Some historical notes first:
 
ECAC Preliminary Round:
 
#10 Yale at #7 Colgate
 
This season:  Colgate won series, 2-0
     11/23    Colgate 4, at Yale 3 (OT)
     1/31     at Colgate 5, Yale 2
 
ECAC playoff meetings:  Colgate leads series, 2-0
 
     1990 Quarterfinals at Colgate        #1 Colgate 10, #10 Yale 3
                                          Colgate 5, Yale 4
 
ECAC tournament records:
     Colgate 12-28-3 (0.314), one championship (1990)
     Yale 5-17-3 (0.260)
 
Preliminary round records:
     Colgate 3-1 (2-1 at home)
     Yale 2-0 (both on road)
 
#9 St. Lawrence at #8 Harvard
 
This season:  St. Lawrence won series, 1-0-1
     12/6     St. Lawrence 3, at Harvard 3 (OT)
     2/22     at St. Lawrence 6, Harvard 3
 
ECAC playoff meetings:  Harvard leads series, 3-2
 
     1996 Quarterfinals at St. Lawrence   #6 Harvard 5, #3 St. Lawrence 2
                                          St. Lawrence 3, Harvard 2
                                          Harvard 8, St. Lawrence 4
     1987 Championship                    #1 Harvard 6, #3 St. Lawrence 3
     1962 Semifinal                       #4 St. Lawrence 6, #2 Harvard 5
 
ECAC tournament records:
     Harvard 50-28-3 (0.636), five championships (1963, 1971, 1983, 1987, 1994)
     St. Lawrence 27-28-1 (0.491), four championships (1962, 1988, 1989, 1992)
 
Preliminary round records:
     Harvard 0-0
     St. Lawrence 0-2 (0-1 on road)
 
Now, a few thoughts:
 
Yale at Colgate:
 
Dan Olsen writes:
>Colgate has both the best goal scorer, Mike
>Harder, and the best goaltender, Dan Brenzavich.  Brenzavich got shelled by
>Clarkson, only to be replaced just after the midpoint of the game.  However,
>these two ptp-ers should be able to baffle Yale.
 
I'm not so sure.  Colgate seems to be having some serious goaltending problems
of late.  Allowing five goals to Vermont and seven to Clarkson may be under-
standable, but... seven to Brown?  Five to a Harvard team which is for the most
part not noted for doing a whole lot beyind their own blue line?  The ship
seemed righted when the Red Raiders went to the Capital District and allowed
only three goals during their three-point weekend there, but then last Friday,
Colgate looked up at the scoreboard and discovered they were down 4-1 to St.
Lawrence in the second period.  Colgate had the offense to come back (helped by
a bit of a Saints' fold) and held St. Lawrence to one score the rest of the way,
but bailing out goaltender shakiness this way is not a recipe for success in the
playoffs.
 
Yale looks like a dangerous team once again.  The Elis finished November with a
decent 3-4-1 record, including surprise wins over Cornell and Clarkson, then
pulled out a 1-1 tie with BU.  They hit the skids after that, dropping nine of
their next 13 games, but they've shown some signs of improvement in their last
seven.  Yale has posted only a 2-4-1 record during that time, but consider:
 they lost to Harvard by one, tied St. Lawrence, held Clarkson to a scoreless
tie for 55 minutes before bowing 2-0, took Vermont well into overtime before
losing, beat Dartmouth and RPI, then had Union in a tie before pulling their
goalie in an attempt to climb into ninth place.  Things could be waking up in
Bulldog-land again.
 
It's tempting to go with the upset in this game, and in fact I will:  Yale by
one.
 
St. Lawrence at Harvard
 
After blowing a three-goal lead in the second half of the Vermont game and
losing 5-4, Harvard head coach Ronn Tomassoni might be tempted to focus even
more on defense than usual in getting ready for this one.  There's no need to...
defensively and in goal, the Crimson are fine.  Offense has been a sticking
point for Harvard for most of the season, but they came alive with six goals in
last weekend's win over Dartmouth, coupled with the four against Vermont.  St.
Lawrence is better offensively than they are defensively, and they waxed the
Crimson 6-3 when these two met in Canton a couple weeks ago.  But the Saints'
shaky defense couldn't hold on in games against Colgate and Cornell last
weekend, and if Harvard plays their usual solid game in their own end and takes
advantage of the opportunities they'll get in the St. Lawrence zone, this one
won't be in doubt for very long.
 
Harvard by two.
 
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95
LET'S GO RED!!                                                  DJF  5/27/94
"I believe Marcel Marceau said it best."
-- Madeline Kahn, "Cosby"
 
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