Riding the hot streak of rookie goaltender Nick Boucher, this week's ECAC/CCM Player of the Week, Dartmouth beat RPI, 2-0--the first time the Engineers have been blanked this season. Union (5-13-0, 3-5-0) turned in a lackluster performance the following night, allowing the Big Green to dominate the Skating Dutchmen, 5-1.

RPI staved off a second drumming by Vermont (5-9-3, 3-2-2), but couldn't fully rebound from its loss to Dartmouth. The Engineers' star forward Brad Tapper, who was held scoreless by Boucher the previous night, posted one of RPI's four goals against the Catamounts, and forward Mark Cavoisie notched a pair of goals and an assist on the night. But Vermont lit the lamp four times as well and an uneventful overtime forced a 4-4 draw.

RPI is a perfect example of the unpredictability of the ECAC. The Engineers have beaten No. 1 New Hampshire and No. 7 Boston University this season, which makes it awfully difficult to explain why RPI (12-5-1, 4-3-1) is currently tied for fifth.

The third fifth-place team is St. Lawrence (9-6-2, 4-2-1). The Saints played at No. 4 Wisconsin last weekend, losing 4-1 on Friday before tying the Badgers on Saturday, 6-6.

Cornell (5-7-1, 4-4-0) has not had any conference match-ups since December, but it did play one of the most formidable opponents in the country last week. The Big Red broke its five-game losing streak by skating to a 2-2 tie against No. 3 Maine, last year's NCAA champion.

Sophomore netminder Matt Underhill, the ECAC/Heaton Goaltender of the Week, stoned 38 shots, and allowed the Big Red to rally from a 2-0 deficit in the third period. A 5-2 victory over Ohio State capped off the weekend.

With a 3-2 loss to Vermont on Friday and a 5-1 drumming by Dartmouth the following night, Union's surprisingly strong start seems to be tapering off.