Just wanted to throw in a plug for several of the ECAC teams here.
Merrimack has seen four of them thus far, and I've been impressed with all
of them.  I talked earlier in the season about Colgate and Union.  This
weekend Merrimack dropped decisions to Dartmouth (6-4) and RPI (5-2).
 
Dartmouth looks like a much improved team.  Jason Wong wasn't tested much
in net Friday, but he gives them some stability back there and has those
big wins over Colgate and Vermont.  I think Dartmouth was riding the wave
of that Vermont win on Friday against Merrimack...they skated well and
created some nifty chances.  Ryan Chaytors looks like a solid go-to guy,
and David Whitworth played a great game at both ends of the ice and on
special teams.  And most of all, Dartmouth worked hard from start to finish
and didn't falter when Merrimack attempted a comeback in the second and
third.  They're not going to be an easy team for anyone to play, and it
will be interesting to see how things turn out for them later in the season.
 
The same is true for RPI.  RPI skates NO seniors...most of the players are
freshmen or sophomores.  And like Dartmouth, they work hard and work well
together.  Matt Garver was all over the ice and set up three goals.  Alain
St. Hilaire scored a sniper's goal in the first and was dangerous all
night.  Pete Gardiner has good size and uses it well.  The defense has a
good mix of juniors, sophomores and one freshman, and they played well in
front of the goalie.  And speaking of which, Joel Laing had no chance on
the two goals he allowed (one deflection, one a great end-to-end effort by
Merrimack's Tom Johnson) and made a number of big saves while the game was
close.
 
Based on what I saw, people in Hanover and Troy have a lot to look forward
to.  These looked like two teams that will only get better even as they
have gotten off to good starts.  And that seems to be the case for many of
the ECAC teams this year.  This is one Hockey East follower who thinks ECAC
hockey is in good shape.  That's good for college hockey as a whole.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                [log in to unmask]               *HMM* 11/13/93
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