College Hockey:
Hockey East picks: December 29-January 5 (Holiday tournament edition)

By Jim Connelly • Senior Writer • Dec. 29, 2011

It’s been a while since we’ve picked a game, but that doesn’t hide the horrid final weekend I had before the break.

Jim’s last week: 0-2-0
Dave’s last week: 2-0-0
Jim’s record-to-date: 55-40-9
Dave’s record-to-date: 58-37-9

Here are picks for this weekend’s non-league and tournament action and games through next Thursday:

Thursday, December 29

Clarkson vs. Maine (at Florida College Classic)
Jim’s pick: Wasn’t the best first half for Maine, but I’ll throw the Black Bears my vote of confidence to open the second half.
Maine 4, Clarkson 2
Dave’s pick: The Black Bears beat Clarkson, 4-3, a month ago. I’ll go for a holiday rerun.
Maine 4, Clarkson 3

Boston College vs. Michigan (at Great Lakes Invitational)
Jim’s pick: At the beginning of the season, we’d have thought of this as a marquis matchup. Then Michigan took a nose-dive. That makes me think this should be all BC.
BC 5, Michigan 2
Dave’s pick: I’m not sure if Michigan will stay down all season long, but I don’t see them getting up against the Eagles.
BC 4, Michigan 2

Massachusetts-Lowell vs. Rensselaer (at UConn Holiday Classic)
Jim’s pick: The River Hawks machine picks right back up to start the second half.
UML 4, RPI 1
Dave’s pick: Rensselaer appears to be headed where Lowell went last year (last place). The River Hawks are loving the change.
UML 4, RPI 2

Lake Superior at Vermont (Catamount Cup)
Jim’s pick: Things aren’t any prettier now that the second half begins for Vermont
LSSU 5, UVM 2
Dave’s pick: The tough times continue for the Cats, even in their own tournament.
LSSU 4, UVM1

Friday, December 30

Brown at New Hampshire
Jim’s pick: So is a non-league game vs. an ECAC team what New Hampshire needs? Maybe, though I remember thinking the same thing when they faced Harvard. Still, I will give UNH the benefit of the doubt here.
UNH 3, Brown 2
Dave’s pick: The Wildcats have been terribly inconsistent, but I still see them making a second-half charge.
UNH 4, Brown 3

Northeastern vs. Princeton (at Mariucci Classic)
Jim’s pick: Here’s hoping that NU keeps going its mojo from before the break.
NU 4, Princeton 2
Dave’s pick: Seven in a row for college hockey’s hottest team.
NU 4, Princeton 1

Merrimack vs. St. Lawrence (at Ledyard Bank Tournament)
Jim’s pick: Third straight ECAC opponent for the Warriors. First win.
MC 4, SLU 2
Dave’s pick: The Warriors hit a pothole or two before the break, but they get back on track right here.
MC 5, SLU2

Maine vs. UMass/Cornell (at Florida College Classic)
Jim’s pick: One of the many situations where the opponent decides my outcome.
vs. Cornell: Cornell 5, Maine 3; vs. UMass: Maine 3, UMass 2
Dave’s pick: I was hoping to disagree with Jim here, but can’t. Cornell is having a terrific year so far; Umass, not.
vs. Cornell: Cornell 5, Maine 2; vs. UMass: Maine 4, UMass 2

Boston College vs. Michigan State/Michigan Tech (at Great Lakes Invitational)
Jim’s pick: I think both opponents will be difficult, but I see BC coming out of this tournament a winner.
vs. MSU: BC 3, MSU 2; vs. MTU: BC 4, MTU 2
Dave’s pick: I agree with Jim’s outcome, but think it’ll be easier for the Eagles than he thinks.
vs. MSU: BC 4, MSU 2; vs. MTU: BC 5, MTU 2

