ECAC Hockey Tweets of the Week (8/22/11 - 8/29/11)

This week's "Tweets of the Week" has it all. We have some chirping, comments on the earthquake, jokes, and much more.

Mark Armstrong and the Saints had another very good week in the Tweeting world, and Brown also had  an excellent week thanks to Richard Crowley. It's also nice to see Union, Dartmouth, and Princeton get on the board this week. We also have our first non-player "Tweet of the Week" courtesy of Without A Peer, a great blog covering RPI Hockey.

Also, I saw a bunch of guys tweeting about having an outdoor ECAC Hockey game (Andy Iles, Mark Armstrong, Matt Weninger, Nick D'Agostino). I'm glad I can start some buzz on this topic in the Twitter world. But, I will not count these as "Tweets of the Week."

I'm a little disappointed that not every team is in the standings yet. Where are the guys from Yale, Harvard, Clarkson, etc.? Step your tweet game up!


Trevor Mingoia (Union) - @tmingo12
August 23 - I can't wait to see @KevinSullivan27 rocking @GongshowGear #zerostyle #beauty

Jack Maclellan

Jack Maclellan (Brown) - @jam_twoseven
August 23 - @RichieShakez I wonder if twitter will be big enough on campus by december to handle our social networking needs.. #hockeyholidaycheer?

C.J. Lee (RPI) - @Leeroy_22
August 23 - These last 2 days of working this hockey camp made me realize that I do not want kids anytime soon #50BucksASessionIsNotEnough

Without A Peer (RPI hockey blog) - @without_a_peer
August 23 - CONFIRMED: Earthquake was a result of Luke Curadi's arrival in Troy

Richard Crowley (Brown) - @RichieShakez
August 23 - Coach dubs the #DPHllatenightking is trying to monitor my tweets. Kinda feel like the @biznasty2point0 of the ECAC

Richard Crowley (Brown) - @RichieShakez
August 23 - Does that earthquake come in mens sizes?

Michael Sdao (Princeton) - @msdao24
August 24 - Seems a bit bizarre that Colgate would go on a team trip to Rome, Italy for pre season training. I didnt know Rome was a hockey hotspot!

Charlie Mosey (Dartmouth) - @FlowseyBreh
August 24 - Just got a fresh new suit, so I can look good in the stands when I'm a healthy scratch.

Mark Armstrong (SLU) - @MarkArmstrong95
August 25 - Eating whatever @GregCarey10 does hoping I can light the lamp like he does. so i had chicken fingers and fries today

David Grilk

Mark Armstrong (SLU) - @MarkArmstrong95
August 25- Nice to have 'Gate go overseas and give my twitter feed a break from @Longer11 @ochoTRON

David Grilk (SLU) - @DavidGrilk33
August 25 - Is it good that I have 24 brand new sticks and they all say Grilik on top? Reebok needs to learn how to spell. #fail

Mark Armstrong (SLU) - @MarkArmstrong95
August 26 - Origins of not smiling for the hockey photo come from trying to look tough or not let everyone know how many teeth you're missing?

Gunnar Hughes (SLU) - @GunnarHughes
August 29 - Skated at Appleton for the first time today. Quite the experience, plenty of history in that barn.

ECAC Hockey Video of the Week (8/29/11): SLU Equipment Manager blooper

With the hurricane hitting the east coast over the weekend,  I thought some of you could use some comic relief.

This week's video is a ECAC hockey blooper, but there are no players and coaches involved. The video is of SLU equipment manager George Frank in 2007 in a game at Clarkson. George is trying to do his job in front of a hostile rival crowd when...

Weekly Links (8/21 - 8/26)

Festivus Faceoff logo

Here are links to everything that happened in the ECAC Hockey world this week:

- Twitter: The ice at Appleton Arena is in [yfrog - @SLUCWells]

- Blog: Colgate's trip to Italy has come to an end [Colgate Hockey's Italy Blog]

- Article: Brown's Bobby Farnham featured in Inside College Hockey's A-Z segment [INCH]

- Blog: Union ranked #5 in pre-season national rankings by The College Hockey Blog, the highest of any ECAC team [TCHB]

- Release: Cornell student season ticket information has been announced [Cornell Athletics]

- Podcast: Yale freshman Anthony Day was interviewed by The Sports-Casters [The Sports-Casters]

- Blog: Know Your Enemy: Quinnipiac [Without A Peer]

- Release: The Union-RPI game in Lake Placid on December 10 will be a part of the "Festivus Faceoff" [Union Athletics]

- Podcast: Interview with Clarkson head coach Casey Jones [Clarkson Athletics]

- News: WCHA invites five CCHA teams to join conference [USCHO]

Also, most of the ECAC Hockey news that has occurred this summer is former players signing professional contracts. You can follow all the signings on the ECAC Hockey Website.

