Tim CostelloNot quite halfway through this year’s schedule and the topsy-turvy, rollercoaster ride we call the 2006-07 season continues to boggle the minds of players, fans and coaches alike. What’s the biggest element missing among teams looking to play well on a more regular basis? Consistency! This isn’t just “coach speak.” If you look at the … Read more
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Well here we are in the first week of 2007 and several teams are already out on the ice having played in tournaments over the holidays before the competition of league play begins yet again this weekend. The break really hasn’t been long enough for too much rust to settle in on … Read more
All Aboard!!! Looks like the Polar Express up just ahead and that just might be Tom Hanks playing the conductor, or maybe the engineer, or one of many other employees on the train to the North Pole to see you know who! Anyway it looks like a lot of D-III coaches from New England are … Read more
For many teams, this week will wind up the first part of the season as most schools are headed into exam periods and the holiday break. For some teams, the break comes at a time when they are on a roll and you would like to keep playing with momentum apparently on your side. For … Read more
The horses are at the post, and they’re off! Down the straight into the first turn and … The race called the 2006-2007 season is off and running and there are some teams who are off to a flying start coming into their second or third week of the season — if they were fortunate … Read more
As the line from Wayne’s World goes — Game On! It’s opening night on Friday for the last two leagues to start the 2006-2007 season and the action should be exciting from the first games forward in the interlocking schedule between the two conferences. At this point after about two weeks of practices, coaches have … Read more
The first game of the season at the Williams Ice Rink at the Community Sports Center is also the first on-campus game for the Trinity Bantams men’s ice hockey team where they opened the 2006-07 season against Hamilton. After the ceremonial face-off with members of the Williams family, team captains and Coach Dunham the teams … Read more
Team Overview: “Young but very quick,” is how coach Terry Meagher categorizes his Bowdoin squad this season. “We will have a lot of new faces and some shoes to fill with the departures of Adam (Dann) and George (Papachristopoulos) but we have a nice returning nucleus and some good leadership for this team.” Senior captain … Read more
Team Overview: Last season the Bantams struggled to find themselves offensively and were a bit more generous in allowing other teams to score. They found there game heading down the stretch and managed to make it into the final four of the conference tournament. Like others in the league, Coach John Dunham will have a … Read more
It would be somewhat easy for me to take a look at last year’s preview of the NESCAC conference and repeat many of the comments brought forth by the league coaches there are a lot of similar themes. Like last year the defending league and national champions are coming out of Middlebury and everyone has … Read more
Team Overview: For head coach Chris Potter, this is the third recruiting class coming in as he has built the program. His primary focus early on has been on the defensive end of the ice and it has paid dividends with the Cardinals yielding only 61 total goals last season. “When I first came here … Read more
Team Overview: Amherst is exactly one of the teams who was at the top of the standings in January (second place) and finished in sixth on the basis of results in a handful of games. “This league is just so tough,” said head coach Jack Arena. “Whether you are playing the NESCACs or the ECAC … Read more
Team Overview: “We basically won with really good team defense and exceptional goaltending,” said Middlebury coach Bill Beaney. “In fact we were a little challenged offensively which we would like to change this year.” Hard to believe a team that scored 137 goals last season was challenged offensively especially with junior Mickey Gilchrist (24-26-50) and … Read more
Team Overview: The Mules enter this season looking for some depth having played several games down the stretch with a limited number of skaters. “We will have a lot better numbers this season, noted head Coach Jim Tortorella. We have a nice mix of some veteran guys and some new guys that should help us. … Read more
Team Overview: Injuries took their toll on the Jumbos coming down the stretch last season as they seemed poised to make the conference playoffs. This year head coach Brian Murphy likes his overall numbers which should provide some much needed depth: “We will have better numbers so we shouldn’t get caught only dressing 13 or … Read more
Team Overview: The Ephs’ second-place finish last season might have been a surprise to everyone else but coach Bill Kangas: “You just want to keep building momentum and its cliché, but play better in every game than one you played the night before. We were fairly young last season but those guys have a full … Read more
Team Overview: OK, not to beat a dead horse but head coach Jim Ward will have a very young team this year and expects the team to grow literally game by game. “We will probably have fifteen or more freshmen and sophomores in the lineup every night,” noted Ward. “I have really been impressed with … Read more
Team Overview: “You know the strength of our team is going to be on the blue line,” said head coach Phil Grady. “We surely lost a big class and will have a lot of young guys coming in eager to play this year. Losing Gus(Katsuras) is tough but it may be a good thing in … Read more
Team Overview: The Pilgrims were on the bubble last year when it came time for the at-large bids for the NCAA tournament despite almost twenty wins. This year’s team looks to be markedly different from recent teams in terms of age and experience. “We graduated a big class and lost some other kids from the … Read more
Team Overview: For St. Michael’s, the battle for recognition in the ECAC East is focused on the regular season. The Purple Knights are a D-II school like St. Anselm’s and hope to earn the respect of their opponents in the conference by succeeding during the season before the playoffs. Jared Silver leads an improved Purple … Read more