ECAC Hockey had several impressive non-conference wins this weekend, highlighted by Clarkson’s win in the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Golden Knights beat Rensselaer Friday in a non-conference game between the two teams and then defeated Providence 4-2 Saturday to win the Belpot Trohpy. It’s the first time an ECAC Hockey team has won the tournament in its three years of existence.
Clarkson goalie Jake Kielly, who stopped 42 of 44 shots that he saw on the weekend, took home the inaugural Mayor Marty Walsh MVP trophy named for the Boston mayor who was part of making this overseas college hockey championship possible
Union also had a good weekend, traveling to No. 3 North Dakota and beating the Fighting Hawks 4-1 Friday before playing to a 2-2 tie Saturday.
The Dutchmen are 8-1-1 since a 0-5 start, including 5-1 in league play. There were some questions surrounding Union, who lost a lot of important players last summer, entering the year, but the Dutchmen are quickly starting to look like contenders in ECAC Hockey this season.
Cornell breaks Red Hot Hockey Slump
For the first time in six tries, Cornell won a Red Hot Hockey matchup at Madison Square Garden. The Big Red held off Boston University 4-3 Saturday night. The win pushed Cornell’s record to 9-1, its best start since the 2002-03 season, when the Big Red made the Frozen Four.
Along with Clarkson and Union, Cornell appears to be one of the teams to beat in the league. The Big Red closes out its pre-holiday break schedule with a two-game series at Miami next weekend.
Struggles Continue in Connecticut
It wasn’t long ago that Yale and Quinnipiac were among the teams to beat in the league. However, it’s been a rough go of it for the Bulldogs and Bobcats lately.
Quinnipiac won its first two conference games of the season last weekend, but was swept by Massachusetts in a home-and-home series this weekend. The two losses to the Minutemen dropped the Bobcats’ record to 5-7-1. It’s still early, but the Bobcats haven’t finished with an overall losing record since the 1995-96 season, when QU was playing as a Division-II independent.
Yale was shutout for the second straight game against New Hampshire on Saturday, extending the Bulldogs’ losing streak to four games. That stretch has dropped Yale’s record to 3-6.
