QU: How Real?

We won't know for a while, but so far, they are slotting as a middle of the road team, and not roadkill.

+ Lost a pair 1-3, 3-5 at Michigan. Anybody could do that, and they weren't blown out.
+ Won 6 straight legacy games against RIT, Bentley, AmInt, and Robert Morris.
+ Swept their first "home" weekend vs Harvard and Dartmouth, both of whom are presumptive bye challengers.

RS contender? Probably not. QF Home Ice Challenger? Certainly.

Somehow, I figured that they would be a better-than-last-place team in the ECACHL this year. Of course, nothing is set in stone yet.

I always thought the AHA was underrated (as is the ECAC, CHA, etc) - really, all of college hockey is a lot closer than people give it credit for - at least the good teams in each conference. MC brought BC (?) to the brink last year and we all know what Bemidji (almost) did in the first round.

I expected QU to at least put up a fight this year - although not sweep Harvard and Dmouth

Hopefully Vt can be a good team in HEA and the proof'll be in the pudding... or, er, something.

Don't waste any good wishes on UVM. Even if they do well, they'll just point to that as evidence that the ECAC was keeping them down, and that now that they're in a "real" league they can get better recruits, etc. I say screw 'em - I hope even Merrimack sweeps them for the next 10 years.

[Q]Robb Wrote:

Don't waste any good wishes on UVM. Even if they do well, they'll just point to that as evidence that the ECAC was keeping them down, and that now that they're in a "real" league they can get better recruits, etc. I say screw 'em - I hope even Merrimack sweeps them for the next 10 years.[/q]
i second all that and then some

I'll join you all in rooting against UVM, forever

[Q]Andy'07 Wrote:

I'll join you all in rooting against UVM, forever[/q]

and ever

It'd be hard to say that any UVM success this year has anything to do with HEA. Finishing 4th in the ECAC last year, and then 4th in HEA this year would make a good argument that the ECAC is more thn it's cracked up to be. After that, screw em

Well, it would be hard for logical people to argue that. I already very definitely heard UVM fans attributing LAST year's success (4th was a big step up) to the fact that they were going to HEA THIS year... No use arguing with woodchucks (my favorite term for Vemmontahs).

Reid Cashman will be first team All-ECAC this year (Moulson, Smyth, Trevelyan, Cashman, Lewis, McKee). Individual honors don't always equal team success (Ron Hextall, 1987 playoffs), but I think having a top-caliber guy like that (one of four returning Hobey finalists, if I'm not mistaken) goes a long way towards helping a team establish itself in a new conference. I say somewhere between 6th and 8th.

After Friday night, Q was alone atop the ECAC RRWP. Now they're tied with SLU:

[slack.net]

not that it matters, I wonder where they will be in the polls this week

[Q]jy3 Wrote:

not that it matters, I wonder where they will be in the polls this week[/q]

I doubt they'll crack to the top 15/20, but they'll definitely be listed in "Others receiving votes", probably somewhere around what would effectively be #23.

They'll come back down to earth. No chance in my mind that they finish in the top half. Give it a couple weeks. Remember Union last year? They were in first place after the first few weekends and then went winless over a couple of months.