December
15, 2005
2005-06 ECACHL Mid-Season Report
By
Joe Gladziszewski
SURPRISE TEAM
One team clearly stands out in this category as the surprise
team in the ECAC Hockey League for the 2005-06 season. Unfortunately
for the Dartmouth Big Green, they’re
not surprising onlookers with stellar play. With a 4-7-0
overall record, Dartmouth has fallen well short of expectations
set by coaches and media in the preseason. Dartmouth was
picked second in the coaches poll and third in the media
poll. Coach Bob Gaudet has been happy with how his team
has played at times – and a 6-1 win over Cornell was
a good sign – but the Big Green has lacked consistency.
SURPRISE INDIVIDUAL
Colgate’s Jesse Winchester spent
his freshman campaign centering a checking line with Dustin
Gillanders and Liam Huculak. He had just two goals and two
assists in 28 games. Top-line players Darryl McKinnon and
Adam Mitchell graduated and that opened up an opportunity
for Winchester to audition for a spot on the wing alongside
two of the premier offensive talents in the league in Tyler
Burton and Jon Smyth. Winchester seized the opportunity
and leads the Raiders in scoring with 23 points through
15 games.
BEST NEW FACE
 |
| St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh
says forward T.J. Trevelyan, an INCH First Half All-ECACHL
selection, is one of the best players in school history |
Bob Norton may be disappointed to hear this.
Most college hockey teams aren’t scouring the prep
school ranks to find top-level talent these days. And Clarkson
traditionally pursues recruits from Ontario and Quebec to
strengthen its lineup. But the Golden Knights have found
a special offensive talent in Shea Guthrie,
who played at St. George’s School, a Division II prep
school located in Newport, R.I. where he played for Ryan
Mulhern. (Norton won’t be disappointed to hear that!)
Guthrie was selected in the third round of the NHL Entry
Draft with the 76th overall pick by the New York Islanders.
He has six goals and 11 assists in 15 games.
BIGGEST UPSET
St. Lawrence was one of several ECAC Hockey
League teams that welcomed the Rochester Instititute
of Technology to the Division I ranks by getting
the Tigers onto the schedule on short notice. The Saints
even agreed to play two games at RIT’s Ritter Arena.
It was an eye-opener when they returned to Canton with only
a split. RIT goalie Jocelyn Guimond made 66 saves in a 3-2
victory. The Saints outshot their hosts 68-15 but RIT picked
up the win. St. Lawrence rebounded with a 6-3 win the following
night.
TOUGHEST ROAD OUT
Brown started its season with six league
games against the three strongest sets of travel partners.
They swept a home series against Clarkson and St. Lawrence,
but lost the other four. Then it was a road trip to St.
Cloud State non-league games against Providence and Maine,
two of the best teams in Hockey East. The Bears are winless
in their last seven games and get a chance to turn things
around by facing Sacred Heart in the opening round of the
Providence Holiday Tournament on Dec. 21.
TOUGHEST ROAD IN
Harvard sits atop the ECACHL standings,
but after Friday’s game at Dartmouth they will have
played more games than every other team in the league. Other
teams will make up ground in the standings when Harvard
sits idle during a January exam break. Traveling during
the holidays is never fun, and Harvard’s destination
is Grand Forks where it will play two games against North
Dakota. The Crimson’s second-half schedule includes
just two home weekends of ECACHL play and Beanpot contests.
Throw in a road trip to Colgate and Cornell, and there aren’t
many teams that envy Harvard’s second-half challenges.
MUST-SEE WEEKENDS
Only Harvard stands ahead of Colgate, St. Lawrence, Clarkson,
and Cornell in the ECACHL standings. The good news for ECACHL
fans is that they can cheer on a favorite and follow the
chase for the regular season title. The central
New York schools host the North Country schools on Jan.
20 and 21. The same four schools will go
up against each other in Potsdam and Canton on Feb. 10 and
11. These games will have a huge impact on which
of these four teams ends up with a first-round playoff bye
and home ice for the quarterfinal playoff series.
BIGGEST QUESTION ANSWERED
How will Rensselaer respond to losing Kirk McDonald
for the year? It’s been an up and down season
for the Engineers that has featured big wins over Boston
University and Providence but losses to Sacred Heart and
Holy Cross. Rookie goalie Mathias Lange has started the
bulk of the games and been stellar at times and lousy at
others. The CEO line of Kevin Croxton, Oren Eizenman, and
Jonathan Ornelas is one of the best trios in the country
and has combined for 72 points on the year. Regardless of
where the Engineers end up in the standings, they have dedicated
this year to raising funds and awareness for cancer research,
which makes it a successful campaign.
BIGGEST QUESTION REMAINING
Will Cornell defend its conference titles?
The Big Red is the Phil Kessel of the ECACHL. Those questioning
Cornell’s first half do so because of the ridiculously
high expectations set forth in the preseason. It hasn’t
been pretty all the time, but Cornell is still well within
reach of the ECACHL regular-season title and has two each
against Colgate, St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The Big Red
has also played three fewer games than first-place Harvard
and welcome the Crimson to Lynah on Feb. 18.
|
INCH's
First Half All-ECACHL Team |
| Pos.
|
Player |
Of
Note |
|
G |
Mark
Dekanich, Colgate |
He
followed school record-holder Steve Silverthorn and
is doing a nice job of chasing some of those records
with a 1.96 goals-against average and .932 save percentage. |
| D |
Reid
Cashman, Quinnipiac |
The
nation is finding out that his gaudy point totals weren’t
a product of playing in Atlantic Hockey. |
| D |
Mike
Madill,
St. Lawrence |
He
stepped up his leadership and offensive contributions,
which were even more important when Drew Bagnall got
hurt. |
| F |
Kevin
Croxton, Rensselaer |
This
senior forward is near the top of the scoring charts
once again. His consistency over four years is impressive
in spite of RPI’s so-so record. |
| F |
Jon
Smyth,
Colgate |
After
emerging in his sophomore year, he has maintained his
standing among the best forwards in the ECACHL ever
since. |
|
F |
T.J.
Trevelyan,
St. Lawrence |
Saints
coach Joe Marsh says Trevelyan is one of the best players
in St. Lawrence history. Has recently regained his goal-scoring
touch. |
