OK, so there were only two games played this weekend.
But with wins against Merrimack and Vermont, the ECAC has pulled its record against Hockey East to an even 6-6. Not bad.
Union took an impressive 3-1 win on the road against Merrimack Saturday. This has to be one of the best, if not the best, non-conference wins to date by the ECAC.
Yes, Merrimack is 1-3-1 over their last five, so the shine of this one might rub off quickly, but let’s look at how things stand now:
Merrimack is currently fifth in the USCHO.com poll after ascending to the top spot just under a month ago. They’re currently eighth in the PairWise, even with the loss to the Dutchmen.
Add in a sold out Lawler Arena, where they’ve lost just six times over the last three seasons (that’s two home losses a year for the mathematically challenged-myself included), and Union gets high marks for the win.
The Dutchmen weren’t afraid to do the dirty work either, finishing with 17 blocked shots. The Warriors were 0-for-5 on the power play as well.
“[Blocking shots] is an individual thing, but at the same token you have people holding those other people responsible,” Union head coach Rick Bennett told USCHO’s Jim Connelly after the game. “It takes a lot of heart to block shots. You have to be willing to pay the price. I thought our guys did that tonight.”
Check out Jim’s full recap here.
The other Hockey East-ECAC showdown certainly didn’t have the same implications as Union and Merrimack, but this is one St. Lawrence would have hated to drop.
I checked the score on my phone while covering a wild 9-1 high school hockey game Saturday, and I was a bit surprised to see Vermont up 1-0 in the third.
But two late goals helped the Saints avoid the loss and senior goalie Robby Moss turned in a stellar performance in his first start since Oct. 8
“Robby Moss made some tremendous saves and put is in a position where we could win the game,” Saints associate head coach Mike Hurlbut told the St. Lawrence athletics website after the game.
Moss finished with 24 saves, as UVM got their only goal on a 5-on-3 power play.
The ECAC is off until next Thursday, when a handful of holiday tournaments kick off. Until then, stay tuned for Brian Sullivan’s first half recap as well as a look ahead to the second half.
Enjoy the holidays!
