{"id":41005,"date":"2012-01-18T05:00:06","date_gmt":"2012-01-18T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=41005"},"modified":"2012-01-17T22:33:35","modified_gmt":"2012-01-18T04:33:35","slug":"results-show-ecac-hockey-is-in-for-a-battle-to-the-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2012\/01\/18\/results-show-ecac-hockey-is-in-for-a-battle-to-the-finish\/","title":{"rendered":"Results show ECAC Hockey is in for a battle to the finish"},"content":{"rendered":"
Following last Friday’s 2-0 win over Harvard at Fenway Park, Union coach Rick Bennett was understandably asked a bevy of questions about taking part in the festivities and how the Dutchmen adjusted to playing outside. (Outside of frozen toes, Bennett had no complaints with the elements.) <\/p>\n
The focus then shifted to the next night, where Union would be playing travel partner Rensselaer, a team entrenched in last place and going on two months without a league win. It was a game that seemed like an easy one to overlook, especially given the emotions that would be carrying over from the Dutchmen’s Fenway matchup with the Crimson. But not quite. <\/p>\n
“You know what? We’re going to enjoy this for the trip back,” Bennett said. “But once we hit that parking lot and put our equipment up, it’s going to be about RPI.” <\/p>\n
It would be easy to dismiss Bennett’s words as so-called “coachspeak,” except for one thing: They’re not.<\/p>\n
Yes, Union did roll to a 5-1 win over the Engineers, but a quick look around the league last weekend proves that, cliché or not, no team can afford to take its opponent lightly.<\/p>\n
Case in point: Friday night, then-second-place Colgate lost 6-2 on the road to a Princeton team that entered the game four games under .500 in conference play. Saturday, the Raiders were throttled 7-1 by a Quinnipiac team that came within two short-handed goals of knocking off Cornell the night before. <\/p>\n
Clarkson entered Friday with just eight points in league play but took three of a possible four points by tying Brown before beating Yale in overtime. So what gives?<\/p>\n
“It’s a great race,” Brown coach Brendan Whittet said several weeks ago. “In college hockey in general, there’s a lot of sameness. If a team shows up on any specific night to battle and play hard … you can be very successful.” <\/p>\n
So who’s the favorite in the league this year? Cornell and Colgate appeared to have the upper hand, but as last weekend proved, no one is out of it.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been in the league as a player and coach for 20-plus years,” Whittet said. “Every once in a while you have a team that can run away with it [but not this year].” <\/p>\n
As selected by the league: <\/p>\n
Player of the week:<\/b>Kelly Zajac, Union. The senior had a part in five of the seven goals the Dutchmen scored on the weekend. Zajac had a goal and an assist in Union’s 2-0 win over Harvard and matched a career high with three assists against RPI Saturday. He is second on the school’s Division I assist list with 78. <\/p>\n
Rookie of the week:<\/b> Sam Labrecque, Clarkson. The defender scored the winner against Yale Sunday with 61 seconds left in overtime and finished with three points on the weekend. Labrecque leads all Golden Knights rookies in scoring (4-12–16) and Sunday marked the first two-goal game of his career. Overall, he ranks third on Clarkson in points and is tied for second in power-play goals with three. <\/p>\n
Goalie of the week:<\/b> Troy Grosenick, Union. Another solid weekend for the sophomore goaltender, who is first in the nation in both goals-against-average (1.60) and save percentage (.939). He turned away all 18 shots he saw Friday against Harvard for his third shutout of the season, good for fifth in Division I, and made 39 saves in a 5-1 win against RPI Saturday while adding his first career assist on the game-winning goal. <\/p>\nChecking on the ranks<\/h4>\n
Three league teams are in the latest USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll<\/a>, with Cornell holding steady at No. 9, while Union moved up two spots to No. 12 and Colgate tumbled six spots to No. 18 after a winless weekend. The Raiders took a hit in the PairWise Rankings<\/a> as well, falling to No. 26, percentage points behind Quinnipiac. Leading the way for the ECAC in the PairWise is Cornell (12) and Union (tie, 18). <\/p>\nShow your support … in 140 characters or less<\/h4>\n