PRINCETON, NJ – The ECAC enters its 48th ice hockey season with twelve teams representing colleges and universities from the NCAA’s traditional conferences such as the Ivy League, Patriot League, Liberty League, and the Northeast Conference. Last season the Yale Bulldogs finished atop the standings with a record of 15-5-2 (32 points) edging out the Cornell Big Red by 3 points. In the ECAC playoffs, the Bulldogs took down the Brown Bears in the quarter-finals, the Saint Lawrence Saints in the semi-finals, and shutout Cornell 5-0 in the championship game to win the ECAC title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Frozen Four tournament.
Brown University Bears. Home rink: Meehan Auditorium in Providence, RI. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 3-15-4 (5-23-5 overall). Last place ECAC.
Players to watch:
Mike Clemente (’12) – Goalie. Clemente posted a 4-11-2 record with 2 shutouts, a 2.67 GAA, and a 0.930 save percentage last season.
Keys to success: While Brown’s goaltending has improved with the addition of Mike Clemente, goal-scoring has been anemic with the Bears scoring 60 goals as a team during the 2008-2009 campaign. If they are to move up from the ECAC’s basement they need to significantly increase their scoring.
Clarkson University Golden Knights. Home rink: Cheel Arena in Potsdam, NY. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 8-10-4 (10-19-7 overall). 9th place ECAC.
Players to watch:
Bryan Rufenach (’11) – Defenseman. He is a 2007 draft-pick of the Detroit Red Wings (7th rd., #208 overall). In the 2008-2009 season he had 9 goals and 10 assists in 34 games.
Paul Karpowich (’12) – Goalie. He is a 2008 draft pick of the St. Louis Blues (7th rd., #185 overall). Karpowich played to a 7-14-4 record with 1 shutout, a GAA of 2.85, and a 0.907 save percentage in his rookie campaign.
Keys to success: In the 2008-2009 campaign, Clarkson finished with a 10-19-7 (88 G.F., 115 G.A.) overall, down from a 22-13-4 (108 G.F., 93 G.A.) finish in ’07-’08. The glaring difference being that there was 20-goal decrease in scoring due to the graduation of several strong contributors. In order to achieve this Clarkson will need their four skaters, all of whom were NHL draft picks to step up their game.
Colgate University Raiders. Home rink: Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 6-11-5 (12-18-7 overall). 10th place ECAC.
Players to watch:
David Mcintyre (’10) – Center. He is a 2006 draft pick of the Dallas Stars (5th round, #138 overall) however his rights have been traded from Dallas to Anaheim, then from Anaheim to the New Jersey Devils during the course of the 2008-2009 season. In the 2008-2009 season he was the team’s leading scorer with 21 goals and 22 assists. He was also a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 2009.
Austin Smith (’12) – Right Wing. The Dallas, TX native was selected by his hometown Dallas Stars during the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (5th round, #128 overall). In his freshman year Smith was second in scoring among the Raiders with 17 goals and 14 assists. He was also named the ECAC Rookie of the Week on 1/5/09.
Brian Day (’11) – Right Wing. During the 2008-2009 campaign he contributed 14 goals and 13 assists. In 2006 Day was selected by the New York Islanders in the 6th round of the NHL Entry Draft with the #171st overall pick.
Keys to success: Their goaltending (Charles Long 2.52 GAA and 0.909 save percentage) is on par with the rest of the ECAC, however the number of goals scored by the Raiders will have to improve as a team dropped from 113 in ’07-’08 to 89 in the ’08-’09 season.
Cornell University Big Red. Home rink: Lynah Rink in Ithaca, NY. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 13-6-3 (22-10-4 overall). 2nd place ECAC.
Players to watch:
Riley Nash (’11) – Center. Nash was a first round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (21st overall). Last year he led Cornell in points with 35 (13 goals, 22 assists) and was selected for the All-ECAC first team.
Colin Greening (’10) – Center. Colin Greening was the leading goal scorer for Cornell last season with 15 goals and 16 assists. He was selected in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.
Keys to success: Cornell finished in second place in the ECAC in ’08-’09. If their goaltender Ben Scrivens can maintain or better the 1.81 GAA and 0.931% that he posted last season, the Big Red will be a force to be reckoned with.
Dartmouth College Big Green. Home rink: Thompson Arena in Hanover, NH. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 11-9-2 (14-14-3 overall). 6th place ECAC.