Outdoor ECAC Hockey Game

Spartan Stadium at Michigan State

It was announced last week that Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio (home of the MLB's Cleveland Indians) will be hosting an outdoor hockey game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Also, on Friday at 2pm, Frozen Fenway 2012 will be announced where New Hampshire will play Maine, and UMass will play Vermont at Fenway Park on January 7, 2012.

This got me thinking about other outdoor college hockey games. I looked it up on Wikipedia and found that there have been seven outdoor men's college hockey games since the famous Cold War game at Spartan Stadium between Michigan State and Michigan in 2001. There have been outdoor games between CCHA teams (Cold War, Big Chill at the Big House), WCHA teams (Frozen Tundra Classic, Camp Randall Hockey Classic), Hockey East teams (Frozen Fenway), and even Atlantic Hockey teams (Whalers Hockey Fest in February 2011). This means that the only college hockey conference to never play in an outdoor game is the ECAC.

While the ECAC doesn't have huge schools with huge followings like Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Boston College, and Boston University, the conference does have schools with very good followings. If Atlantic Hockey can have an outdoor game, why can't we have one?

When you have an outdoor hockey game you need two things: the correct teams, and correct venue. So, if I were to schedule an outdoor ECAC hockey game this is what I'd do:

Teams
When picking the correct teams you need to find teams with a big school and a big following. That seems to be the problem with a lot of teams in the ECAC. There are only three schools in the conference with over 8,000 students, and a lot of the teams don't have huge followings. Only one team finished in the Top 15 of NCAA Hockey average attendance rankings last season. So, what school is the obvious choice in fitting this criteria? Definitely, Cornell. The university in Ithaca, New York has over 20,000 students and was #15 in the 2010-11 average attendance rankings. Most importantly, Cornell has the most rabid following in the league. Their fans travel all over to watch the Big Red. They also field a very competitive team every year.

Cornell fans in a packed Lynah Rink

So, Cornell is by far the top choice for an outdoor game. But, who is going to play them? When looking for an opponent you either have to find another team that fits the previous description (like Cornell) or a rival team (or both). One of the first teams that come to mind that fits this criteria well is Yale. The Bulldogs drew the second most fans in the league last season and sellout Ingalls Rink pretty much every night. Yale is a big school (combined over 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students), and has been on top of ECAC hockey for the past few years.

When finding a team that fits the "rival" category, you have to go with Harvard. The Crimson are Cornell's biggest hockey rival, and the rivalry has lasted for a long time. In 2006, College Hockey News ranked the Cornell-Harvard rivalry as the fifth biggest rivalry in college hockey, and the rivalry has been written about in the New York Times. The thing is that Harvard doesn't draw too well. They drew the sixth most fans on average last season among ECAC teams, which isn't awful but not great. But, Harvard, like Cornell, has over 20,000 combined students. So, you would hope that Harvard students and alumni would be drawn to the game.

Venue
Picking the correct venue can be very difficult. You need to have the right location and a facility with the correct size. The venue needs to be in either a central location where both teams can travel to, or the stadium of one of the universities. Picking the facility can be a little tricky in this situation. You want to pick a big place, but not a place that's too big. For example, the 2010 Frozen Four took place at Ford Field (home of the NFL's Detroit Lions). The stadium fits somewhere 65,000 to 80,000 fans, and the Frozen Four drew around 35,000 fans. The place looked absolutely ridiculous half full and I doubt the NCAA will be going that route again. So, this game should not be held in an NFL stadium or MLB stadium.

Since you really can't use a pro stadium, you have to look at the stadiums of the three teams previously mentioned. Cornell's Schoellkopf Field holds about 26,000 people, Yale's Yale Bowl holds around 60,000 spectators, and Harvard's Harvard Stadium holds about 30,000 fans. To me, the Yale Bowl is out of the question. I highly doubt you can pack 60,000 people into the Yale Bowl for a college hockey game. A Yale-Quinnipiac game wouldn't draw nearly enough since Quinnipiaic's following isn't too strong. But, one thing that could be an interesting thought and to get public opinion about would be a Yale-Harvard game at the Yale Bowl since the Yale-Harvard football rivalry is one of the biggest in college football. Every year a game is played between the two teams and is referred to as "The Game." Thousands of Bulldog and Crimson fans attend the game. If the football rivalry can reciprocate to hockey, then this game is a possibility. I would first try this idea at Harvard Stadium to see what type of response the Yale and Harvard fans have to it before even thinking about having a Yale-Harvard game at the Yale Bowl.

