Men's Hockey: Upstart Quinnipiac is toast of ECAC Hockey

Traditionally, ECAC Hockey is one of the toughest leagues in the country. In a conference where cakewalks are not so much hard to come by as unheard of, last year’s league tournament typified the close competition that the teams in the conference see week in and week out.

In that tournament, Brown — a team that won only three conference games during the entire regular season — swept fifth-place Harvard in an opening-round playoff series. Rensselaer finished that season with only three more points than Brown in conference play before going on a similar postseason run. The Engineers swept sixth-place Dartmouth in the opening round of the tournament, and they nearly pulled off a much bigger upset the following weekend before succumbing to nationally-ranked Cornell in three games.

This year, the conference has been even more unpredictable. Quinnipiac (13-3-1 overall, 7-2-0 ECAC Hockey), which was picked to finish eighth in the annual conference preseason poll, currently sits atop the league standings. On the other hand, Harvard (1-8-2, 1-5-2) and Dartmouth (3-7-0, 1-6-0), picked fourth and fifth in the preseason poll, respectively, are currently stuck in the conference cellar in 11th and 12th place.

Quinnipiac opened the season arguably as the hottest team, not just in the ECAC but the entire country. The Bobcats are currently ranked No. 8 in the nation after opening the season with seven consecutive conference wins. The team cooled down a little two weekends ago when it dropped road games at Yale (7-3-2, 4-1-2) and Brown (5-7-1, 3-4-1).

The Bobcats have two of the most dynamic forwards in the ECAC in Brandon Wong and Eric Lampe, who are currently second and third in the conference, respectively, in points. And though Quinnipiac has long been known for its offensive creativity, Dan Clarke has given the team a consistent presence in the net to complement its firepower up front. Clarke is second in the league in both goals-against average and save percentage.

Joining Quinnipiac in the national top 20 are three more teams from the ECAC. Cornell (7-2-2, 6-2-1), long one of the premier teams in the conference, is having one of its best seasons in recent memory. The Big Red is currently ranked No. 4, and it is close on the heels of Quinnipiac with 13 points, one less than the Bobcats.

Ben Scrivens has been an absolute force in net for Cornell and is first in the conference in goals-against average and save percentage. Leading the Big Red’s attack are Blake Gallagher, tied for third in the league with 10 goals, and Colin Greening, whose 11 assists lead the team.

Union (8-3-5, 4-0-3) is the only team in the ECAC yet to lose a conference game. Picked to finish sixth in the conference, the Dutchmen recently cracked the national rankings and are currently standing at No. 18 in the country. Mario Valery-Trabucco leads the team in goals (10) and assists (11).

The league’s final top 20 team is preseason favorite, No. 9 Yale. The Bulldogs have already handed Princeton (4-8-1, 2-6-1) two losses this season with one more game still to come. Led by Sean Backman, Brian O’Neill and Marc Arcobello, Yale has one of the most dangerous offensive attacks in the country.

Following a slow start to the season, Princeton is currently sitting in ninth place in the league standings after nine intra-conference games. At this point last season, the Tigers were ranked No. 8 nationally with a 13-2 overall record and an 8-1 league record, good enough for sole possession of first place.

If Princeton wants to make a move back to the top of the ECAC standings, it has some serious work to do. The Tigers ended a six-game losing streak this past Saturday with a 3-2 win over No. 14 UMass Lowell.

Princeton returns to league action on Jan. 4 with a weeknight matchup against league-leading Quinnipiac. Following that game, the Tigers will have 12 more league games in which they can make up some ground in the conference standings. To reach last season’s total of 28 points — good enough for third-place in the 2008-09 regular season — Princeton needs to finish out its ECAC season with an 11-1-1 mark. Though this is a lofty goal, the Tigers know as well as anyone that every team has a shot to win in the ECAC.