Players to watch:
Joe Stejskal (’11) – Defense. The Grand Rapids, MN was a 2007 NHL Entry Draft selection of the Montreal Canadians in the 5th round, taken at #133 overall. Stejskal had only 7 goals and 5 assists during the ’08-’09 season, but he is better known for his size, good skating, and the ability to dish out clean, but hard hits..
Jody O’Neill (’12) – Goalie. 14-13-3 record with 3 shutouts, a 2.61 GAA, and a 0.923 save percentage. In O’Neill’s first season with the club last year he was named Rookie of the Year for both the ECAC and the Ivy League.
Keys to success: While Dartmouth only finished in 6th place within the ECAC last season they have the tools in place to jump up a few notches should their skaters be able to get more pucks in the net.
Harvard University Crimson. Home rink: Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge, MA. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 9-7-6 (9-16-6 overall). 5th place ECAC.
Players to watch:
Doug Rogers (’10) – Center. Rogers led the Crimson in points last year with 8 goals and 13 assists. He was drafted by the New York Islanders during the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, #119 overall. In 2008-2009 Rogers was selected for the second-team All-Ivy League and the ECAC All-Academic team.
Alex Biega (’10) – Defense. Biega is the Harvard team’s captain, the 116th in the school’s hockey history. Last season he was second on the team in points with 4 goals and 16 assists. In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft he was selected in the 5th round by the Buffalo Sabres, #147 overall.
Keys to success: Last year the Crimson had no players score more than 8 goals on the season other than Doug Rogers and Nick Coskren. There were five other players who scored 6 goals each, but balanced scoring only means something when the team scores a lot and wins. Harvard led the conference with 6 tie games last season so hypothetically 6 well-timed goals could have vaulted them to the top of the ECAC standings
Princeton University Tigers. Home rink: Baker Rink in Princeton, NJ. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 14-8-0 (22-12-1 overall) 3rd place ECAC
Players to watch:
Zane Kalemba (’10) – Goalie. In the ’08-’09 season Kalemba set Princeton’s single-season win record with 22, and his 1.82 GAA and 0.932 save percentage were also records for the school. Overall he had a 22-10-1 record. He was named ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year, earned first-team All-ECAC and All-Ivy League honors. Kalemba was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, a second team All-American, and was awarded the Blackwell Trophy as the team’s Most Valuable Player. This season he has already been named to the College Hockey News’ Pre-Season All-American first-team. If that wasn’t enough, Kalemba also attended the San Jose Sharks summer prospect camp during this past July.
Michael Sdao (’13) – Defense. Sdao, an incoming freshman, was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft during the 7th round (191st overall). Prior to joining Princeton he played two seasons with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, where he was known as a physical defenseman.
Keys to success: Kalemba has to reproduce the successful season he had the prior season, while the team as a whole has to improve upon the number of goals they are able to put away. Thankfully for the team they only lost one of the top-5 scorers from last year, and that was Brett Wilson.
Quinnipiac University Bobcats. Home rink: TD Banknorth Sports center in Hamden, CT. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 9-10-3 (18-18-3 overall) 7th place ECAC
Players to watch:
Eric Lampe (‘10) – Forward. Lampe returns to the club for his senior year after putting up 14 goals and 12 assists last year, a career-high.
J.M. Beaudoin (’10) Forward. Beaudoin is the highest point-earner coming back to the team from last year’s roster, due to the graduation of Bryan Leitch and David Marshall. In 2008-2009 he put up 13 goals and 14 assists. Beaudoin was also recently named team captain for the 2009-10 season.
Keys to success: Quinnipiac desperately needs to replace the offense of Bryan Leitch (12 g, 47 a) and David Marshall (22 g, 24 a), as J.M. Beaudoin (27) and Eric Lampe (26) were the next highest point-earners, putting up at least 19 points less than the departing pair. The goaltending situation also needs sorting-out as between four goaltenders on the roster only two of them, junior Pat McGann and sophomore Dan Clarke have any collegiate hockey experience. McGann played only 8 games with the team back in 2007-2008 as a freshman, taking a year off in 2008-09. Meanwhile Clarke appeared in 13 games as a freshman last year, posting 5-6-1 record, a 2.84 GAA, and 0.881 save percentage.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers. Home rink: Houston Field House in Troy, NY. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 6-15-1 (10-27-2 overall) 11th place ECAC
Players to watch:
Chase Polacek (’11) – Center / Right Wing. Chase Polacek returns to the Engineer after leading the team in overall goals (11), assists (21), and points (32). During his first two years of collegiate hockey Polacek was named to the ECAC All-Rookie team in 2007-2008 and was named team MVP in the 2008-2009 season.
