First Full Hockey Week Gives Some Surprises

The 1994-95 college hockey season has begun with what Mary Albert would describe as "the wacky and the wild."

Harvard's season opened with an exhibition win over the University of New Brunswick, 6-2, a game which saw the lights go out both in the Bright Center and on the Varsity Reds' hopes.

Some of the top teams in the nation also suffered setbacks, as #2 Michigan State tied Western Michigan, dropping the Spartans a spot to #3.

Michigan again failed to live up to its preseason expectations, splitting a two-game series with CCHA cellar-dweller Ferris State, dropping the Wolverines three notches from #5 to #8.

Minnesota continues to pressure BU for the top spot, having garnished two impressive wins over Wisconsin this past weekend. The Gophers jumped up a spot to #2.

The only other movement in the top ten was in Northeastern, who surprisingly leaped over #6 Harvard into the fifth spot despite a tie with Maine.

Around the ECAC

This past weekend saw several inter-conference match-ups between the ECAC and Hockey East.

The biggest bout occurred Friday night at Troy, N.Y., where Rensselaer hosted Boston University, the top-ranked team in the nation. However, the game didn't live up to its billing, as the Terriers coasted to an easy 5-1 victory.

RPI sorely missed graduated Neil Little in net. Hobey Baker candidate Jacques Joubert pumped in two goals for B.U., and Ken Rausch added three assists.

RPI rebounded on Sunday night, as Wayne Clarke scored with 5:09 left in the game to edge lowly Merrimack, 2-1.

Colgate and St. Lawrence beat up on UMass-Lowell over the weekend, earning 5-2 and 3-2 victories, respectively.

Providence ruined Union's season opener with a 7-5 victory, as senior Brady Kramer fired in four goals to propel the Friars. Chad Quenneville also added a goal and two assists for Providence.

Clarkson, the ECAC preseason favorite according to a poll of the 12 ECAC coaches, handed Boston College its first loss of the season in a surprisingly close battle Saturday night at Kelley Rink.

And the Eagles fell by a 4-2 score to Drop the Puck's (the college hockey weekly magazine) ECAC favorite, Vermont.

Shoot!

The opening weekend of the Hockey East schedule also saw the institution of the new shootout rule to break ties.

If a game is tied after regulation and the two teams are still tied after a five-minute overtime, they will settle the score by taking five penalty shots each. This is effective only within Hockey East games.

Maine would like to reconsider the shootout rule, however, as it tied both B.U. and Northeastern over the weekend, but lost both shootouts. This earned the Terriers and the Huskies an extra point in the Hockey East standings. Maine earned one point for each tie, however.

"It's the most excitement I've seen in this place since we beat B.C.," said Northeastern associate sports information director Bill Doherty told the Boston Globe.

In other Hockey East action, league rookie Massachusetts continued to struggle in its first year of Division I play, as B.C. handed the Minutemen their third loss without a win this season, 4-2. NCAA POLL 1. BU (15)  2-0-1  242 2. Minnesota (10)  4-0-0  232 3. Michigan St. (1)  4-0-1  182 4. Colorado College  3-0-1  182 5. Northeastern  3-0-1  125 6. HAVARD  0-0-0  100 7. Lake Superior State  2-1-1  94 8. Michigan  2-2-0  58 9. Clarkson  1-0-0  56 10. Vermont  2-0-0  52