ECAC 2025

[arugula]

There have been 3 full seasons with Derp Points.  Here are the 4th place teams' DP in each:

'22 39 Cornell (12-6-4)
'23 37 St. Lawrence (12-10-0)
'24 37 Dartmouth (9-6-7)

Cornell is currently 21 DP (5-4-4) with 8 games to play.  That is 24 possible points.  Let's assume 16 is the Mendoza line for getting to 4th.  To simplify, that's 5 wins and another point, let's say a shoot out loss to make the record simple.  5-2-1.

We face 5 awful teams: RPI, @ Brn, @Yal, SLU, @ RPI.  I think we need to go at least 4-1-0 in those 5 (12 DP),leaving us a slight margin of error with our 3 games against good teams: Uni, Clk, @ Uni against whom we could afford to go 1-1-1.

We have played 5 awful teams already this year: Yal (1), Brn (3), Prn (3), @ Prn (3), @SLU (0).  3-1-1, 10 DP.  So... not looking great.

Of course if we get stronger as we go with everyone returning if won't matter, since by the time we hit the post-season we'll run a quick 9 and skate it off.

Don't assume anything.  We've firmly established we can lose to anyone.  We have exactly zero wins this year against any team currently in the tournament.  We play five "awful" teams, two of whom we've already lost to.

[Trotsky]

We could as easily go 0-8 down the stretch.  Veterans of 1987 and 1993 know that well.

[ugarte]

As a New Orleans Saints fan I started the season thinking about our easy upcoming schedule and by the halfway point I realized that's what people were thinking when they saw we were their next opponent.

[chimpfood]

I'm optimistic but we need to move up soon. RPI and union never scare me no matter how high they are in the pairwise on any given year. Any brown vs Yale weekend should be at least 5 points and a split with clarkson/slu at home would be fine but I'm hopeful for a sweep that weekend. But yeah we also should have easily won the sacred heart series, beat slu this weekend, etc so nothing is set until we do it.

[Trotsky]

The hope is with a healthy squad past performance is no guarantee of future results.

[marty]

I'm optimistic but we need to...

Infectious Earworm of the 70's

[JohnF81]

Yes!

[billhoward]

Four weekends remain in the ECAC regular season, 14 games played, 8 to play (except Harvard and Dartmouth have played 15). Cornell stands 7th with 21 points, 6 points behind third/fourth place Dartmouth and Union with 26 points. I can still see Cornell finishing fourth and maybe third.  

If the Pairwise Ranking is a predictor ...

Code Select Expand

[b]PWR rankings after 2/1/25 games
Rank Team       PWR  Cor-Yet-To-Play[/b]
12   Quinnipiac 52
21   Colgate    43
23   Dartmouth  41
25   Cornell    39
30   Clarkson   33    2/21
36   Princeton  28
40   Union      24    2/8 @2/28
43   Harvard    21  
45   Brown      20   @2/14
47   Rensselaer 16    2/7 @3/1
54   Yale       10   @2/15
55   St Lawrence 8   @2/22
... that we will beat teams below us and lose to teams above us, then we will pick up 24 of a possible 24 points. In theory. We are done playing teams above us in PWR. The ECAC team to play just below us in PWR is Clarkson and we've got them at home. Between us and a first-round bye:

6. Harvard, 22 points to Cornell's 21. We should pass Harvard in points. The Cantabrigians are 1 point ahead of Cornell but with one extra game played with Union and Clarkson among their final games. That moves us to 6th place. Plus they're about to have a bad night vs. #1 BC in the Beanpot tonight.
5. Clarkson, 25 points. Killer closing schedule, they play 3 of the top 4 teams, Quinnipiac twice, plus us. Put us in 5th.
T4. Union, 26 points. 2 games each with Colgate and Cornell, plus Quinnipiac on home ice. That gets us to 4th and a first round bye.
T4. Dartmouth, 26 points. Same deal as Harvard, one less game to play than the rest of the league, and their toughest teams left being Union-Clarkson.

Sprinkle fairy dust and we could get to a third-place RS finish. Although it's not clear if the RS title goes to Q (curently first by a point) or Colgate (second), and if we advance to LP, which we would prefer to avoid Friday night in Lake Placid. If, if and if. It would be nice to see the Friday pairings of Quinnipiac-Clarkson and Cornell-Colgate. A North Country team always helps the gate, ditto Finger Lakes teams. Plus you got Q.

I forgot who starts or ends his post thusly but to borrow the words: So prove me wrong.

[nshapiro]

At this point I am hoping for a repeat of 1980.

An underperforming Cornell team finished 8th and then won the ECACs.

That team also lost two regular season games to Dartmouth, then went on to beat the Big Green in the ECAC final, before losing to them in the NCAA consolation game.

1-3 vs. one of the few good Dartmouth teams in the last 50 years...but winning the one game that really mattered.

[Al DeFlorio]

At this point I am hoping for a repeat of 1980.

An underperforming Cornell team finished 8th and then won the ECACs.

That team also lost two regular season games to Dartmouth, then went on to beat the Big Green in the ECAC final, before losing to them in the NCAA consolation game.

1-3 vs. one of the few good Dartmouth teams in the last 50 years...but winning the one game that really mattered.

Consolation game was a waste of time and disappeared.

[VIEWfromK]

Consolation game was a waste of time and disappeared.[/quote]

Didn't they need the consolation game win in Atlantic City in 2012 to make the NCAA tournament?

[scoop85]

Consolation game was a waste of time and disappeared.

Didn't they need the consolation game win in Atlantic City in 2012 to make the NCAA tournament?[/quote]

Yes, against Colgate. That whole AC scene was weird.

[Al DeFlorio]

Consolation game was a waste of time and disappeared.

Didn't they need the consolation game win in Atlantic City in 2012 to make the NCAA tournament?[/quote]
nshapiro was referring to the NCAA final four consolation game, a meaningless affair that has blessedly gone away.

[Jim Hyla]

At this point I am hoping for a repeat of 1980.

An underperforming Cornell team finished 8th and then won the ECACs.

That team also lost two regular season games to Dartmouth, then went on to beat the Big Green in the ECAC final, before losing to them in the NCAA consolation game.

1-3 vs. one of the few good Dartmouth teams in the last 50 years...but winning the one game that really mattered.

Although not a bad thought, they can't do it exactly the 1980 way. Back then the tournament teams were not reseeded after each round,

So as #8 we played, and beat, #1 BC away. Then #2 Providence @ the Garden. Finally #3 Dartmouth.

It was fun, but probably won't ever happen again.

[Trotsky]

Although not a bad thought, they can't do it exactly the 1980 way. Back then the tournament teams were not reseeded after each round,

So as #8 we played, and beat, #1 BC away. Then #2 Providence @ the Garden. Finally #3 Dartmouth.

It was fun, but probably won't ever happen again.

On the contrary, with reseeding it's probably exactly what would happen.