Harvard Stadium

Cornell and Harvard's stadiums have ideal capacities to hold a game like this.  You definitely can't expect to draw over 100,000 like the Big Chill did, and even the 38,000 at Frozen Fenway is reach. But, I have no doubt that an ECAC outdoor game will draw more people than the Atlantic Hockey games, which didn't even draw 2,000 spectators.

So, how many people do I think would attend an ECAC outdoor hockey game? I'm not really sure. I'm not sure what people think. I'd hope it would draw at somewhere around 20,000 fans, but that could just be wishful thinking.  So, another idea would be to hold the game in a small venue with rival teams that are close to each other. The best fit for this would definitely be a game between RPI and Union at RPI's new football stadium in their East Campus Athletic Village, which holds 5,200 people. The RPI-Union rivalry has been the fiercest in the ECAC over the past few years while both programs have risen in prominence. Last season, the teams played three very tight games with each team winning a game by one goal and another ending in a tie. All games were extremely dramatic and emotional. The trip from Schenectady to Troy is just a quick 30 minute drive down Route 7. Plus, it's definitely cold enough in the winter for an outdoor ice rink (trust me, I know from experience). Last year's game at the Houston Field House drew over 4,000 fans, so I can safely say that an outdoor game at the RPI football stadium would sell out. I really don't know the logistics of the stadium, but I bet they can add a few thousand more seats. This could be a really good first ECAC outdoor hockey game to test the interest.

Results
After all of analysis here are my Top 5 ideas (in no specific order) for an ECAC outdoor hockey game:

Cornell vs. Harvard at Schoellkopf Field
Cornell vs. Yale at Schoellkopf Field
Harvard vs. Yale at Harvard Stadium
Harvard vs. Cornell at Harvard Stadium
RPI vs. Union at RPI ECAV football stadium

I really hope the ECAC decides to have an outdoor hockey game. It would be such a great experience. Maybe if enough people agree with these ideas, ECAC Hockey might take notice. Who knows?

What do you think would be the best combination for an ECAC outdoor hockey game? Any other ideas?

Pre-season Poll and All-Conference team

Once again, I have been invited to be a member of the ECAC Hockey Media Association (I was a member last year when I did the Union Hockey Blog), which I think is pretty cool. One of the main functions of this association is to do the pre-season poll and pick the pre-season all-conference team.

Doing this is a lot of fun, but can also be very difficult. Last year my pre-season all-conference team was Broc Little (Yale), Adam Estoclet (Dartmouth), Brian Day (Colgate), Nick D'Agostino (Cornell), George Hughes (SLU), and Keith Kinkaid (Union). The only one I picked right was Kinkaid. Also, I originally had Chase Polacek, but replaced him with Day once Jerry D'Amigo and Brandon Pirri left RPI. Obviously that was a mistake. But hey, the ECAC writers as a whole were only correct on Polacek.

At the same time, I correctly picked the top four teams in the conference (but in the wrong order): Union, Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth. I had the Big Green as my sleeper pick, which worked out well (the other polls had them finishing 6th).

As you can see, it's very difficult to be correct on a lot of these picks. The ECAC is such a tight conference that you never know what can happen.

So, without further ado, here are my picks with some explanation:

Pre-season Poll

1. Union

The Dutchmen were the talk of the ECAC and one of the best stories in college hockey last year. They won their first Cleary Cup and made their first NCAA tournament appearance. But, they ended the season on a sour note as they lost to 12th seeded Colgate in the ECAC quarterfinals and were shutout by eventual nation champion Minnesota-Duluth. The Dutchmen also had a pretty "bad" off-season as head coach Nate Leaman left for Providence and took two recruits with him, and lost ECAC Goalie of the Year and First Team All-American Keith Kinkaid to the New Jersey Devils.  But, they named long time assistant Rick Bennett as the new head coach, who should bring some continuity to the program. Also, the Dutchmen have sophomore Troy Grosenick and freshman Colin Stevens in goal, who while not being Keith Kinkaid will be very solid in net. While the Dutchmen lost two major assets, they also bring back six of their top seven scorers and five of their top six defensemen. They also have sophomore defenseman Mike Ingoldsby, who before being knocked out for the season with a concussion, was one of Union's top defenders. Also, look for the Dutchmen to be dominant on the power-play again as they return PP snipers Daniel Carr (12 PPG), Wayne Simpson (9 PPG), and Jeremy Welsh (8 PPG). I feel the Dutchmen will have some hiccups early in the season as they try to find their new identity under Bennett and figure out their goaltending situation, but will figure it out and win their second consecutive Cleary Cup. Yes, I know I'm a "Union guy," but I really think the Dutchmen bring back the most impact players and have the best depth despite their losses.

