 saves for the shutout while Colgate faced 40 shots on net. In the late game, the Cornell Big Red scored two goals in a 24 second span late in the first period to coast to a victory over the Dartmouth Big Green. Sean Whitney and Armand de Swardt netted the goals in the first while Locke Jillson added an empty-netter in the third for the 3-0 shutout win. Mike Garman made 36 saves for the shutout while Cornell only mustered 18 shots despite the win.

Three Stars of the Night
1. Mike Garman, Cornell- 36 saves, shutout
2. Chris Cahill, Yale- 1 G (GWG), 1 A
3. Ryan Rondeau, Yale- 22 saves, shutout

Last Games of the Tournament Set
Consolation Game: 12. Colgate vs. 3. Dartmouth, 4:30 pm (Atlantic City, NJ)
Championship Game: 4. Cornell vs. 2. Yale, 7:30 pm (Atlantic City, NJ)

Women's Hockey
Erie, PA- The Cornell Big Red had their season ended last night by a team that was a traditional rival on the men's side of the game, as they fell 4-1 to the Boston University Terriers. Cornell got the first goal of the game from Karlee Overguard, but it was all BU after that as they scored four unanswered to take the win. Jillian Kircher scored the game winner in the second period for the Terriers. Amanda Mazzota gave up 3 goals on 30 shots faced and BU added an empty netter as well. The Big Red could only muster 15 shots on net. In the other game, Wisconsin defeated Beanpot champion Boston College 3-2 to advance to the championship game. Brianna Decker scored with 48 seconds left for the Badgers to get the win. Shots were 46-25 in favor of Wisconsin. The Badgers and Terriers will Sunday at 2pm for the Championship.

Women's Hockey: NCAA Playoff Update 1

A recap of the women's NCAA tournament with a focus on the ECAC game last Saturday
Ithaca, NY- The only NCAA championship game involving the ECAC was an all-league affair as the Cornell Big Red and Dartmouth Big Green saw a rematch just a week after the two teams had a 3-2 game in Cornell's favor for the ECAC Championship. This time, the game would not be so close as Cornell demolished Dartmouth 7-1 to advance to the Frozen Four. The Big Red didn't get onto the board until the 14:15 mark of the first with a shorthanded goal from Brianne Jenner. Camille Dumais answered on that power play for Dartmouth but Kendice Ogilvie put Cornell ahead for good, as they added two goals in the second and three (including two on the power play) in the third.

In the other games, Wisconsin defeated Minnesota-Duluth 2-1; Boston College defeated Minnesota 4-1; and Boston University defeated Mercyhurst 4-2.

Three Stars of the Night (ECAC Only)
1. Chelsea Karpenko, Cornell- 2 Goals (1 PPG), 1 Assist
2. Kendice Ogilvie, Cornell- 1 Goal (GWG)
3. Camille Dumais, Dartmouth- 1 Goal (PPG)

NCAA Frozen Four Set
The East has three of the four teams as this side of the country seeks its first women's hockey NCAA title in Erie, PA on the campus of Mercyhurst. There's plenty of local interest as half the Beanpot field plus ECAC side Cornell are the three Eastern teams.
4. Boston College vs. 1. Wisconsin, Friday, March 18 at 5pm
3. Boston University vs. 2. Cornell, Friday, March 18 at 8pm

Harvard Connection
The Crimson went 0-5 against the Frozen Four field this year, with two losses each to Cornell and Boston College (including the final of the Beanpot) as well as a loss to Boston University. The Crimson were 2-8 against all tournament teams (2-1 against Dartmouth and 0-2 against Minnesota).

Men's Hockey: ECAC Playoffs Update 5 and 6

A combined look at all of Saturday and Sunday's actions

Hanover, NH- On Saturday night, the Dartmouth Big Green got a new lease on life as they picked up a 2-1 OT win. The Big Green benefited from a couple of lineup changes, as Adam Estoclet, moved up to the first line, made it 1-0 Dartmouth. Harvard answered back in the second as Michael Biega netted a power play goal. The game headed to OT, where Harvard got the first flurry of shots but Dartmouth scored on their lone shot as Andrew Owsiak,  just inserted into the lineup, had his shot deflected past Ryan Carroll for the game winner.
On Sunday afternoon, a lengthy delay to fix a leaking coolant pipe delayed the game an hour and a half, yet the two teams came out with an abundance of energy. Alex Fallstrom rifled home a shot in the slot to give Harvard the 1-0 lead. Doug Jones answered in the first minute of the second, the first Harvard PP goal given up in the postseason. Michael Del Mauro put Harvard back in the lead in the third period but Dartmouth tied things up with Matthew Lindblad getting on the board. Harvard came close to taking back the lead but James Mello raised his pad to just manage a blind save by an inch and Dartmouth then came the other way and scored on their own scramble as Evan Stephens blasted one home to give Dartmouth his first lead of the game. Dartmouth scored its third straight as Lindblad scored on the power play. Harvard pulled Ryan Carroll with three minutes left and drew a power play on a Doug Jones cross-check. Alex Fallstrom scored for Harvard but with only 20.6 seconds left. The Crimson kept the net empty and drew another power play, an Estoclet slash, but with only 4.5 seconds left, the Crimson lost the faceoff and the game, ending their season.

