NCAA Hockey Conference Tournaments -- Part III

This is part three of a five part series previewing Conference Hockey Tournaments.  Two yesterday, two today, and one tomorrow should set you off right!

Now we're going to turn our attention to the ECAC.  With the top two seeds ranked, #8 Union & #13 Cornell,  if anyone else wants a shot at the tourney, now's the time to kick into high gear.  Both of these teams seem to be locks.  The ECAC Quarterfinals take place from March 9th-11th.  Atlantic Hockey / CCHA

via Union Hockey Blog

(10) RPI Redhawks @ (1) #8 Union Dutchmen

-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (12-22-3, 7-12-3)

--Previous Round:  2-1 over Clarkson

-#8 Union (20-7-7, 14-4-4)

--Previous Round:  Bye

The Dutchmen have come out victorious all three previous meetings this season.  RPI pulled off a nice upset in the first round, but the Redhawks just don't appear to have the firepower to take down the 1 seed in the ECAC.  They would love to get a win here at least and have something positive to build on this offseason.

Robby's pick:  Union 2-0

via Cornell Hockey Association

(9) Dartmouth Big Green @ (2) #13 Cornell Big Red

-Dartmouth (13-14-4, 8-11-3)

--Previous Round:  2-0 over St. Lawrence

-#13 Cornell (15-7-7-, 12-4-6)

--Previous Round:  Bye

The battle of the Big Colors.  Cornell has a 2-0 advantage over the Big Green this season.  Look for that to be 4-0.

Robby's pick:  Cornell 2-0

via The Crimson

(6) Yale Bulldogs @ (3) Harvard Crimson

-Yale (15-14-3, 10-10-2)

--Previous Round:  2-0 over Princeton

-Harvard (10-8-11, 8-5-9)

--Previous Round:  Bye

If you know anything about Ivy League athletics, you know that the Bulldog-Crimson rivalry is the biggest rivalry in the league.  This rivalry will add another chapter in Cambridge with this series.  Harvard is looking to make a run at the Tournament, but with the series tied, you know that Yale is capable of putting a damper on those plans.

Robby's pick:  Yale 2-1

via USCHO

(5) Quinnipiac Bobcats @ (4) Colgate Raiders

-Quinnipiac (19-12-6, 9-8-5)

--Previous Round:  2-1 over Brown

-Colgate (17-14-3, 11-10-1)

--Previous Round: Bye

This should be one of the more intriguing matchups in this conference.  A real dog fight, the season series is tied at one game apiece.  Colgate is an aggressive team, and it can allow them to get burned from time to time.  Look for Quinnipiac to try to capitalize on that.

Robby's pick:  Quinnipiac 2-0