> I can't claim to be an ECAC expert, so I have let everyone else fight > it out. I do find some of the comments on Vermont interesting, > however. I think many of them come out of a disappointment in how > Vermont did last year. Well, Vermont had high expectations last year. Their offense was probably the main reason behind that. From what I can recall, I don't remember anyone claiming that the defense would hurt them. > A recurring theme is "Vermont has two of the best offensive players in > the country, but their defense hurt them." Then I look at the > standings from last year, and despite finishing 5th in the ECAC, > Vermont's GAA was the lowest in the league. Sure, Thomas is good, but > no team finishes with the lowest GAA without their D having at least a > decent season. Good point... > The interesting thing is that in many of the key games Vermont didn't > win, they had trouble scoring goals: only 1 in their two q-final > losses to Colgate, for instance. Down the stretch - last 15 games - > Vermont allowed more than 3 goals only 3 times. > > My outside view is that this is a team that was talented but > inexperienced last season. Many of Vermont's key players were young, > and they played with inconsistency. That will change this season. Ditto. I talk about experience like it's the sole factor for winning the ECAC. I should clear up that fact in that experience along with having the talent to do it is what makes a winner, IMO. > As an outside observer of the ECAC, I would say that if Vermont gets > the leadership it needs, it will probably be the best team in the ECAC > and win the league. These guys know what they didn't do last year and > what it will take to get the job done this season. I think that's a good argument, as well. However, I hesitate to say whether or not they'll win the league. They couldn't get the job done when they needed to last year, so I'm a little skeptical. I'd love to see Vermont do it, though. I think we'll see what happens when they face their first "important, must-win" game. -- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ + + + Andy Weise Let's Go Tech! + + SUNY Potsdam '93 [log in to unmask] + + Union College '95 Let's Go U! + + + + Performance Systems International, Inc. (PSI) + + + + "If you think nobody cares you're alive, try missing a couple of + + car payments." + + + +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.