Here are three things gleaned from the weekend:
Quinnipiac, Cornell keep on rolling
The No. 3 Bobcats made easy work of their ECAC Hockey opponents this weekend, finishing off No. 10 Yale and Brown in consecutive 3-0 victories. It marks the second and third straight shutout for Quinnipiac goaltender Michael Garteig, who has posted a 1.13 GAA and a .952 save percentage over 17 games this season. No. 15 Cornell stayed hot as well with two wins over No. 13 St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Quinnipiac will play Boston University on Saturday, while Cornell will begin its holiday break with seemingly all momentum on its side.
Clarkson, Yale still sliding
It’s hard to get a good read on No. 10 Yale this season. An impressive finish one weekend seems to lead to disaster the next, a back-and-forth that seems unlike what many expected out of a team that many considered one of the ECAC’s strongest. The Bulldogs dropped their second and third straight games against Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend, including an ugly 4-2 loss to the rebuilding Tigers on Saturday in which Yale found itself in a 2-0 hole in the first period and never recovered. For Clarkson, struggles have become a season-long slide. Two wins against Arizona State are the Knights’ only two wins since Oct. 24 against Western Michigan. A team that started off the season at a strong 6-1 has since fallen out of the rankings.
Harvard takes a step back
Coming off successful games against Notre Dame and Rensselaer, the No. 8 Crimson took a step back this weekend with two ties to Union (4-4 on Friday) and Rensselaer (0-0 on Saturday). Harvard is 6-1-3 overall, 4-1-3 in the ECAC, and it’s not due to lack of goaltending. Merrick Madson has been the best goaltender in the conference, posting a 0.98 GAA and a .966 save percentage through seven games. A sophomore for the Crimson, Madsen seems to be the lone consistent bright spot for his team this season. The problem, it seems, lies with Harvard’s secondary scoring. Sure, Jimmy Vesey has 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists), but only two other players have hit double digits. Harvard will begin its holiday break this week, looking for a second-half surge come January.