Massachusetts-Lowell vs. Connecticut/Army (at UConn Holiday Classic)
Jim’s pick: Despite an early-season loss to UConn, I think Lowell comes out on top regardless of opponent.
vs. UConn: Lowell 4, UConn 2; vs. Army: Lowell 6, Army 2
Dave’s pick: I was a lot slower to hop on the River Hawks’ bandwagon than Jim, but even a dope like me sees a win for them here.
vs. UConn: Lowell 5, UConn 2; vs. Army: Lowell 6, Army 1

Ferris State at Vermont (at Catamount Cup)
Jim’s pick: Two tough CCHA opponents for the Cats in this pre-determined pairings tournament spell two more losses.
FSU 5, UVM 3
Dave’s pick: Have to agree (again!) with Jim, although I fear an even more lopsided loss. Ferris State is 11-6-1; the Cats are, well, having a tough year.
FSU 6, UVM 2

Saturday, December 31

Boston University at Notre Dame
Jim’s pick: Hard to predict how BU will look without Trivino and Coyle, but I’m still picking them here.
BU 3, ND 2
Dave’s pick: Before the Terriers lost the two forwards, I’d have been all over them. But I think it’ll take a bit of time to fill in the gaps, especially against quality opponents like the Irish.
ND 3, BU 2

Northeastern vs. Niagara/Minnesota (at Mariucci Classic)
Jim’s pick: NU should handle Niagara no problem, but Goldy would prove a challenge.
vs. Niagara: NU 5, Niagara 2; vs. Minn.: Minn. 4, NU 3
Dave’s pick: Agreed, especially taking on the Gophers on their home ice.
vs. Niagara: NU 5, Niagara 2; vs. Minn.: Minn. 4, NU 2

Merrimack vs. Dartmouth/Holy Cross
Jim’s pick: Though Dartmouth might give Merrimack a game at home, I think this is Merrimack’s tournament to win.
vs. Dartmouth: MC 3, Dartmouth 2; vs. HC: MC 6, HC 2
Dave’s pick: The Warriors all the way. Not back to No. 1 in the country but at least No. 1 in this tourney.
vs. Dartmouth: MC 4, Dartmouth 2; vs. HC: MC 5, HC 2

Sunday, January 1

Brown at Providence (Mayor’s Cup)
Jim’s pick: Friars take this year’s annual battle of Providence.
PC 4, Brown 2
Dave’s pick: It’ll be a close one, but yes, the Friars prevail.
PC 3, Brown 2

Wednesday, January 4

Vermont at Maine
Jim’s pick: Black Bears get a much-needed home win.
Maine 5, UVM 2
Dave’s pick: Based on the season the Cats have been having, it’s tough to imagine them stealing one at Alfond.
Maine 5, UVM 3

Thursday, January 5

Massachusetts at Providence
Jim’s pick: Providence was a great first-half team at home and that weighs in part on my pick.
PC 3, UMass 2
Dave’s pick: A great point by Jim. PC was 7-2-1 at home; UMass was 0-7-1 on the road.
PC 4, UMass 1

