Saturday’s championship pick

I went 1-1 in Friday’s ECAC Hockey semifinals, as I had St. Lawrence beating Harvard. Instead, the Crimson will face Quinnipiac tonight for the chance to win the program’s second straight Whitelaw Cup. The Bobcats are in the championship game for the second time in program history after losing in the semifinals for three straight seasons. Quinnipiac lost to Clarkson in the 2007 title game.

Regardless of what happens tonight, QU will be playing the NCAA tournament next weekend, as the Bobcats are currently the No. 1 seed in the country. Harvard is a virtual certainty as well, as the Crimson are currently sitting at eleventh.

As for today’s game: Harvard and goalie Merrick Madsen played very well against a tough St. Lawrence team last night. The Bobcats beat Dartmouth 3-1, but it wasn’t their best game of the season. I could see Quinnipiac taking advantage of Harvard’s inexperienced defensemen, but if the Crimson play with speed and get the same effort from Madsen tonight, they’ll be tough to beat. Harvard wins