{"id":97746,"date":"2018-01-05T10:21:23","date_gmt":"2018-01-05T16:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/ecac-blog\/?p=2462"},"modified":"2018-01-05T10:21:23","modified_gmt":"2018-01-05T16:21:23","slug":"ecac-hockey-picks-jan-5-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2018\/01\/05\/ecac-hockey-picks-jan-5-9\/","title":{"rendered":"ECAC Hockey Picks: Jan 5-9"},"content":{"rendered":"
Here\u2019s a look at the upcoming weekend in ECAC Hockey. All games start at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n
Last time: 6-5-1<\/p>\n
Overall: 35-21-4<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Friday, Jan. 5 <\/strong><\/p>\n Quinnipiac at Colgate <\/strong><\/p>\n The Raiders will be without starting goalie Colton Point, who is on Team Canada\u2019s roster for the World Junior Championship. While the sophomore played well when these teams met in November, Colgate was able to take advantage of several Quinnipiac miscues in a 4-1 win. \u00a0The Bobcats had a rough end to the first half, but beat Connecticut 3-0 Tuesday. Still, one game isn\u2019t a large enough sample size to see if QU was able to put its first-half problems behind it. Colgate wins <\/strong><\/p>\n Princeton at Cornell\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Princeton had a strong showing last time out, playing No.1 St. Cloud State to a pair of ties at Hobey Baker Rink last weekend. But the Big Red have shown little sign of slowing down and I have a hard time picking against them at home. Cornell wins <\/strong><\/p>\n Union at Dartmouth <\/strong><\/p>\n The Dutchmen\u2019s success in league play hasn\u2019t carried to non-conference games, as Union is 4-8-1 outside of ECAC Hockey. Dartmouth has shown some improvement lately, but I like Union\u2019s overall body of work better season. Union wins <\/strong><\/p>\n Rensselaer at Harvard <\/strong><\/p>\n Harvard is finally home after a program record nine-game road trip. The Crimson were 3-5-1 during that stretch, but went 3-1 to conclude its time away from home. It\u2019s been a rough season for RPI, as the Engineers are 1-9 in their last ten games.\u00a0 Some of those have been close losses, but even so, I don\u2019t see Rensselaer able to match the Crimson offensively. Harvard wins <\/strong><\/p>\n Canisius at St. Lawrence\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n The Saints showed some signs of life last weekend, doubling their season win total on the way to a Catamount Cup win. St. Lawrence finally appears to finally be healthy after a rash of injuries earlier in the season. That improved health, along with confidence from last weekend, should help the Saints get their first home win of the season. St. Lawrence wins \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Massachusetts at Yale\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Former St. Lawrence coach Greg Carvel is in the midst of his second season as head coach at UMass, but has already helped make the Minutemen competitive. Massachusetts is 9-7, but hasn\u2019t played since Dec. 10, while Yale played two games at the Ledyard Bank Classic last weekend. The Minutemen will be without freshman defenseman Cole Makar, the fourth pick in the NHL draft in June, who is playing with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. \u00a0It might take the Minutemen a while to shake off the rust and that should given an advantage to the Bulldogs. Yale wins <\/strong><\/p>\n Saturday, Jan.6<\/strong><\/p>\n Union at Harvard, 3:30 p.m. <\/strong><\/p>\n If Harvard wants to move into the top of the league, it\u2019s going to have to start beating teams above it. Union is one of those teams, and I think the Crimson take advantage of their first home game since November to start a second-half resurgence. Harvard wins <\/strong><\/p>\n Princeton at Colgate <\/strong><\/p>\n Even without Point, the Raiders have plenty of defensive talent and some up-and-coming forwards. I\u2019d feel pretty confidence picking Colgate if Point is back in net, but even so, I think this should be a tight matchup between two good skating teams. But I don\u2019t see another scoreless tie, which was the case when these teams met in November. \u00a0I think the Tigers have a slight edge offensively, which might grow wider if Point is not in goal. Princeton wins <\/strong><\/p>\n