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YouSee Alum
Dutchmen will need to leash a pair of Bulldogs to get to St. Paul. My biggest concen about A.C. was its distance from most of the league schools.
Ben
Atlantic city was a cow barn with ice. ECAC layed an egg. Stupidest move they ever made
- Atlantic City Fan
  The ECAC did not lay an egg…..since it is a cow barn, you’ll never find chickens in a cow barn……hence, no egg!!!
  That being said…..the venue was a helluva lot better than the Times Union Center. If you think Atlantic City was a cow barn with ice, then playing at the TUC was an outhouse and the ice surface was the frozen……you get the picture.
  Atlantic City has a lot of potential for the ECAC to grow their fan base….since there current fan base does not travel and are tight wads when it comes to spending money!!! I was there as a fan of ECAC hockey, even though my team was not. Had a great time….except the Championship game was a yawner…..good thing they were serving beer!!!
  - Crasher1339
    Definitely a yawner, 6-0 and it wasn’t that close. Thanks from a Red fan to Yale for not running up the score even more.
    - Bulldog07
      Yeah…you could tell Yale didn’t want to run it any higher after Iles got pulled (what was Schafer thinking?), and that the 6th goal came only because they wanted some clean revenge for the hit on Trentowski.
      Also will agree with AC Fan…I thought AC was a great venue. There is almost literally nothing to do in Albany. The city is a ghost town in the weekend. Since attendance was basically the same as I saw in Albany two years ago (don’t have exact numbers though, so can’t say for sure), why not give AC more credit for at least being entertaining between and after games.
      - Crasher1339
        I’ll agree on Albany being a dud, particularly for the younger crowd without kids. AC does have more to do, but the only real down time for the family crew is the morning and early afternoon on Saturday. I can’t see taking the kids to the casino for a few hours of post-game blackjack. I just think there were better alternatives, and if there weren’t, I wish the ECAC would share a little more info on why not.
      - Css228
        Iles just had a bad night. His stats were identical to Garman’s all year long and he was better than Garman most of the season in Lynah (from the games I saw). I don’t know what happened with him on Saturday, but the kids got a bright future with perhaps a Dryden award coming
  - Crasher1339
    There is lots of potential in AC, in the sense that there is zero there now, so nowhere to go but up. It’s kind of like when I try to resuscitate a pt in cardiac arrest, at least I can’t make him worse…
    I will admit to being a bit of a tightwad, but when you’ve got a family to transport and house, things add up quickly.
Crasher1339
I can’t comment on AC per se as I wasn’t there, but for me that’s the problem. Between myself, family and friends, we usually have a good dozen people in Albany if Cornell is there (and they usually are). The prospect of travelling all the way to AC and paying roughly 2-3x the hotel rates compared to Albany deterred all of us from going. Say what you want about Albany being boring (I admit, it is), but it’s a much better atmosphere for families than AC. I also watched both the Cornell/Dartmouth semi and the final on TV and would estimate 20% of seats were filled. Definitely did not look like a third to me, although I would defer to the official numbers of course. The heat is a problem, as is the ice. You could see it on the players in the interviews – they were soaked. And the ice was soft and chippy, multiple comments on that, and I watched a number of players go down inexplicably from the surface being so terrible. Who cares about the acoustics?! It’s not a concert for christ’s sake! I hope this experiment ends up where it deserves to be, on the trash heap. If you don’t like Albany, the ECAC could have gone to Hartford, Springfield, Bridgeport or any number of other cities in NY/NE. That’s where the fan base is for ECAC hockey, not southern NJ.
- Matto
  I agree; Atlantic City is just out of the way for most of the ECAC. New York area would make a lot of sense.
- Bulldog07
  But I think that’s kind of the problem. Would you really want to bring your kids to Springfield, Bridgeport, or Hartford? None of those cities exactly scream “family-friendly.” And as you admit Albany is an awful city to do anything aside from watch the games. Yes, the games are number one in importance, but there should be more to do than go back to your hotel afterward.
  Brian’s right though in that the TV didn’t do a good job showing the fans…there were a lot of fans in the “visitor” (cross-ice from benches) side of the arena, which weren’t on a good angle for the tv to pick up.