Schnectady, NY- On Saturday night, Union jumped out to a two goal lead but Colgate responded with a big third period to even the series. Union scored a goal in each of the first two periods, but the Raiders added four straight in the third period. Robbie Bourdon netted the game winner and Colgate sealed it with an empty netter.
On Sunday night, both teams headed to overtime knowing the next goal meant Atlantic City. Andrew Buote got on the board for Union in the first, then the teams combined for three power play goals in the second to knot things at two all. Kelly Zajac added a goal for Union but Colgate answered with less than three minutes to send things to OT. There, Wade Poplawski completed the upset as the 12th seeded Raiders dispatched their second-straight Capital District team on the road and punched their ticket to Atlantic City.

Ithaca, NY- On Saturday night, a goaltending duel saw only one goal scored, Jeremy Langlois unassisted in the first period for Quinnipiac as the Bobcats knotted their series with Cornell at 1. Eric Hartzell made 24 saves in the 1-0 shutout while Andy Iles made 30 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.
On Sunday night, the two teams required an extra period to decide who would head to Atlantic City. Patrick Kennedy scored a power play goal in the first and Joe Devin added to the hosts lead to make it 2-0 heading into the third. Quinnipiac responded with a two goal third period as they scored two goals in four minutes and forced OT. Over halfway through the first OT, Joe Devin added his second goal to send Cornell to Boardwalk Hall.

New Haven, CT- On Saturday night, the Yale Bulldogs cruised away from St. Lawrence with three unanswered in the second period on the way to a 5-2 victory. After both teams traded goals in the first, Yale put three on the board until Nick Pitsokoulis could get one back for the visitors. The Elis sealed the deal with a goal from Broc Little in the third to send the series to a game three.
On Sunday night, Yale netted two power play goals in the span of five minutes of the first period and never looked back as they coasted to a 4-0 win to eliminate St. Lawrence. Cahill and O'Neill had the PP tallies in the first while Limbert and Little added two more in the second. Ryan Rondeau made 21 saves to earn the shutout.

Three Stars of Saturday
1. Eric Hartzell, Qunnipiac- 24 saves, shutout
2. Andy Iles, Cornell- 30 saves, 1 GA
3. Andrew Owsiak, 1 G, GWG

Three Stars of Sunday
1. Joe Devin, Cornell- 2 G, GWG
2. Matt Lindblad, Dartmouth- 2 G, GWG
3. Alex Fallstrom, Harvard- 2 G

ECAC Semifinals Set
The Winner Takes All, Best of One "Series" are as follows from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City:
12. Colgate vs. 2. Yale - Friday, March 18th at 4:30 pm
4. Cornell vs. 3. Dartmouth- Friday, March 18th at 7:30pm

Men's Hockey: ECAC Playoffs Update 3

A recap of Sunday's ECAC playoff action
Princeton, NJ- The St. Lawrence Saints struck twice in the first period and were able to hold on to win their series against the Princeton Tigers 2-1. Greg Carey got on the board five minutes into the first period and Kyle Essery doubled the visitors' lead just five minutes later. Princeton capitalized on a second period power play with a goal from Derrick Pallis but that was as close as they would get as neither team could find the back of the net for the remainder of the game. Princeton threw everything they had at Matt Weninger who stopped 48 of 49 on the night, while St. Lawrence's offense only generated 16 shots despite the two goals. The disparity in the third period was the largest, with the Tigers throwing 24 shots on net to the Saints 4 while facing elimination. With the Game 3 win, the Saints advanced to the ECAC quarterfinals.

Troy, NY- It took almost a full extra hockey game to decide, but the 12th seeded Colgate Raiders sent the RPI Engineers to their second straight ECAC first round upset as the five-seed with a 2-1 2OT win. Autin Mayer scored shorthanded to put the visitors on the board first at the 13:08 mark of the first period, with RPI answering late in the second thanks to Tyler Helfrich. The two teams remained scoreless until halfway through the fifth period of hockey at Houston Field House, as Robbie Bourdon netted the game winner to send the Raiders onto the ECAC Quarterfinals. RPI had the shot advantage through two periods but the Raiders took the shot advantage for the third period and overtime. With the win, the Raiders became the third road team to advance from this year's opening round.