2. Yale
The Bulldogs won the Whitelaw Cup two of the past three seasons, including last season. I see Brian O'Neill and Andrew Miller as the most lethal duo in the ECAC and one of the best in college hockey. They lost Ryan Rondeau in goal who led the league in GAA and save percentage, but have juniors Jeff Malcolm and Nick Maricic (who both have playing experience) to take his place. On defense, the Bulldogs lose captain Jimmy Martin and Mike Matczak to graduation, and only return three defenseman who saw real playing time last year. The Bulldogs also lost stud forwards Broc Little, Denny Kearny, and Chris Cahill, but look for Kenny Agostino, Kevin Limbert, and Chad Ziegler to pick up the slack. Coach Keith Allain is a proven winner, and I expect the Bulldogs to do the same thing this season. I think the losses of Little, Kearney, Cahill, Martin, and Rondeau will really hurt, but I still feel they will be be neck-and-neck with Union for the league's top spot.

3. Dartmouth

The Big Green were one of the surprises of the ECAC last season (as I predicted). They were led by Scott Fleming and Adam Estoclet (which I also predicted), who are now gone due to graduation. Dartmouth also loses forward Matt Reber (20 points) and top defender Evan Stephens (20 points) to graduation. While they will definitely lose some punch up front, they still return Doug Jones (29 points), freshman phenom Matt Lindblad (28 points), and Dustin Walsh (20 points). On the other side of the puck, the Big Green returns four defensemen who played in every game last season. But most importantly, they bring back goaltender James Mello, who was named to the All-ECAC Second Team. Mello led all ECAC goaltenders in save percentage and was second in GAA during league play. 

4. Cornell
Coach Schafer's team is always good no matter who's on the ice. The team focuses on defense and special teams, which are the two things that never quit and win games. I think they'll have trouble scoring considering they lose three of their top five scorers. Also, their returning leading goal scorer had only eight goals last season (John Esposito). But, they do return assist specialist and leading scorer Greg Miller who notched 25 assists last season. His assist total might go down due to the losses of Joe Devin (17 goals) and Tyler Roeszler. Goaltending will be left up to sophomore Andy Iles, who is very highly regarded, after the early departure of Mike Garman (split time with Iles last season).

5. Quinnipiac

This could be the year the Bobcats finally get a first round bye in the league playoffs. The reason is that they only lose one impact player to graduation, Zach Hansen, who didn't even lead Bobcat defensemen in points last season. They return 19 of their top 20 scorers (which is a ridiculous stat, but shows that they don't lose anybody), including four players who scored at least 22 points last season. But, they still have to pick up their scoring as they were tied for last in goals per game during league play, and only had two players with double digit goals last season.  I predict that the Jones twins will be a feared duo in the league, while Scott Zurevinski leads the Bobcat offense. Also, look for freshman Matt Peca to make an impact. On defense, Quinnipiac returns six defenders who played in at least 25 games, and in goal have junior Eric Hartzell and senior Dan Clarke. Hartzell put up great numbers last season, and Clarke can be one of the best goaltenders in the legue when he's on top of his game. Even though things are looking up for the Bobcats, I think they'll miss the Top 4 because they have history going against them. Coach Rand Pecknold always has a very talented team, but has had problems bringing them to the next level.

6. Colgate

The Raiders finished last in the regular season, but proved that they just fell into some bad luck during the season as they upset RPI and Union in the league playoffs. I really like their chances to have a good year, even though they lose top scorer Francois Brisebois (34 points). They bring back veteran scorers Austin Smith (31 points), Robbie Bourdon (28 points), and Kurtis Bartliff (28 points). Colgate also returns a veteran defense corps with two seniors and three juniors. It also looks like Coach Don Vaugahan has found his answer in goal with sophomore Eric Mihalik. If Vaugahan and the Raiders find a way to get fortunate bounces, win tight games, and build off of their post-season success, they should have a very successful season.

7. RPI
The Engineers had an up-and-down season last year, but were able to find their way into the national tournament. They are definitely going to miss two-time ECAC Hockey Player of the Year Chase Polacek (48 points) and Tyler Helfrich (38), and will also miss leaders like Bryan Brutlag and John Kennedy. But, they do return Second Team All-American defenseman Nick Bailen. The offense will heavily rely on the seniors, as well as sophomore Brock Higgs and junior C.J. Lee, while the defense will  rely heavily on sophomores. But, the defense will get some help from monster freshman Luke Curadi (6'5", 250lbs). It will also be tough for head coach Seth Appert to find a replacement for Allen York in net, but Appert is a winner and will get the most out of his team.

