Scott BiggarThe Magic Ingredient When Elmira skated off the ice after warm-ups for last Saturday’s NCAA Quarterfinal game against Trinity, the packed house of fans were treated to quite the surprise as the players removed their helmets. The Soaring Eagles players were sporting Mohawk style haircuts. “All of our players got them,†said Elmira coach Tim … Read more
The No. 3 seed Air Force Falcons (20-11-6) used a three-goal outburst in the second period to take complete control of the Atlantic Hockey semifinal game against the No. 2 seed RIT Tigers (19-12-6). Despite a highly partisan RIT crowd of over 3900 strong, the Falcons defeated the Tigers 5-0 to move on to the … Read more
For the second straight night, it took overtime to decide the Atlantic Hockey Association Quarterfinal game between the RIT Tigers (19-11-6) and the Holy Cross Crusaders (10-19-7). Matt Smith scored a hat trick, including the game winner 4:17 into overtime, for the second game in a row to give RIT the 5-4 victory and send … Read more
No. 1 Elmira Soaring Eagles vs. No. 2 Manhattanville Valiants So far, the ECAC West playoffs have gone as scripted, with the higher seeded team winning all three games. Elmira and Manhattanville now get to play in the finals this Saturday at the Thunderdomes to see who will take home the league title. Elmira defeated … Read more
For the second straight night, the RIT Tigers used a pair of goals spanning the late second and early third period to take control of the game against the Bentley Falcons. Al Mazur scored a power play goal at 16:45 and Anton Kharin tallied his second goal of the game at 1:44 of the third … Read more
The RIT Tigers (16-11-6) scored a goal late in the second period and chipped in another early in the third to take control of the game and defeat the Bentley Falcons (9-18-6) by a score of 5-2. “We had a lot of scoring opportunities in the second period that we didn’t put home, and we … Read more
The regular season is over, and playoff hockey is in the air throughout Division III. The ECAC West is no exception. Hobart defeated Neumann 3-2 on Wednesday to keep their season alive. Next up is the semifinal round this Saturday with games hosted by Elmira and Manhattanville. No. 1 Elmira Soaring Eagles vs. No. 4 … Read more
The Hobart Statesmen defeated the Neumann Knights by a 3-2 score to win the ECAC West Play-In game. With the win, Hobart moves on to meet Elmira in the Semi-final round on March 1. Up and down play marked the first 10 minutes of the opening period as the teams vied for an advantage. Hobart … Read more
Elmira Clinches Regular Season Title With a three point series against Manhattanville last weekend, Elmira secured the regular season title. But it certainly wasn’t easy, and started out with a rocky game on Friday. Manhattanville’s Vinny Ciardullo scored on a turnover at center ice midway through the first period, and the Valiants’ trap gave the … Read more
It was ‘Camouflage Night at the Cooler,’ as the Hobart Statesmen (15-6-1) hosted the Utica Pioneers (13-8-1). Utica scored four unanswered goals during the last period and a half of the game to skate away with a 5-3 victory. “I was proud of our team because we didn’t give up down 3-1,” said Utica coach … Read more
And Down The Stretch They Come There are just two weeks to go in the regular season of the ECAC West and the playoff race has tightened up. Two teams have a shot at the top, while three other teams are vying for home ice. Let’s take a team-by-team look around the league and see … Read more
An emotional game between the Canisius Golden Griffins and the RIT Tigers finally overflowed at 12:33 of the third period as the referees failed to control the players for most of the game. A delayed penalty against Canisius erupted into a scrum between all the players on the ice. An extra Canisius player came off … Read more
A Special Senior Night As the season hits the final stretch in February, the usual litany of end-of-season events starts to be held. One of those is Senior Night, where each school celebrates its graduating class, saying a tearful farewell to the student-athletes they have gotten to know so well. Neumann started off the tradition … Read more
The RIT Tigers (13-10-4) established an early lead with a goal just fifty five seconds into the game on the way to a 5-2 victory over the AIC Yellow Jackets (6-16-4). However, the game was closer than the score implied, as the Tigers only held a slim 3-2 lead with less than three minutes remaining … Read more
Combine rock solid goaltending, strong defensive play, and opportunistic goals and you have the perfect plan for a road team. Execute that plan flawlessly and a tenth place team can shutout a league leader at home for the first time in over fifteen years. That is exactly what the AIC Yellow Jackets (6-15-4) did to … Read more
To Have A Humanitarian Over the years, I have highlighted the community outreach in the ECAC West in this column. Every team has programs to get the players out of the rinks and into the communities helping on numerous community service projects. Now, three programs have been recognized on a national level for the efforts … Read more
After thirty years of community members, college players, and fans battling the elements at the Geneva Recreation Complex, the rink has finally been enclosed. Officials from Hobart College and the Geneva community gathered to celebrate prior to this afternoon’s game between the Hobart Statesmen (13-5) and the Manhattanville Valiants (13-3-1). Unfortunately for the Hobart fans, … Read more
Getting Your Money’s Worth Hobart and Neumann played a pair of wild games last weekend in Aston, PA that provide a glimpse of the kind of hockey that fans can expect in the ECAC West down the stretch. Friday’s contest saw Neumann start out on a tear, scoring four goals in the first 6:11 of … Read more
The RIT Tigers (11-8-3) scored three goals in the third period to steal a 4-2 victory from the Sacred Heart Pioneers (8-10-3). Sacred Heart carried a 2-1 lead into the third, but a goal by sophomore Stevan Matic just over four minutes in erased the deficit, and the Tigers dominated play during the remainder of … Read more
With most ECAC West teams winding up their non-league games and heading back into league play this weekend, it is time for my annual mid-season review. The first half of the season has been a wild ride, with surprises, disappointment, and some incredible hockey. The ECAC West has done an outstanding job in the non-conference … Read more