THE SKINNY
Some college hockey observers would say that the events of the 2011-12 season were a big step for ECAC Hockey member schools in starting to rebuild some credibility with regard to the league’s national perception. Union made the biggest statement by advancing to the Frozen Four and Cornell was a couple of shifts away from meeting them there. Colgate’s Austin Smith turned in one of the great individual campaigns we’ve seen in college hockey in recent seasons and should have won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Even better news possibly awaits this year. Many of last year’s strongest teams should maintain their standing among the nation’s elite and others could make an even greater impact on the national scene. Here’s a look at what we expect to see in ECAC Hockey for 2012-13.
BREAKTHROUGH TEAM
We’ll be keeping an eye on Dartmouth this year. More on the main reason for that later, but it’s not just a one-man show. This was a team that dealt with some injuries and inconsistencies last year, but with those tribulations came some important on-the-job training for a young and talented roster. The likes of freshmen Tyler Sikura, Brandon McNally and Eric Neiley posted productive freshman campaigns, and sophomores Eric Robinson and Matt Lindblad tied for third in scoring. People in the program really like the size and potential of incoming goaltenders James Kruger and Charles Grant, who will be in the mix with veteran Cab Morris.
PRESSURE TO PERFORM

Cole Bardreau
Cornell is well-positioned for a big season and got a tremendous boost in last year’s fortunes from a dynamic freshman class. With an additional year of experience and a return to health for Brian Ferlin, this group of Big Red sophomores will be relied upon to take a leap forward and carry a bigger load this year. Joel Lowry, John McCarron and Cole Bardreau are the headliners in that group on offense and Joakim Ryan played a big role on the blue line. Avoiding a sophomore slump will be good news for the Big Red.
PRIMED FOR A FALL
There’s bound to be a fall in Colgate’s fortunes, but we’re not projecting it to be that drastic. When you lose two-thirds of the best line in the league to professional hockey (and it was a reasonable expectation that both Austin Smith and Chris Wagner would get at least a cup of coffee in the show this year, if, you know, the NHL actually existed). The loss of star power at the top of the list will be tough to cope with, but there’s a solid supporting cast returning and we think the Raiders will get a first-round home playoff series, but a top-four spot is a bit of a reach.
TOUGHEST ACT TO FOLLOW
Harvard’s seniors have a tough burden to meet in replacing the role that Alex Killorn played for the Crimson last year. He was the best big-game player in the league, with 20 points in his last 13 games down the stretch to lead Harvard to a top-four finish and berth in the ECAC Hockey championship game.
BEST PLAYER

Dustin Walsh
Let’s call it Austin Smith 2.0. A senior forward is back whose talent has never been a question, but has never really earned a spot as one of the best players in the league. That changes this year, as Dartmouth’s Dustin Walsh is healthy and poised for a big season. He was off to a red-hot start last year before a season-ending injury ruined a promising start. In eight games he had 10 points, after turning down overtures from the Montreal Canadiens the previous summer. This time around, provided he plays a full season, Walsh will be among the top-10 Hobey Baker finalists. Dartmouth was picked seventh by the coaches and 10th by the media in the preseason polls. Those same groups were wrong about Harvard last year (I was not), and we’re projecting Dartmouth to take on that role this year.
IMPACT NEWCOMER
He’s a newcomer to ECAC Hockey but brings a pretty impressive resume from his days in the CCHA. Bowling Green-transfer Jordan Samuels-Thomas led the Falcons in scoring in his first two years with the Falcons. He sat out last year after transferring and is in the fold for the Quinnipiac Bobcats this year. His sophomore year at BG produced nine goals and 21 points, backing up an 11-goal, 25-point effort as a freshman and he is an NHL draft property of the Winnipeg Jets.
UNSUNG PLAYER
It’s hard to recall a player who has consistently played at such a high level and is an all-league performer through an entire career with less notoriety than St. Lawrence’s Kyle Flanagan. Here’s a guy who hit the 100-career-point mark during his junior year, was a co-MVP for the Saints as a sophomore and is a two-year team captain. He’s averaged a point-per-game throughout his career and is incredibly consistent. He’s an All-American and Hobey Baker candidate as a senior, but we projected that prior to his sophomore year.
MARK IT DOWN
Three things you can take to the bank in ECAC Hockey this season
• Not many people will miss Atlantic City as the league’s championship-weekend venue. It was probably worth the experiment, but it didn’t work out. Credit to those people who were thinking outside of the box and tried to make something better, but this wasn’t it. Albany and Lake Placid are better options.
• Union will be just fine. The Dutchmen graduated important seniors Kelly Zajac and Nolan Julseth-White, and leading scorer Jeremy Welsh signed a pro contract following last year’s Frozen Four appearance. But there’s a lot of talent back in Schenectady …
• … continuing that thought, we’ll assert that at least one ECAC Hockey team will make the Frozen Four for the second year in a row. The most likely candidate is Cornell, but the strength of Union and Harvard can’t be overlooked.
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INCH’s Predicted Finish
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No.
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School | Of Note |
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1.
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Cornell | The scariest part of this prediction is that Cornell might still be a year away from icing its absolute best roster since their Frozen Four team of 2002-03. |
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2.
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Union | Too much talent returns to discount the Dutchmen. Shayne Gostisbehere, Troy Grosenick and Daniel Carr are legitimate All-American candidates. |
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3.
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Harvard | The Crimson have struggled behind slow starts each of the last two years. If that can be adjusted this year, it will mean bigger things down the stretch. |
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4.
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Dartmouth | Defenseman Mike Keenan is one of the best in the league and will anchor the defense corps. |
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5.
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Quinnipiac | Opponents will keep a closer eye on Connor Jones, Kellen Jones and Matthew Peca this year, but there’s a lot of potential for increased scoring depth in Hamden. |
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6.
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Yale | Last year was a disappointment. Can Yale move back toward the top of the standings this year? It’ll be up to the likes of Antoine Laganiere, Kenny Agostino and Clinton Bourbonais. |
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7.
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Rensselaer | The Engineers started last year with 16 losses in their first 19 games. After some tough decisions were made and the locker-room leadership structure changed, RPI went 9-8-3 in their last 20 contests and three of those losses were to Union. |
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8.
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Colgate | Defenseman Jeremy Price had 23 points from the blue line last year and is a senior captain this year. |
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9.
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St. Lawrence | In addition to Flanagan; George Hughes and Greg Carey give the Saints plenty of top-end talent. |
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10.
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Princeton | There are some pieces in place for the Tigers. The top-four scorers from last year return including Andrew Calof (17-14–31). |
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11.
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Clarkson | Year two of the Casey Jones regime will be another transition season for the Golden Knights. They lost four of their top-seven scorers and workhorse goaltender Paul Karpowich. |
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12.
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Brown | Sophomore Ryan Jacobson is the team’s leading returning scorer. He had 12 goals and nine assists last year. |








