The ECAC West quarterfinals were held last Tuesday night, with the higher-
seeded teams hosting the games.  Results:
 
     #1 Plattsburgh State 6, #8 Hobart 2
     #2 Elmira 7, #7 RIT 2
     #3 Mercyhurst 8, #6 Oswego State 2
     #4 Fredonia State 4, #5 Geneseo State 2
 
Notes on the Elmira game:
 
Elmira 7, RIT 2
     Four first-period goals by the Soaring Eagles effectively put an end to
     RIT's playoff hopes, as Elmira outshot RIT 17-5 in the opening stanza
     and beat the Tigers for the fourth time this season.  Jason Courte-
     manche got things going just 37 seconds into the game, when he stole an
     RIT pass and poked it home behind goaltender Derrick Barnett.  Bernie
     Cassell followed that with a slapper under Barnett's glove just over
     three minutes later -- his 41st goal of the year, breaking the Elmira
     record set by Joe Spinelli last season.  A pair of goals later in the
     period by Joe Caswell and Bob McGee gave the Soaring Eagles a 4-0 lead,
     and Spinelli wasted little time after the intermission in extending it
     to 5-0.  Off the opening faceoff in the second period, Cassell drew the
     puck back to Spinelli, who raced up the ice and beat Barnett with only
     11 seconds gone.  Jay Murphy put RIT on the board at 6:15 of the
     second, and then he made it 5-2 with 2:03 to go in the period on a
     short-handed tally.  But Cassell and Spinelli each got goals in the
     third period to round out the scoring.  Barnett made 30 saves, while
     Elmira goaltender Dave Laudato stopped 27 shots in a solid performance.
 
Elmira faces Mercyhurst Friday night in the ECAC West semifinals, while
Plattsburgh will take on Fredonia in the other game -- a rematch of the
SUNYAC tournament finals.  Elmira has lost both games to Mercyhurst this
season, but the same thing happened last year, and the Eagles dominated
Mercyhurst when the two met for the ECAC West tournament championship.
 
The site of the ECAC West Final Four (hey, don't blame me, that's what they
called it in the paper!) has not been finalized as of this morning.
Ordinarily, the games are all played at the arena of the highest-seeded
team, in this case Plattsburgh.  However, ECAC executive director Joe
Bertagna has said the tournament committee is looking into the possibility
of holding the games at Elmira's Murray Center because it is more centrally
located.  "We don't want to penalize Plattsburgh because they're the top
seed," Bertagna said on Tuesday, "but if Elmira, Plattsburgh, Mercyhurst,
and Fredonia make it [which is what happened], why should we make Mercyhurst
and Fredonia drive 12 or 13 hours?...  As of right now, we're looking at
both sites.  We're just saying Elmira would make a nice central location."
The committee will decide the location tonight.
 
Now, I understand that Division III teams often have a limited travel
budget, and that Mercyhurst and Fredonia (and especially Elmira) would
benefit from having the tournament moved to Murray Center, but if the
highest seed is supposed to host the tournament, that would deprive the
Plattsburgh team and their fans of a well-deserved honor.  If the concern is
monetary, the ECAC should select a "central" site or sites ahead of time and
hold the Final Four there every year, as the Division I league does with
Boston Garden.  Otherwise, let Plattsburgh host it this year; they've earned
it.
 
If the tournament is moved to Elmira, it will mark the second year in a row
that the Soaring Eagles have hosted the ECAC West Final Four despite being
the #2 seed.  Last year, Mercyhurst was seeded #1 and was supposed to host
the tournament, but there was a scheduling conflict with their arena, so the
tournament was moved to Elmira.  The location could also make a difference
in the championship results.  Consider that when Elmira went to Plattsburgh
early in the season, the Soaring Eagles blew a 4-0 first-period lead en
route to a 9-8 loss.  When Plattsburgh made the return trip to Elmira, they
suffered their only loss to a Division III foe as Elmira beat them 9-6.
It's likely these two will meet for the ECAC West championship.  Somewhere.
--
Bill Fenwick                        |  Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and probably '94        |  [log in to unmask]
LET'S GO RED!!
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 inches and women said four inches, tops."
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