Playoff Predictions, Week 1

If you can't tell, I'm still flying high from our comeback win against Brown. Here's a quick look at the first weekend of ECAC Hockey playoffs, based on my own uneducated opinions.

#12 Brown at #5 Harvard
Despite playing two quality periods against us on Saturday night, Brown still turned in a dismal 3-21-5 season. According to a banner at their rink, Brown's program has been around since 1898, and doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast. Harvard looked terrible earlier in the season and went two months without winning a game. They didn't win any games on the road. Still, Harvard always seems to salvage terrible seasons by picking it up at the end and stampeding into Albany. They've played well down the stretch and closed the regular season with a win against Princeton. Brown and Harvard tied in their two meetings so far, but I don't see this as a tough series for the Crimson. Harvard in 2.

#11 RPI at #6 Dartmouth
RPI turned in another good season for a bottom of the barrel ECAC team, finishing 7-25-2. They looked pretty awful in both games against Cornell, while Dartmouth put in a strong performance in Hanover and won on a devastating overtime deflection goal. Still, Dartmouth has been inconsistent this year. They beat Cornell and Princeton in the last couple of weekends, but lost to easier competition. They might be eager to look past RPI and drop a game. Dartmouth in 3.

#10 Colgate at #7 Quinnipiac
I like Colgate in this series. I've seen them play very well for some stretches this season, and that level of hockey is more than enough to beat Quinnipiac. In Florida, Colgate beat Maine on a last-second goal, and they were ahead by two goals against us in Ithaca. 'Gate also swept the season series against Quinnipiac and finished off the regular season with a surprising win over Yale last night. Quinnipiac will also be without its star first-half goalie (Nick Pisellini) and key forward (Brandon Wong). Still, the drunken Q safety-schoolers will make this a tough road series. Colgate in 3.

#9 Clarkson at #8 Union
Union has never won an ECAC playoff series, so history favors Clarkson. Last year, we had a lot of trouble with Union during the regular season before sweeping the playoff series in Schenectady. Clarkson had a very disappointing season given their expectations, but they played well during the 0-0 tie against us in Potsdam. (It's hard to believe they gave up 5 goals six different times this season.) Expect an ugly series, but I don't think this is the year Union breaks through. Clarkson in 3.

If my predictions hold true, that would give us the following quarterfinal matchups, after reseeeding:

#8 Colgate at #1 Yale
#7 Clarkson at #2 Cornell
#6 Dartmouth at #3 Princeton
#5 Harvard at #4 St. Lawrence

Regardless, it'll be nice for me to have a weekend to relax in Ithaca, and I'm sure the team can use the time to recover from injuries and prepare for the playoffs.