Harvard Falling Behind in ECAC Race

This is the point of the season where teams learn the true meaning of life-or-death, with every drop of the puck being the sole bridge between another game and seven months of off-season. It is a time where the mighty can fall and the weak can surprise. In essense, it is where anything can happen.

It is also, unfortunately, a time where fans are forced to become statisticians. Trapped in a seemingly bottomless hole of potential matchups, fans busilly calculate playoff births, tossing out terms like tie-breaking criteria, head-to-head records and goal differentials.

By the beginning of the first play-off game, every possible scenario has probably been mapped out on paper a million times over, before the players even make it onto the ice.

In the world of men's hockey, this year's ECAC race has been anything but predictable. Just take a look at Vermont, the unstoppable power-house which every pre-season poller had locked up at No. 1 or 2 in the nation--the ECAC title was a given. No one would have expected that with only two regular season games left, the Catamounts (19-8-3, 11-6-3 ECAC) could finish anywhere from second to seventh place in the league. National title hopes are definitely looking grim for Mike Gilligan's squad.

Then there's the Union Skating Dutchman (17-10-3, 10-7-3) on the other side of the spectrum. Equipped with a new coach and very little potential, Union entered this season as a clear celler-dweller. Over the course of 20 league games, however, it has silently edged its way up the standings and has a chance of solidifying the third spot, thus hosting a quarterfinal round series. Back in November, who would have even thought that the Skating Dutchman would make the playoffs, let alone take home ice?

Despite the great surprises and upsets throughout the season, as it stands with one weekend left, Clarkson (22-8-0, 15-5-0) and Cornell (16-7-4, 13-5-2), ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively, are the only teams which have secured home ice for the playoffs. After that, the next five teams in line could fall anywhere from second to seventh place depending upon the next two games.

Aside from Union and Vermont, both Princeton (15-8-4, 10-7-3) and Colgate (15-12-3, 9-8-3) took three points out of last weekend, further cushioning them from the bottom five teams.

Speaking of Harvard, with its last two losses against Clarkson and St. Lawrence, the Crimson is now guaranteed a preliminary round match on Tuesday. What remains up in the air is just about everything else. In order to host St. Lawrence, which stands three points behind Harvard in the standings, the Crimson must notch at least a tie this coming weekend in its series against Dartmouth and Vermont. The possibility is still great that the Crimson could find itself on its way to Potsdam. That scenario could only come to life if Harvard loses both games this weekend, and if the Saints grab three points total against Cornell and Colgate. In sum, a Harvard win would solidify home ice for the preliminary round regardless of what St. Lawrence does this weekend.

On the other hand, in accordance with this season of complete parity, the Saints literally have not clinched anything just yet. Both Yale and Dartmouth loom only three points behind St. Lawrence and could potentially soar into the final ninth and tenth place playoff spots. The only team playing just for pride come Friday and Saturday will be Brown, which has officially been eliminated from playoff consideration.

Considering all of the chaos caused by this hotly contested ECAC race so far, it's hard to imagine that playoffs haven't even started yet. Guessing the playoff seeds has been a feat in itself, picking a league winner would be nothing short of Russian roulette.