ECAC Hockey Notebook
If the first weekend of the season is any indication, the University of Maine may not be ready for a turnaround.
The Black Bears, one of college hockey's premier programs, have won just 13 games in each of the last two years and have an overall record of 26-40-7.
Maine opened this season by dropping two games in Schenectady against Union, falling to the Dutchmen 4-1 and 6-3.
It marked the first wins for Union in program history against the Black Bears.
"We just wanted to get off on the right foot, and I think we did," junior John Simpson told the Albany Times-Union. "It's great for the program. Our goal coming in was to get two wins on them, especially after they dominated us up there (5-1, 3-1 losses) last year."
Maine coach Tim Whitehead was an assistant coach on the Black Bears' 1999 national championship team with Union coach Nate Leaman.
"Obviously it was a great weekend for Union," Whitehead told the Times-Union."They did a great job. They outworked us, they won the loose pucks. I'm surprised how flat we came out in the first period after getting beat last night. Union was very impressive in a lot of aspects of the game."
Engineers Head to Alaska
Rensselaer (1-1) will make the longest road trip of the season this year when it heads to Fairbanks, Alaska, to play Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska in a pair of nonconference games.
RPI will have to adjust to the Olympic-size ice sheet in Fairbanks. RPI's Houston Field House has an ice sheet that is 200 feet by 85. The Carlson Center sheet is 200 by 100.
The trip will not be new for Engineers coach Seth Appert, who faced these programs when he was an assistant coach at the University of Denver.
“What I have found is the speed of the forwards will help, but more importantly, you need to play with very good team intelligence on an Olympic-size ice sheet,'' Appert told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “If you're undisciplined in your positional play, you can really get exposed on the big ice.
“We're going to stay aggressive and use our speed to our advantage, but at the same time you need to be very disciplined in your positional play and not give up easy opportunities to your opponents.”
Day Back From Injury
Colgate forward Brian Day scored three goals during the first weekend of the season after recovering from offseason hip surgery.
Day helped the Raiders get off to a 1-0-1 start against Niagara and RIT.
"I feel pretty good," Day told the Salem (Mass.) News. "I have more mobility, but it's not a noticible difference. Mostly I have less pain. In general, I'm just excited to be back with the team, back on the ice."
Players of the Week
Player of the Week: Quinnipiac forward Eric Lampe: scored three goals with one assist in two games against Ohio State.
Rookie of the Week:Union forward Jeremy Welsh: finished with two goals and one assist and a plus-three rating in two games against Maine.
Goaltender of the Week:Quinnipiac's Dan Clarke: Made 44 saves in a 3-1 win over Ohio State, including 20 in the final two periods.
ECAC in the Polls
Cornell is the highest ranked team in this week's U.S. College Hockey Online poll. The Big Red, who have not played yet this season, are No. 6.
Defending conference champion Yale, which also has not played, is No. 8. Another Ivy League team which has not played, Princeton, is No. 10.
Quinnipiac also joins the list at No. 18 after sweeping Ohio State last weekend.
This Weekend's Games
Friday
RPI vs. Alaska Anchorage, Fairbanks, 4:35 p.m.
RIT at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m.
Niagara at Clarkson, 7 p.m.
Nebraska-Omaha at Colgate, 7 p.m.
Union at St. Cloud State, 7:07 p.m.
Saturday
Bentley at Quinnipiac, 4 p.m.
Union at St. Cloud State, 5:07 p.m.
Niagara at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m.
Nebraska-Omaha at Colgate, 7 p.m.
RIT at Clarkson, 7:30 p.m.
RPI vs. Alaska, Fairbanks, 7:35 p.m.
Last Week's Scores
Thursday
Massachusetts 5, RPI 2
Quinnipiac 4, Ohio State 2
Friday
UMass.-Lowell 3, St. Lawrence 0
Union 4, Maine 1
Colgate 4, Niagara 4 (OT)
Michigan State 6, Clarkson 1
Quinnipiac 3, Ohio State 1
Saturday
St. Lawrence 5, Army 2
Michigan State 4, Clarkson 3
Union 6, Maine 3
RPI 3, New Hampshire 1
Colgate 3, RIT 2
