-- [ From: Kepler * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --
 
Yale will have to prove they are not "Mr. November".  They have started fast
only to fold several times in the past decade, for whatever reason (most
likely, good old random chance).
 
But I don't know whether Yale would necessarily have a poor strength of
schedule if they were to make the tourny.  They would by then have played
Colgate, Cornell, Princeton, RPI, and Clarkson twice in the ECAC RS, plus
possibly RPI in a Christmas game, and then some permutation of at least a
couple of the above in the ECAC Tourny.  Cornell is currently a top 10 team,
Princeton and RPI are ion the cusp, and call me paranoid but I just don't
trust Clarkson not to get it together and roll up another 20 win season.
Colgate's season may come down to how they do in their 3 game series with
Cornell in mid-January.
 
I don't think the ECAC will rack up the number of TUC teams they did last
year when they had more than any other conference, but I would expect all
six of the above teams to be TUC, and 3-4 of them to be in the top 15 by
then.  So schedule strength for ECAC teams doesn't look like a big problem
right now.
--
 
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***    Greg R. Berge
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***    http://www.spiritone.com/~kepler
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