Perrin Leads Vermont Into First Place

There's a new leader stop the ECAC standings once again.

No. 7 Vermont leaped into the top spot last weekend with victories over two inept Ivy League squads. The Catamounts (14-3-2, 8-0-1 ECAC) pounced on Princeton Friday, 5-3, and then took care of Yale by a 4-3 count Saturday up at frigid Burlington. The Tigers and the Bulldogs currently occupy the ECAC cellar.

As a result of the two wins, Vermont jumped one point ahead of St. Lawrence, which played two non-league contests. Harvard, which has played four more league games than St. Lawrence, is tied with the Saints at 15 points, two behind the Catamounts.

It has been the Flying French Canadian connection that has gotten the job done all year for Vermont. The previous weekend, Eric Perrin and Martin St. Louis (both from Laval, Quebec) registered three of their team's four goals in a 4-3 come from behind over-time victory over Harvard.

The past weekend wasn't too different. Perrin registered a hat trick in the third period in the Princeton game, helping his team overtake a feisty Princeton squad. For his efforts, Perrin earned the ECAC Player of the Week award. Perrin is the ECAC's leading scorer, having tallied 13 goals and assisted on 26 others. Catamount goalie Tim Thomas is also tops in the league with a 13-3-2 overall record and a 1.98 goal-against average.

Speaking of Harvard, Crimson freshman forward Craig Adams was named the ECAC Rookie of the Week for the second time this year. Adams scored the game-winner in a 2-0 victory over Union on Friday and tallied one goal and two assists as Harvard toppled RPI, 6-4, the next night.

The freshman from Calgary is Harvard's fourth-leading scorer with six goals and five assists. Also instrumental in Harvard's victories was sophomore defenseman Jeremiah McCarthy. McCarthy had a hand or, well, a stick in five of the six Crimson tallies. McCarthy racked up his first two goals of the year in the effort.

Senior goalie Tripp Tracy joined McCarthy on the ECAC Honor Roll for his 28-save shutout of Union. The victory marked the first time all season that Harvard has won a game in which it scored fewer than four goals. The Crimson is 8-0-0 when it scores at least four times. Tracy's shutout was Harvard's first blanking of the season and its first road shutout since December 3, 1993, also against the Skating Dutchmen.

Brown took home three league points of the weekend, tying Union after having mauled RPI in more ways than one on Friday. The Bears defeated the Engineers, 6-1, but the really ugly event of the night was a bench-clearing get-together after a Brown player had runs over RPI goalie Mike Tambarro.

Twelve penalties were handed out in the fracas. In RPI's next game--against Harvard--the officials did their best to avoid that situation. While players were allowed to breathe on each other, little else was let go, as the zebras called a total of 25 minors and one 10-minute misconduct.

In non-league action, Clarkson posted two impressive wins over Hockey East foes. Clarkson nipped Providence on Saturday, 5.4. On Friday, Clarkson downed Maine, 3-2, continuing a disastrous 1996 for the Black Bears.

Previously, an internal investigation by the university on players accepting gifts resulted in a one-year suspension of Maine coach Shawn Walsh. The team also forfeited its right to play in this year's NCAA Tournament. The only positive for the Black Bears was their 5-0 win at St. Lawrence the next evening, handling the Saints their first home loss of the year.

Army split a pair with two New York ECAC teams. The Cadets shot down the Big Red of Cornell Friday, 4-1, but Colgate took care of Army on Saturday, 4-3. ECAC STANDINGS   OVERALL    ECAC Team  w  L  T  W  L  T Vermont  14  3  2  8  0  1 St. Lawrence  11  7  1  7  1  1 Harvard  8  9  1  7  5  1 Colgate  9  7  2  6  2  2 Clarkson  12  5  2  6  2  1 Cornell  7  6  3  5  2  3 Brown  4  7  5  3  5  4 Rensselaer  5  13  2  3  6  1 Dartmouth  4  11  1  3  6  0 Union  4  10  3  2  6  2 Yale  6  12  0  3  9  0 Princeton  3  13  3  1  10  2