Colgate and Army West Point began the ECAC (and college hockey season) last Saturday with a 1-1 tie. The rest of the non-Ivy league teams start play this weekend. All games are at 7 p.m. unless noted.
Thursday, Oct. 8
St. Lawrence at Penn State
Coach Mark Morris makes his Saints debut against a program that didn’t exist the last time he coached a college game. Penn State can push the pace and score plenty of goals, but St. Lawrence is a good-skating defensive team and has junior Kyle Hayton in net. St. Lawrence wins
Friday, Oct.
Vermont at Clarkson
The Golden Knights are opening at home for the second straight season, but only the third time in 18 years. Vermont is on a 7-2-1 run in the all-time series between the teams, but Clarkson is looking like one of the better teams in ECAC Hockey this year – and the Catamounts will be without its four captains due to a hazing incident that was reported today. Clarkson wins
Rensselaer at Maine
RPI is playing a game at Alfond Arena for the first time since 1993. The Engineers will face a Maine team that averaged two goals a game last season and finished with an .898 team save percentage. It’s always tough to get a feel for teams in the early going, but expect the Engineers to win if those trends continue. Rensselaer wins
Northeastern at Quinnipiac
It’s an opening night matchup of two NCAA tournament teams from last year, although the Bobcats will be without a host of key players from last year’s national runner-up. But Quinnipiac has been through massive turnover before, and the Bobcats always seem to keep moving along. Quinnipiac wins
St. Lawrence at Penn State
I think the home team will bounce back with a win for the opening-series split. Penn State wins
Union at Michigan, 7:35 p.m
Union coach Rick Bennett likes to schedule challenging road games for his team, and the Dutchmen get one right away as they open at Michigan. While the Wolverines lost their top-three scorers from last season, they are still a talented team and should emerge with the season-opening win. Michigan wins
Saturday, Oct. 10
Union at Michigan, 5:05 p.m.
Taking a chance here, but I think Union bounces back for the split. Union wins
Boston University at Colgate, 6:05 p.m.
The Raiders are integrating plenty of new faces into the lineup, while Boston University looks like a national-title contender this year. Boston University wins
Northeastern at Quinnipiac
Huskies bounce back for the split. Northeastern wins
Rensselaer at Maine
Engineers complete the sweep. Rensselaer wins
Clarkson at Vermont
I was tempted to call a split, but the news of UVM’s suspensions makes me think the weekend will end with a Clarkson sweep. Clarkson wins