Three Stars of the Night
1. Matt Weninger, St. Lawrence- 48 saves, 1 goal against
2. Erik Mihalik, Colgate- 40 saves, 1 goal against
3. Allen York, RPI- 37 saves, 2 goals against

ECAC Quarterfinal Matchups Set
(We'll have a more specific look at some of the key statistics for each series tomorrow)
12. Colgate (2-1) at 1. Union (0-0)
Game 1: 7pm
Game 2: 7pm
Game 3: 7pm (if necessary)

11. St. Lawrence (2-1) at 2. Yale (0-0)
Game 1: 7pm
Game 2: 7pm
Game 3: 7pm (if necessary)

10. Harvard (2-0) at 3. Dartmouth (0-0)
Game 1: 7pm
Game 2: 7pm
Game 3: 4pm (if necessary)

8. Quinnipiac (2-0) at 4. Cornell (0-0)
Game 1: 7pm
Game 2: 7pm
Game 3: 7pm (if necessary)

ECAC Hockey: Men's Playoff Update 2, Women's Playoff Update 5

Wrapup of Saturday's ECAC action
Men's Hockey
Potsdam, NY- A scoreless first period did not indicate the flow of the game as the Harvard Crimson and Clarkson Golden Knights combined for 10 goals over the next two periods in their ECAC First Round Contest. Harvard started the first period off with some offensive pop, generating 19 shots, one more than they had mustered in all of Game 1, but this time Paul Karpowich stood tall to keep the game 0-0. Nik Pokoluk opened the scoring in the second period, beating Ryan Carroll five-hole with a point shot to give the home Knights their first lead of the series. The teams traded goals back and forth and Clarkson entered the final frame with a 3-2 lead after Brandon DeFazio scored just 11 seconds after Alex Fallstrom had tied things up for the visiting Crimson. At the end of the period, Pokuluk was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for "contact to the head" and the Crimson started the 3rd with 4:22 of power play time. Daniel Moriarty scored twice on the major, with the second goal a pass deflected off the back of Mark Borowiecki's leg to give Harvard it's first lead of the game. Michael Biega and Ben Sexton traded goals with around 13 minutes to play before Alex Killorn sealed the win for the Crimson 6-4. Harvard swept the Golden Knights and advanced to the ECAC Quarterfinals.

Troy, NY- Nick Prockow scored less than two minutes into the first period and the visiting Colgate Raiders would never trail as they took on the RPI Engineers. Chase Polacek tied things up for RPI with a shorthanded goal in the second, but Francois Brisebois put the visitors up for good despite Polacek adding a PP tally later in the period. Down 3-2, RPI tried to equalize but Prockow and Brisebois each added their second goals of the night, both coming with the net empty, to give the visitors a 5-2 win and setup a decisive Game 3 on Sunday night.

Hamden, CT- It was deja vu all over again for the Brown Bears who once again saw themselves shut out by the Quinnipiac Bobcats by a score of 4-0. After a scoreless first period, the home squad wasted little time grabbing the lead in the second as Zach Currie converted on the power play at the 35 second mark for the eventual game winner. Jeremy Langlois doubled the lead two minutes later while the Bobcats added 2 more scores in the third period to put the game out of reach and chase netminder Mike Clemente after the third goal. Eric Hartzell picked up the win tonight, equaling teammate Dan Clarke's shutout performance the night before. With the win, the Bobcats swept the Bears to advance to the quarterfinals of the ECACs.

Princeton, NJ- The St. Lawrence Saints were on the brink of elimination but rallied from two one-goal deficits as they eventually prevailed over the Princeton Tigers. The Tigers got on the board first with Rob Kleebaum's tally at the 5:50 mark of the first but St. Lawrence answered back with a PP goal from Greg Carey less than four minutes later. Andrew Calof broke the deadlock in the second period, again in Princeton's favor, before Carey answered again on the power play to knot things up at 2 heading into the last period. Just before the halfway point of the third, the Saints grabbed their first lead of the game and it would stand up as the game-winner as Kyle Essery sent the Saints to a decisive Game 3 to be held Sunday afternoon.