8. St. Lawrence

The Saints offense returns two great young forwards in 40-point scorer Greg Carey and 35-point scorer Kyle Flanagan, but lose productive forwards in Aaron Bogosian, Sean Flanagan, and Nick Pitsikoulis. On defense, head coach Joe Marsh will have a lot to choose from as he returns eight defenders who played at least 14 games last season, led by junior George Hughes. Marsh also has a lot to choose from in goal as four Saints saw time in goal last season. But, Matt Weninger had a solid freshman campaign and should see the bulk of the playing time.

9. Princeton
The Tigers will probably take a slight plunge in the 2011-12 season. Not only did they lose a great coach in Guy Gadowsky, but also lose three of their top four scorers to graduation and three veteran defensemen, including captain Taylor Fedun. But, they return leading scorer Andrew Calof (33 points), who had a tremendous freshman campaign, and junior Rob Kleebaum, who was second on the team with 12 goals. The Tigers have a good tandem in between the pipes in sophomore Sean Bonar and junior Mike Condon.

10. Harvard
The Crimson finished 10th last season and will depend heavily on superstar defenseman Danny Biega (30 points) and senior captain Alex Killorn (29 points). Besides these two, the team will be driven by their well-regarded freshman class, including in goal where Steven Michalek should receive some major playing time along with the two sophomore goaltenders. I see this year as a building year for coach Ted Donato and the Crimson, with Biega leading the team up the standings in 2012-13 if he sticks around.

11. Brown 

The Bears are going to deeply miss captain Harry Zolnierczyk (but the rest of the ECAC won't). Even though he was the most penalized player in the ECAC, he led the team with 16 goals and set the tone for   his team. Brown is known for their hard-nosed and gritty playing style, and Harry Z led the was the key in this mentality. Hopefully for head coach Brendan Whittet, they can continue to play like this without Zolnierczyk. Luckily, he has senior Jack Maclellan, who led the team with 17 assists and tied Harry Z for tops on the team with 31 points. After Maclellan, the Bears have very little scoring punch with no other players recording more than eight goals, and only one skater with 20 points last season. On defense, they have six defensemen who played in at least 20 games last year, but senior goaltender Mike Clemente had a very poor 2010-11 season (3.28 GAA, .896 save percentage). In order for the Bears to have a good season, Clemente will have to improve his play, and need players like Chris Zaires, Dennis Robertson, and Bobby Farnham to step-up.

12. Clarkson

The Golden Knights lose their top goal scorers (Brandon DeFazio and Scott Freeman) and top two defensemen (Bryan Rufenach and Mark Borowiecki), which will definitely hurt. While they do have solid players like Allan McPherson, Jake Morely, Nick Tremblay, Louke Oakley, and Matt Zarbo returning, none of these players scored more than nine goals last season. They also return only three defensemen who played at least 20 games last year. Paul Karpowich returns in goal for his senior season, but has never proven to be a top notch goaltender. He will have to improve on his career 3.13 GAA. I think new head coach Casey Jones will have a long first year at the helm.

Now, here's my All-Conference team:

Forwards: Andrew Miller (Yale), Brian O'Neill (Yale), Jeremy Welsh (Union)
Defense: Nick Bailen (RPI), Danny Biega (Harvard)
Goalie: James Mello (Dartmouth)

Miller, O'Neill, and Bailen are easy choices considering they were First Team selections last season. Jeremy Welsh keeps improving every year and should be the catalyst in Union's great offense. Danny Biega is probably the biggest NHL prospect in the league. With the departures of Keith Kinkaid, Allen York, and Ryan Rondeau, Mello is solid and safe choice for the league's top goaltender. He was also named to the All-Conference Second Team last season.

And here are some other players to look out for:

Forwards: Greg Carey (SLU), Jack Maclellan (Brown), Greg Miller (Cornell), Andrew Calof (Princeton), Austin Smith (Colgate), Robbie Bourdon (Colgate)
Defense: Nick D'Agostino (Cornell), Mat Bodie (Union), George Hughes (SLU), Loren Barron (Quinnipiac)
Goalie: Eric Hartzell (Quinnipiac), Andy Iles (Cornell)

There you go. We'll see what happens. What do you think?

