Last week: 5-7-3
Overall: 9-16-3
It’s the second straight weekend of all-conference matchups, with the exception of Tuesday’s Rensselaer and Connecticut game. All games are 7 p.m. unless noted.
Friday, Nov. 14
St. Lawrence at Colgate
Both these teams like to play fast, but both have also gotten excellent goaltending thus far, with the Raiders’ Charlie Finn and Saints’ Kyle Hayton tied for the national lead with three shutouts.
Colgate is without top-six forward Mike Borkowski who was lost for the year with a knee injury last weekend. The Raiders should out-possess the Saints, meaning it will come down to whether Hayton can continue his hot play. I think he’ll play well, but Colgate simply has too many weapons and Finn is no slouch on the other end. Colgate wins
Clarkson at Cornell
The Big Red will be without coach Mike Schafer after the ECAC issued a one-game suspension following his post-game comments Saturday at Quinnipiac. That’s not the biggest problem for Cornell, as it has three goals in four games this season – a problem not helped by the absence of puck-moving defenseman Joakim Ryan, who hasn’t played since leaving the season opener on Oct. 31 with an injury. Clarkson hasn’t been scoring prolifically either, but have been solid in their own end, much like the Big Red. Could we see another 0-0 tie? I doubt it, but Clarkson hasn’t won at Cornell since 2007, and I don’t see that streak ending. Cornell wins
Yale at Dartmouth
Dartmouth has been lead in the early going by its top line and a solid performance by goalie James Kruger. Yale has yet to show the prolific scoring its traditionally been known for, while goalie Alex Lyon was pulled after giving up three goals in the first period to St. Lawrence last Saturday. Lyon should rebound, but the real question is how will Yale produce some offense? The Bulldogs haven’t scored a second-period goal this season, and have only scored twice in the third. Dartmouth wins
Brown at Harvard
The Crimson opened some eyes with a 6-3 throttling of Boston College on Tuesday. To be fair, the Eagles started third-string goalie Brad Barone, but it was an impressive showing from a Harvard team that has been high on talent, but low on results. Harvard’s Alexander Kerfoot and Kyle Criscuolo, along with Brown’s Mark Naclerio, Nick Lappin and Matt Lorito may be some of the more underrated forwards in the league, although Lappin is out for the weekend following a two-game suspension issued by the league. It’s a pretty even matchup, but I’m leaning towards the home team. Harvard wins
Princeton at Rensselaer
RPI has been hit-or-miss so far, but the Engineers are currently in first place with a 3-1-1 conference record. Not much has gone right for Princeton so far, although first-year head coach Ron Fogarty did get his first win as a Tiger last weekend against Cornell. RPI wins
Quinnipiac at Union
Two of the better teams in the ECAC over the past few seasons haven’t been up to their usual standard this year, although the Bobcats have won five in a row. The Dutchmen are in the midst of a five-game winless streak; a stretch I don’t see continuing. Union wins
Saturday, Nov. 15
Clarkson at Colgate
The Golden Knights might have the goaltending and defense to keep pace with the Raiders, but I’m not sure they have enough depth up front to match Colgate. Colgate wins
St. Lawrence at Cornell
Two contrasting styles: I like the Saints speed and steady goaltending from Hayton. St. Lawrence wins
Brown at Dartmouth
It’s the 150th all-time meeting between these teams, with the Big Green holding a 74-68-8 advantage, including a 12-2-1 mark over the last 15 games. Losing Lappin for the weekend hurts the Bears, but they should be able to pull one win out of their road trip. Brown wins
Yale at Harvard
This is one of the nation’s oldest rivalries will feature the awarding of the Tim Taylor Cup, named in honor of the former Yale coach. It will be given to the most outstanding player of the game. I won’t venture a guess as to whom the award will go to, but I like the Bulldogs to get the win. Yale wins
Quinnipiac at Rensselaer
Take your pick: an inconsistent offense (RPI) or an inconsistent defense (Quinnipiac). The Bobcats look to have turned it around, posting two shutouts last weekend to push its winning streak to five games. The Engineers scored six goals two weeks ago against Union, but only two last weekend. Quinnipiac wins
Princeton at Union
Even in its current funk, I don’t think Union should have a problem with the Tigers, especially at home. This is the last game at Messa Rink for the Dutchmen until Jan. 16. Union wins
Tuesday, Nov. 18
Harvard at Dartmouth
Both teams are off to a solid start following disappointing seasons last year. I think this is a pretty even matchup – evidenced by a 3-3 tie two weeks ago between the teams – but give Dartmouth the slight edge. Dartmouth wins
Rensselaer at Connecticut, 7:05 p.m.
Like RPI, the Huskies have played some top teams tough – a win against Boston College and a tie versus Boston University. But like the Engineers, they haven’t been able to put together any sort of lengthy winning streak. Both teams are strong in net – the difference could come down to who can scrape together some goals. Rensselaer