  - Crasher1339
    I used to live in Springfield and there actually are some nice kid-friendly things to do there during the day, Basketball HOF, Seuss memorial, nice science museum. Similar stuff in Hartford, don’t know much about Bridgeport. Plus there’s plenty of nightlife in either city for the younger crowd. And much more accessible travel wise. I mentioned those 3 cities because they all have AHL teams and strong hockey traditions.
JohnSLU
I’ve been an ECAC fan since I was 5 years old (and the league was 3 years old), and I always wished the tournament would draw more people in Albany, but in Atlantic City, I was quite frankly hoping for the truly dismal attendance that they got. Venue payments aside, I hold out hope that really awful attendance numbers will make the league brass return to sanity and move the tournament back to Albany, or at least to someplace that has something remotely to do with the ECAC. It should be in a location that lots of fans can get to reasonably. Atlantic City was an absolutely ridiculous idea, and the sooner they move back north where they should be, the better.
- djsim
  The tournament should be like everything else in the US. Outsource it to India or China:)
Placid
I think Lake Placid is by far the best place theyve ever had it. Best atmosphere in the rink, best atmosphere outside the rink, and just flat out fun. The WHOLE place was ECAC hockey. Move it back to Placid!!!
- Crasher1339
  I wouldn’t mind that, Lake Placid is a gorgeous area and very hockey friendly. An ECAC tournament would basically fill the area with fans.
- Bulldog07
  Agreed. If you’re not going to have a city with things to do outside of the arena, than have it in a place where the festivities in the arena will carry over all day long. I’d love to go to Lake Placid again.
- mdb24
  BACK TO PLACID!!! ORDA (Olympic Assn.) wants it back and it a little sour about losing it. Great town, great weekend. I saw many ECAC tourney’s there and they were best it’s ever been. LP is set up for the tourney and the town has plenty for fans to do. AC is at least an hour south of the southern most ECAC team (princeton). Two more years of this garbage. Cornell must have put up a huge stink for having to play on olympic ice.
Critsports
We have some new info Brian posted here……..we had heard rumor’s there was “no charge” for the Arena. Now he is saying/hearing the ECAC actually got “paid” to have the event here. I’m not condoning the location but that’s a huge difference.
Brian……..perhaps you could host a Q and A with Hagwell or have us write in questions. I assume he will be in Bridgeport with two ECAC teams there. The first one to obviously clear up is…….was the ECAC actually “paid” to have the event in A/C??
I don’t know what our deal was with Albany and how much we had to pay if anything. More transparency on behalf of the ECAC would sure be welcome.
I live in CT so Atlantic City isn’t unbearably far away but I would have to fuss with NY City and lower Fairfield County, CT traffic and depending on the time of day down or back that can add an hour or more to the trip.
This was my first year not attending since 1999 and it was all because I had no desire to go to AC.
Reasonable accomodations can be had (as LTsatch posted) if you go outside the Boardwalk area, but like most posters have stated…..it’s just not a location that is near the bulk of the teams/the league or it’s fan base.
electpuck
Dartmouth had practically no one there. Colgate had more than the Big Green. Cornell had the most fans, and Yale did pretty well from my perspective.
- Crasher1339
  Say what you will about Big Red fans, we may be obnoxious, but we do show up.
  - Bulldog07
    Haha…well said. Definite “like.”
  - Css228
    Yeah I wanted to go Friday, but my bus home didn’t reach Philly until 7:30 when we left Ithaca at 1:30 (bus fail)
ypmb
The Yale band (YPMB!) did play Beatdown Stomp, both nights. We’re sorry you didn’t hear it.
- Matto
  It used to be YWWB for Hockey (Winter Wonder), with the on-ice, on-skates show between the 2nd and 3rd periods. They *need* to send the band to Minnesota. (With or without the team)
- http://twitter.com/SullivanHockey Brian Sullivan
  I must have run off to the press conferences too urgently! That makes me happy and sad all at the same time… I’ll have to hope for another Yale W next weekend, and take a little more time in leaving my seat.
Mark
Unless Clarkson and Cornell are in the tournament you wont have good attendance. They are the only two teams that travel well. Union ups the ticket prices when those two teams come to town because it is two of the three times we sell out all year, RPI being the 3rd. It doesn’t matter where you play it, you wont fill the arena.
