Princeton Holds Lead; Harvard Brings Up Rear

For most college students, winter break affords time for relaxation at home. For men's hockey players, however, it is a time of intense competition.

With the non-conference season--in which teams travel around the country--it is important to know how each Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) team is faring and what to expect over the break.

Princeton (7-1-1, 5-0-1 ECAC) is the only undefeated team in the ECAC and leads the conference with 11 points. After winning the ECAC championship and receiving its first ever NCAA appearance last season, Princeton has dominated the league this year.

The season began inauspiciously for the Tigers, as they lost to Boston University (B.U.), 9-1. Since then, the Tigers have an eight-game unbeaten streak.

Princeton's quick turnaround can be attributed to its change in goaltenders. Last year's starter Craig Bradley was benched in favor of freshman Dave Stathos and senior Nick Rankin. Both have performed well and have been helped by a strong offense.

Three Tigers--senior forwards Jeff Halpern, Syl Apps and Scott Bertoli--are within the top 20 in the ECAC in scoring. The trio has a combined 38 points in nine games.

After taking two games from main rival Yale this past weekend, Princeton does not play until it travels to Minnesota to participate in the Mariucci classic with Minnesota, Ohio State and B.U. over the break.

Princeton is closely followed in the ECAC standings by Colgate. The Red Raiders (5-1-0, 7-3-0) have rebounded from last year's mid-season collapse with strong conference wins. Colgate's record is a bit inflated, however, as all five of its league wins have come against teams with losing records.

Colgate's success has resulted from strong goaltending and a potent offense. Senior Shep Harder has a paltry 1.84 goals-against average (GAA), the lowest in the ECAC. He is sharing time in the crease with freshman Jason Lefevre.

Junior forward Andy McDonald leads the Red Raiders and is third in the ECAC in points. He has tallied at least one point in nine straight games. Most of his points have come on assists, however. Colgate's scoring has been widely distributed.

Over the break, Colgate travels to Syracuse to participate with St. Lawrence, Niagara and Miami of Ohio in the Syracuse Invitational.

Following Colgate in the ECAC is Cornell (6-2-1, 4-1-1). The Big Red's success is mostly due to stingy defense. Goalie Ian Burt has also looked impressive, posting a 2.29 GAA.

Cornell travels with Yale and Bowling Green to face Wisconsin in the Bank One Badger Classic over the break.

St. Lawrence (8-4-0, 4-1-0) has been the big surprise of the ECAC this year. Ranked ninth in the preseason poll, the Saints have dominated their conference opponents, outscoring them 19-12.

Senior forward Bob Prier has led a potent offensive attack, and goalie Eric Heffler was just named the ECAC goaltender of the week for posting 62 saves in the Saints' wins over Brown and Harvard this past weekend.

Fifth-place Rensselaer (6-4-1, 3-2-1) leads the ECAC in scoring. It has three of the top four point-earners in the league. Freshman forward Matt Murley leads the team and the league in points earned.

The Engineers' Achilles' heel this season has been a high number of penalties. Forward Mark Murphy is fourth in the league in scoring, but third in the league in penalty minutes.

Rensselaer faces Union, Minnesota-Duluth and Merrimack in the RPI Christmas Tournament over the break.

Vermont (7-4-0, 3-1-0), tied for sixth place with Clarkson, has struggled on the road this season. The Catamounts have succeeded because of a balanced scoring attack and good special teams. They are second in the league in power-play goals as well as penalties killed.

Clarkson (5-6-0, 3-2-0) has rebounded from a poor 1-6 start to win its last four games, continuing a trend of inauspicious beginnings from the last two years. In each of those seasons, however, the Golden Knights managed to finish with the best record in the ECAC.

Rookie Goaltender Shawn Grant has registered three shutouts this year. He garnered ECAC rookie of the week honors after wins over Harvard and Brown.

Yale (2-4-0, 2-6-0) saw its season slip away this weekend when it lost two heartbreaking games by identical 2-1 margins to Princeton. The Elis, tied with the Brown Bears for eighth place, are young and inexperienced.

Brown (1-5-2, 1-5-2) is eighth in the league due to fortuitous scheduling and strong goaltending. The Bears have accumulated three of their four points against the hapless Crimson. Junior goaltender Scott Stirling has kept Brown in most games. Six of his starts have been decided by one goal or less.

Tied for 10th in the ECAC are Dartmouth (3-4-0, 1-3-0) and Union (2-8-1, 1-4-0), both of whom have struggled because of poor, inexperienced goaltending. Both teams have played more non-conference games than other ECAC teams and should improve in the second half.

Harvard (2-8-1, 0-8-1) has yet to win in conference play, despite a third-place ranking in the preseason coaches' poll.