Okay, time to indulge in some rampant uninformed speculation: First, isn't Larry Winer perhaps slightly overselling a Quinnipiac team whose only non-conference games were a a win and a split againt Division I "powerhouses" Army and Air Force? Second, I think the ECAC works so well with 12 teams that they should try to keep that number. After all, Union was added at the same time Army was dropped. Third, I don't think Union is ready to leave of their own volition any time soon, but might they be booted out if the writing were on the wall and it was the only chance to snap up Niagara (although who knows if Niagara would want to join the ECAC; they seem to have their sights set on the CCHA)? Finally, imagining the travel partnerships if Union was replaced: Niagra-Cornell and Colgate-RPI; or [insert Connecticut school here]-Brown, Harvard-Dartmouth, UVM-RPI. Adding Niagara might post a travel problem for Harvard and other New England teams. John Whelan, Cornell '91 [log in to unmask] http://www.amurgsval.org/joe/ "We've got a whole mess of penalties" -- Cornell PA Announcer Arthur Mintz, after the Cornell-Union brawl 1998 December 4 HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.