Dartmouth's women's hockey team has slim lead in ECAC

So far this season, Eastern College Athletic Conference women's hockey has shaped up into "probably one of the most competitive leagues of all time," according to Cornell (0-8-1 overall, 0-5-1 ECAC) head coach Melody Davidson. While it may not be quite on that scale, the ECAC has its share of parity with five teams in the top 10 in the country.

As the halfway point of the season nears, some surprises have cropped up in the conference, but most agree that the competition is nearly the same as it has been in past years.

"Some teams are doing well early; some teams have difficult schedules; some teams have easy schedules," Brown head coach Digit Murphy said. "It's vintage ECAC."

Dartmouth (8-3-0, 6-2-0) is at the head of the pack, with 12 points — two points are awarded for a win, none for a loss, and one for a tie — despite having lost two games, mostly because the Big Green has played two more conference games than anyone else.

Murphy claims that "Dartmouth is struggling," but that is easily explainable according to Dartmouth associate head coach Mark Hudak.

"We've had a ton of injuries — a broken wrist, a torn ACL, a torn MCL," Hudak said. "People have been gone for national events in Canada. Having a lot of our team back, we hope getting permanent lines together will just help us gel and improve."

Harvard (9-1-0, 5-0-0) is the only undefeated team, and they sit in second place in the conference. Harvard's position — at the top of the standings — is consistent with previous ECAC season results.

"The top three teams are obviously strong," Yale interim head coach Hilary Witt said. "Other than that, the league can go any way."

In addition to Dartmouth and Harvard, Brown (4-5-3, 3-2-0) is the final team in the triumvirate of traditional ECAC powerhouses. The Bears, however, have struggled so far this season.

Browns sits tied for fourth place, due to tough competition and, according to Murphy, some questionable calls associated with stricter enforcement of the rule against body checking in women's hockey.

"The contact rule has definitely been a point of emphasis this season, making special teams a lot more important," Murphy said. "It was fine the way it was. I think it shouldn't be a point of emphasis personally. It's gotten a little out of control, and people are really looking for it now. Refs have been inconsistent and the process [of implementing stricter enforcement] is painful."

In third place, with eight points, sits St. Lawrence (8-4-2, 4-2-0). The Saints saddled Princeton (7-3-2, 3-1-0) with its only loss in the ECAC, and now sit atop the Tigers by two points.

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"St. Lawrence was a pretty good battle for us," Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal said. "It was like playing a mirror. Both teams are solid."

Princeton and Brown are tied for fourth place with six points apiece, while Colgate (7-7-0, 2-4-0) is nipping at their heels, just below the .500 mark in the ECAC. Teams with fewer points than the Raiders are not in strong contention for an ECAC title this year.

"We [Yale] lost a tough game to Colgate, but they are beatable," Witt said. This comment from an ECAC team with only one win cannot bode well for the Raiders or any team with fewer points.

The Elis are currently in seventh place in the league of nine, after securing only two points, both coming in their 3-1 win over Cornell in New Haven on Nov. 8.

"We're getting better every day," Witt said. "You can't take anyone in this league lightly."

The two teams remaining in the league, Cornell and Vermont (2-10-1, 0-5-1) are tied for eighth place, with one point each in the conference.

The ties on both teams' records are from a game they played against each other on Nov. 15, in Ithaca, NY.

"We're happy where we're at as a team," Davidson said. "We'd definitely like to have some wins in our column, but hopefully we'll be chalking some up after the New Year."

"Cornell will not stay at the bottom of the barrel long," Witt said. "Vermont has played some tough teams."

Once the schedules even out and the teams have played an equal number of games, the balance of power in the ECAC will probably shift among the top few spots, but most expect that Dartmouth, Harvard, and Brown will shake off the dust of the rest of the league and battle for the top spot among themselves.