Leaman, meanwhile, is adjusting well to life as a head coach, both on the ice and off the ice.

Since Union does not offer hockey scholarships, Leaman is often at a recruiting disadvantage when compared with Ivy League schools, which use their name recognition as a selling point, and the other non-Ivy ECAC schools, all of which offer scholarships.

The Union program went through a particularly difficult time last month, when College President Roger Hull sided against ECAC members Clarkson, Rensselaer, and St. Lawrence in their struggle to keep scholarships, a stance that was criticized around the league.

“There’s a lot more to deal with outside hockey, which is challenging,” Leaman said. “There are a lot of ups and downs, not only with the season itself but with the program overall. That’s frustrating at times, but I’m very happy being a head coach. When you go to bed, you know you have the final decision. It’s different, exciting, and you can really go with your gut on a lot of things.

“Every day, I learn something new about the kids on the ice, and our relationship gets tighter as a team. You really do care about the kids out there, and that’s very important to have between a coach and his players.”

Weighty Issues

As ECAC teams jockey for playoff positioning, league and school officials have begun work on an issue that goes far beyond hockey games: the league membership itself.

Vermont’s announcement that it will join Hockey East for the 2005-2006 season leaves the ECAC Division I men’s league with 11 teams. In response, preliminary conference calls have been held in recent weeks among the ECAC’s four-member Development and Legislative Committee (DLC), which includes Harvard senior associate athletic director John Wentzell. The ECAC coaches’ committee, chaired by Yale head coach Tim Taylor ’63, spoke via conference call Wednesday.

The league could stay at 11 or expand to 12 teams or more. ECAC officials have yet to speak publicly about potential applicants, but the list of candidates has been widely reported to include Niagara (CHA), Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) and Quinnipiac (Atlantic Hockey).

A key element in any expansion will be the wishes of the six Ivy League schools, which wield disproportionately strong influence within the league. The Ivies are limited to 29 regular-season games, and Harvard’s schedule—bound by two Beanpot games and rivalries with Boston College and Boston University—would be affected dramatically by an increase beyond 12 teams.

For example, if the league went to 14 teams and maintained its format of playing each team twice, the league would have 26 league games, leaving the Crimson with only one game to work with outside of the Beanpot. Other Ivy schools would feel a similar crunch.

“That’d never fly through the Ivies,” Mazzoleni said of a 14-team arrangement. “I don’t know if there are three teams out there that fit geographically, that we could bus to instead of fly to, and that would really enhance the ECAC.”

During the ECAC coaches’ conference call, Mazzoleni said many expressed a desire to avoid a “knee-jerk reaction.”

“We’ve got to proceed cautiously, evaluate all inquiries, and have [schools] make their formal presentations,” Mazzoleni said, adding that he expects decisions would be made regarding membership during the league meetings in Naples, Fla., in April.

“My opinion is, why bring someone into the league if they can’t enhance the league?” Mazzoleni asked. “We have to be very smart, and allow people to make their pitch. We have to listen to what they have to say.”