ECAC Hockey Tweets of the Week (8/15/11 - 8/22/11)

I was thinking of some ideas for another weekly segment, and this is what I came up with. I thought this could be the most fun and help promote ECAC hockey players, as well as some writers and bloggers who cover ECAC teams. Maybe I'll add in some fan tweets if I really like them.

There really is no criteria, and no limit of how many "Tweets of the Week" there are for a given week. The only thing is that tweets can only be made by an ECAC Hockey "person," or by someone tweeting about ECAC Hockey.

I'm also going to make this into a competition. The student-athlete or ECAC writer with the most "Tweets of the Week" will be named "ECAC Hockey's Tweeter of the Year."  Also, the team with the most overall "Tweets of the Week" will be given "ECAC Hockey's Team Tweeter Award." Standings will be posted on the blog at the bottom of the page.

So, there you go ECAC Hockey tweeters. Here's your challenge. Chirping, pictures, quotes, or anything else is acceptable. But, no swear words, racist or sexist remarks, or anything else like that will be accepted. Have fun tweeting and good luck!

The tweets below are tweets by ECAC players that just caught my eye over the past week. They will give you a sense of what I'm looking for. Enjoy!

Greg Carey (SLU) - @GregCarey10
August 17 - "@GongshowGear now we need some Ecac team coloured slippers"

Patrick Raley (SLU) - @PatrickRales
August 17 - "@GregCarey10 the ECAC better watch out now that you are rewarded with gongshow gear haha"

C.J. Lee

C.J. Lee (RPI) - @Leeroy_22
August 19 - "Great day/night with the boys thus far...first impressions prove for a great season ahead #beauties #I'llDoAnythingForTheseBoys"
August 18 - "Sportscenter just showed top 10 rivalries of all time...Surprised not to see RPI vs Union up there #GoRedGoWhite"

Ryan Haggerty (RPI) - @Haggerty39
August 18 - "The big goofy @thegronk5 is trying to doogie, in front of the coach to try to get more ice time yfrog.com/h31svbmj"

Mark Armstrong

Mark Armstrong (SLU) - @MarkArmstrong95
August 19 - "Got bit by a spider this morning while working. hoping my super powers kick in before the season starts"
August 16 - "Back to @StLawU Sunday cant wait. Psyched to see all the fellas and our new freshman. Time flies, enjoy every second of these 4 years"

Gunnar Hughes aka Stunnar Blues (SLU) - @GunnarHughes
August 21 - When's this guy gonna shout out Peverly? @C_Mart10
August 19 - @A_Iles33 it's been a while since we have talked dusty. Good to see you're on the twitter grind


As you can see, the Saints are out to an early big lead with RPI also showing some early Tweeting skills. Will SLU be the Phillies of the ECAC Hockey tweeting world? Only time will tell.

ECAC Hockey Video of the Week (8/22/11): Feature on former ECAC and current NHL stars Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas

This week's video of the week features a Vermont, a team that is no longer in the ECAC. But, during their time in the ECAC the Catamounts produced two of the NHL's best players from the 2011 season: Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis. Both players are some of the best at their positions today. Not only have Thomas and St. Louis won a Stanley Cup, but are two of the best players in ECAC Hockey history.

Weekly Links (8/14 - 8/20)

2011 Stanley Cup Champion Tim Thomas

Incase you missed any ECAC Hockey news this week, here's everything from articles, to blogposts, to pictures, and more:

- Article: Clarkson's Casey Jones brings changes to hockey program [Watertown Daily Times - Cap Carey]

- Twitter: Union-Michigan hockey game on Sunday, Nov. 27 now at 3:05 p.m. ET (Ann Arbor is ET) [@UnionHockey]


- Picture: New spirit store in Cheel Arena [yfrog - Cap Carey]

- Blog: Know Your Enemy: Union [Without A Peer]

- Blog: Colgate's having a great time on their trip to Italy [Colgate Hockey's Italy Blog]

- Article: Cornell's Andy Iles still optimistic about pro career [NHL.com]

- Article: Yale's Kenny Agostino makes big impression at USA Hockey national junior evaluations [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

- Article: Harvard's Steve Michalek plays at National Junior Evaluation Camp [ECAC Hockey.com]

- Article: Princeton-Cornell rivalry gets new twist as assistant coach Scott Garrow leaves Big Red for Tigers [Town Topics - Princeton]

- Blog: Cornell drew most fans per home game of any ECAC team in 2010-11 [Jr. Hockey Recruit]

- Blog: Quinnipiac hires Reid Cashman, a former All-American for the Bobcats, as assistant coach [New Haven Register College Hockey Blog - Chip Malafronte]

