Last week: 6-5-1
Overall: 91-93-30
I hit a bit of a slump down the stretch, so I’ll need a hot finish to push me over .500 for the year. Regardless, there’s a lot of the line in the ECAC’s final weekend of the regular season. Check Brian Sullivan’s post from earlier this week for the breakdown of how things might look come Sunday. All start times are 7 p.m. unless noted.
Colgate at Yale
Mired in a mid-winter slump, the Raiders turned to old hand Eric Mihalik in net last time out, giving the junior his first start since Jan. 5. It worked; Colgate snapped their skid with a win over Union. Head coach Don Vaughan didn’t name a starter when I spoke to him Tuesday, saying he’d make a decision by Thursday. Jeff Malcolm is back for Yale, and that’s huge for the Bulldogs. They’re simply a different team with the senior in net. Yale wins
Quinnipiac at Harvard
The Bobcats tied a season high with six goals when these teams met in Hamden in early January. Quinnipiac is secure the No.1 team come NCAA tournament time, while Harvard looks likely to go from a league championship appearance a year ago to a last-place finish this season. Quinnipiac wins
Princeton at Dartmouth
First, there’s this little tradition that I never knew about. Whatever happened to just throwing hats on the ice after a hat trick? Anyways, much like Colgate did last season, Dartmouth is looking to grab to a top-four spot after followinga hot start with a second-half slide. Fortunately for the Big Green, they’ re 10-3 at home this year. Dartmouth wins
Cornell at Brown
Don’t look now, but the Big Red are on a four-game unbeaten streak, the second-best stretch in the country behind Providence. Brown has hung in there despite a rash of season-long injuries, and has the chance to host a playoff series for the first time since 2005. Cornell wins
St. Lawrence at Union
The Saint’s Kyle Flanagan is out after having his appendix removed earlier this week, but St. Lawrence has put itself in a good position to grab a bye. I just can’t get a read on Union. The Dutchmen’s three last three weekends have gone like this: zero points, four points, zero points. St. Lawrence wins
Clarkson at Rensselaer
Clarkson freshman Greg Lewis has two shutouts this year, the first Golden Knights’ rookie to do so since Karl Mattson in 1999-2000. But it’s hard not to like what Jason Kasdorf has done for RPI since taking over in net. Rensselaer wins
Saturday, March 2
Colgate at Brown, 4 p.m.
Part of the reason for the Raiders’ lengthy slump was simple: playing from behind. Colgate simply spotted the other team a lead too often, and wasn’t able to overcome that. They can’t do that against Brown’s Anthony Borelli, who’s been as a good as they come in net over the second half. Brown wins
Clarkson at Union
The Golden Knights snapped a nine-game losing streak last time out against Union, but haven’t won at Messa Rink since 2005. The Dutchmen have been anything but consistent lately, but I’m going with them here. Union wins
Quinnipiac at Dartmouth
A Jordan Samuels-Thomas overtime goal helped extend the Bobcats’ unbeaten streak thirteen games when these teams last met Jan. 4. Quinnipiac led 2-0 before the Big Green rallied for two third period goals to force overtime. Dartmouth will be fighting for a first-round bye, but Quinnipiac should have enough to get the win. Quinnipiac wins
Cornell at Yale
These teams have been among the league’s heavy-hitters in recent years, but both are looking to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs. The Big Red finally seem to have shaken a season-long slump, while the Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday. Yale wins
St. Lawrence at Rensselaer
Depending on how tonight shakes out, this matchup between the league’s two best teams down the stretch could have huge implications over the league’s top four. I’ll take the home team here. Rensselaer wins
Princeton at Harvard
The Crimson’s Raphael Girard and Tigers’ Mike Condon are both capable of stealing a game in net, although I like Princeton’s scoring punch up front a little bit more. Princeton wins
