ECAC WEST NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Number 8 December 17th, 1996 MERCYHURST CAPTURES TOURNEY; TIGERS ALONE IN 2ND - It was bad news and good news for Mercyhurst this week. The Lakers lost the battle for 2nd place to RIT, but rebounded to capture their own tournament. STANDINGS W L T Pts GF GA Niagara (8-6-2) 2 0 2 6 25 14 RIT (7-1-2) 2 0 1 5 14 8 Elmira (8-2-2) 1 1 1 3 13 13 Mercyhurst (7-5-2) 1 1 1 3 15 15 Canisius (7-3-1) 1 2 1 3 23 24 Hobart (3-9-1) 0 3 0 0 14 30 Note: Niagara, in their first season in the ECAC West, is ineligible for the playoffs. RECENT RESULTS 12/10: RIT 6 at Mercyhurst 3 Hamilton 8 at Hobart 3 12/13: Findlay 1 at Mercyhurst 7 (Mercyhurst Tournament) Brockport 4 at RIT 7 12/14: Elmira 3 vs. Fredonia 3 (Hamilton Tournament) Mercyhurst 4 vs. Oswego 3 (Mercyhurst Tournament) Hobart 6 at Brockport 9 12/15: Elmira 4 at Hamilton 8 (Hamilton Tournament) SCORING LEADERS GP G A Pts S. Toll, RIT 3 7 2 9 J. Evangelista, Mercyhurst 3 6 2 8 P. DeSantis, Niagara 4 6 2 8 S. Ludeviks, Mercyhurst 3 5 3 8 J. Oort, Canisius 4 2 5 7 R. Othmann, Canisius 4 2 5 7 J. Braun, Canisius 4 0 7 7 GOALTENDING LEADERS GP Save % GAA G. Gardner, Niagara 4 .880 2.50 J. Morris, RIT 3 .937 2.59 TEAM-BY-TEAM REPORT: CANISIUS (7-3-1): The Ice Griffs were idle last week. Their next games will be 1/10 and 1/11 when Canisius will compete in a tournament hosted by Buffalo State. Oswego and Skidmore are the other teams participating. ELMIRA (8-2-2, ranked #2 the NCAA Division III Eastern Poll): The Soaring Eagles went 0-1-1 at the Hobart Tournament, settling for a 3-3 tie with #3 Fredonia before falling to #7 Hamilton 8-4. Elmira's next action will be 1/3 and 1/4, when they host a tournament featuring Findlay, Niagara and Trinity. HOBART (3-9-1): The Statesmen went 0-2 on the week, losing 8-3 to #7 Hamilton followed by a hard-fought 9-6 loss at Brockport. Hobart is idle until 1/11/97, when they host Cortland. MERCYHURST (7-5-2, ranked #3 in the NCAA Division II poll)) : The Lakers lost a key conference game to RIT on Tuesday, but rebounded to capture their first tournament by besting Findlay 7-1 and Oswego 4-3. Next up for the Lakers is a trip to Simsbury, CT, where they'll participate in the UConn Tournament. Mercyhurst will face Potsdam in the first round, followed by either Southern Maine or the host Huskies. NIAGARA (8-6-2): The Purple Eagles have concluded the 1996 portion of their schedule. They return to action on 1/3 and 1/4 at the Elmira Tournament. RIT (7-1-2, ranked #5 in the NCAA Division III Eastern Poll) : The Tigers went 2-0 on the week, outlasting host Mercyhurst 6-3 and then coming from behind to defeat local rival Brockport on home ice. RIT trailed 4-1 at one point before scoring 6 unanswered goals to put the game away. Tiger forward Steve Toll leads the nation in scoring with 19 goals and 17 assists in 10 games. In a rematch of last year's NCAA D-III Championship, RIT plays a pair at #1 Middlebury on 1/4 and 1/5 UPCOMING GAMES 1/3: Elmira vs. Findlay/Niagara/Trinity at the Elmira Tournament 1/4: Niagara at the Elmira Tournament Elmira at the Elmira Tournament Mercyhurst vs. Potsdam (UConn Tournament) RIT at Middlebury 1/5: Mercyhurst vs. UConn/S. Maine (UConn Tournament) RIT at Middlebury GAME OF THE WEEK: They don't get much bigger than this - #5 RIT at #1 Middlebury in a pair of rematches of last year's NCAA Division III national championship game. ECAC WEST vs. SUNYAC 14-8-3 ECAC East 4-4-0 ECAC N/C/S 7-0-0 Other 4-4-1 TOTAL 29-16-4 Chris Lerch US College Hockey Magazine HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.