ECAC: Women's Hockey Conference Update

Dartmouth's Lindsey Allen

On Tuesday, I provided an update regarding men's hockey. Today, I'm going to update women's hockey.

The men's ECAC teams have it easier than the women's ECAC teams. All 12 men's teams can rest assured that they'll be playing at least one round of playoff hockey even if a team's given record indicates the team shouldn't have playoff hopes. For the women, only the top eight teams in the 12-team conference will advance to the playoffs, and right now, Dartmouth is on the outside looking in despite a conference tie with RPI.

By regular season's end, this conference tie will, hopefully, be resolved which would limit any controversy and misgivings. And at first glance, there appears to be a clear indication who the top four teams are as well as the three worst teams. The remaining five are caught in a traffic jam for four available playoff spots.

1. No. 5 Harvard 16-2-2, 12-2-1 ECAC (25 pts)
   
   Excluding the occasional slip-up, Harvard has dominated its competition, both in and out of conference, and has yet to lose consecutive games. The Crimson has won four straight and seven of its last eight while showing no signs of stopping.
   
   Harvard is outscoring its opponents almost 3-1. The Crimson defense is even more intimidating than the offense, allowing just two power play goals, penalty killing over 97 percent of its opponents' power play opportunities.
   
   That being said, Harvard does have a difficult schedule remaining with games against Clarkson, Quinnipiac, St. Lawrence and Princeton, which means Harvard has no room for error if it wants to maintain top seeding.


2. No. 4 Clarkson 19-4-3, 10-2-2 ECAC (22 pts)
   
   At the moment, Clarkson seems like the only team capable of stopping Harvard, but Clarkson already lost the first match-up in November 2-0. The rematch isn't until February 14th but right now, both teams seem destined to meet in the ECAC Championship game. The Valentine's rematch should indicate better whether Clarkson can halt Harvard's stampede or not.
   
   Clarkson is outscoring opponents to a greater degree than Harvard is, netting 96 goals while allowing just 30. This is due to the Golden Knights averaging an insane 36.7 shots per game compared to their opponents 19 shots.
   
   Clarkson's offense averages 3.7 goals per game, although its power play could use a little work since it current sits at a 15 percent conversion rate. The lack of a solid power play is balanced by Clarkson's penalty kill, which has allowed just eight goals in 108 opportunities.


3. No. 6 Cornell 14-3-4, 9-2-3 ECAC (21 pts)
   
   Cornell used to be No. 4 before last weekend when it slumped to a 1-1 tie at St. Lawrence and a 3-1 loss at Clarkson. In the Big Red's last six games, Cornell is 2-2-2 after winning 12 of its first 15.
   
   There appears to be no great reason behind the recent slump after such a hot start except to say that even the best teams have an off day. Still, Cornell's offense remains potent despite a weekend that featured one goal each game as it averages 3.7 goals per game on the season. The power play is even better with a .267 conversion rate.
   
   Cornell should be able to maintain, at minimum, its third seed with four games against the ECAC's three worst teams, including back-to-back against bottom-ranked Colgate. Whether the Big Red climbs in the ECAC depends on either Harvard or Clarkson stumbling down the stretch. Cornell should inspire worry the next few years as most of the roster is made of underclassmen with just seven combined juniors and seniors.


4. No. 9 Quinnipiac 16-4-6, 7-3-4 ECAC (18 pts)
   
   Harvard, Clarkson and Cornell have explosive offenses paired with shutdown defenses. The average score of 3-1 that those teams enjoy drops to 2-1 with. Excellent goaltender play, which has deflected .934 percent of shots, has preserved some wins and prevented some ties from becoming losses. However, Quinnipiac has been unable to build leads as Quinnipiac trades power play goal for power play goal.
   
   Unfortunately for Quinnipiac, it has upcoming games against Harvard, Clarkson, Cornell, St. Lawrence and a surging upstart Dartmouth squad. Chances are high that Quinnipiac will fall to at least three of those teams, which might allow St. Lawrence or Princeton to sneak into the No. 4 seed and seize the final home playoff bid.


5. St. Lawrence 7-14-3, 6-5-3 ECAC (15 pts)
   
   St. Lawrence is surprisingly in position to stun Quinnipiac and take the No. 4 seed despite a vastly inferior overall record. Instead, the Saints have capitalized on the weaker tier of ECAC opponents, pummeling teams like Princeton, Dartmouth and Colgate. St. Lawrence has also had its rare moments to shine, such as a 1-1 draw with Quinnipiac.
   
   Unsurprisingly, St. Lawrence has been outscored by just 12 goals but maintains roughly equal power play goals and takes an even number of shots compared to its opponents. However, the numbers are misleading as St. Lawrence has beaten bad by large margins but has lost by bigger margins to good teams. For instance, the Saints beat Brown 5-1 and Yale 4-1 only to lose against Clarkson by a combined score of 15-3 over three games.
   
