A look around ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals
By Marty Joseph and Mark Spillane, QBSN Staff Writers
#10. RPI Engineers at #1. Union Dutchmen:
The Engineers of Rensselaer head to Schenectady, N.Y. to face-off against their archrival the Union Dutchmen. RPI and Union squared off three times this season with the Dutchmen taking each game, outscoring the Engineers 15-4.
The two-time defending Cleary Cup champion Dutchmen open postseason play as one of the most dangerous teams in the nation. Union has enjoyed tremendous success in 2012, finishing the season on an 11-2-2 tear, outscoring opponents 60-25 in the 15 games. The Dutchmen are among the nations best in both the offensive and defensive zones ranking first in team defense and sixth in team offense. Their offense is one of the most balanced in the nation as well, 12 skaters have recorded at least 10 points for the Dutchmen this season. The team also ranks in the top 15 on the power play and penalty kill.
The Engineers travel to Union loaded with confidence after defeated Clarkson in the first round in what can be considered as the biggest upset of the opening round. RPI’s offense was the story in last weekends upset over the Golden Knights. RPI clearly caught Clarkson off guard in the opening game of their first round series scoring four first period goals. The Engineers head into Union with one series already under their belts and with confidence. Look to see if RPI comes out with the same intensity early on Friday night and take the Union crowd out of the game early as they did last weekend.
Union Keys:
Obviously after last season’s disappointing loss in the quarterfinals to 12th seeded Colgate, the Dutchmen are on upset alert again this weekend. RPI already has its legs going after one playoff series and have played well in its last two weekends. Union cannot let the pressure of being the top seed get to it. Last season’s early playoff exit and the changes that took place in the offseason may have been the wake up call the Dutchmen needed.
Kelly Zajac, Jeremy Welsh, and Nolan Julseth-White were leaders on the team last year and experienced the defeat first hand. Now in his first year as the starting goaltender for the Dutchmen, Troy Grosenick has an opportunity to lead Union to taking the next step by advancing to Atlantic City. Grosenick’s play in net is what will make the difference for the Dutchmen. \
As good as Union was all season long, the team was 0-5 in one goal games and failed to win a game that went past regulation. Playoff hockey is completely different than the regular season and goals are few and far to come by no matter the situation. The Dutchmen’s best period all season was the first period, outscoring opponents 53-19 in the opening frame. When they have the lead they need to capitalize on opportunities to extend it and cannot sit back and allow the Engineers to keep it close. Going into the intermission with the lead will be huge for the Dutchmen if they can execute, as the team only lost twice all season when they led after the first or second periods.
RPI: Keys:
Goal scoring is RPI’s biggest key in this series. There is no single player on this team who has carried the offense and the Engineers will need balanced scoring in this series against a team who gives up very few. If RPI fails to convert on its best opportunities, the Dutchmen will run away with this series.
The Engineers need to manufacture as many shots as possible in order for good things to happen. Union was only outshot in four games this season while on the other side of things RPI was 3-13-3 when outshot. Facts prove that RPI will need to throw as many pucks on net as possible and not pass up any chance to do so.
All the pressure is on the Dutchmen to win and move onto the ECAC semifinals, especially after last season’s upset at the hands of Colgate. RPI needs to stick to its game plan and focus on the task at hand one game at a time. As the first round proved, at the end of the day, the better team in the series will move on.
#9. Dartmouth Big Green at #2. Cornell Big Red:
The puck will drop at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y. when the second seeded Cornell Big Red will play host to the ninth seeded Dartmouth Big Green. The two teams split the season series with each team winning on their home ice by just one goal.
Cornell will head into the series off a bye week with its last two games resulting in a weekend split against Union and RPI. By looking at the names, it would seem obvious that Cornell defeated RPI and fell to Union, but the Big Red actually beat number one seeded Union at home to pull into a first place tie with the Dutchmen before falling to the Engineers of Rensselaer and settling for the second seed.
Dartmouth enters the series on fire after jumping all over the St. Lawrence Saints to sweep its series last weekend. The Big Green entered the final twelve minutes of game one locked in a 3-3 tie with the Saints before exploding for three goals in under five minutes to seal the 6-3 win. In game two, Dartmouth scored twice in the first period and never looked back as it held on for the 4-1 series clinching victory.
Cornell Keys:
A major key for Cornell is to start quickly in these games. Dartmouth is coming in with a lot of momentum, while the Big Red players have not played in nearly two weeks. The Big Green scored first in both games against St. Lawrence, so they have been used to playing with a lead. Cornell must disrupt that by opening each game well.
The other key for Cornell is to get their typically strong play out of Andy Iles. He will have to be his usually self in this series, because if he falters, Dartmouth’s momentum may be enough to carry them.
Dartmouth: Keys:
As important as it will be for Cornell to score early, it is even more crucial for Dartmouth because of the Cornell crowd. The Big Red fans will be out in full force and will certainly make plenty of noise, so the Big Green will be forced to play against not only the Big Red, but the atmosphere as well.
Along with starting quickly, Dartmouth must continue to get scoring from multiple places on the roster, as well as strong goalie play. If the Big Green are forced to adjust their goalie situation it may be too late, and it will need to be an all-hands-on-deck effort offensively to defeat Cornell.
#6. Yale Bulldogs at #3. Harvard Crimson:
The Ivy League rivalry and one of the oldest rivalries in college sports is renewed this weekend. The Bulldogs will travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on the Crimson in what will be the 236th meeting between the two teams.
The Crimson enjoys most of the success historically with a 138-78-19 record in the all time series and is 30-4-3 at the Bright Hockey Center against the Bulldogs. The Crimson have also taken all six ECAC playoff meetings between the teams, most recently coming in 2007 in a two-game sweep of Yale.
The teams split the season series as Harvard took the first game in Cambridge, 4-3 before Yale answered with a 7-1 victory in New Haven, Conn. Yale’s victory was the last time Harvard lost in ECAC action during the regular season. Harvard closed the season by going 5-1-5 in its final 11 games, securing the third seed in the ECAC tournament. Yale ousted Princeton in the first round and heads into the weekend with only one loss in its last seven games.
The storyline is set between these two teams. The rivalry is one of the best in all college sports, both teams are playing very well, and neither team wants to be eliminated from the tournament by the other. Simply put, it will be the most intense series of the ECAC quarterfinals.
Harvard Keys:
Harvard’s power play needs to stay hot. Heading into the weekend series with Yale, the Crimson are ranked second in the nation on the power play, converting nearly 28 percent of the time. Against a dangerous offensive team in Yale, the power play could be the difference in this series.
The Crimson needs a strong performance in net this weekend, no matter who Coach Ted Donato chooses to go with in the games. Recently we have seen Steve Michalek struggle which opened the door for Raphael Girard. Girard has played well this season with a 3-1-3 record, 2.38 goals against average and a .922 save percentage in 11 games. He allowed three goals in two wins in the final weekend of the regular season to catapult the Crimson into third place in the ECAC. Expect Girard to get the game one start for Harvard, but if he struggles expect Donato to go right back to Michalek as he has done several times this season.
Yale Keys:
Yale’s offense has been its biggest strength this season, so its key heading into this series will be to tighten up defensively. Junior goaltender Jeff Malcolm needs to step up to shut down the offense of the Crimson especially on the penalty kill.
Special teams will be the difference maker for both teams in this series. Yale is among the top teams in the nation on both the powerplay and penalty kill so expect them to have the special-teams advantage heading into the opening game.
Yale also plays really well with the lead, heading into the third period with the lead this season Yale is a flawless 9-0-0. The Bulldogs will come out on top in this series if they can hold the leads heading into the final period of games.
