Thought I'd take a stab at this weekend's results:
 
#10 SLU @ #1 Yale
Yale's league-leading defense is no match against the Saints
tenth-ranked offense. Goalie Alex Westlund's performance this year is no
fluke. Yale in two games.
 
#9 Vermont @ #2 Clarkson
Clarkson's offense this year was one goal away from tying RPI's as the
league's best, and the Knights have the #2 defense. That spells great
balance. The Cats averaged less than three goals per game, and were one
goal away from tying Harvard for last in the league defensively. Does
Vermont miss Tim Thomas yet? Clarkson in two.
 
#8 Cornell @ #3 Rensselaer
Anybody else remember that Cornell was the last undefeated team in
Division I this year? ;-)
 
RPI's league-leading offense against a very solid Cornell defense spells
a great series, better than you might expect from a 3-vs-8 match-up.
These two played into overtime last month before RPI won 4-3. Only
problem is, Cornell's offense is the least productive of the ten teams
in the ECAC playoffs this year. If Elliott can return between the pipes
by the weekend (I haven't heard anything either way - maybe I should
invest $.35 in tomorrow's Ithaca Journal), his experience will give the
Big Red a fighting chance. With all due respect to Ian Burt (he looked
very good against Clarkson last weekend), if Elliott's out, Rensselaer
in two close ones. With Elliott in, Renselaer in three. Either way, its RPI
may need to repair some seat edges over the summer.
 
#7 Princeton @ #4 Brown
Brown holds the edge both offensively and defensively over the Tigers,
using regular season stats. But I think lack of playoff experience may
hurt Brown. Remember, this Princeton team knocked off a highly touted
Vermont team last season on the road. The magic will return. Princeton
in 3.
 
#6 Colgate @ #5 Harvard
Tied in the standings, Harvard holds the edge on offense, but was the
league's worst defensively. Give the Crimson home-ice advantage, add in
the fact that the Red Raiders went stone cold late in the season, and
Harvard should win in two.
 
Todd Nielson
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/todnielson/creasemonkey.html">Crease Monkey
Hockey</A>
 
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