This past weekend Union split games at the Mariucci Classic as they beat Minnesota but fell to Bemidji State. The second half of the season begins this weekend where Union plays 16 ECAC games, 10 of which are at Messa Rink. There are many more important games to be played and each game will become more important as the season goes on.Here is where Union stands in the different polls:
USCHO: 15th --> 25th consecutive week
PWR: 16th
KRACH: 17th
USA Today/USA Hockey: 14th
INCH: 12th
These rankings are more realistic than they have been in the past weeks. I felt that the Dutchmen were ranked to high, but #14 - #17 is where I see this team. Union has proven at times to be a national tournament team, but at other times has shown that they unable to beat good teams when they need to. Maybe the return of Adam Presizniuk will help them creep back up the standings. It should be interesting to see where Union ends up in a few months.
On another note, RPI is climbing up the rankings. They have some players that are playing excellent right now such as forwards Chase Polacek and Tyler Helfrich, defenseman Nick Bailen, and goaltender Allen York. As of this moment, the Engineers have proven me wrong and now I think they will definitely be in contention for a Top 3 spot in the ECAC standings. But, don't look too much into their past two games as they beat Alabama-Huntsville (2-18-2) by the score of 2-1 on back-to-back nights. Anything can happen once ECAC play gets underway this weekend...
By the way, USA faces off against Canada tonight at 7:30pm in the semifinals of the 2011 World Junior Championships. The game will be shown on the NHL Network. For complete game notes click here.
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