I'm a little late on this, but here we go:
Final Five Preliminary Game:
#8 Cornell vs. #7 Princeton
This season: Cornell won series, 2-0
11/21 at Cornell 2, Princeton 1
2/7 Cornell 4, at Princeton 1
ECAC playoff meetings: Cornell leads series, 2-0
1994 Preliminary at Cornell #8 Cornell 5, #9 Princeton 4 (OT)
1968 Quarterfinal at Cornell #1 Cornell 6, #8 Princeton 1
ECAC tournament records:
Cornell 59-26-3 (0.688), nine championships (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973,
1980, 1986, 1996, 1997)
Princeton 10-18 (0.357)
Thoughts:
Princeton's top line, the "Orange line" of Jeff Halpern, Scott Bertoli, and
Casson Masters, was kept pretty much in check (and completely off the
scoreboard) by the Brown Bears in the first two games of their first-round
series, but the Tigers' big guns broke out in a big way in the decisive game on
Sunday, getting four of the five goals and twelve of the fourteen points
Princeton scored in that one. Combined with a tough and physical checking game
and some good goaltending by Erasmo Saltarelli, it was more than enough to send
the Tigers on to the Thursday night game.
Cornell found themselves an offense over the weekend too. During the regular
season, it was pretty much a given that, once an opponent had put three goals
on the board, the Big Red was doomed (they were 1-12 in games in which they
gave up three or more), but against Rensselaer, Cornell won their two games by
5-4 scores. Granted, head coach Mike Schafer would be a lot more comfortable
if his team didn't *have* to win that way, but it has to be good to know that
they can do it if necessary. The big boost for the Big Red was the return of
Jason Elliott from knee surgery a good two weeks before he was expected to come
back. Elliott looked a little slow and tentative for most of the series, but
in the third period of Sunday's game, with the season on the line, he suddenly
reverted to pre-injury form, stopping all 21 shots Rensselaer fired at him.
As both teams tend to favor a, uh, more physical style of play, it should come
as no surprise that the two previous meetings between them resulted in a total
of 34 power plays. The difference in those two games (both Cornell wins) was
largely the performance of Elliott and the special teams, which for Cornell
went 4 of 18 while Princeton managed 1 of 16. Expect a full penalty box for
Thursday night's game as well, but with Elliott apparently back to near-normal
and the Big Red's stronger showing on offense, Cornell should squeak by. The
Big Red by one.
Semifinals:
#7 Princeton or #8 Cornell vs. #1 Yale
This season: Yale won series with Princeton, 2-0
12/6 Yale 3, at Princeton 2
1/31 at Yale 3, Princeton 2
Yale won series with Cornell, 2-0
11/22 Yale 2, at Cornell 1 (OT)
2/6 at Yale 11, Cornell 0
ECAC playoff meetings: Yale leads series with Princeton, 1-0
1990 Preliminary at Princeton #10 Yale 5, #7 Princeton 1
Cornell leads series with Yale, 4-0
1992 Quarterfinal at Yale #5 Cornell 4, #4 Yale 1
1986 Semifinal #3 Cornell 3, #2 Yale 2 (2 OT)
1985 Quarterfinal at Cornell #4 Cornell 9, #5 Yale 2
Cornell 4, Yale 2
ECAC tournament records:
Yale 7-19-5 (0.306)
Princeton and Cornell's records above
Semifinal records:
Yale 0-2 (0.000)
Princeton 1-1 (0.500)
Cornell 13-10 (0.565)
Thoughts:
Yale's stellar season was nearly derailed last weekend, as the Elis came within
a minute of blowing the series to St. Lawrence before rallying to tie the
second game and finally advancing with a win in the third. This is Yale's
first trip to Lake Placid, and their first appearance in the ECAC semis in
eleven years. By contrast, both of their potential opponents have appeared in
the semis twice in the last three years. Experience is not on the Elis' side,
but that's about the only thing that isn't -- they've got a solid offense led
by center Jeff Hamilton, a strong defense, and an outstanding goalie in
All-American candidate Alex Westlund.
Some will point to the two first-round ties against St. Lawrence as proof that
the Elis still are not ready for prime time. IMHO, it was more a case of
overconfidence, and Yale was at least able to wake up in time to salvage the
first two games and set up the clincher on Sunday. Now that they've received
proof that winning the regular-season title does not guarantee smooth sailing
in the playoffs, I expect that Tim Taylor's charges will be a focused lot when
they reach Lake Placid, and will not have a lot of trouble handling a team
tired out by a grueling game the night before. Elis by three.
