Brian Lester
Garrett Ladd didn’t see much time on the ice in his first two seasons as a college hockey player. He played in only five games at Division I Bemidji State, putting him in a position where it was going to take time for him to adjust in his first year with Wisconsin-Stevens Point. “It took … Read more
We have reached the halfway point of the MIAC season and if last year is any indication of how the conference race plays out, it should be an entertaining second half to say the least. St. Thomas heads into the break with the edge at the moment. The Tommies are 4-0-2 in the MIAC and … Read more
Two months of college hockey have come and gone and who would have thought Wisconsin-River Falls would be the team with the best record in the WIAC at the moment? The Falcons are 2-0 in league play and an impressive 8-1-1 overall. Not bad for a team that won only 13 games a year ago. … Read more
If you look at the record of Wisconsin-Stout, it’s not impressive. Three wins. Seven losses. No one is writing home about that record. But if you take a closer look and go beyond the surface of the win-loss column, you discover it’s a very deceiving record. Stout has played a rugged schedule, which features five … Read more
Concordia wasn’t able to come away with a win in its weekend MIAC series with St. Thomas, but coach Chris Howe wasn’t hanging his head after the two losses to the nationally-ranked Tommies. Concordia battled to a 2-2 tie in the first game, but lost the opportunity for a point in a shootout loss and … Read more
Although St. Thomas has certainly played good hockey through the first month of the season, winnning six of its first eight games and losing just once, coach Jeff Boeser will tell you the Tommies are not a finished product. “We have a long way to go to be a good team,” Boeser said. “We have … Read more
Dan Stauber knew it would be a challenge for his Wisconsin-Superior team to travel to New York and play a pair of games against nationally-ranked opponents. Not to mention the toll a long trip can take on a team. But while the Yellow Jackets had been up and down in the weeks prior to the … Read more
Just call it upset weekend. Two top five teams and another in the top 10 went down as the month of November came to a close in the Division III hockey world. All three teams were unbeaten going into the weekend. Top-ranked St. Norbert, which just rose to No. 1 last week, was topped by … Read more
Just call it upset weekend. Two top five teams and another in the top 10 went down as the month of November came to a close in the Division III hockey world. All three teams were unbeaten going into the weekend. Top-ranked St. Norbert, which just rose to No. 1 last week, was topped by … Read more
Steve Freeman was asked to talk about the season up to this point for his Wisconsin-River Falls hockey team and he had an interesting take on how things have played out so far for the Falcons. “Every game is an adventure because we have 13 freshmen on our roster,” Freeman said. “We are still all … Read more
Gustavus Adolphus played for the MIAC championship a season ago, thanks in large part to a late-season surge that propelled them to a strong tournament run. Whether the Gusties can repeat that success remains to be seen, but if it’s going to happen, they will need to overcome some injury issues. “We’ve been battling through … Read more
Expectations rise when a team wins a national championship. Those expectations carry over into the next season, even if the team does have a different look than it did during the title run. Wisconsin-Eau Claire is adjusting to life with the bulls-eye once again, ranked No. 1 in the nation and attracting every opponent’s best … Read more
Chris Brown knows what a slow start can do to a team. Augsburg won just three of their first 10 games a year ago and while they finished strong, winning six of their final 10, the early struggles crushed the Auggies’ hopes for a MIAC tournament berth. Brown believes that has served as motivation for … Read more
St. John’s coach Doug Schueller has seen his hockey team face its share of challenges in the early going of the season, including a battle with defending national champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire this past Saturday. The Johnnies, who played Eau Claire in the NCAA tournament a year ago and lost 4-2, lost by a 3-1 score … Read more
Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been very good at seizing opportunities early in the season. The Pointers, ranked sixth in the nation in the latest USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll and one of the contenders for the WIAC championship, are unbeaten through four games. Pointers’ coach Chris Brooks said part of that success has to do with … Read more
Wisconsin-Eau Claire enters the season with the biggest target on its back. The Blugolds are the defending national champions and not surprisingly, the favorite to win the WIAC title in the first season where the teams will play only under the WIAC banner. The teams had previously competed in the NCHA as well. The top … Read more
It’s time for another season in the MIAC and don’t be surprised if the league race is as tight as it was a season ago. A total of three points was all that separated co-champions St. Thomas and St. John’s (21 points) from fifth-place St. Olaf (18 points). Gustavus and Concordia were just one point … Read more
Well, we have reached the final weekend of the Division III hockey season, and four teams are still standing. Norwich and Oswego State will play in one national semifinal on Friday, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Utica will meet in the other. So it’s time for me to see how well I can do making picks … Read more
Well, we have reached the final weekend of the Division III hockey season, and four teams are still standing. Norwich and Oswego State will play in one national semifinal on Friday, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Utica will meet in the other. So it’s time for me to see how well I can do making picks … Read more
It’s hard to believe it’s already NCAA tournament time, but for 11 Division III teams, the chase for the national championship begins this week. Three games are on the schedule for tonight, and I will be taking aim at making predictions for the first two rounds. I didn’t do too bad making picks in the … Read more