OK, Yale's schedule has been relatively soft, and they have yet to take on a
non-ECAC opponent, but the Elis are the only unbeaten team left in Division
I. I admit I'm not on the bandwagon yet, since Yale has started off strong
before and faded quickly later in the season. Case in point: last year,
the Elis had an 8-3-1 league record midway through January, and they went on
to finish the regular season with a 9-11-2 ECAC mark. Nevertheless, this is
a team that bears watching. They've got a potentially explosive offense
(5.4 goals per game, third behind Clarkson and St. Lawrence) that may be
reminiscient of their last great team, the 1986 squad (Randy Wood et al.)
that finished second in the ECAC.
Most of the weekend results involving ECAC teams have already been posted,
but here they are all in one place...
Friday, November 29:
Colgate 3, KENT 3 (OT)
Ottawa Tournament:
Trois Rivieres (Quebec) 6, St. Lawrence 5 (OT)
Northeastern 6, Ottawa 4
Saturday, November 30:
Brown 6, HARVARD 5
PRINCETON 8, Dartmouth 1
YALE 5, Vermont 3
Clarkson 5, NEW HAMPSHIRE 4
KENT 5, Colgate 3
PROVIDENCE 5, Cornell 4 (OT)
Rpi 6, ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 3
UNION 10, Concordia 3
Ottawa Tournament:
Consolation:
St. Lawrence 5, Ottawa 5 (OT)
Championship:
Northeastern 6, Trois Rivieres 1
Sunday, December 1:
PRINCETON 8, Vermont 3
BOSTON COLLEGE 3, Cornell 0
Rpi 8, ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 7 (OT)
ECAC standings as of 12/2/91:
League Overall
Team W L T Pts GF GA W L T Pts GF GA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yale 4 0 1 9 27 18 4 0 1 9 27 18
Harvard 4 1 1 9 32 16 4 1 1 9 32 16
Clarkson 4 0 0 8 25 11 8 1 0 16 54 26
Brown 3 3 0 6 24 26 3 3 0 6 24 26
St. Lawrence 3 1 0 6 22 14 5 3 1 11 51 36
Cornell 2 2 0 4 11 10 2 4 0 4 15 18
Princeton 2 4 0 4 26 25 2 4 0 4 26 25
Vermont 2 4 0 4 21 27 5 5 0 10 42 35
Dartmouth 1 3 0 2 10 29 1 3 0 2 10 29
Colgate 1 3 0 2 16 24 1 6 1 3 28 43
RPI 1 3 0 2 7 16 5 4 0 10 33 38
Union 0 3 0 0 8 13 1 4 0 2 24 25
Some notes on the Big Red's 0-for-the-New-England-swing weekend (hmm, maybe
this Thanksgiving weekend scheduling isn't such a hot idea after all):
Providence 5, Cornell 4 (OT)
This was the Big Red's third straight game against a nationally-ranked
team, and Cornell had a good shot at the upset, as they led #11 (in one
poll, anyway) Providence 4-2 late in the second. However, the Friars
rallied and were able to gain their eighth win.
The first period started out fast and furious, as four goals were
scored in the game's first six minutes. Cornell's Karl Williams
started the festivities, banging a rebound past Providence goaltender
Mike Heinke with just one minute gone in the first. The lead was
short-lived, as the Friars' George Breen beat Parris Duffus at the 2:07
mark. Ryan Hughes' first goal of the year, at 5:10 of the first
period, gave the Big Red their second lead of the night, and this one
lasted all of 44 seconds. With Etienne Belzile off for interference,
Craig Darby fired a shot that Duffus couldn't get to, and the game was
tied at 2-2. The goal was the first allowed by the Cornell penalty-
killers in seven periods.
Joe Dragon fired home a pass from Dave Burke later in the first period
to put Cornell up by one for the third time. Most of the middle stanza
was uneventful, but with 3:06 left, Dragon surprised Heinke with a
tough angle shot from the right circle. It looked like Cornell would
take its two-goal lead into the locker room, but Shaun Kane sliced the
deficit in half on a blast between Duffus' pads with just 31 seconds
remaining. Unlike the game against St. Lawrence the week before,
Cornell could not get the back-breaking goal to put the game away, and
Providence eventually tied the game at 11:49 of the third. Bob Cowan
came out of the penalty box, got control of the puck, and wristed a
shot past Duffus. This was the first time all season that Cornell had
allowed a third-period goal, and it would cost them.
The overtime period was played almost completely in the Cornell zone,
as the Friars got off four shots on goal (Cornell had none) before
hitting pay dirt with their fifth at the 1:23 mark. Duffus went down
to block a shot by Breen, but Chad Quenneville tracked down the rebound
and backhanded the puck over the fallen goalie. For the game, Duffus
had 34 saves; Heinke finished with 23.
Boston College 3, Cornell 0
Just a few things to add to what Greg already posted. BC's David
Franzosa was one of the game's first stars, accounting for all the
scoring in the first period on a short-handed breakaway at the 7:20
mark and a power-play tally ten minutes later. Franzosa also picked up
an assist on BC's third goal, as his rebound was tapped home by Jack
Callahan with 3:15 left in the second period. By the way, the game's
other first star went to Parris Duffus, the Big Red's only bright spot,
who stopped 41 shots. After getting dominated in the first two
periods, the Cornell offense managed to pick up the pace in the third,
firing 20 shots at the BC net, but they were still unable to dent
Eagles goalie Scott LaGrand (33 saves).
Cornell's power-play unit is usually not too good, but things are getting a
little worrisome. They were shut out on the weekend, and they have now gone
0 for their last 15 opportunities. The four-forward unit that Greg
mentioned also made a couple appearances late in the Clarkson game (when the
Knights were comfortably ahead). I'm sure McCutcheon is trying to shake the
team up and find *something* that puts a few shots on net. I suppose six
games into the season is a bit too early to panic, but the Big Red offense
is bordering on the awful -- their 2.5 goals-per-game average ties them with
Dartmouth for last in the ECAC. Duffus, who has yet to have a bad night
(0.917 save percentage, 3.00 GAA), is basically carrying this team, and
unless the Big Red finds an offense fast, he'll be joining the Chris Harvey
Hall of Fame for Great Goaltenders Who Can't Buy a Victory.
Upcoming ECAC games:
Dec. 2
Brown at Providence (NC)
Dec. 3
Dartmouth at Merrimack (NC)
Dec. 6
Brown at Cornell
Harvard at Colgate
RPI at St. Lawrence
Union at Clarkson
Yale at Princeton
Dec. 7
Brown at Colgate
Harvard at Cornell
Princeton at Yale
RPI at Clarkson
Union at St. Lawrence
--
Bill Fenwick | Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and probably '94 | [log in to unmask]
LET'S GO RED!!
"When you're born, you start out life with two things: diaper rash and rela-
tives. Both can be very annoying, but you can get rid of the rash."
-- George Burns, _How to Live to be 100 -- or More_
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