#5 Harvard vs. #2 Clarkson
This season: Clarkson won series, 2-0
12/5 at Clarkson 4, Harvard 1
2/28 Clarkson 5, at Harvard 1
ECAC playoff meetings:: Harvard leads series, 7-6-1
1991 Semifinal #1 Clarkson 3, #4 Harvard 2
1988 Semifinal #6 Clarkson 6, #1 Harvard 4
1986 Semifinal #5 Clarkson 4, #1 Harvard 2
1985 Semifinal #2 Harvard 2, #3 Clarkson 1
1984 Quarterfinal at Harvard #5 Clarkson 3, #4 Harvard 1
Clarkson 2, Harvard 2
1982 Semifinal #4 Harvard 7, #1 Clarkson 1
1975 Quarterfinal at Harvard #1 Harvard 10, #8 Clarkson 5
1973 Quarterfinal at Harvard #7 Clarkson 7, #2 Harvard 4
1972 Quarterfinal at Harvard #3 Harvard 6, #6 Clarkson 5 (OT)
1971 Championship #4 Harvard 7, #2 Clarkson 4
1969 Semifinal #2 Harvard 8, #6 Clarkson 6
1964 Quarterfinal at Clarkson #4 Clarkson 6, #5 Harvard 4
1963 Semifinal #3 Harvard 6, #2 Clarkson 4
ECAC tournament records:
Harvard 53-29-4 (0.640), five championships (1963, 1971, 1983, 1987, 1994)
Clarkson 56-42-5 (0.568), three championships (1966, 1991, 1993)
Semifinal records:
Harvard 11-9 (0.550)
Clarkson 9-17 (0.346)
Thoughts:
Harvard's offense has come alive in the final weekend of the regular season and
in their first-round matchup with Colgate, but the Crimson still needed the
help of three five-on-three power plays to rally from a 4-2 deficit in the
third period of Friday night's game. The Crimson bolted out to a 3-0 lead the
next night and never looked back, and goalie J.R. Prestifilippo recovered from
a shaky outing to help put Harvard in the semis. But now, they come
face-to-face with a Clarkson team that has done an incredible job in stuffing
opponents' scoring chances. The Golden Knight defense was its usual
outstanding self in the series against Vermont, and it was a good thing, too,
because Clarkson's offense had a tough time figuring out goalie Andrew Allen in
game 1, and the Knights' own netminder, Chris Bernard, had a shaky game the
next night and was finally replaced by Dan Murphy -- who will probably get the
start Friday against Harvard as a result.
In this one, Clarkson's got the big edge on defense, somewhat of an edge on
offense, and should have the better goaltender as well, unless he falls
apart... and rest assured, head coach Mark Morris won't hesitate to bench the
starter at the first sign that he (the goalie) is losing it. Harvard will have
to play a near-perfect game, concentrate on generating a lot of offensive
chances (which is not generally the way a Tomassoni team plays), and hope that
the Golden Knights fall on their swords. Not exactly reassuring to the Crimson
faithful. Clarkson by two.
Possible consolation and championship matchups:
#2 Clarkson vs. #1 Yale
This season: Series tied, 1-1
11/7 at Yale 2, Clarkson 1
2/20 at Clarkson 6, Yale 3
ECAC playoff meetings: Clarkson leads series, 4-1-1
1997 Quarterfinal at Clarkson #1 Clarkson 5, #10 Yale 2
Clarkson 4, Yale 1
1991 Quarterfinal at Clarkson #1 Clarkson 4, #9 Yale 0
Clarkson 6, Yale 3
1987 Quarterfinal at Yale #4 Yale 4, #5 Clarkson 4
Yale 4, Clarkson 3
#7 Princeton vs. #5 Harvard
This season: Princeton won series, 1-0-1
11/14 at Princeton 3, Harvard 3 (OT)
2/13 Princeton 7, at Harvard 3
ECAC playoff meetings: Harvard leads series, 2-0
1993 Quarterfinal at Harvard #1 Harvard 6, #10 Princeton 2
Harvard 8, Princeton 0
#8 Cornell vs. #5 Harvard
This season: Cornell won series, 2-0
11/7 at Cornell 5, Harvard 2
2/21 Cornell 3, at Harvard 2
ECAC playoff meetings: Cornell leads series, 7-4-1
1997 Quarterfinal at Cornell #2 Cornell 2, #8 Harvard 2 (OT)
Cornell 4, Harvard 1
1996 Championship #4 Cornell 2, #6 Harvard 1
1994 Quarterfinal at Harvard #1 Harvard 5, #8 Cornell 4
