Tim Costello
Here we are one month into the season and the key word with minor exception is parity. Yes, there are a few unbeaten and untied teams out there like Hobart, Oswego, UNE, Salve Regina, Hamilton and Bowdoin to name them, but everywhere there are games that are surprises and teams proving the adage that … Read more
And the hits, as in great matchups, just keep coming across the D-II/III landscape… The NCHA features a second battle in as many weekends as the No. 2 (Aurora) and No. 3 (St Norbert) play a two-game series just a week removed from a thrilling Aurora v. Adrian series. Elsewhere the league battles are … Read more
A quick look at this week’s D-III poll finds the Chatham Cougars at No. 15 and making their first ever appearance in the national poll. At 6-0-0 on the season, the nine-year old program has had a strong start to the new season which they hope to turn into success in the UCHC come … Read more
What a weekend that was with a lot of league action taking place across the country. There are still some unbeatens across the D-III landscape with some expected (Hobart and Aurora) and some surprise teams (Chatham, UNE, Oswego, Endicott and Salve Regina) keeping goose-eggs in the loss column at the very unofficial quarter pole … Read more
Just when you think you can’t get better than last week’s matchups, the new week comes along and all you can say is WOW! Lots of marque matchups in and out of conference and finally all the leagues are playing with NESCAC games on the schedule this weekend. Here are this week’s picks for … Read more
And finally, the last of the conference previews… For some reason the gap from the start of the regular season to NESCAC initiating play seems shorter this year with play commencing on Friday, November 14 – I am sure that is just me but it will be great to have all the conferences in … Read more
If you thought the opening weekend had its abundance of drama well let me introduce you to more chaos seen in week two’s docket of games around the country. Everyone knows you can’t win a championship in November but you can certainly lay the ground work to lose one if you have trouble producing … Read more
There is no question the season is off to a resounding start after the great action in week one. Week two promises more of the same with great rivalry games and battles among ranked teams as some conference play begins in earnest. Here are this week’s picks for the ten conferences playing this weekend … Read more
The Trine Thunder was one of three NCHA teams to play in the NCAA tournament last spring and look to build on last year’s quarterfinal exit in overtime to eventual champion Hobart. The new campaign began in the same state as the last one ended with a ten-hour bus trip to Canton, New York … Read more
Well, how about that for an opening week of the season! We saw inaugural wins, tournament titles won, career milestones achieved and of course, upsets and ranked teams stumbling out of the gate in pursuit of a Hobart team that showed it is ready for all-comers this season. Here’s the wrap-up of some of the … Read more
Well, it is a new season! One new league, four new teams and the continued pursuit for conference and national title glory coming ahead over the next six months. In addition to all that is new in the D-II/III landscape on the ice, I plan on trying some different things in the coverage this year … Read more
Last season, Gustavus Adolphus won the regular season title and then battled a determined St Olaf squad to win the MIAC championship and NCAA berth before losing a one-goal game to St Norbert in the national tournament. No surprise, the Gusties appear to be a contender again this year in the typically unpredictable and … Read more
The CNE will have something old and something new as part of the conference for the 2025-2026 season. Former member of the CCC, Johnson & Wales returns to the league along with the new NCAA program started by Roger Williams College in Rhode Island. That brings the total to nine teams for this season … Read more
Last season saw the Stevenson Mustangs earn the first ever MAC hockey championship and auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. Following the season, the only coach the program had known, Dominick Dawes made the decision to return to his alma mater at Norwich leaving an opportunity for a new bench boss in Maryland. Matt … Read more
MASCAC will change from a ten-team league this season to the traditional and more familiar eight-team conference following the departure of Plymouth State and Massachusetts-Dartmouth to the new Little East conference (LEC). That does change the landscape somewhat based upon PSU’s recent dominance in the league, but many see the conference as wide open … Read more
The newest conference starting in 2025-2026 is the Little East which adds a deep ten-team conference that merges the Little East athletic conference schools with some associate members from the former NEHC. The league also features Keene State in first season affiliated with a conference as well as the introduction of Western Connecticut State … Read more
If only the hockey gods and maybe a friendly bounce or two had gone the right way for three teams from the west in last year’s NCAA tournament, the Frozen Four would have looked very different. All of those teams from the NCHA (Aurora, St. Norbert & Trine) are back and looking forward to … Read more
The NE-10 never lacks for excitement as very few teams have been successful in translating regular season success into the D-II conference championship. Assumption is one of the few teams in recent years to do so. St Anselm and St. Michael’s seem to find themselves playing for the big prize frequently and often against … Read more
SUNYAC has seen its own fair share of changes over the past couple of seasons. First, Brockport and Geneseo departed to join the ranks of the UCHC. Two familiar rivals in Oswego and Plattsburgh battled for the conference title with the Lakers earning their fist SUNYAC title in many years. Now this season, the … Read more
The UCHC, like virtually every other conference, will have a new look this season with the additions of Albertus Magnus and Elmira from the now defunct NEHC along with St John Fisher which commences NCAA play this season. The new nine-team league will certainly add more excitement to the pursuit of the conference title … Read more