   St. Lawrence's toughest games are Harvard and Quinnipiac, but the Saints can balance the likely losses with two wins against Union and two over RPI.


6. Princeton 10-8-3, 6-6-2 ECAC (14 pts)
   
   Princeton has been an average team all season whose best conference wins came in the season opener against Dartmouth, RPI and Yale. All of its games against the upper tier of ECAC teams were ugly losses except for a 1-1 tie with Quinnipiac. The season's low points occurred when Clarkson blew out the Tigers 7-0 in late November and a 2-1 loss to Union three weeks ago.
   
   Princeton then went on a 18-day break before rebounding with a 6-1 win over Penn State. Princeton could easily stumble down with games against four of the ECAC's top five teams. Games against Colgate and Brown should help prevent a collapse, but a playoff spot could come down to a February 15th showdown with Yale.


7. Yale 7-10-4, 5-5-4 ECAC (14 pts)
   
   Yale recovered from its season-opening six game winless streak to find itself in the midst of the playoff hunt. Even more impressive is that Yale hasn't lost a game since losing 5-4 to Dartmouth three weeks ago, beating Harvard and tying Clarkson and St. Lawrence during that streak. Yale also tied Quinnipiac early in the year to break a five-game losing streak.
   
   Right now, Yale is proving good enough to take the better ECAC teams down to the wire. However, Yale has upcoming games against the ECAC's top four teams which means securing a playoff bid won't be an easy task. But even if Yale loses all four games, and the Bulldogs have proven capable of winning at least one, games against Princeton and RPI could keep Yale in the playoff hunt. Yale in the playoffs should be a scary prospect for the top teams.


8. RPI 10-13-2, 6-7-1 ECAC (13 pts)
   
   RPI is the women's team in the ECAC few can figure out. RPI has wins against Harvard and Quinnipiac but can't top Dartmouth or Yale. Interestingly, RPI has just a +1 goal differential over 25 games. The close goal differential shouldn't last long though as RPI takes on Clarkson twice, St. Lawrence twice, and Cornell and Yale once each.
   
   Sophomore Lauren Wash's 11 goals have been a large part of the reason why RPI has stayed in the playoff hunt and added drama to this year's race. But if there was a vote for team most likely to fall out of the playoff race and join Union, Brown and Colgate on the couch come playoff time, RPI would win that vote.


9. Dartmouth 7-13-1, 6-8-1 ECAC (13 pts)
   
   Dartmouth has reentered the playoff conversation with five wins in its last eight contests after an extremely slow start. Much of Dartmouth's hopes rest on the stick of star sophomore Lindsey Allen who leads the team in scoring with 13 goals. Two athletes are tied for second with four goals each.
   
   If Allen can maintain her hot play while leading Dartmouth through a gauntlet of Harvard, Clarkson, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence, the Big Green has a shot at claiming the final playoff spot. Unfortunately, aside from Brown, there are no "easy" games remaining on Dartmouth's 7-game season-ending slate.
   
   The scariest thing about Dartmouth is how young the team is. Most of the team is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, which means in the next three years, Dartmouth will be sending the most experienced team on the ice.


10. Union 8-17-1, 3-11-0 ECAC (6 pts)
    
    After Union beat Princeton on January 10th, Union looked ready to mount a run for a playoff spot. In the five conference games since, playoff hopes are all but dashed as Union has been outscored 14-4, losing all five matches.
    
    Union's greatest problem is similar to Brown's and Colgate's, which is a lack of offense and a poor defense, especially one that gives up a goal every fourth power play. Union's prospects for a turnaround don't look good with two games against Clarkson, two against St. Lawrence and one against Cornell. Wins against Brown and Colgate would salvage some dignity as Union would avoid a last place finish.


11. Brown 2-14-5, 1-10-3 ECAC (5 pts)
    
    Nothing has functioned right for Brown all season. Aside from a recent 4-2 win over St. Lawrence and a 2-1 overtime win over RIT, Brown has little to no reason to smile. Only by virtue of three ties does Brown avoid falling into a last place tie with Colgate.
    
    The power play defense has given up over three times as many goals as the power play offense has scored, and the regular offense barely average 20 shots per game. While Quinnipiac enjoys a 2-1 ratio of goals, it's the opposite for Brown. The Bears give up 2.6 goals per game while scoring just 1.6.
    
    The season doesn't get any easier as Brown has games against Harvard, Cornell and Quinnipiac. Upcoming games with Union and Colgate could decide last place.


12. Colgate 5-19-2, 2-12-0 ECAC (4 pts)
    
    With a win on Friday against Brown, Colgate will climb into a tie for second-to-last. Not too much to cheer for but not a complete nightmare. It will be a close game though since Colgate has a scoring offense that's even less efficient that Brown's, scoring 1.6 goals every 26 shots while the defense allows three every 29 shots. Not a formula that can build a winning team.
    
    The rest of the season will be about avoiding last place by trying to overcome Union and Brown in the rankings. Maybe next year will prove better.