You just can’t call a game one way or the other, even if the last nine seconds are ticking down and you’re grabbing your jacket and heading for the door. Don’t try to leave early, you may miss something huge, and that’s a lesson learned by the 10,556 folks at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester … Read more
OK, it’s time to throw my hat in the ring – picks time. Never been a big prognosticator, at least not a good one. Terrible at poker, OK at roulette, never played the ponies. Wish me luck, or comment below to vote against me. Miami at Colgate (Friday-Saturday) I like Colgate in both games on … Read more
Both the season and some facts, that is. Colgate! That pretty much sums up my reaction to the weekend’s results, as the Raiders made it clear that no matter what trials and travails they may endure this year, they are not last year’s team. The story of the 2010-11 Colgate Raiders has been hashed over … Read more
I never used to believe in pulling for another team just because they are from your team’s conference. As a Boston University grad, I could never have imagined rooting for New Hampshire or Boston College once the Terriers’ season ended… that was tantamount to treachery, like cheering on the Yankees if the Red Sox’s summer … Read more
And then there were two… Rensselaer has out-lived cross-Capital rival Union, as the Engineers hope to give North Dakota their best shot later this afternoon. Nothing new on that front, but here’s hoping RPI can give the powerhouse Sioux a run for their money. Union falls to Minnesota-Duluth The Dutchmen did almost everything but bury … Read more
Quick thoughts Rensselaer: nothing to lose Nobody is giving RPI much of a chance against North Dakota, in the Engineers’ first NCAA appearance in 16 years… but really, why would they? The Engineers were the last team into the field and the Sioux are widely considered to be the best team in college hockey (even … Read more
Here are the compulsory “few quick thoughts” on this year’s championship weekend, now that Atlantic City is in the rear-view. Three (thousand)’s a crowd? Looking for attendance figures from the weekend? Me too. Cynical speculations aside, the 9,800 seats were perhaps one-third full each night, with announced figures of 3,357 and 4,126 on Friday and … Read more
Well this is it, people: Cornell vs. Yale for the title game. The Big Red wore the crown last year, while the Bulldogs won it two years ago – over Cornell, to boot. Here they meet again, but under quite different circumstances. That is because these teams have quite different motivations tonight. Yale is already … Read more
Here it is, one of the last ECAC Hockey blogs of the season, as the final foursome prepare for battle on the Boardwalk. Here are some of my last thoughts on the matter! Final picks Friday, March 18 Colgate vs. Yale – 4:30 The Raiders have been riding hot, but will it be enough to … Read more
It’s not a news flash anymore: All four ECAC Hockey semifinal games are going to deciding Game 3’s today. Yale and Dartmouth won Saturday night to avoid embarrassing home-stand sweeps at the hands of St. Lawrence and Harvard, respectively; Colgate and Quinnipiac won squeakers on the road to extend their seasons at Union and Cornell. … Read more
To all my devoted readers (and heck, to the reluctant ones, too), I sincerely apologize for not posting pre-game predictions yesterday as usual. I was (and still am) away from home, and couldn’t get an internet connection until it was too late. I’m hoping to make it up to you with a little bonus blog … Read more
Most sports fans realize that the playoffs aren’t indisputably fair, because they don’t always deliver what they implicitly promise – the best team in the league. The NFL plays a one-game-elimination format, Major League Baseball holds a best-of-five first round then two best-of-sevens to declare a winner. The NBA and NHL offer perhaps the most … Read more
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 … Read more
I already did some off-the-cuff analysis of the series in yesterday’s column, so here’s a little more. Don’t take me too seriously, though: Like the first games of the year, the first games after the holiday break, and the last games of the regular season, the playoffs have so little to do with precedent and … Read more
It’s relatively easy to pick a player of the year, a goalie, a rookie, all that stuff, but I’m going to try throwing a few new categories in there as well, to give some credit to those who deserve it… but in very specific ways. Props for the Players Pad-pounder award: Alex Killorn, Harvard The … Read more
Usually, my first post of the week quickly recaps last weekend’s action… but if you’re even remotely interested in the league, you’ll know that Saturday’s games concluded the ECAC Hockey regular season, and that every team is again 0-0 and looking ahead to the playoffs. Dutch reign supreme Congratulations are in order to the Union … Read more
Here’s the quick, 12:25am rundown (EDIT: now 1:22am, upon completion) on the playoff potentialities facing ECAC Hockey following Friday’s results and entering Saturday’s final regular-season contests. Here are this second’s standings. EDIT: Upon further, well-rested review, the SLU/Harvard/Colgate situation has been amended. Tip of the cap to @WHRBSports for pointing out my error. 1. Union … Read more
This is the toughest time of the year to make predictions, because so many teams are playing on emotion rather than simple talent. It’s the time of year where a bottom-dweller could easily upset a top-four team, if they simply want it more… so here come some pretty brutal predictions, because frankly, I have no … Read more
Players of the week Player of the week: Danny Biega, Harvard Harvard’s sophomore blueliner scored three goals and six points in three games this week, helping the Crimson take a desperately needed four points at Cornell and Brown. Biega began the weekend with the game-winning power-play goal in Ithaca, added Harvard’s lone goal at Colgate … Read more
On the fly Friday, February 18 Brown 3 at Princeton 7 Brown senior Harry Zolnierczyk tied the game at 1 apiece 6:38 into play, but it was all downhill from there for Bruno as the Tigers scored three straight (twice, actually) to pull away. Seniors Kevin Lohry and Tayler Fedun each scored twice for Princeton, … Read more