This was certainly a tumultuous weekend in the ECAC. Friday was
upset day with Yale stunning Brown, SLU knocking off RPI and
Princeton taking Harvard to overtime (granted, Union took Clarkson
to OT but the Dutchmen are much better than their league record
shows).
 
Union seemed to play really well on Friday, especially defensively.
Mike Gallant was a rock in nets, stoning the Golden Knights time
after time. On Saturday, the Knights fought back from several
deficits to tie RPI at 4 before the final late goal when an RPI
player was apparently pushed into CU goalie Jason Currie (enough
with the email, ok) and the puck poked ina few seconds later. Currie
was down for several minutes before the play resumed. This game,
it was Currie who played very well and kept Clarkson in the game.
It sounded like a poorly played defensive game by both clubs, similar
to their meeting in Potsdam.
 
However, all momentum gained by Clarkson on Friday, in the standings,
was lost on Saturday since all the teams ahead of CU won. Clarkson is
only a few points out of second but tied with Vermont for 5th.
 
Inthe other leagues, BU got revenge on Mass-Lowell after the Chiefs beat
them on Wednesday, with a 5-2 Terrier win on Friday. Sounds like these
two teams will meet once more...in the HE Finals. On this note, am I the
only one who noticed that there haven't been any UML whinings the last
coupla days.
 
Perhaps the biggest shock of the weekend was Ohio St sweeping two for
the first time I can remember. After shocking #5 Michigan St, the
Buckeyes came back the next day and rode 50 saves from Tom Askey to
beat Bowling Green. After nearly winning in S-S Marie a few weeks ago
(eventually tying), maybe the Buckeye program is on the way up.
 
Union may well have one of the nation's most deceiving records. They
hvae a very poor ECAC record and are ~7-11 overall but have suffered
some very tough losses. A one goal loss in Canton against SLU and
a pair of one goal losses to CLarkson. They seem to be playing teams
very tough and maybe next year, they'll have the guns to start winning
those close games. Definitely a team to keep an eye out for.
 
What's the deal with Neil Little? The preseason Hobey candidate has
..seems to have all kinds of problems against Clarkson and SLU. He was
quoted as saying he likes play these two teams because they keep him
involved in the game (with a lot of shots). However, he doesn't seem
to play well against them.
 
Speaking of RPI, they had a surprising number of defensive breakdowns in
the two games against Clarkson. I'm not sure if this is typical of
them but it surprised me. I expected defense to be their strength.
 
As for goalies, CU defenseman Brian Mueller stated, and I concurred,
that the toughest goalie in the ECAC this year is Brown's Geoff Finch.
Finch was the first star in last year's ECAC Finals (IMO) with 38 saves
and has historically played well against the Golden Knights but has apparently
been inconsistent aginast other teams. He seems to be improving on that
and played very well on an average defensive club. Some would argue that this
honor should go to Harvard's Aaron Israel; make Israel face the number
of shots and quality of shots Finch faces and then come back to me.
 
     _______Bri [log in to unmask]
     | Clarkson University '95         Glens Falls High '91            |
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