Tim Costello
Happy Election Day! As my computer and Wi-Fi connection “elected” not to work yesterday, I am supplying an expanded version of the opening weekend wrap-up. Well, if the week one results are any indication of the season ahead, then we should all buckle up for some exciting and unpredictable hockey in the east. The weekend … Read more
It is almost here and there is that feeling in the air that creates excitement around the start of a new season. This year brings some significant changes from last year including: a new league, the MAC; new teams with Keene State and Misericordia joining the D-III party this year; new conference alignments that find … Read more
Plymouth State has ruled the roost in MASCAC hockey for several years in a row and in their final season in the conference face new challengers in Anna Maria and Rivier who now make the conference a 10-team league for the upcoming season. The former Independents will bring a lot of enthusiasm to their first … Read more
SUNYAC has also been impacted by conference re-alignment as the long-expected adoption of SUNY-Canton to the league was offset by the departures of Brockport and Geneseo to the UCHC for the 2024-25 season. So, the former nine-team league will play as an eight-team conference moving ahead with travel partners that will better facilitate travel and … Read more
The MAC was largely played as a subset to the UCHC schedule in recent years with just a handful of teams competing in both conferences and all were dependent upon winning the UCHC for a shot on the national tournament stage. As we enter the 2024-25 season, the re-aligned MAC finds seven teams moving over … Read more
The UCHC was among the most impacted D-III hockey conferences moving from an 11-team league in 2023-24 to just a six-team conference in 2024-25 before further planned re-alignment for the 2025-26 campaign. Misericordia, with head coach Kevin Cole, will field its inaugural D-III hockey squad this season that enables an eight-team MAC league … Read more
Gone is the Commonwealth Coast Conference as this season a re-brand re-names the 40-year old league to the Conference of New England or the CNE. While the eight-team league for hockey maintains the same number of competitors, two Rhode Island schools have swapped leagues for the 2024-25 season with Salve Regina moving to the NEHC … Read more
The 2024-25 season already brings us several conference re-alignments and a new playing league to the D-III mix that will impact conference races and national tournament bid opportunities next spring. In what will be the final season of the NEHC as we have seen it in recent years, the conference adds Albertus Magnus from the … Read more
The Assumption Greyhounds took their second NE-10 championship in the past three years last spring with a thrilling double overtime win over Southern New Hampshire. While the Greyhounds dominated the regular season behind their high-powered offense, the playoffs proved to be much more challenging in the only D-II conference playing NCAA hockey. The pre-season poll … Read more
While Trinity fell short in winning their first national title since 2015 in Saturday’s championship game against Hobart, their stellar sophomore goaltender, Devon Bobak was the biggest part of the equation in helping take the Bantams to a NESCAC championship, a No.2 ranking in the country and a 25-win season that has earned him the … Read more
Coaching the Hobart Statesmen to back-to-back national championships while winning the NEHC and establishing a new consecutive home win-streak at 37 games and counting, has earned Hobart head coach Mark Taylor this year’s USCHO Coach of the Year. Hobart finished the campaign with an impressive 28-2-1 record including a 16-1-1 record in the New England … Read more
A great season of college hockey came to an end on Saturday with Hobart taking their second national championship in a row with a 2-0 win over Trinity. Now is the opportunity for the USCHO writers to look back and recognize the outstanding performances on the ice and we (Brian and me) have come up … Read more
In a game that lived up to its billing, Hobart completed the mission of back-to-back championships with a 2-0 win over Trinity on Saturday night. The Statesmen were led by Luke Aquaro who scored late in the second period and Matthew Iasenza who sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final half minute … Read more
The national championship game has a lot to live up to following Thursday’s outstanding semifinal games where hockey fans were treated with great action from start to finish and no overtime was required to decide the entrants for the championship contest. It is a great story with Hobart seeking to win back-to-back titles, the first … Read more
Playing on home ice in front of a raucous crowd, Trinity took advantage of superb goaltending from Devon Bobak and timely goals from James Barbour and Devon Tongue to defeat Adrian, 2-1 and advance to the national championship game against Hobart on Saturday. “It was a great college hockey game,” said Trinity head coach Matt … Read more
Hobart took advantage of a first minute goal and a second marker just over seven minutes into the opening period and skated off with a 3-1 win over a young Utica team on Thursday afternoon. The Statesmen, defending national champions, took advantage of their experienced roster to stymie the upset minded Pioneers holding them scoreless … Read more
The final national poll before the Frozen Four had Hobart, Utica, Trinity, and Adrian ranked one through four. It is not often that we get a pure draw that leaves the best in the country battling it out on the ice for a national title, but we do this year, and the semifinal matchups are … Read more
For the third season in a row, the Adrian Bulldogs have reached the Frozen Four and look to add a second championship in the past three seasons to their trophy case. The now expected level of excellence has all associated with the program that they will compete every year at this level with a focus … Read more
The Utica Pioneers have been highly successful winning three consecutive UCHC titles and consistently being ranked among the nation’s best D-III hockey teams but struggled over the past two seasons to advance beyond the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. Following two consecutive upsets at the hands of the University of New England, this year’s … Read more
The quarterfinal round in the East provided incredible action on Saturday night inclusive of Utica exorcising some past Round of 8 demons with their win over Plymouth State as well as a four overtime thriller that saw Hobart down Curry, 4-3 after more than 135 minutes of game action. Trinity also was a winner meaning … Read more