This Week in ECAC Hockey: Superpowers

[GoDanGo]

Re: This Week in ECAC Hockey: Superpowers

My RPI vote was a total homer call - I was between RPI, Union, Yale, Quinnipiac, and the "none" option. The fact that I had so many choices probably should've pushed me to the "none" option, but oh well.

[LynahFan]

Re: This Week in ECAC Hockey: Superpowers

I went with Yale. I agree with FlagDUDE - a perennial champion is a superpower, a perennial league final-4 team is a power. Looking at each team's recent stretch of making the ECAC final four, cutting off each team's in as advangageous of a place as possible and ranked by # of appearances in the streak I included:


Cornell: 8 of last 10, (80%)
Harvard: 7 of last 9 (78%)
Dartmouth: 5 of last 9 (56%)
SLU: 5 of last 11 (45%)
Colgate: 4 of last 6 (67%)
Clarkson: 3 of last 8 (38%)
RPI: 3 of last 11 (33%)
Princeton: 2 of last 2 (100%)
Quinnipiac: 1 of last 3 (33%)
Yale: 1 of last 1 (100%)
Brown: 1 of last 7 (14%)
Union: 0 of forever (0%)

Looking at this list, I would say that the "current" powers are Cornell, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Colgate. I gave Colgate the edge over SLU because I had to extend SLU's streak all the way back to '99, meaning that they're not doing as well now as they did back then. Harvard and Darmouth both seem to have had the bottom drop out this year, leaving room for 2 teams to move up.

From top down, I don't think it's SLU (for the aforementioned reasons) nor Clarkson. Next is RPI which again, hasn't done much lately (had to go back 11 years to dig up 3 appearances). Princeton's had the hot hand for 2 years, but seems to be having some trouble sustaining this year. Quinnipiac - well, if you'd asked me in November... It's amazing to me that Yale hasn't had more appearances lately - they just shot right to the top, and seem poised to stay there. Brown and Union - lots of work to do and credibility to build to be considered a power.

Therefore, I have to go with Yale and either RPI or Princeton as the next powers to replace Harvard and Dartmouth. I just can't decide between RPI and Princeton - they're both on the rise, it's just a question of who goes farther faster.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: This Week in ECAC Hockey: Superpowers

I presumed that Cornell is not, in fact, the league superpower right now because they haven't won any titles in a few years. I'm talking about how Harvard and Cornell were about five years ago, swapping auto-bids on a yearly basis ...

IMHO, you don't have to be ECAC champions year after year to be a powerhouse. I'd say if they make it to Albany (or LP, or AC, wherever the case may be) consistently, then they're a powerhouse. So what if they come up short on banners a few years?

Obviously if they won ECAC's every year, then they'd be a superpower. However, that's not what you asked for, so that's why I didn't vote as such. Powerhouse, in my dictionary, has a differing definition from superpower.

[ECACHL writer]

Re: This Week in ECAC Hockey: Superpowers

I couldn't say Cornell, because they're already there.

I presumed that Cornell is not, in fact, the league superpower right now because they haven't won any titles in a few years. I'm talking about how Harvard and Cornell were about five years ago, swapping auto-bids on a yearly basis ...

[Rainman]

Re: This Week in ECAC Hockey: Superpowers

I went with "there won't be one in the foreseeable future; parity is too strong". Why? We haven't had a single ECAC team at the top of the standings for a good 4-5 years or more.

2005-06 regular season: Colgate finishes tied for 1st in the conference. Next season they fall to 8th.
2006-07 regular season: St. Lawrence finishes 1st in the conference. Next season they fall to 9th.
2007-08 regular season: Clarkson 1st, they drop to 9th in 2008-09.

This year's Yale squad does not appear to continue the trend, but keep in mind they didn't become "relevant" until last season.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: This Week in ECAC Hockey: Superpowers

I couldn't say Cornell, because they're already there.

Union may be doing very well this year, but their placing is still too random for me to call them a power.

Yale and Princeton were tied for a close second, but I'm still not quite convinced yet.

There is one team that is turning the corner under a new coach, the system is in place, and the light at the end of the tunnel is quite apparent, ready to take charge. See my signature for which team I selected.

[ECACHL writer]

Who will be the next multi-year powerhouse in ECAC Hockey?