According to a quote on its Wikipedia page, Appleton Arena is the most difficult arena in the ECAC to play in after Cornell’s Lynah Rink. I can’t personally attest to that, but I can say that the home of the St. Lawrence Saints (really, guys?) is by far the most difficult venue in which to write about a game.

Journalists must deftly scale a 12-foot ladder to reach the press box—which really is not much more than a rickety wooden box. Once aloft, the scribes must peer around huge ceiling beams in order to see both sides of the rink, taking care not to fall over the hand railing.

Despite its hazards, Appleton has a certain charm. The seats are wooden pew-like structures, and well-groomed co-eds in matching knit sweaters serve as ushers. The vendors hawk the Canadian fast food delicacy poutine, which I rudely discovered before Harvard’s 5-1 loss in North Country is not homophonous with the French slur for lady of the night.

Getting back to the hockey, all eyes will be on St. Lawrence goaltender Kyle Hayton as he makes his first career postseason start. The wiry six-foot, 160 lbs. rookie posted a gaudy .936 save percentage this year to lead the Saints to a surprise second-place conference finish. But Hayton dipped below the 90 percent save mark in consecutive games for the first time this season in losses at Union and Rensselaer in the final weekend of the regular season.

The crystal ball says Hayton and company get back on track in Appleton.

Pick: St. Lawrence in two

QUINNIPIAC VS. UNION

In perhaps the most compelling matchup of the weekend, the regular season conference champion Bobcats will host the defending national champions at Hamden’s famed TD Bank Sports Center, home of luxury boxes and cantankerous broadcasters.

The legend of fourth-year coach Rick Bennett grew last weekend as his 10th-seeded Dutchmen finished Cornell in Ithaca Mortal Kombat-style with a 7-0 thumping in the elimination game. Bennett is now a perfect 14-0 in ECAC tournament play and is squarely in the hunt for an unprecedented fourth straight conference championship in the Hockey East era.

Although his team this season has been less consistent than Sean Malone’s hair color, the Dutchmen have the winning pedigree to make it happen. Union’s top two lines, highlighted by senior Daniel Ciampini and sophomore Mike Vecchione, are among the fastest and highest-skilled combinations in the nation, and the Dutchmen received key contributions from depth players this weekend.

The Bobcats will have to exploit Union’s off-and-on defense in order to get to Lake Placid. Under the leadership of 21st-year coach Rand Pecknold and captain Matthew Peca, Quinnipiac captured exclusive rights to its second Cleary Cup in three seasons with a 5-2 triumph at Harvard on the penultimate night of the regular season. Yet the Bobcats’ overall body of work indicates a team that is highly beatable. Their two wins against Union this season came in tight, 4-3 affairs.

Expect Pecknold to take the “0” from Bennett, but not much more. I’m going with the trendy upset.

Pick: Union in three

YALE VS. HARVARD

Yale coach Keith Allain is the Bill Belichick of the ECAC. He sports a natural scowl, he’s terse with reporters, and you know that he’s smarter than you.