{"id":29962,"date":"2008-10-04T22:00:35","date_gmt":"2008-10-05T03:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2008\/10\/04\/200809-ecac-hockey-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:57:15","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:57:15","slug":"200809-ecac-hockey-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2008\/10\/04\/200809-ecac-hockey-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2008-09 ECAC Hockey Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
Whereas 2006-07 was a season of unparalleled parity, last season was a year of surprises.<\/p>\n
Princeton finished six points better than it had since the spring of ’99, and finished a tight second to Clarkson in the regular season — the Tigers’ best-ever league finish.<\/p>\n
Clarkson may have lived up to its preseason poll position, but the Knights found themselves unceremoniously dismissed from the ECAC Hockey playoffs with a three-game quarterfinal home loss to Colgate. <\/p>\n
Union earned its first playoff bye week and its best finish in its history, despite allowing more league goals than it scored. Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence fell unexpectedly flat after wildly successful ’06-07 campaigns, and — last but not least — the ECAC reinforced its claim as the smartest league in the nation on the laurels of, among others, Tigers forward Landis Stankievech, 2008 Rhodes Scholar (and seven-goal scorer).<\/p>\n
So what’s in store for this year? Oh, just more of the same in the wild and woolly ECAC Hockey League.<\/p>\n
Below are individual previews for each team, listed in reverse order of predicted finish. Each individual preview can be accessed by clicking on a given school’s name.<\/i><\/p>\n
12. Brown<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Bears 11. Dartmouth<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Big Green 10. Colgate<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Raiders 9. Rensselaer<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Engineers 8. St.Lawrence<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Saints 7. Quinnipiac<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Bobcats 6. Union<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Dutchmen 5. Harvard<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Crimson 4. Clarkson<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Golden Knights 3. Yale<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Nickname:<\/b> Bulldogs
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Roger Grillo (115-182-47, 11 years at Brown)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 6-21-4 (6-13-3 ECAC Hockey, t-10th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Jeff Prough, D Sean Hurley, F Chris Poli
\nBack For More:<\/b> Sr F Ryan Garbutt, Jr F Devin Timberlake, Jr G Dan Rosen
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 12
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 12
\nWhy:<\/b> There’s a saying that dictates that a goalie can’t win games, he can only not lose them. Rosen will have a lot of chances to not lose.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Bob Gaudet (163-151-41, 11 years at Dartmouth; 256-293-72, 20 years overall)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 12-16-4 (6-13-3 ECAC Hockey, t-10th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Nick Johnson, F J.T. Wyman, F Jon Grecu, G Mike Devine
\nBack For More:<\/b> So D Evan Stephens, So F Kyle Reeds
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 11
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 11
\nWhy:<\/b> When your leading returning scorer is a defenseman and you don’t know who your goalie’s going to be, you might be in for a long season.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Don Vaughan (257-235-52, 16 years at Colgate)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 18-18-6 (8-9-5 ECAC Hockey, 8th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Tyler Burton, F Jesse Winchester, G Mark Dekanich
\nBack For More:<\/b> Jr F David McIntyre, Sr F Tom Riley, So F Brian Day, So D Kevin McNamara
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 9
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 10
\nWhy:<\/b> It’s going to take some serious work to recover from the loss of such a talented class.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Seth Appert (21-41-12, two years at Rensselaer)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 11-23-4 (6-13-3 ECAC Hockey, t-10th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Jonathan Ornelas, F Andrew Lord, G Jordan Alford
\nBack For More:<\/b> So F Tyler Helfrich, So F Chase Polacek, Jr D Peter Merth, Sr G Mathias Lange
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 10
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 9
\nWhy:<\/b> I sustain that Appert’s aggressive style is the right idea … now if only he could find a way to share it with his forwards … <\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Joe Marsh (416-349-55, 23 years at St. Lawrence)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 13-20-4 (7-13-2 ECAC Hockey, 9th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Charlie Giffin, G John Hallas, G Justin Pesony
\nBack For More:<\/b> Sr F Brock McBride, Sr F Kevin DeVergilio, Sr D Zach Miskovic, Jr G Kain Tisi, Jr G Alex Petizian
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 8
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 8
\nWhy:<\/b> The Saints are looking to redefine themselves after two bipolar seasons.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Rand Pecknold (263-165-42, 14 years at Quinnipiac)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 20-15-4 (9-9-4 ECAC Hockey, t-6th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Ben Nelson, F Jamie Bates, F Dan Travis
\nBack For More:<\/b> Sr F Matt Sorteberg, Jr F Brandon Wong, Sr F Bryan Leitch, Sr D Dan Henningson, Sr G Bud Fisher
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 6
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 5
\nWhy:<\/b> QU has most of the pieces in place, but the pieces are still fuzzy when it comes to understanding the big picture.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Nate Leaman (72-88-22, five years at Union)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 15-14-6 (10-7-5 ECAC Hockey, t-4th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Josh Coyle, G Justin Mrazek
\nBack For More:<\/b> So F Adam Presizniuk, So F Stephane Boileau, Jr D Mike Schreiber, Sr D Lane Caffaro, So G Corey Milan
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 5
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 6
\nWhy:<\/b> The Dutchmen return a solid representation of last year’s fourth-place team, but the offense was unimpressive for such a high finish.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Ted Donato (73-52-11, four years at Harvard)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 17-13-4 (12-7-3 ECAC Hockey, 3rd)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Mike Taylor, F Jon Pelle, D Dave MacDonald, Jr G Kyle Richter, Sr D Jack Christian
\nBack For More:<\/b> Jr F Doug Rogers, Jr D Alex Biega, Sr D Brian McCafferty, So F Michael Biega
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 2
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 2
\nWhy:<\/b> Richter’s loss will be felt first, but the offensive departures may end up hurting the most.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> George Roll (96-81-20, five years at Clarkson; 202-143-34, 11 years overall)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 22-13-4 (15-4-3 ECAC Hockey, 1st)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Steve Zalewski, F Nick Dodge, F David Cayer, D Grant Clitsome, G David Leggio
\nBack For More:<\/b> Jr F Matt Beca, Sr F Chris D’Alvise, Sr F Shea Guthrie
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 4
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 4
\nWhy:<\/b> Just when you thought the Knights were doomed for a “rebuilding period,” here comes Roll with another monstrously talented class.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach:<\/b> Keith Allain (27-31-7, two years at Yale)
\n2007-2008 Record:<\/b> 16-14-4 (9-9-4 ECAC Hockey, t-6th)
\nDeparted:<\/b> F Will Engasser, F Matthew Thomey, D Robert Page
\nBack For More:<\/b> Jr F Sean Backman, So F Broc Little, So F Denny Kearney, Jr F Mark Arcobello, Jr D Thomas Dignard, Sr G Alec Richards, Jr G Billy Blase
\n2008-2009 Coaches’ Poll:<\/b> 7
\n2008-2009 Media Poll:<\/b> 7
\nWhy:<\/b> Look at their returning production. Why third? Why not?<\/p>\n