Here’s a look at the weekend in ECAC Hockey:
Quinnipiac makes statement
The Bobcats thrived under the spotlight of Madison Square Garden, building a 4-0 lead over No. 5 Harvard and shaking off the loss of that advantage to win 5-4 in overtime on Saturday night. If you needed another reason to think that Quinnipiac was not the dominant team in ECAC Hockey this season, Saturday’s win was your message in a bottle. The No. 2 Bobcats are 19-1-3 so far. With the fewest losses in the country and a goaltender, Michael Garteig, that continues to impress, it’s hard to imagine any team in the ECAC catching up in the next few months.
Harvard slides, Cornell rises
On the other side of the coin, Harvard couldn’t make it all the way back for a win in Saturday’s game in New York. For a team that continues to seed high in the regular season rankings, Harvard’s 8-3-3 record is not exactly impressive and two losses to ranked opponents last week didn’t help its cause. Comparatively, Cornell continued to impress, knocking off formerly ranked Merrimack twice.
Dartmouth, Union begin turnaround
The Big Green entered the new year with a 3-7-1 record as one of the bottom-feeders in the ECAC. But 11 days into January, Dartmouth has gone 3-1 in its last four games, including a 3-0 victory against Merrimack and a low-scoring, 1-0 loss to Vermont. Union has enjoyed a similar resurgence, going 4-1-1 in its last six games with victories over Massachusetts, Merrimack and Vermont and a 4-4 tie with Princeton. While first halves haven’t been kind to these two programs, it’ll be interesting to see what they can do in the coming weeks.
