Scott BiggarIn its first game of the year, Hobart came out flying and put a lot of pressure on the Potsdam net, only to see the Bears, in their fourth game, weather the storm on the way to a 4-0 victory. “We expected that [effort] being it is their first game,” said Potsdam coach Glenn Thomaris. … Read more
What should have been a competitive meeting between Eastern and Western teams was marred by a severe case of over-officiating Saturday night. It started with a protocol penalty against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, assessed for coming out late for warmups. Five bench minors later, all whistled against Eau Claire, left the fans shaking their collective heads. RIT … Read more
Passing was RIT’s forte Friday. The Tigers were able to weave the puck across the slot of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, setting up several goals. Despite physical play in a competitive first period, RIT built a lead through the second period to secure the game. The Tigers scored eight unanswered goals to take away a 9-1 victory. … Read more
RIT tried to work off some of the summer rust, using Canadian school St. Clair as a warmup in a season-opening exhibition. The Tigers showed some rust, and some strong play, as they defeated St. Clair 6-3 to start the season off on a winning note. One of the reasons NCAA coaches schedule early-season exhibitions … Read more
It seems like every preseason RIT fans are talking about losing an All-American to graduation. Jamie Morris, Pat Staerker, Steve Toll. A look at the ’02-’03 preseason shows nothing different, as RIT tries to find a way to replace three-time first-team All-American and 2002 AHCA College Division Player of the Year Jerry Galway. “Obviously Galway … Read more
This year is when life gets interesting for the Manhattanville hockey team, its coach Keith Levinthal, and its fans. Manhattanville’s fourth recruiting class enters this year as freshmen. Over the past three years, the team has had a taste of some success and some frustrations. The Valiants reached the ECAC West championship game once (2000), … Read more
It has been five long years since the Soaring Eagles have been invited to the NCAA tournament. Elmira’s last trip to the Big Dance was in the ’96-’97 season, when they lost a two game series to St. Johns in the quarterfinals. That ties the longest such stretch in school history, which first occurred back … Read more
Last year was a learning experience for the Pioneers, as they started from nothing and quickly built a team people noticed. Gary Heenan’s theme last season was that his team of freshmen needed to gain maturity and learn to play like sophomores and juniors in order to achieve their goal of making the playoffs. The … Read more
Not long ago, the ECAC West was in trouble. Left with a barely-functional membership of four, the league’s future was cloudy. Those days are past now. With a solid base to build on, the conference’s partisans look forward to a healthy 2002-03 season. Scott Biggar takes us onto the ice.
Last year was Neumann’s rookie season in the ECAC West. After playing an independent Division III schedule for three seasons, the Knights stepped into league play and received an eye-opening reception, getting thoroughly thumped in most of their contests. “It couldn’t get any worse than last year,” said Neumann coach Nick Russo. “I say that, … Read more
Adding depth is the name of the game this year for Hobart. The Statesmen played all of last season with only 14 forwards and six defensemen. Luckily for Hobart, the team didn’t suffer a lot of injuries during the season, and made it through without the bench shrinking too much. Head coach Mark Taylor is … Read more
A major proposal to have teams play each other three times per season starting in 2003-2004 was struck down by ECAC West athletic directors.
Scott Biggar looks back on another ECAC West season, and let’s us know what we might expect for next year.
Norwich opened up a four-goal lead and held off a resurgent Middlebury squad to advance to the 2002 D-III finals with a 5-2 win on the Panthers’ home ice.
It’s all Vermont, all the time in the second game of the Division III Frozen Four semifinals, as intrastate rivals Middlebury and Norwich face off. Scott Biggar previews the clash.
After playing RIT to two straight ties, Plattsburgh triumphed over the Tigers 1-0 in the mini-game, advancing the Cardinals into the NCAA Division III Frozen Four to defend their 2001 NCAA championship. “To get back to the Final Four, we had to climb a lot of mountains this season,” said Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery. The … Read more
RIT came back from deficits twice to tie Plattsburgh during this NCAA Quarterfinal contest, once from a two-goal deficit and once when the Tigers were down by a single goal. Overtime was a wild affair but neither team could get the puck past the stellar goaltending and the game ended in a 4-4 tie. Neither … Read more
Plattsburgh, the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Region, is set to square off at No. 2 East Seed RIT in a two-game, mini-game NCAA Quarterfinal Series. These two teams met in the NCAA’s last year, when Plattsburgh defeated RIT 6-2 to win the 2001 NCAA Championship. However, both coaches are downplaying the ‘Rematch’ aspect … Read more
It may be cliched, but you expect thrilling finishes whenever RIT and Elmira play. And once again, it came down to a thrilling end as RIT defeated Elmira 2-1 to win the ECAC West championship Saturday.
Freshman Jarrett Konkle tallied two goals and an assist to help push Elmira into the ECAC West championship game Friday. The Soaring Eagles took a 4-3 comeback win over Manhattanville.