It's All Coming Down to the Wire in the ECACHL Race
ALBANY, N.Y. - With one weekend left to go in the ECAC Hockey League regular season not one team has locked up its position in the final standings. Sweeps over the weekend by the top three teams -- Cornell, Colgate and Harvard -- ensures first-round byes for them. A Vermont sweep put the Catamounts in better position to claim that last spot, but Dartmouth can also claim it, as can Brown. Taking the already mentioned teams out of the mix, there are still another four teams that could finish in the top eight and earn home ice for the first round.
The picture should clear up a bit more after Friday night, but keep the abacus and slide rule handy when it comes time to figure it all out.
So, how did last weekend's games work out?
Well, for starters, there were five shutouts put in the books, making it nearly impossible to choose a Goaltender of the Week. Harvard's Dov Grumet-Morris won out, after making 58 saves in his two league games, while allowing just two goals. He also stopped an additional 38 shots earlier in the week against Boston College in the Beanpot. The Crimson started off the weekend with a 5-0 blanking of Clarkson and then earned a 5-2 win over St. Lawrence. Assisting Grumet-Morris on the offensive side of things was freshman teammate Jon Pelle, who earned Co-Rookie of the Week honors. Pelle picked up three points over the weekend and was +2.
Joining Pelle with the rookie honors -- the first co-rookie award this season -- was Colgate's Tyler Burton. Burton's squad also swept the weekend competition and also had a shutout. Burton had matching numbers, with a goal, two assists and a +2 rating over the two games. Steve Silverthorn earned his school record seventh career shutout on Saturday along with his 52nd win in stopping Rensselaer 1-0.
Cornell, now checking in as the No. 2/3 team in the country, earned its seventh shutout of the year on Friday against Rensselaer, and in the process, goalie David McKee now has 12 in his career, just one shy of Ken Dryden's Big Red record of 13. Matt Moulson helped the Red to victory on Saturday vs. Union, scoring three goals for his third career hat trick. The Big Red is guaranteed a No. 1 or No. 2 finish, Colgate will finish second or third, and Harvard can go 1-4 in the final standings. The Crimson has a game in hand, making it possible to still earn the top spot.
Another weekend shutout was achieved by Joe Fallon and his Vermont Catamounts. Fallon made just 11 stops in shutting down Yale for the win, while Chris Myers led offensively with two goals. The shutout was Fallon's fifth of the season, setting a new single-season record for the Cats. It was also the team's sixth in 2004-05, also setting a new school standard. Fallon remained sharp on Saturday and made 26 saves to help earn the four-point weekend for the Catamounts.
Vermont currently lays claim to the fourth and final bye position, however, that can change, as the Cats can finish as high as third and as low as sixth.
Dartmouth is also looking to claim that No. 4 spot and, like UVM, can also finish fifth or sixth. The Big Green split its games over the weekend, with Princeton earning a stunning 6-2 win on Friday night. Princeton freshman Keith Shattenkirk was the star of Friday's win, as he scored his second and third career goals in the first period en route to the victory. The Big Green rebounded the next night with a two-goal win over Yale to stay in the hunt for the final bye.
This week's Player of the Week helped his team earn two points on the road, and to help it push for home ice in the first round of the playoffs. St. Lawrence's T.J. Trevelyan earned the weekly honors after picking up two goals and two assists. He netted his two goals in the 3-0 shutout of Brown on Friday and then assisted on both of his team's goals on Saturday at Harvard. Mike McKenna was in net for the Saints' blanking.
Brown rebounded to earn two points on the weekend, with a 5-2 win over Clarkson Saturday night. Les Haggett led the Bears on senior night with 1-2--3 numbers against the Knights, while rookie teammate Jeff Prough also had multiple points in the Clarkson game, posting 1-1--2 numbers.
Hard to believe, but the final games of the regular season are upon us. Harvard welcomes Brown to the Bright Center on Tuesday night to kick off the final week of action. The Crimson and Bears will then travel to Dartmouth and Vermont to wrap up the year. Princeton and Yale head out to the NY Capital District for games at Union and Rensselaer; while Cornell and Colgate head to the North Country to finish off at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
Follow the action with live stats from all the games along with postgame stories and box scores from all the contests online at http://www.ecachockeyleague.com/.
