Men's Hockey Climbs ECAC Ladder

You'd think this week in men's ECAC Hockey was a chemistry lesson.

Harvard exploded with its penalty killing unit and third-period heroics against Colgate, pulling out a 3-2 victory.

"The team was dynamite," Tripp Tracy said. Tracy himself packed a punch, stopping 28 saves to earn a space on this week's ECAC Honor Roll.

The Colgate game also was the scene for the re-explosion of Brad Konik, who scored two goals in the victory.

Konik's effort marks a new beginning for the junior, having taken nearly two years off to rehabilitate a knee injury. The ECAC media recognized his accomplishments and named him this week's ECAC/USAir Player of the Week.

Harvard's win comes after being dissected by New Hampshire on Wednesday in a 5-2 loss. UNH's stock rose with the win, enough to push them into this week's college hockey poll, in at No. 10.

RPI saw its team chemistry fizzle in a 9-1 blowout by Princeton.

Just what happened to those oh-so-potent Engineers? A seven-goal second period, combined with a two-period total of ten shots on net for the Engineer offense will usually cause an unbalanced reaction. Throw in an inexperienced freshman goal-tender for a game and Coach Dan Fridgen's team is in trouble.

But perhaps Princeton is back on track. The Tigers are 4-0-1 in their last five games and also tied Union Sunday night, 2-2.

The winning streak is something entirely new to the Tigers, who haven't won four games in a row since 1967.

In the victory against RPI, Mike Bois and Ian Sharp both contributed four points to help blow out the Engineers. Goaltender James Konte also came up big in both games, allowing only three goals in 108 minutes of play to stun both the Engineers and the Dutchmen.

In fact, the ECAC on the whole fizzled this past week, as both Vermont and Dartmouth were blown out by Boston University by a combined score of 21-3.

Luckily for BU, both ECAC squads could only muster a field goal against the Terriers (oh, I'm sorry, is this hockey?).

Boston University moves up to No. 4 in this week's college hockey Top 10.

Vermont became so flustered against the Terriers that goalie Tim Thomas tried to take himself out of the game after the sixth goal, but remained until the end of the second period. Thomas' replacement looked equally shaky, allowing five goals in his one period of play.

In the constant ECAC/Hockey East rivalry, BU's victories tie up this season's series at 12-12 between the two conferences. This weekend's only match--Princeton vs. UMass-Amherst--will break the tie.

Clarkson gained some attention by bombarding St. Lawrence on Saturday night, as nine different players scored in the 9-2 win over the Saints.

The Golden Knight's win was enough to sway the voters, who jumped Clarkson up to No. 9 in the country, their first appearance in the poll this year.

Brian Mueller scored the game-winning goal against St. Lawrence, and also added three assists. His line-mate Chris Lipsett also chipped in three assists to gain honor roll status.

The rivals from the north country have seen their heated battle cool down to a one-sided affair recently, as Clarkson has now won the last eight contests over St. Lawrence.

Team Canada invaded New Haven to take on Yale in an exhibition, as put on a hockey clinic in a 6-1 shelling. Two NHL players contributed for Team Canada, who then went on to Brown on Friday night. Canada again prevailed in a 4-2 victory.

As most ECAC teams approach holiday tournaments, Dartmouth heads overseas, as the Big Green tours Switzerland for the next ten days. Dartmouth will take on several foreign teams before returning home.