Tim Costello
After winning their fifth MASCAC championship in a row, Plymouth State now seeks an elusive first win in the NCAA tournament hosting a red-hot Cortland squad that recently upset Geneseo and Plattsburgh on their way to their first ever SUNYAC title. The Panthers will host the first-round game against the Red Dragons in what should … Read more
After losing in the semifinals of the NEHC tournament, Elmira benefited from their strong regular season and competitive schedule to earn one of the four at-large bids to the national tournament. Their reward was being able to host a first round game against the two-time defending champions from the CCC, Endicott. Despite having not played … Read more
What a great championship weekend across the East! More than half of the nine games played were one-goal affairs that included a couple of overtime thrillers and one double-overtime marathon played. More surprising was the continued “upset bug” that saw Cortland take the SUNYAC with an overtime win over defending champion Plattsburgh. Hobart (NEHC), Plymouth … Read more
Championship week is upon us and while MASCAC and UCHC find a No.1 v. No.2 matchup for the title, all other conferences find lower seeds with a chance to claim a conference crown and D-III auto-bid to the national tournament. It really does not get better for scoreboard watching than this weekend! Relative to my … Read more
Following a 9-2-0 start to the season, Cortland came out of the semester break and struggled with some inconsistency to open the second half. Since the start of February that strong 200-foot game has returned along with the strong play of their leading players to reflect a four-game win streak that has them playing for … Read more
The penultimate week of play leading into the conference championships certainly delivered tremendous hockey highlighted by No. 1 seeds in the CCC and SUNYAC losing in semifinal action and overtime games deciding several other critical matchups. Two more No. 2 seeds also saw their championship hopes come to an end in Bowdoin and St. Michael’s … Read more
It’s now totally a “Win-or-Go-Home” scenario as teams contend for conference championships either in quarterfinal action like NESCAC, or in most cases the semifinal round where you can almost see a championship trophy but best not look too far ahead. There is no margin for error from here on out. For me and my picks … Read more
The season to date has seen several ups and downs for St. Michael’s in the NE-10, but with this weekend’s sweep of games with Post, the Purple Knights earned a quarterfinal round bye which means hosting a semifinal round game and a chance to play for the league championship for the second time in two … Read more
There was a lot to play for this past week as final regular season games were pivotal in determining playoff qualifiers, home-ice seeding, first round byes, and for the NEHC, which teams advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament. As has been the case for the entire season, there were several surprises with an … Read more
A quick look at the UCHC standings finds an unbeaten Utica squad entering the final week of the regular season and prepping for another conference title run beginning next week. While the results are not necessarily unusual, the way coach Gary Heenan’s team has achieved them has been different than recent past rosters. A look … Read more
It may be Valentine’s Day but do not look for much love to be shared between foes on the ice this week. For the NEHC it is now “win or go home” time as the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament begins on Saturday. Elsewhere there are still battles across the conference for playoff position, … Read more
Congratulations to the teams that have already clinched the regular season title and with it the top seed for the upcoming conference tournament. Those teams include Assumption, Curry (hold tiebreaker over Endicott), Geneseo, Hobart, Plymouth State, Trinity, and Utica. While these teams have earned their just rewards in home-ice advantage there have been some terrific … Read more
In the ultra-competitive conference that is NESCAC, Trinity has risen to the top of the conference standings and has a solid hold on first place entering the final two weekends of the regular season. After the Bantams sits Bowdoin and a surprising Tufts team that has continued to improve their play on the ice and … Read more
Some top seeds are already determined as the final weeks of the regular season play out, but in many other conferences, the battles from top to bottom are still on the line to determine the top seed, home-ice berths and even qualification for the post-season. There is plenty to be motivated about with the remaining … Read more
The final weeks of the regular season are in full swing, and the action continues to be full of surprises with teams playing for much that is still on the line in most conferences. Hobart has clinched the regular season title in the NEHC and Plymouth State, despite their first loss in almost two full … Read more
Most remember that last year’s D-III Frozen Four was hosted by the CCC’s Endicott and also included the University of New England among the finalists. What people may not remember is that Curry, also out of the CCC, was also an NCAA tournament team that defeated Bowdoin in the first round before losing to eventual … Read more
Moving into February and for most conferences that means three weeks left in league action with the NEHC only having two weeks before the conference tournament begins. There is still a lot at stake in battles for playoff position and home-ice advantage so wins, points and tiebreakers are all part of the equation this time … Read more
There are statement wins of which we saw a few this weekend from Plattsburgh, Norwich, and Plymouth State and then there are the bigger statement sweeps as executed by Hobart, Curry, Utica, and Trinity. The upset bug continued with a big win from Nichols and a milestone win for coach Dean Fuller at Fitchburg State … Read more
While Plymouth State has a secure handle on first place in the MASCAC standings so far this season, there is a lot of battling amongst familiar opponents for playoff positions including coach Dean Fuller’s Fitchburg State Falcons who currently hold down third place on the leaderboard just two points behind Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Fuller has been a … Read more
The slate of games this week is crazy good when you consider not only the ranking implications but maybe more importantly the league and seeding outcomes relative to tiebreakers, and the all-important head-to-head competition. As February approaches the stakes are certainly higher and like the games, I need to build momentum with my picks as … Read more