Harvard 5, Cornell 3
1990 Quarterfinal at Cornell #3 Cornell 6, #6 Harvard 2
Cornell 4, Harvard 2
1989 Consolation #1 Harvard 6, #5 Cornell 3
1976 Consolation #5 Cornell 7, #7 Harvard 6
1975 Semifinal #1 Harvard 6, #4 Cornell 4
1970 Semifinal #1 Cornell 6, #5 Harvard 5
1969 Championship #1 Cornell 4, #2 Harvard 2
#5 Harvard vs. #1 Yale
This season: Yale won series, 2-0
11/15 at Yale 3, Harvard 1
2/14 Yale 5, at Harvard 3
ECAC playoff meetings: Harvard leads series, 1-0
1986 Consolation #1 Harvard 6, #2 Yale 3
#7 Princeton vs. #2 Clarkson
This season: Series tied, 1-1
11/8 at Princeton 3, Clarkson 2
2/21 at Clarkson 5, Princeton 3
ECAC playoff meetings: Series tied, 1-1
1997 Semifinal #1 Clarkson 5, #6 Princeton 1
1995 Semifinal #7 Princeton 2, #1 Clarkson 1
#8 Cornell vs. #2 Clarkson
This season: Series tied, 1-1
1/30 at Cornell 2, Clarkson 1
3/7 at Clarkson 4, Cornell 3 (OT)
ECAC playoff meetings: Cornell leads series, 11-6-1
1997 Championship #2 Cornell 2, #1 Clarkson 1
1996 Semifinal #4 Cornell 3, #2 Clarkson 0
1995 Quarterfinal at Clarkson #1 Clarkson 6, #9 Cornell 2
Clarkson 7, Cornell 2
1992 Semifinal #5 Cornell 4, #3 Clarkson 3 (2 OT)
1989 Quarterfinal at Clarkson #5 Cornell 5, #4 Clarkson 3
Cornell 0, Clarkson 0
1988 Quarterfinal at Cornell #6 Clarkson 4, #3 Cornell 3
Cornell 4, Clarkson 2
Clarkson 1, Cornell 0 (mini-game)
1986 Championship #3 Cornell 3, #5 Clarkson 2 (OT)
1985 Consolation #4 Cornell 5, #3 Clarkson 3
1977 Consolation #3 Cornell 5, #1 Clarkson 4
1976 Quarterfinal at Clarkson #5 Cornell 9, #4 Clarkson 7
1973 Semifinal #1 Cornell 9, #7 Clarkson 3
1971 Semifinal #2 Clarkson 4, #3 Cornell 1
1970 Championship #1 Cornell 3, #2 Clarkson 2
1966 Championship #1 Clarkson 6, #3 Cornell 2
Consolation records:
Yale 0-1-1 (0.250)
Clarkson 7-7-1 (0.500)
Harvard 5-3 (0.625)
Princeton 0-1 (0.000)
Cornell 5-3 (0.625)
Championship records:
Yale 0-0
Clarkson 3-6 (0.333)
Harvard 5-6 (0.454)
Princeton 0-1 (0.000)
Cornell 9-4 (0.692)
In the consolation, I like Harvard to bounce back and get their first win of
the season against either Cornell or Princeton. A defensive battle in either
case sees the Crimson nail down a third-place tournament finish by one.
Now the one for all the marbles, and here is where I see Clarkson's goaltending
situation finally getting them into trouble. It's not necessarily that the
coaching staff can't pick a full-time starter; the real problem is that whoever
does get in there knows that if he looks shaky at all, he'll be yanked faster
than Tom Arnold's next TV show. True, the Knights handled Yale's Alex Westlund
pretty well the last time they met, to the tune of six goals, but with the
playoff pressure on, I have to give the Elis a solid edge between the pipes.
And with the offenses and defenses relatively evenly matched (edge to Yale
offensively and Clarkson defensively), the performance in goal will be the
difference. Yale by two, winning the ECAC championship in their first-ever
trip to the finals.
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
strictly those of:
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95 DJF 5/27/94
LET'S GO RED!! JCF 12/2/97
"I'm going to watch the football game here on the telly."
"Oh, but I just heard the end of that game on the radio and--"
"That's fine, love, but don't tell me about it, just let me watch it, please."
"But I know the score of the game."
"That's fine, but just don't tell me."
"But I know who won!"
"Look, JUST DON'T TELL ME!"
"Oh, all right, watch your old game. But you won't see any goals!"
-- Benny Hill
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