This Week in the ECAC: Jan. 3, 2002

It’s the holiday season and we do apologize for not going heavily into the ECAC this week, but time commitments have done us in. We’ll be back next week with more in-depth coverage as all 12 teams are in action against one another.

Come East

The CCHA-ECAC referee experiment concluded its first half last weekend as CCHA referee Steve Piotrowski came to Troy, N.Y., to referee two games in the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey Tournament. He officiated the Rensselaer-Quinnipiac double-overtime game and then the OT championship between Rensselaer and UMass-Amherst.

“I thought the officiating experiment worked out real well,” said Engineer head coach Dan Fridgen. “When (ECAC assistant commissioner) Steve Hagwell first called me about having Piotrowski come to our tournament, I was all for it. I think that us getting a different referee and him coming down here getting a different flavor of four teams that represented four different leagues [was] a great idea, and we’ll continue to do that.

“What you look for in officiating is a consistency factor, no matter what league you’re looking at. It’s different from one to the other and I think [Piotrowski] did a great job.”

Rensselaer fans are happy with the experiment — after all, Piotrowski refereed two wins for the Engineers.

The other half of the experiment will conclude this weekend as ECAC referee John Murphy will be in East Lansing, Mich. to referee the series between Quinnipiac and Michigan State.

If It’s So Easy, You Try It

We will be back next week with another challenger; until then, hone your skills to take on the Iron Columnists!

The competition thus far:
Vic Brzozowski t. The Iron Columnists — 7-2-1
The Iron Columnists d. Vic Brzozowski — 8-3-1 to 7-4-1
Ben Flickinger d. The Iron Columnists — 11-4-2 to 10-5-2
The Iron Columnists d. Ben Flickinger — 5-1-4 to 4-2-4

And remember that if you are interested in putting your money where your mouth is, drop us an email to be eligible to be chosen.

ECAC Extras

ECAC Player of the Week
Ryan Shields, So., F, Rensselaer

ECAC Rookie of the Week
Les Haggett, F, Brown

ECAC Goalie of the Week
Kevin Kurk, So., Rensselaer

Last Week’s Results

Friday, Dec. 28

Notre Dame 2, Princeton 1
Only a late goal broke the shutout as the Tigers couldn’t do much against the Irish.

Saturday, Dec. 29

Notre Dame 4, Princeton 2
The first college hockey game at the Sovereign Bank Arena saw the Irish never give up the lead though they were tested by Princeton.

Union 5, Northeastern 3

The Dutchmen raced out to the lead, getting three goals from the defense, and never looked back, looking good after the break.

Sunday, Dec. 30

Canisius at Colgate — Postponed
Heavy snows in Buffalo resulted in Canisius being unable to leave Buffalo with a full roster, so the game was postponed indefinitely.

Tournaments

Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey Tournament

Rensselaer 5, Quinnipiac 4, 2ot
Chris Migliore ended the 12th-longest game in NCAA Division I history (90:50) with a shot over the shoulder of a stickless Justin Eddy to send the Engineers into the championship.

Rensselaer 3, UMass-Amherst 2, ot
The Engineers captured the tournament they host for the first time since 1998 when Ryan Shields dribbled a rebound past Mike Johnson four minutes into overtime.

Wells Fargo Denver Cup

UMass-Lowell 2, Harvard 0
These two clubs played nose to nose as Will Crothers collected 36 saves, but two late third-period goals gave the River Hawks the win.

Harvard 5, Bowling Green 3
After spotting Bowling Green a three-goal lead, the Crimson stormed back for the 5-3 victory in the consolation game. Crothers, who shut out the Falcons in 27:50 of relief of freshman Dov Grumet-Morris, walked away with tournament MVP honors, and special teams were once again the main factor against Bowling Green as they posted two shorthanded and one power-play tally in the comeback.

Bank One Badger Showdown

Brown 2, Wisconsin 1
Les Haggett scored with under four minutes to go in the third period to give the Bears a stunning win over the host Badgers.

New Hampshire 11, Brown 3
In a 2-2 game after two periods, the Wildcats exploded on the Bears in the third with Darren Haydar picking up six points in the romp of a championship game.

Sheraton/Howard Bank Classic

Dartmouth 4, Merrimack 3
Pete Summerfelt’s goal midway through the third period gave the Big Green their second decision over the Warriors in two weeks.

Lake Superior 6, Vermont 3
The Lakers raced out to a 3-0 lead and led 5-2 after two periods to set up a championship game against Dartmouth.

Lake Superior 3, Dartmouth 1
After the Big Green took the 1-0 lead to start the second period, the Lakers came back to tie after two, then scored twice in the third to take the championship.

Merrimack 6, Vermont 3
Anthony Aquino broke a 2-2 tie with two goals in a span of 2:35 in the third period to give the Warriors second place as the host Catamounts finished last in their tournament.

Silverado Shootout

Minnesota-Duluth 3, Yale 2
Junior Lessard scored with 4.9 seconds remaining in the game to break a 2-2 tie. The Bulldogs got a late five-minute power play, but only capitalized once to take a 2-1 lead, but then Minnesota-Duluth tied it up shorthanded before winning it.

Miami 4, Yale 3
The Bulldogs led 3-2 going into the third period, but the RedHawks got two goals 3:37 apart midway through the third period to win the game and send Yale to last place.

Everblades College Classic

Northern Michigan 4, Cornell 3, 2ot
The 16th-longest game in NCAA Division I history ended when Bryce Cockburn put one past Matt Underhill to give the Wildcats the win over the Big Red.

Ohio State 2, Cornell 0
The Big Red couldn’t muster a marker as a second-period goal stood up and an empty-net goal sealed it for the Buckeyes.

Our Record

Last Week: 8-9-0
Season: 58-31-10, .636

This Week’s Picks

Thursday, Jan. 3

Yale at New Hampshire
The Wildcats are too much for the Bulldogs.
New Hampshire 5, Yale 2

Friday, Jan. 4

Harvard at Union
The Dutchmen have what it takes to pull off the win at home.
Union 3, Harvard 2

Brown at Rensselaer
The Engineers win one at home over the improved Bears.
Rensselaer 4, Brown 3

Vermont at Dartmouth
The Cats are glad to get back into league play, but not tonight.
Dartmouth 6, Vermont 2

Mercyhurst at Clarkson
The Knights at home are tough.
Clarkson 5, Mercyhurst 2

Princeton at Bowling Green
Two struggling teams. Give it to the home team.
Bowling Green 4, Princeton 2

UMass-Lowell at Colgate
The Raiders have been off for a month and the River Hawks are too strong.
UMass-Lowell 5, Colgate 1