- Press Release: Clarkson announces Class of 2015 [Clarkson Athletics]

- Press Release: ECAC Hockey partners up with Gongshow Hockey [ECAC Hockey.com]

- TwitPic: Take a look at RPI's training facilities [@JulieRobenhymer]

- Press Release: Andy Jones hired as assistant at Clarkson [ECAC Hockey]

- RPI's golf tournament has been rescheduled to September 26 [RPI Athletics]


If there's anything I missed, leave a link in the comments section or message me on Twitter (@ECACHockeyBlog)

ECAC Hockey Players on Twitter

I've been curious to see how many ECAC hockey players are on Twitter. So, I did some quick research and found guys on each team. I know I haven't found everybody, so let me know who I missed by leaving a comment or messaging me on Twitter (@ECACHockeyBlog).

Brown
Jack Maclellan - @jam_twoseven
Matt Harlow - @mattharlow9
Dennis Robertson - @RoboTwoZero
Michael Clemente - @Lemdingo
Jeff Buvinow - @BuviNoworLater
Matt Wahl - @wahlywheels
Richie Crowley - @RichieShakez

Clarkson
Julien Cayer - @juliencayer17
Louke Oakley - @LouO19
Nik Pokulok - @theMossenator
Andrew Himelson - @hamanator26
Matt Wilson - @Knights1844
Allan McPherson - @Mcphee09
Alex Boak - @bigbear589

Colgate
Chris Wagner - @chriswags23
Jeremy Price - @jeremyprice20
Robbie Bourdon - @rbourdon17
Christian Long - @Longer11
John Lidgett - @2lidgett2quit
Kurtis Bartliff - @Bartliff16
Matt Firman - @Firdogger
Nick Prockow - @Prockstar21
Austin Mayer - @amayer19
Nathan Sinz - @angrynathan24
Billy Rivellini - @thebill07
Alex Evin - @alTHEcat87
Austin Smith - @stiffmiester9

Cornell
Armand de Swardt - @deSwardt18
Locke Jillson - @OchoLocko
John Esposito - @TwoSixMafia
Andy Iles - @A_Iles33
Nick D'Agostino - @DAGwood6
Chris Moulson - @MoulsonDosTres
Sean Whitney - @tWHITter19
Kirill Gotovets - @gotovetschool24

Dartmouth
Charlie Mosey - @FlowseyBreh
Jody O'Neill - @NotMyFirstJodeo
Nick Lovejoy - @NickLovejoy
Alex Goodship - @xandercoyote
Matt Lindblad - @snowhead4life

Harvard
Alex Killorn - @Akillorn19
Ryan Grimshaw - @TheBearShirt

Princeton
Rob Kleebaum - @RobKleebaum
Michael Sdao - @msdao24
Will MacDonald - @willychilly10
Mike Condon - @CoNdlbEar1
Eric Meland - @Melman_16

Quinnipiac
Zachary Luczyk - @STEADY_LOOCHING
Zach Tolinen - @Tolks4
Jordan Samuels-Thomas - @jsamuelsthomas
Dan Clarke - @CrisperDave
Scott Zurevinski - @SZurvy19
Clay Harvey - @Harveffinbados
Kevin Bui - @Bui1987
Mike Dalhuisen - @dalfuzen
Cory Hibbeler - @Hibbs06
Spencer Heichman - @Hinch44
John Dunbar - @JDunbar24

RPI
C.J. Lee - @Leeroy_22
Johnny Rogic - @RocketsOneTwo
Joel Malchuk - @Goodyou13
Nick Bailen - @bails29
Marty O'Grady - @Grads_27
Luke Curadi - @thegronk5
Ryan Haggerty - @Haggerty39
Jacob Laliberte - @jakelaliberte15
Greg Burgdoerfer - @IceBurg14

St. Lawrence
Patrcik Raley - @PatrickRales
Greg Carey - @GregCarey10
Mark Armstrong - @MarkArmstrong95
David Grillk - @DavidGrilk33
Matt Weninger - @MWeninger
Robby Moss - @MossRobby
George Hughes - @Hughesy189
Matt Carey - @mcarey27
Gunnar Hughes - @GunnarHughes
Chris Martin - @C_Mart10

Union
Daniel Ciampini - @dchamp26
Charlie Vasaturo - @cvasaturo6
Trevor Mingoia - @tmingo12
Kelly Zajac - @Kzajac19
Kevin Sullivan - @KevinSullivan27
Mat Bodie - @MBodes22
Josh Jooris - @JJooris19
Mike Ingoldsby - @mikeingoldsby
Tyson Fulton - @tysonfulton
Sam Coatta - @samcoatta
Max Novak - @NaxMovak8
Troy Grosenick - @goaler27
Mark Bennett - @markbennett91

Yale
Gus Young - @GusYoung4
Chad Ziegler - @bigrigzig
Andrew Miller - @milnerIV
Brian O'Neill - @Brian9ONeill
Nick Jaskowiak - @njaskowiak5
Kevin Peel - @babytiga
Charles Brockett - @SweetChaz11
Anthony Day - @AWD23

Quinnipiac extends Pecknold through 2015-16... Why?

