Chris LerchTigers Roar Picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic Hockey preseason poll, RIT is certainly exceeding expectations. The Tigers are currently tied for third in the standings on points, with the best winning percentage in the league. RIT boasts the top offense, defense and penalty kill in the conference, and is tied for first in … Read more
In the just plain weird department – St. Olaf and Augsburg tied twice this past weekend. That’s kind of unusual, but not unprecedented. But these were the seventh and eighth consecutive ties between the two schools, dating back over the last four seasons! Is there a stat geek that can help me compute the odds … Read more
In the just plain weird department – St. Olaf and Augsburg tied twice this past weekend. That’s kind of unusual, but not unprecedented. But these were the seventh and eighth consecutive ties between the two schools, dating back over the last four seasons! Is there a stat geek that can help me compute the odds … Read more
Every college team has its ups and downs, but we’re at the point in this season where some trends are beginning to emerge. Over the past few seasons we’ve seen some teams that had previously been doormats ride up and have breakout seasons. This year is no exception. You have to wonder which team will … Read more
Every college team has its ups and downs, but we’re at the point in this season where some trends are beginning to emerge. Over the past few seasons we’ve seen some teams that had previously been doormats ride up and have breakout seasons. This year is no exception. You have to wonder which team will … Read more
Go-To Guys Sacred Heart’s Pierre-Luc O’Brien and Air Force’s Eric Ehn came into this season expected to be near the top of the league in scoring. Last season, O’Brien had 50 points, good for fourth in Atlantic Hockey, while Ehn had 35 points, sixth best in College Hockey America. So far, neither has disappointed. Ehn … Read more
Becker Coach Craig Barnett is used to starting from scratch. He guided Findlay University from NAIA to Division I status and accumulated a 91-110-12 record is five seasons behind the Oilers’ bench. Now, Barnett is starting over at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Hawks will play an independent schedule this season before joining the … Read more
While Morrisville might be new to the world of Division III hockey, the Mustangs have a rich tradition at the junior college level, winning four national titles. Coach Earl Utter is in his tenth season behind the bench of Central New York school, accumulating a record of 167-47-13 to date. But factors other than hockey … Read more
Giving Thanks I was all set to do the typical “What teams have to be thankful for” column this week when I was alerted to a couple of stories that transcend college hockey. Thanks to Eric Melanson, Athletic Communications Assistant at Army, and Greg Royce, Sports Information Director at AIC, for their assistance with this … Read more
It’s tournament time. Here’s an outlook on this week’s action. In many cases, one of the semifinals features the two best teams in the tournament, IMHO. Augsburg Tournament When: November 22 & 23 Who: Augsburg (host), UW-Superior, Finlandia, Bethel Outlook: It’s rare that a Thanksgiving Tournament is actually played on Thanksgiving. The winner of the … Read more
It’s tournament time. Here’s an outlook on this week’s action. In many cases, one of the semifinals features the two best teams in the tournament, IMHO. Augsburg Tournament When: November 22 & 23 Who: Augsburg (host), UW-Superior, Finlandia, Bethel Outlook: It’s rare that a Thanksgiving Tournament is actually played on Thanksgiving. The winner of the … Read more
Fans like to argue about which conference is the strongest, top to bottom. A case can be made for three leagues, and I’ll make them now: NESCAC – The key here is Middlebury, which has won eight of the last 11 national titles, including the last three. One powerful team doesn’t make for a powerful … Read more
Fans like to argue about which conference is the strongest, top to bottom. A case can be made for three leagues, and I’ll make them now: NESCAC – The key here is Middlebury, which has won eight of the last 11 national titles, including the last three. One powerful team doesn’t make for a powerful … Read more
Downtime The Mercyhurst Lakers had last weekend off, and coach Rick Gotkin can’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. His team is off to a 2-6 start, and has had almost two weeks to dwell on an epic collapse at Sacred Heart, where the Lakers surrendered four goals in the … Read more
Thoughts on the week that was: More domination for the NCHA. The league went 13-3 against the neighboring MIAC to improve to 25-6-1 so far this season in interconference play. MIAC teams dropped in the poll as a result, while upstarts like UW-Stout are ranked on the basis of their success the past two weekends. … Read more
Thoughts on the week that was: More domination for the NCHA. The league went 13-3 against the neighboring MIAC to improve to 25-6-1 so far this season in interconference play. MIAC teams dropped in the poll as a result, while upstarts like UW-Stout are ranked on the basis of their success the past two weekends. … Read more
Another Monday, and another weekend passed with no hockey for the the ECAC East and NESCAC. Hang in there – games start this weekend! Here at USCHO, we’re happy about that. The Division III Men’s Poll will be more meaningful once all the teams have actually played games. It’s a fine line for us here … Read more
Another Monday, and another weekend passed with no hockey for the the ECAC East and NESCAC. Hang in there – games start this weekend! Here at USCHO, we’re happy about that. The Division III Men’s Poll will be more meaningful once all the teams have actually played games. It’s a fine line for us here … Read more
Comeback College hockey is well known for dramatic comebacks. The wide-open nature of the game means that few leads are safe. But when Scott Champagne scored with 6:33 to play to give Mercyhurst a 4-0 lead over Sacred Heart on Saturday, it looked inevitable that the Lakers would put this one in the “W” column … Read more
Well, maybe I jinxed a few teams this week. In my 10/30 blog entry, I had Plattsburgh and Fredonia as teams off to good starts…and looked what happened. Platty goes 0-2 in Western New York and Fredonia loses on home ice in the regular season for the first time in two years – 26 games. … Read more