Weekend Preview

Just a few hours away from game time, so I guess it’s time to write up a little ditty of a game preview.

St. Lawrence should beat Dartmouth, but Harvard is a different beast. The New England swing has not been particularly kind to the Saints in the last few years.

Last season, St. Lawrence managed one win in four games against Dartmouth and Harvard. The win, of course, came at home. The Saints also managed a tie at home. They were swept on the road.

The year before that, the Saints were swept at home, but won both games away.

You have to go back to 2006-07 to find the last time St. Lawrence won three out of the four regular season games. Back then, the Saints went 4-0.

What does all this mean for the weekend? That the ECACHL is a tough league and even these games, where Harvard and Dartmouth have a combined one conference win, will be difficult.

Harvard has been uncharacteristically quiet to start the year. The Crimson have only downed Dartmouth in the ECAC and have been outscored 22-11 collectively in conference.

What the Saints have going for them is poise under pressure. Almost all their wins are the come-from-behind sort, so trailing by one or even two goals doesn’t seem to bother them.

I expect a close win against Harvard, 3-2.

Dartmouth should be a little easier. The Big Green can’t score. It hasn’t been shutout yet, but haven’t scored more than two goals since its 5-3 loss to Harvard on Oct. 30. Against the Big Green, teams are thriving. They’re scoring nearly four goals per game. St. Lawrence should win it easily, 5-2.

The only equalizer is the starting forwards for the Saints. Jeremiah Cunningham and Kyle Flanagan are both out for the weekend. Jared Keller should be back, although there isn’t confirmation on that.

Who is going to fill in for Cunningham and Flanagan? Last week, it was Nick Pitsikoulis and Brandon Bollig. Assistant coach Bob Prier said Aaron Bogosian might move up and play there too, which would add speed to the front line.

This is an important weekend against two teams that St. Lawrence can and should beat. The puck drops at 7 p.m. tonight.