Here's the ECAC coaches' pre-season poll which I finally managed to get a copy of (first place votes in parentheses): 1. Cornell (10) 142 2. Clarkson (1) 123 3. Harvard 115 4. RPI (1) 110 5. St. Lawrence 94 6. Colgate 87 7. Brown 67 8. Vermont 65 9. Princeton 53 10. Yale 47 11. Dartmouth 19 12. Army 17 Although polls in general aren't worth much, this one makes a little more sense than some of the other ones I've seen for the ECAC. The coaches seem to think Harvard will earn a home-ice spot in the playoffs, and since the Crimson have their usual collection of talented skaters, they should be able to. (Other polls have placed Harvard sixth, where they finished last year) Also, despite their wins last weekend at Lowell and Northeastern, Colgate is nowhere near as strong as they were last year, having lost seven forwards as well as their top goalie, and the Red Raiders may be hard-pressed to finish in the top four. The return of Marc Dupere, who was a senior last year but got an extra season of eligibility after sitting out his freshman year with a back injury, will help the Red Raiders out a lot. By the way, it looks like Greg Menges will be splitting the "dufflebag" duties with Ken Baker, who got the win against Northeastern on Saturday. And I guess this is as good a time as any to start the rumor mill going. Published reports have indicated that Army may withdraw from the ECAC to become a Division I independent, and that this might take place as early as next season. If this does happen, there is some sense that either RIT or Union College, which are both currently in Division III, may try to join the ECAC Division I league soon afterwards. Bill Fenwick Cornell '86 LET'S GO RED!! "I love driving. My dad gave me a car when I was 16 years old. What a nice guy, huh? Although I recently found out it was a rental car and I owe 1.5 million dollars." -- Peter Gaulke