Three Stars of the Nights
1. Greg Carey, St. Lawrence- 2 Goals (2 PPG)
2. Daniel Moriarty, Harvard- 2 Goals (2 PPG)
3. Chase Polacek, RPI- 2 Goals (1 PPG and 1 SHG)

Women's Hockey
Ithaca, NY- The Cornell Big Red avenged their only ECAC regular season loss as they defeated the Dartmouth Big Green 3-0 for the ECAC tournament championship in front of 2711 fans at Lynah Rink. Chelsea Karpenko opened the scoring six minutes into the first and then added her second tally on the power play in the second period to propel the Big Red to the win. The Big Red doubled Dartmouth in shots 28-14. With the win, Cornell earned its second straight league title, the ECAC double as well as the ECAC autobid to the NCAA tournament. The two teams will meet again for the fourth time this season in the NCAA tournament as Cornell, a 2 seed, will once again host the 7th seeded Big Green. The two are the only ECAC teams to make the tournament.

Three Stars of the Night
1. Chelsea Karpeno, Cornell- 2 Goals (1 PPG, GWG)
2. Hayley Hughes, Cornell- 1 Goal, 2 Assists
3. Amanda Mazzotta, Cornell- 14 saves, Shutout

Men's Hockey: ECAC Playoffs Update 1

The ECAC playoffs kicked off last night as three of the four home teams grabbed wins in Game 1.

Potsdam, NY- The tenth-seeded Harvard Crimson came out flat but a good performance from Ryan Carroll in net helped the Crimson grab the road win against the Clarkson Golden Knights. Harvard got on the board in the first period as Danny Biega partially fanned on a shot but it had just enough on it to make it on net and bounce through goaltender Paul Karpowich's five-hole. Clarkson, 0-15 entering last night when trailing after one, looked the better of the teams in the second but Adam Pawlick's redirection late in the second just missed the outside of the post and Harvard took a 1-0 lead into the third. The Golden Knights got a bounce of their own in the third as Alex Boak's shot from the point was deflected high by a Harvard stick and popped over Ryan Carroll's head to make it 1-1 just seven seconds after Clarkson's power play had elapsed. Five minutes later, Harvard answered with the eventual game winner as after some chaos in front, the puck found its way onto Michael Biega's stick and he fired one short side to make it a 2-1 win for the Cantabs. Shots were 33-18 in favor of Clarkson, with half of Harvard's shots coming in the third period. Clarkson went 0-2 on the power play while Harvard was 0-1. The Crimson take a 1-0 series lead into tonight's second game.

Hamden, CT- The eighth seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats rolled to an easy win over the ninth seeded Brown Bears last night to take a 1-0 series lead. The Bobcats grabbed the lead at the 15 second mark as Jeremy Langlois got on the board. That would prove to be the game winner as the Bobcats would go on to shut out the Bears. The Bobcats added another in the first and then two more in the second, with the last goal a sibling connection as Kellen Jones received the feed from his brother Connor to make it 4-0 Bobcats, the final score of the night. Shots were 27-22 in favor of Quinnipiac as Brown went 0-3 on the PP while Quinnipiac went 0-5.

Troy, NY- The fifth seeded RPI Engineers got off to a fast start over the twelfth seeded Colgate Raiders with three goals in the first but the visitors made it interesting after a strong third period. RPI took the lead at 1:15 mark of the first and then added two power play goals to take a 3-0 lead all the way into the third period. Colgate then scored two to start the third, with Austin Smith connecting first, then Jeremy Price adding a power play tally to make it 3-2. RPI scored 40 seconds after Price's tally as Brock Higgs put home his second of the night to make the final 4-2. Shots were 27-26 in favor of RPI. The Engineers went 2 for 7 on the man advantage while Colgate when 1 for 5 on the PP. RPI leads the best of three series 1-0.

Princeton, NJ- The sixth seeded Princeton Tigers grabbed a 1-0 series win over the eleventh seeded St. Lawrence Saints last night. Rookie Andrew Calof scored just 1:40 into the game to give Princeton the 1-0 lead. Princeton added two more within a minute of each other in the second period, including a power play goal from Michael Sdao that chased Robby Moss from the St. Lawrence net. St. Lawrence struck back with a power play tally of their own as Kyle Flanagan cut into the deficit to make it 3-1 Princeton. Rob Kleebaum added a fourth tally for the home squad in the third and the final was 4-1. Shots were 36-23 in favor of Princeton, with the Tigers going 1 for 3 on the PP and the Saints going 1 for 2. Princeton goes for the sweep this afternoon at 4pm.

Three Stars of the Nights
1. Brock Higgs, RPI- 2 goals
2. Ryan Carroll, Harvard- 32 saves
3. Andrew Calof, Princeton- 1 goal, 1 assist