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Factors such as the impact of recruits, defense and goaltending will have a direct result on the final standings in the ECAC Hockey League, but let's take a look at each team's offensive productivity for returning players.
The following table ranks each ECAC Hockey League team in terms of the percentage of offensive productivity returning. The ranking was determined by dividing the total points scored last season by the points scored by returning players. The same was done to determine the percentage of goal scoring of returning players.
Team | Pct. Points Returning | Pct. Goals Returning | '12-13 Offense Rank | Leading Returning Scorer |
Clarkson | 90.5% | 94.0% | 9 | Allan McPherson, Jr. (9-16--25) |
Brown | 84.1% | 83.3% | 8 | Matt Lorito, Jr. (22-15--37) |
RPI | 81.2% | 79.2% | 5 | Matt Neal, Jr. (8-22--30) |
Princeton | 76.1% | 75.0% | 11 | Andrew Calof, Sr. (14-24--38) |
Colgate | 74.3% | 78.0% | 2 | Tylor Spink, So. (13-18--31) |
Dartmouth | 71.7% | 71.3% | 7 | Tyler Sikura, Sr. (12-20--32) |
Yale | 70.1% | 65.4% | 4 | Kenny Agostino, Sr. (17-24--41) |
St. Lawrence | 68.6% | 80.4% | 6 | Greg Carey, Sr. (28-23--51) |
Cornell | 62.4% | 55.4% | 10 | Brian Ferlin, Jr. (10-14--24) |
Union | 60.4% | 63.4% | 1 | Daniel Carr, Sr. (16-16--32) |
Harvard | 59.0% | 51.9% | 12 | Jimmy Vesey, So. (11-7--18) |
Quinnipiac | 58.8% | 61.5% | 3 | Matthew Peca, Jr. (15-15--30) |
Defending National Champion Yale University lost two of its top three scorers, but otherwise was left largely intact offensively. Head coach Keith Allain continues to bring in top notch talent to New Haven, but can the Bulldogs deflect the loss of Andrew Miller, the team's unquestioned leader?
Quinnipiac advanced all the way to the Frozen Four a year ago, and had a terrific run. Coach Rand Pecknold's team returns four of its top five scorers, but the Bulldogs lost a lot of scoring depth. This recruiting class is the best in school history, but it will need to step up right away.
Clarkson returns the largest percentage of offensive production of any team in the league, but the Golden Knights offense was mediocre at best last season. Can Casey Jones turn things around in Potsdam?
Last year's top offensive team, Union, lost a ton of scorers to graduation and early departures. Coach Rick Bennett is bringing in two very highly touted forwards who will have some big shoes to fill.
Brown finished strong last season and has star forward Matt Lorito returning for his third season at Meehan Auditorium. Can coach Brendan Whittet finally put together a full season?
St. Lawrence (Greg Carey), Princeton (Andrew Calof) and Dartmouth (Tyler Sikura) all have a player that their coaching staffs can build an offense around. The three teams will just need to find a supporting cast.
More from Western College Hockey Blog:
- Atlantic Hockey: Ranking Teams by Percentage of Offense Returning
- Hockey East Preview: Ranking the Offenses by Returning Players
- Big 10 Hockey Preview: Ranking the Offenses by Returning Players
- WCHA Preview: Ranking the Offenses by Returning Players
- NCHC Preview: Ranking the Offenses by Returning Players
Jeff Cox is a hockey reporter for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.