I've done my share of ECAC woofing these last three years (mostly in self-defense), but after watching the game at Northeastern Saturday night, I'll grudgingly give Hockey Least its due. This message will not be repeated. HE has developed a more open, fast, exciting game than the ECAC in the last couple years. I realize that my ECAC view is hideously disfigured by watching Cornell, which plays an EXTREMELY slow, close-checking, conservative game. But I've seen several other ECAC match-ups, and several HE league and playoff games, and I detect a fundamental difference in style of play. Note I'm not saying "level", or "quality" of play. That's a rat hole I'll avoid, thank you. But in the HE games I've seen there have been far more well set-up plays, better executed odd-man rushes, and more end-to-end action. The ECAC is slower and frankly less interesting to watch. I will venture tentatively into normative comparison by summing up this way: to these eyes, HE has superior forwards, while ECAC has to the same degree superior goaltending. This could be a reflection of the difference in styles of play, or it could be driving that difference. In either case, there it is. Greg Boston Let's Go Red!