Colgate will go 2-2 down the stretch, with a win at Union, a loss at RPI, and a home split with a win and a loss verse Clarkson and St. Lawrence, respectively.

T-3. Rensselaer: The ECAC’s hottest team swept Harvard and Brown on their home rinks this weekend, but faces a strong challenge when Cornell and Colgate come to town this weekend. If the Engineers can make it through this weekend—and they will—they should enjoy an easy last weekend at Princeton and Yale.

RPI will continue its winning streak, going 4-0 down the stretch, and will just barely miss the top spot in the ECAC playoffs.

T-3. Cornell: Currently riding a four-game winning streak and tied with the Engineers for third place, Cornell’s toughest remaining game will be played at RPI’s Houston Fieldhouse. It’s the only game I can see the Big Red losing.

Coach Mike Schafer’s team will finish the regular season strong (3-1) and be ready for the playoffs, with wins at Union and in Lynah against St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

5. Dartmouth: The Big Green has an ungodly amount of ties this season, with six already to its name. One of those came against Harvard, and I see that situation repeating itself on the season’s last weekend. And the next night against Brown, Dartmouth’s penalty-heavy hockey (including Jessiman, who is constantly going at it after the whistle has blown) will only help Brown and its top-ranked power play.

Prior to games at Harvard and at Brown, the Big Green hosts Princeton and Yale, neither of which should prove much of a challenge. In total, Dartmouth will finish the season 2-1-1.

6. Yale: The Elis have the ECAC’s best-offense. And the ECAC’s worst defense. In its 7-5 comeback win, Harvard exposed Yale’s almost complete inability to play defense and to stop the Crimson’s swift forwards from building up speed with an aggressive forecheck.

They will go 1-3 down the stretch, losing at Vermont and Dartmouth, managing a victory at the Whale against Union, and dropping the season finale against RPI.

7. Harvard: Trying to take four points in the North Country—as the Crimson did a year ago—is a major challenge. Home games against Dartmouth and Vermont will also be a test.

Clarkson’s aggressive style will pose problems up in Potsdam, but the Crimson should rebound down the road against St. Lawrence. A tie against Dartmouth seems likely, but the Crimson have always seemed to have the Catamounts’ number recently. Overall, Harvard will finish the season 2-1-1.

T-8. Clarkson: The Golden Knights’ physical play, while usually successful against Harvard, could cost them against Brown. I’m thinking it won’t and that the Golden Knights will find a way to solve Yann Danis. After that, there’s the unenviable task to trying to win on the road at Starr and Lynah, something I’m not convinced Clarkson can do. For those counting, that’s 2-2.

T-8. St. Lawrence: The Golden Knights’ neighbors are hard to predict. Some nights there are ties to Wayne State or losses against Lake Superior State. Other times, wins against national powerhouse New Hampshire. That said, I think the Saints will finish 1-3, swept at home by Harvard and Brown, playing competitively at Cornell, and then posting a sold season-ending win over Colgate.

10. Union: Nate Leaman’s squad managed a late tie against Brown and played hard against Harvard, but won’t be able to win more than one of its last four games, that win probably coming in the historical confines of Princeton’s Hobey Baker Rink.

11. Princeton: Len Quesnelle’s Tigers have struggled all year, and they will continue to struggle over the last four games. Its amazing to think that the Crimson has a three-game losing streak to the perennially cellar-dwelling Tigers. A 1-3 finish with a win over Vermont is the best Princeton can expect.