Fifth-place Rensselaer (6-4-1, 3-2-1) leads the ECAC in scoring. It has three of the top four point-earners in the league. Freshman forward Matt Murley leads the team and the league in points earned.
The Engineers' Achilles' heel this season has been a high number of penalties. Forward Mark Murphy is fourth in the league in scoring, but third in the league in penalty minutes.
Rensselaer faces Union, Minnesota-Duluth and Merrimack in the RPI Christmas Tournament over the break.
Vermont (7-4-0, 3-1-0), tied for sixth place with Clarkson, has struggled on the road this season. The Catamounts have succeeded because of a balanced scoring attack and good special teams. They are second in the league in power-play goals as well as penalties killed.
Clarkson (5-6-0, 3-2-0) has rebounded from a poor 1-6 start to win its last four games, continuing a trend of inauspicious beginnings from the last two years. In each of those seasons, however, the Golden Knights managed to finish with the best record in the ECAC.
Rookie Goaltender Shawn Grant has registered three shutouts this year. He garnered ECAC rookie of the week honors after wins over Harvard and Brown.
Yale (2-4-0, 2-6-0) saw its season slip away this weekend when it lost two heartbreaking games by identical 2-1 margins to Princeton. The Elis, tied with the Brown Bears for eighth place, are young and inexperienced.
Brown (1-5-2, 1-5-2) is eighth in the league due to fortuitous scheduling and strong goaltending. The Bears have accumulated three of their four points against the hapless Crimson. Junior goaltender Scott Stirling has kept Brown in most games. Six of his starts have been decided by one goal or less.
Tied for 10th in the ECAC are Dartmouth (3-4-0, 1-3-0) and Union (2-8-1, 1-4-0), both of whom have struggled because of poor, inexperienced goaltending. Both teams have played more non-conference games than other ECAC teams and should improve in the second half.
Harvard (2-8-1, 0-8-1) has yet to win in conference play, despite a third-place ranking in the preseason coaches' poll.