I wasn't going to publicize my ridicule again this year, but 14 of 16 round ball picks yesterday returned a smile to my face and a little confidence. #10 SLU at #1 Yale Yale is an inexperienced ECAC playoff team, but it won't hurt them at this level. Their last pair of home games ruined a perfect home record, but they proved last weekend that they could win when they needed to against RPI and Union. Yale in 2. #9 Vermont at #2 Clarkson The question of the year for Clarkson seems to be who's in goal. The answer for this series is that Tim Thomas isn't in goal across the way. Clarkson went 10-0-1 at home in league play this year, and hasn't lost or even tied a quarterfinal game at the Cheel Arena. Knights in 2. #8 Cornell at #3 RPI This is one of the very intriguing matchups on tap for this weekend. Cornell has a lot of playoff experience and a lot of pride. We've seen this combination before. However, RPI is without a doubt the better team. Expect this series to end in 2, but I think RPI might get a wake-up call with a tie tonight. #7 Princeton at #4 Brown Tigers and Bears, oh my. Well, I bet against Princeton last night and it hurt me, but here we go again. Princeton beat Brown it OT early in the season, but Brown was impressive in the second meeting. Princeton has only mustered wins against #6 Colgate, #5 Harvard, and Dartmouth in the second half of the season. This all coming while traveling with the #1 ranked team. Brown has only lost to #1 Yale and #2 Clarkson since the first of February. Bears in 2. #6 Colgate at #5 Harvard An interesting series when you consider that with 2 teams headed downhill so quickly, something's got to give. Harvard's only victory against a top 8 ECAC team since the first of 1998 was against Colgate. Colgate doesn't even have that going for them. Harvard seems to have the edge on paper, but I think this matchup is going to be our only upset. Colgate will take this series in 2. Not really going out on a limb in general, but I don't think SLU, UVM, and Princeton have a limb to stand on. IMHO, the only close matchups are the 3/8 and 5/6 games. Dan Olsen Clarkson '96 HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.