Sat 03/09
ECAC League Semifinals @UNH:
#1 Brown        __      -       #4 Providence   __      12:00 pm
#2 UNH          __      -       #3 Dartmouth    __       3:00 pm
 
Sun 03/10
ECAC League Final @UNH:  (Tape delayed-Ch.50 (WNDS) at 8:00 pm)
Winner g1       __      -       Winner g2       __       2:00 pm
 
With no upsets in the quarterfinals we move into the ECAC Women's League
finals with the Rhode Island and New Hampshire derbies.  It's the Ivies versus
the Big Three.  Will this be the year an Ivy team finally wins the ECAC League
Championship?
 
#1 Brown over #4 Providence
Brown won both league matches 4-3 this season.  The Brown Bears will have to
be firing together this weekend if they want to beat the four-time defending
champion PC Friars.  Providence has an excellent goaltender and remains the
hottest team in the ECAC. I expect a close match with several lead changes
before the talented Bears deliver the telling blow.  If PC makes it to the
final, it's lights out.  The Friars will then have established "target lock"
and will find a way to win their fifth championship in a row.
 
#2 UNH over #3 Dartmouth
The UNH Wildcats won the lone league game 2-3 at Hanover.  Recently at Durham,
New Hampshire again beat the DC Big Green 6-2.  Playing at home I think UNH
will be too tough for anyone to stop.  They have the most confident team play
I have seen this year.  Dartmouth could pull out a victory if they start
scoring.  Big Green has the players and tactics to defeat any team.  I look
for the Wildcats to come out with an early score and unless DC answers
quickly, UNH could run away with this match.
 
#2 UNH over #1 Brown
The Wildcats and Bears played a 1-1 tie in a shortened game at Durham.  On the
last weekend of the season, Brown beat UNH 5-4 in Providence to win the League
title.  There is no doubt in my mind that the Bears have more firepower than
New Hampshire.  Brown's problem lies in their emotional baggage and the lack
of a coherent offensive plan.  I believe UNH will exploit these areas of
weakness and win the championship, with their superior team play, in a close
match.  The Brown attack could turn it on and devastate the Wildcats, but I
think the tense nature of the final will give UNH the edge.
 
 
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 good shooting
 hungerf
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