- Crasher1339
  Interesting note on ticket prices. ECAC is not a premier league, and college hockey is not the big draw it is in the midwest and west, so you’re never going to sell out. I think the ECAC would do much better to focus on marketing through the alumni associations of the member schools. If you had social events directed at the schools planned around the wkend and advertised it to alums I bet you’d get a lot more people coming.
  - George
    “college hockey is not the big draw it is in the midwest…” Huh? Keep in mind that MN, WI, and ND are in the midwest. Care to compare attendence from the respective conference tournaments?
    - Crasher1339
      Not sure I understand your point.
    - GeauxSioux
      Agreed with crasher. I think you missed that one, George.
  - Css228
    The old ECAC used to sell out the Boston Garden, but no were not a premeir league anymore.
- Dave H
  I can’t say one way or the other, but are you sure that those teams travel that much better, and it’s not just that you’re listing all the closest schools?
  - Crasher1339
    Can’t say about Clarkson, but having been to most ECAC venues (I’ve only missed on Princeton, Colgate and the 2 N Country schools) for Cornell games I can tell you that the Big Red traveling fans almost always outnumber the home fans, usually by a hefty margin.
    - Css228
      @ Princeton too. It was like a home game
- Viking
  This year could be a good year for Unon to grow into Div. I. They evenhave a live band instead of a disk jockey. They are only 4 wins from a crown…..
Todd86
The championship tournament should be a showcase for the teams that make it there. All AC showcases is “who cares?”
Dave H
I was psyched to find out the tournament was in AC – it’s not too bad a drive from CT and there’s lots to do. It’s also the first year I’ve gone. We got there early on Friday and spent only a few hours gambling, the rest was watching ECAC hockey, NCAA basketball, and enjoying the best weather of 2011. I’m not sure what cities the tournament could go to that would have better things to do in the area. Certainly not Bridgeport, unless you’re spending your nights somewhere else. Being able to walk the boardwalk to the arena was a big plus for me. All that said, the arena was disappointing. Couldn’t bring in food, water, or a good camera, and at first it seemed there was no re-entry (for a 6+ hour event!) Don’t know what the deal with the start times was either. Worst of all though was the empty seats – it would have been much better to watch in a smaller, full arena. Add in the blowout in the championship, and it was dead quiet.
- Steve B
  Totally agree that AC was the right choice. Lake Placid? Gimme a break. People here harbor illusions of grandeur regarding college hockey. You could have the tournament in Times Square, NYC, and no one would show up. While we die-hard fans love it, most people don’t give a damn. The week before in AC was the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament — and it was packed, and the fans were rocking! But that’s because the college basketball fan base is HUGE. By contrast, I don’t even think the arena was 20% full for the ECAC games; and had Cornell not been in it, it would have been 10% (Cornell has great fans, but Dartmouth fans were non-existent; Yale and Colgate were respectable). Face it, the place was empty!!! But I had a great time anyway, stayed at the Trop (avg. price was $175 per night, which is high but not crazy), gambled a little, walked around the boardwalk, shopped at the outlets, watched some NCAA basketball at Hooters. But I do think the ECAC needs to be a bit more creative in how it markets the games in AC, and build some momentum and generate a bit more excitement. Happy to serve on the planning committee for next year…:)
Fred Davenport
The atmosphere, facility and crowd was much, much better than I expected. Only issue is the ride to get there. But once there, I thought Atlantic City was very good.
Anonymous
How about the ECAC at the Nassau Coloseum? Definitely draw more than the Islanders? If someone writes in that it was demolished years ago, I’ll be truly listed as an octogenarian.
- watched from my couch
  Nassau, Izod Center, Prudential, Barclays Center, anything in the NYC area. That’s where a huge proportion of the fans are. That’s where many of the students are from.
  If the ECAC has any hopes of being anything other than the fourth rate conference they have to have the championship in a major city. Go back to Boston if need be.
Derek
Are you really justifying the move based on the acoustics? ACOUSTICS!?
bunnylaroque
As a Jersey guy and a long-time college hockey fan, I need to weigh in here.
