By far the surprise of the league so far this season. (Should’ve known better than to pick them this low.) Nate Leaman, the former Harvard assistant, began his tenure at Union by leading the Dutchmen, now 4-0-1, on their longest season-opening win streak in the program’s Division I history. And the leading scorer in the league? Sophomore forward Scott Seney. Who? No, really. Scott Seney. He has 10 points after five games. Cynics will say that Union got off to this great start while playing against the weakest part of its schedule. Those cynics would be correct. But hey, a great start is a great start, and this team has a chance to finish in the top half of the division for the second year in a row. A good chunk of last year’s scoring is back, as are a pair of very good sophomore goaltenders—one of whom, Kris Mayotte, currently has a 0.97 GAA. And for those of you who are already feeling nostalgic about Leaman, don’t fret: He’ll be at the Bright Hockey Center on Valentine’s Day this year.

Coach: Leaman (1st year overall and at Union, 4-0-1).

Last year: 14-18-4, lost in the ECAC first round to Rensselaer.

Top forward: Junior Joel Beal (8-29-37 last year, 17-42-59 career).

Top defenseman: Junior Matt Vagvolgyi (4-8-12 last year, 8-18-26 career).

Top goaltender: Sophomore Kris Mayotte (11-11-2, 2.73 GAA, .905 save pct. last year; 13-11-3, 2.53 GAA, .912 save pct. career).

11. Princeton (Current record: 0-0-0)

Last year, the Tigers were a punchline. This year, the joke could be on everyone else. Princeton has all the earmarks of a team that could surprise. Its top eight scorers are back. It has a competitive, six-man freshman class. And, most importantly, it is coming off a season in which it was too often a hard-luck loser. The Tigers were tied 14 times after two periods last year, and went 0-13-1 in those games. Throw on a few more logs—nine one-goal losses, and a disappointing three wins overall—and consider the Princeton fire stoked. Expect a better team this year, with senior Chris Owen and junior Mike Patton coming off 20-point seasons. The big question is in net, where Trevor Clay and Eric Leroux return. Last season, neither had a save percentage over .900 or GAA below 4.30, and Clay began last weekend’s exhibition game against Guelph—the same team Harvard beat 8-0—by allowing three goals on five shots. Not a good start to the season.

Coach: Len Quesnelle (5th year overall and at Princeton, 25-60-9).

Last year: 3-26-2, lost in the ECAC first round to Brown.

Top forward: Senior Chris Owen (17-6-23 last year, 21-15-36 career).

Top defenseman: Senior Matt Maglione (5-9-14 last year, 4-18-22 career).

Top goaltender: Sophomore Eric Leroux (0-9-0, 4.30 GAA, .884 save pct. last year and career).

12. Rensselaer (Current record: 1-2-1)

The Engineers, like Clarkson and St. Lawrence, are battling two things as the season begins: legislation before the Division III Presidents Council that could take away their ability to offer Division-I hockey scholarships while remaining a Division III institution, and a recent on-ice decline in what has been an Ivy-dominated ECAC. The first is largely out of the team’s control. The second isn’t, and could change, if this veteran varsity (20 returning letterwinners) finds a way to improve on last year’s punchless scoring average of 2.35 goals per game, second-worst in the league. If there is a resurgence, the flag-bearer will almost certainly be Kevin Croxton, who led the team with 30 points as a freshman last season and is tied this year’s lead with four points in four games. Goaltender Nathan Marsters is a four-year starter, but he’s still trying to regain the form he had as a freshman, when he had a sparkling 2.35 GAA.