So much for the “coveted” home-ice advantage, as seeds Nos. 10, 11 and 12 each upset their seventh, sixth and fifth-seeded hosts. Just another week in our wacky little league.
First-round round-up
No. 8 Quinnipiac 2, No. 9 Brown 0
The Bobcats cut Bruno down with twin 4-0 decisions, as junior Dan Clarke stopped 22 shots on Friday, and sophomore Eric Hartzell saved 26 on Saturday. Sophomore Jeremy Langlois and senior Zach Hansen each had a pair of goals on the weekend, though Hansen was the only player to boast a multi-point game in either of the wins, with a goal and assist on Saturday. Brown had only been shut out once all season heading into the series, and QU had only registered one shutout all year as well.
No. 10 Harvard 2, No. 7 Clarkson 0
Friday night’s tight 2-1 final bred a frantic Saturday finale in Potsdam, as the Golden Knights and Crimson combined for 10 goals in the game’s final 38 minutes in a 6-4 Harvard victory. Ryan Carroll may well have been the hero of the series, as the senior goalkeeper stopped 32 of 33 shots on Friday and turned away 29 more on Saturday. The Knights went 0/4 on the power play this weekend, harkening back to early-season issues with the advantage, while the visiting Ivy scored on two of nine PP opportunities to win its fourth and fifth games in a row (and seventh in eight).
No. 11 St. Lawrence 2, No. 6 Princeton 1
The Saints overcame a dismal 4-1 loss on Friday to win back-to-back matinee games in the Garden State, dispatching the Tigers with timely goals and stellar defense and goaltending. Rookies led the way, as Matt Weninger stopped 96 of 100 Princeton shots after taking over in Game 1 for junior Robby Moss, fellow frosh Greg Carey led the Saints with three goals, and classmate Kyle Essery joined the party with two goals as well.
No. 12 Colgate 2, No. 5 Rensselaer 1
The Raiders rolled into Troy on Friday with a lot of hope, but rolled out of Houston Field House with another loss on their record. Somewhere between Friday night and Saturday afternoon, Colgate regrouped and pulled off a deceptively tight 5-2 win in Game 2 (with two empty-net goals). The Raiders surrendered an early 1-0 lead in the pivotal Game 3, but after 90:06 and one and a half overtimes, sophomore Robbie Bourdon dashed the Engineers’ season with the double-OT, 2-1 winner. Thus the Chase Polacek era at RPI likely ends despite the senior’s three-goal effort in the series, while on the other side freshman goaltender Eric Mihalik is starting to make a name for himself, stopping 69 of 72 shots in Games 2 and 3 for the Raiders.
Round 2
One week out from Atlantic City; who wants to play? All games this weekend are scheduled for 7pm sharp.
No. 12 Colgate at No. 1 Union
No. 11 St. Lawrence at No. 2 Yale
No. 10 Harvard at No. 3 Dartmouth
No. 8 Quinnipiac at No. 4 Cornell
More thoughts on these series coming up later this week.
My top 20
1. North Dakota
2. Union
3. Yale
4. Boston College
5. Merrimack
6. Denver
7. Minnesota-Duluth
8. Miami
9. Michigan
10. New Hampshire
11. Dartmouth
12. Notre Dame
13. Western Michigan
14. Wisconsin
15. Nebraska-Omaha
16. Rensselaer
17. Boston University
18. Colorado College
19. Maine
20. Cornell