When the ECAC awarded the championship to AC, my first reaction was just another bad decision by the people who run college hockey. (I have long thought that the Frozen Four should be played the weekend after the regionals, with semis Friday and the championship game Sunday afternoon, to avoid conflict with the Final Four. Instead the tournament loses momentum with a ten day break and is played inconveniently on a Thursday/Saturday schedule. Why do college hockey people seem to lose ten IQ points immediately upon becoming stewards of the game?)
After driving down and back from NNJ for Saturday’s game, my view is that whatever the ECAC got from AC (25K, 50K?) they sold themselves cheap. Attendence was poor, the ice was sub-standard and unless you wanted to gamble, there was not much to done, aside from observe the freak show that AC draws. The locals do not give a rats-a** about the game. It is family-friendly so long as you mean the Gambino family. It is not a place to bring children, which is something that I would think the geniuses who run the game would want as a means of building a fan base for tomorrow.
I am a big fan of Placid as a permanent home for the tournament. It is hallowed ground for the game, a place where hockey matters – unlike AC. There is lots for families, non-hockey fans to do (so long as you like winter sports) and the lodging in the area is reasonably priced. It is much better loctated for a big segment of the ECAC fan base, and you only need to look at the attendence records to see that it was well-supported
- http://twitter.com/SullivanHockey Brian Sullivan
  The reason that college hockey’s national tournament is played on such an odd schedule is that the NCAA literally doesn’t have enough staff to properly chaperone the men’s and women’s hockey AND basketball tournaments at the same time. The bigger money-makers (basketball) get the edge; hockey gets the scraps. It’s an issue of logistics, not desire.
  - bunnylaroque
    I hope this is not the reason – that the NCAA is too stretched to run the Frozen Four and the Final Four concurrently. I am wondering just what the NCAA staffers actually do except at tournaments except make sure that the arena advertising, drinking cups, etc do not bear any logos save their own. Somehow, I think we could manage to have both events run properly at the same time with minimal help from them.
- Wainwrightd
  I think Lake Placid should be the Host…Alot of Hockey History and a family friendly town that has alot to do, weather it be go and see the sights or do some shopping…The sad part about the tourney in AC, is that the Clarkson-St. Lawrence game in Lake Placid at the end of october had more fans then you had at the ECAC Tourney semis and championship game…5,500 attended the game in Lake Placid..
Bookchasers
I think anyone who has attended the tournament in Lake Placid awaits the day that the ECAC comes to their senses and returns to the North Country. It may be because of some screwy financing arrangements that the tournament was moved to Albany and then on to A.C. but it was certainly not because the fans wanted a change of venue. When it was moved there were claims of lack of attendance, folks being unwilling to travel from Boston “all the way” to Placid etc. etc. All bogus.
There was a bit of a conflict between the tournament and St. Patrick’s Day in Boston which could have contributed to some Beantown grumbling but other than that all was fine and happy. The Lake Placid venue provides for reasonable hotel costs, good dining and entertainment, a great, safe, walkable location that is fan friendly, whether the fan is part of the student body, an alumnus, a potential college enrollee, or simply a fan of college hockey. Additionally, the town of Lake Placid actually appreciates the business and always treated visitors as guests. It is about time to start the lobby for the return to Lake Placid.
- Wainwrightd
  I like your post and i think i am going to start a facebook page to bring ECAC Hockey back to Lake Placid…
Dfedrics
Here’s an idea…Madison Square Garden. What better place to hold the tourney than there. Fans can Amtrak it in to Penn Station from up North and there are more than enough hotels and things to do in NYC to make for a great Championship. Cornell and BU had a successful game there a couple years ago (don’t remember exactly when). The BIG EAST tournament is also finished then.
- Bookchasers
  Let’s see? Drive to Albany and pay for parking for the weekend. Pay Amtrak for a train that might get you there. Find a hotel. Pay $500 to $1500 for a room. Drink $10 beers. Go out for a $200 dinner….oh and breakfast and lunch. Oops…that was only for Friday…buy breakfast, lunch, and dinner again. What are we up to ? Manhattan is great but it is not cheap.
- Guest
  MSG is a bit busy during the NHL and NBA seasons
- Css228