Patrick Cullen (‘12) – Left Wing. The Engineers will look to Cullen to continue his development as one of the top players on the team. As a freshman last year he was 2nd in goals, assists, and points (10 g, 14 a, 24 p) behind Polacek. Like Polacek, he too was selected to the ECAC All-Rookie team and was named the team’s most outstanding freshman in 2008-09.
Allen York (‘12) – Goalie. York comes into the 2009-10 season as RPI’s #1 goalie, having taken over for graduating goalie Mathias Lange. While York’s numbers last season were not impressive: 5-10-0 record, 3.02 GAA, and 0.901 save percentage; he helped RPI steal their first-round playoff series against Dartmouth and put up a valiant effort against Cornell before eventually losing out in the 2nd round. York came to the team after being drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (6th round, 158th overall).
Keys to success: While the Engineers may not have immediate success, the roster is stocked with younger player who have 1 to 3 years ahead of them to develop. Among them include freshman goalie Bryce Merriam (60-22-11 record, 9 shutouts, 2.33 GAA and a 0.884 save % over 4 years in the USHL), Alex Angers-Goulet (7 g, 8 a as a freshman), and Bryan Butlag (top scoring defenseman last year with 3 g, 14 a).
St. Lawrence University Saints. Home rink: Appleton Arena in Canton, NY. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 11-7-4 (21-12-5 overall) 4th place ECAC
Players to watch:
Mike McKenzie (’10) – Forward. McKenzie was last year’s leading point earner (34) and was tied for the lead in goals scored (16) on the team. Named as the team’s assistant captain at the beginning of the year, he begins the ’09-’10 season needing 21 more points to hit the “100” mark for his collegiate career.
Derek Keller (’10) – Defense. Keller was named the Saints’ captain for the ’09-’10 season. His defensive skills were a large contributing factor in the reduction of overall goals allowed by the team over the past several years.
Keys to success: The Saints must keep up the pace of scoring which they had last season. In ’08-’09 the team scored 71 goals (2nd most) against in-division opponents and another 53 (tied for most) against non-division opponents. And although the Saints do not have any NHL prospects on the team, Aaron Bogosian is the younger brother of the Atlanta Thrashers’ defenseman Zach Bogosian.
Union College Dutchmen. Home rink: Messa Rink in Schenectady, NY. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 9-11-2 (19-17-3 overall) 8th place ECAC
Players to watch:
Adam Presizniuk (’11) – Center. Presizniuk led the team last year with 16 goals, 22 assists, and 38 points (a school record). He was also selected as the team MVP during his first two seasons with the Dutchmen.
Kelly Zajac (’12) – Forward. The younger brother of the NJ Devils’ Travis Zajac, Kelly led all Union rookies in scoring with 6 goals and 14 assists. This earned him the team’s Rookie of the Year award.
Keys to success: The team’s goaltending and defense needs to improve if the Dutchmen are to move up in the standings. While Union’s skaters put the puck in the net 111 times last year, which made them the 4th highest scoring team in the ECAC; they allowed 107 goals, which was 6th worst in the division.
Yale University Bulldogs. Home Rink: Ingalls Rink in New Haven, CT. 2008-2009 ECAC Record: 15-5-2 (24-8-2 overall) 1st place ECAC.
Players to watch:
Mark Arcobello (’10) – Forward. Arcobello was the Bulldog’s leading point earner last year with 35 (17 g, 18 a). At the end of the ’08-’09 season he was named to the Second-team Reebok East Division All-American team, he was also named to the First-team All-New England, All-ECAC Hockey, and All-Ivy.
Ryan Donald (’10) – Defense. Donald was tabbed as the Bulldogs’ captain for the ’09-’10 season. The 6’3” defenseman was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team last season.
Keys to success: The Bulldogs won the ECAC regular season and playoff title, edging out Cornell by 3 points in the final standings and defeating them in the ECAC finals 5-0. The majority of Yale’s skaters are returning for the current season. The one issue may be goaltending. Alec Richards, the #1 goalie from last year has graduated, leaving the Bulldogs coaching staff to chose between Billy Blasé (’10), Ryan Rondeau (’11), Jeff Malcolm (’13), and Nick Marcic (’13). Blasé was Yale’s #1 net minder in ’07-’08 (27 games, 13-8-4, 2.51 GAA, and 0.910 save percentage), however he appeared in only 4 games in ’08-’09 and Rondeau just happened to put up slightly better numbers in his 6 appearances (4-1, 2.27 GAA, and 0.091 save percentage).
Contact the author at Michael.Meier@prohockeynews.com
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