Brian Lester
What you know about Matt Fitzgerald is that he is a pretty good goalie, playing the position for the Concordia Cobbers. What you might not know is that Fitzgerald used to play baseball, spending most of his younger days in the sport. “My dad wanted me to have time away from the rink, to do … Read more
A little history was made over the weekend for nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point as it won the 700th game in the modern era of the program. The No. 13 Pointers did it with a 5-2 win over Saint Mary’s on Friday and then capped things off with a hard-fought 4-3 win in overtime against St. … Read more
Here we go. Week three of the college hockey season is underway and we have some interesting matchups to pay attention. St. Scholastica against Gustavus should be fun to watch and St. Olaf has a big test against UW-Stevens Point. In the NCHA, two of the better games of the weekend feature St. Norbert up … Read more
The offense came to life for Gustavus in the final period of a showdown with nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point Friday night. The Gusties scored five times in the final 20 minutes of action, and at the end of the night, they were celebrating a 6-4 win over the fifth-ranked Pointers. It was a night to … Read more
Week two is here and another busy slate of games is ahead, including a matchup worthy of the postseason when St. Scholastica takes on UW-Stevens Point while Lake Forest tries to keep its momentum going when it opens NCHA play against St. Norbert. Friday Saint John’s (0-1) vs. No. 10 UW-Eau Claire (1-0) The Johnnies … Read more
Gramm McCormack was the rookie of the year in the NCHA last season. And while that is officially an individual award, the MSOE forward doesn’t see it that way. “It was definitely a cool accomplishment, but I look at it more as a team award, because without those guys on my team, I don’t really … Read more
Oh what a start to the season it was for the MSOE Raiders. They faced off against 15th-ranked team in the nation in Babson at home and dominated in a 4-1 win. Carson Jones scored the first goal of the night off a power play in the opening period but the Raiders went into the … Read more
The first weekend of the 2023-24 D-III West hockey season is here. And we have a handful of ranked teams in action, headlined by a USCHO.com poll top 10 battle between Adrian and Utica. Dubuque also makes its debut in NCAA hockey. We’re picking seven games this week, and those aforementioned top 15 battles are … Read more
As another season of hockey gets underway in the NCHA, there is no doubt the conference is poised to have a big year. Adrian is the reigning national runner-up and has played in the title game the last two seasons, winning it all in 2021, while Aurora is once again among the top teams nationally. … Read more
The MIAC is one of the more interesting leagues in D-III hockey. The usual contenders always seem to thrive but you never know who might emerge as a surprise team. And the battle for conference tournament spots? That always seems to be tight right up through the last weekend of the season. A year ago, … Read more
No real surprise at the top in the WIAC as Wisconsin-Stevens Point skates into the new season as the favorite. The Pointers won their 16th regular-season conference crown last year and also claimed the Commissioner’s Cup. That doesn’t mean they won’t have their work cut out for them on the road to another title. Wisconsin-Eau … Read more
Saturday night hockey in the spotlight. Two national powers headed to overtime in a leave-it-all-on-the-ice battle to decide who goes on to play in the NCAA Division III Frozen Four and who heads for the exit door of the 2022-23 hockey season. And maybe, only fittingly, it was the nation’s leading scorer who delivered in … Read more
Matus Spodniak had a tough time in his first three years of college hockey. He played in a total of seven games during that stretch while at American International. Transferring to Adrian to last season provided him with a new outlook and an opportunity he did not hesitate to capitalize on. Not only is Spodniak … Read more
UW-Stevens Point is one step closer to a return to the NCAA Division IIi Frozen Four for the first time since 2019. In the tourney for the first time since that magical season four years ago, the Pointers are back in action Saturday against reigning champion Adrian after surviving a four-overtime battle with Augsburg last … Read more
Wow. That’s one way to describe the reaction to UW-Stevens Point’s marathon NCAA Division III opening around hockey tournament game Saturday night against Augsburg. Unreal. Amazing. Thrilling. Insane. Those words fit as well. Especially when you consider some of the numbers that came out a four-overtime thriller for the ages between the Pointers and Auggies … Read more
Ryan Wagner has been playing goalie most of his life. The position just always appealed to him, and the UW-Stevens Point hockey senior standout hasn’t looked back. “I think as a kid, I enjoyed that you got to be on the ice all the time. And I thought the gear was really cool,” Wagner said. … Read more
Augsburg went all the way to the national semifinals a season ago. And now the Auggies have an opportunity to make another run in the NCAA tournament. Their quest begins Saturday night against UW-Stevens Point on the road in an opening-round game, with the winner advancing to play reigning champion Adrian. Here are three things … Read more
There was a stretch in early in the season that made it seem as if Augsburg was a long way off from contending for a conference title. The Auggies dropped five out of six games between the start of December and first half of January. Since then, Augsburg has been one of the better teams … Read more
Three games. Three titles. Three berths to the NCAA Division III hockey tournament on the line. It all comes down to an exciting Saturday night of hockey in the west region. The NCHA final features a pair of top 10 teams in the USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll, with No. 3 Adrian and No. … Read more
There were potentially just 20 minutes left in the hockey season for Aurora. The Spartans trailed St. Norbert by a goal heading into the final period of an NCHA tournament semifinal showdown at home Saturday night. It was in that third period that momentum began to swing in favor of the Spartans, who weren’t ready … Read more