  ’07 and ’09, and we’re going to have another with BU in ’11
Johnm23
RPI played a challenging non conf schedule? really? 4 wins vs Atlantic hockey teams, 2 with Alabama Huntsville, and 1 with the CCHA cellar dweller? The only quality win was against BU. Against quality team they went 1-2-1. makes no sense. Blueprint to the tournament is to finish middle of the pack, schedule as many Atlantic or CCHA gimmes as you possibly can, throw in a road trip to Alabama, and get ONE quality win outside of those. Something is wrong. Sorry but not all conferences are created equal.
- Walshlawoffice
  Nice catch. One wonders how a team that finished 5th in the ECAC and did not get out of the first round (at home) makes it to the NCAA. A check of the almighty Pairwise Comparison says Dartmouth wins its comparison with RPI and finished third in ECAC league and tournament. The Big Green should have been in over RPI.
  - Matto
    Not really much of a wonder. RPI was fifth because of tie-breakers, and was only moderately hurt by the early playoff departure. They had a better record against TUC than Dartmouth, and, oh-by-the-way, beat Dartmouth heads-up both times they played, by a combined 9-2 score. I don’t see how Dartmouth wins any comparison with RPI.
Adirondack ECAC’s
There are 4 teams in ECAC who have any travel- Clarkson, SLU, RPI, and the Big Red. All from upstate NY. It is my understanding that coaches of ECAC were not happy playing on the big sheet in Lake Placid. I live near Dartmouth. Support them and think it is a great program. They have played one good opening game since ECAC went to Placid in 1992, and that was on a Thursday night with UVM in the 5 team play-in experiment that lasted for two years I believe. They don’t travel. Their Alumni would rather come back to Hanover to see them play. The one town and correct sized arena ECAC should consider is The Glens Falls, NY Civic Center.
Filled to a loud capacity it seats near 6000. Hotel Rooms are cheap and plentiful, if not in town, then up the road in Lake George. For the wee ones, there is a large indoor water park. Let’s not kid ourselves though ECAC fans, what made Lake Placid so much fun was the park your car, hit the bar, don’t have to walk to far, college atmosphere. Glens Falls has the tap handles whereas Atlantic City has the slot handles. It has to be a hockey town. When I asked Barry Melrose last year after the regional in Albany, what his next gig was, he answered, “45 minutes of the Northway to my house.” There are three nations playing hockey in North America, their country, our country, and North Country. Coming back to Albany is not the answer. It is a hoop town. Siena, Albany State and March Madness ruled the streets on ECAC weekend. If you want atmosphere and fans for ice hockey, it is still..Go North Young Men.
Wainwrightd
I think if they Don’t bring it back to Lake Palcid, then The Civic Center in Glens Falls would not be able to be done, as you have NYS High School Basketball Championships that weekend…Glens Falls Has a life long contract to Host the Event and it is the Same time every year…I say bring it back to Lake Placid….AC was a joke and this is the frist time in 12 years that i didnt go to the Semis and Championship games…
MP
Albany makes the most sense. In the middle, not that expensive, and plenty to do. Facility is as nice as any on the list. LP is a haul!
Cats Rule
You guys are so biased against UVM. Go, Cats, Go!
- Douchenozzle
  Is it really biased against them when they’ve not done a single thing to prove that they are capable of winning?
  - Cats Rule
    He he. No, it’s clearly a bias.
    - Douchenozzle
      You’re right, just checking.
Drewpdrawers
Keep in mind that a few of these teams are playing w/o young stars due to the World Juniors. Cornell: Iles, who has started every game in goal; BU: Clendenning; Notre Dame: Tynan and Johns; BC: Arnold; and UVM: Brickley.
That and a couple of weeks rust make it tough to handicap the games this time of year. Probably evens out things in bu-nd matchup and helps umo vs cu. Can’t see bc slowing down,’though Arnold is #2 scorer.
Cats Rule
Fortunately, someone at USCHO believes in UVM, cause every time I see that ad for Frozen Four tickets, it shows a UVM Catamount!
Anonymous
Check out the cover story at collegehockeynews dotcom. Finally a write who at least attempts to address the real issues….
40-Year Big Red Fan
You left out Cornell v Massachusetts on Thursday.
For Drewpdrawers, I think Iles is with Cornell in Florida; he was only an emergency third pick.
Anonymous
Go Maine go
Luiz Fernando Valente
Brown 5 – New Hampshire 2
Brown 5 – Providence 2
Paul, the World Cup Octopus, was a better prognosticator.
Over the past two seasons Brown is 3-0-3 against Hockey East teams, scoring 29 goals and allowing 18.