Rand Pecknold

On Monday, Quinnipiac University announced the five-year extension of men's hockey coach Rand Pecknold through the 2015-2016 season. This past season was his 17th in Hamden, and is 317-216-56 during that time. [Click Here For Press Release]

Since Quinnipiac moved to the ECAC from Atlantic Hockey in 2005-06, Pecknold has led the Bobcats to a 115-98-23 record. Also during his tenure, Quinnipiac has hosted five straight first round series, and has won at least one playoff series in each post-season. Pecknold has not had a losing season while at the helm of the program.

Another thing to point out is that Quinnipiac has won the most games of any ECAC team since the 2005-2006 season (stats courtesy of USCHO):

1) Quinnipiac, 115 - Rand Pecknold
2) Cornell, 114 - Mike Schafer
3) Union, 111 - Nate Leaman
4t) Yale, 110 - Tim Taylor (05-06), Keith Allain
4t) SLU, 110 - Joe Marsh
6) Clarkson, 99 - George Roll
7) Princeton, 97 - Guy Gadowsky
8) Dartmouth, 92 - Bob Gaudet
9) Colgate, 91 - Don Vaughan
10) RPI, 83 - Dan Fridgen (05-06), Seth Appert
11) Harvard, 82 - Ted Donato
12) Brown, 50 - Roger Grillo (05-06 - 08-09), Brendan Whittet

But, while Quinnipiac has amassed the most wins of any league foe over the past six seasons, they have never finished in the Top 4 of the league standings and have not received a berth to the NCAA tournament.

This, and other reasons, leave me scratching my head on why Quinnipiac keeps extending Pecknold's contract. Yes, Pecknold has been successful overall and has brought Quinnipiac Hockey to national prominence, but at the end of the day what has he accomplished with the Bobcats? Yes, they have won a playoff series every year in the league (which I really respect and appreciate since I'm a Union fan), but Pecknold has not brought the Bobcats to the "next level." What I mean by "next level" is constant contender for ECAC supremacy, a league championship (regular and/or post season), and NCAA tournament appearances.

From the way I see it, there is no reason why Quinnipiac should not be able to make this jump. First off, they have the nicest rink in the league: the TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats have the luxury of the newest rink in the league, and averaged the fifth highest home attendance of any ECAC team last year, which is a tremendous recruiting tool. Also, Quinnipiac University has the lowest academic requirements for enrollment than any other school in the league (that's not saying Quinnipiac is a bad school since they are competing with the Ivy League and other tremendous academic institutions), which would allow them to recruit almost every prospect. This combination should allow Pecknold to recruit some great players, and he has like Brandon Wong and Reid Cashman.

To me, Rand Pecknold has done a great job on paper. But, at the end of the day, he hasn't accomplished what he should have. If I were making the decisions at QU, I'd thank Mr. Pecknold for everything he has done for Quinnipiac University and then let him go. This program should be at a higher level. Changes should be made.

ECAC Hockey Video of the Week (8/15/11): The only video from Harvard's national championship

I figured the best way to start off this blog was to do a video of Harvard winning the national championship  over in Minnesota in 1989. But, I could only find one video of the game, and it's of Minnesota's Randy Skarda hitting the post in overtime before Harvard's Ed Krayer scored to give the Crimson a thrilling 4-3 victory and the first national championship in school history.

This Harvard team is one of the best teams to ever play in the ECAC and featured great players like current Harvard head coach Ted Donato, former Union and current Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon, and Lane McDonald, who won the Hobey Baker award in 1989. All three of these players were named to the All-Tournament team. [Click Here For Entire Harvard Roster]

To learn more about Harvard's run to the championship, click here.

And as you all know, this was the last ECAC team to win the national championship. Who do you think is going to break the streak and have their moment in the sun?

Hello ECAC Hockey Fans!

Welcome to 1989 And Still Waiting. This blog will cover all 12 ECAC Men's Hockey teams: Brown, Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Quinnipiac, RPI, St. Lawrence, Union, and Yale.

Enjoy!