Scott BiggarJunior Kevin Willer has improved each season of his college career, and he has continued that this season, leading Elmira in goals with 12 and is third in assists with 11. This compares to the 15 goals and 19 assists he tallied all of last season. Willer scored both goals in Elmira’s 2-2 tie last … Read more
Elmira renewed its long-standing, and heated at times, rivalry with Plattsburgh this past Saturday. My compatriot Russell Jaslow and I both picked Plattsburgh to prevail, but Elmira scored an extra-attacker goal with 1:21 remaining in the game to earn a hard-fought 2-2 tie. “It was a great game back and forth to watch,” said Elmira … Read more
After a very successful holiday tournament season, the ECAC West hits the heart of its non-conference play over the next three weeks. Each of these games will be crucial for tournament selection at the end of the season, so the teams can’t let up at all. This is the last week of midweek games as … Read more
Hobart hit the road on December 30, straight up Route 14 to the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic tournament. The Statesmen opened the tournament against Wisconsin-Stevens Point, giving them a rare opportunity to measure themselves against a respected Western team. Despite being outshot 18-7 in the first period, Stevens Point built a 2-1 lead in … Read more
The Hobart Statesmen, ranked No. 15 in this week’s USCHO.com Division III men’s poll, scored three goals in a 48-second span in the second period to take control of Tuesday night’s game against the Brockport Golden Eagles, winning 5-2. “The first period went well for us but then we fell asleep for 48 seconds and … Read more
The ECAC West amassed a nice collection of hardware during holiday tournaments. A pair of first place trophies and a second place one have been added to the shelves at three of the schools. Manhattanville defeated a pair of nationally ranked teams to take the title in the Northfield Bank Tournament at Norwich. The Valiants … Read more
Nothing official has come out of the SUNYAC yet from last week’s winter meetings concerning Utica’s application to join the league. Unofficial sources seem to indicate that the application was tabled for more information, with the final vote deferred until the league’s spring athletic director’s meeting in May. Over the next few months, the SUNYAC … Read more
A month ago, the inter-conference rivalry between the ECAC West and the SUNYAC was a tight race, with each league winning almost exactly half of the games. Looking back over the past ten years, the ECAC West has won the rivalry nine times, but with the mid-to-lower tier SUNYAC teams improving early this season, it … Read more
The big games this week involve Oswego against Utica and Hobart. So far, the Lakers have had their way with ECAC West teams, dropping Elmira twice and Utica once. Utica gets another shot at Oswego on Friday night and then Hobart plays the Lakers at home on Friday. Can the ECAC West hand the No. … Read more
The last time Utica defeated Manhattanville in league play was February 2, 2008. The Valiants have won seven straight since then but the streak was broken last Friday in a game dominated by special teams. The Pioneers won 5-3 by scoring three power-play goals, a four-on-four goal, and an empty-netter at the end. “It’s been … Read more
The Hobart Statesmen are television stars. Hobart’s game at Potsdam last Saturday was televised live in central New York by Time Warner cable and tape delay in the Rochester area. Hobart got behind by a Bears’ goal just over three minutes into the game. But the Statesmen got things rolling in the second period when … Read more
The five teams left in the league have cloudy futures, and one has applied elsewhere. Scott Biggar reports.
Things picked up (literally) last week for my weekly picks. It was a good week of turkey and hockey fun but now the crazy holiday season is upon us. The premier games this week are the two league contests, one each on Friday and Saturday. If you are in central or western New York and … Read more
Most teams have played the first third of their season already and certain things are now becoming very clear. First is that the teams in the ECAC West are very evenly matched from top to bottom. So little separates the skill of the players and the preparation of the coaching staffs that the old proverb … Read more
Elmira headed up to the Skidmore Invitational last weekend for what was hoped to be a feel good weekend. The Soaring Eagles took on Southern Maine in the opening round on Saturday and quickly fell behind 2-0 in the first period. Perhaps the Eagles had too much turkey on Thursday? Fortunately for Elmira, they got … Read more
Last week didn’t go so well for my picks. I had one of my very few ever losing weeks, going 2-3 on the weekend. I certainly didn’t see the thumping that Neumann put on Manhattanville nor the troubles Hobart would have with Geneseo. Last Week: 2-3 Overall: 5-4 Now it is on to Turkey Day. … Read more
Neumann took its physical style of hockey into The Aud last Friday night against a Utica team that historically has looked forward to mixing it up in the corners. But a more experienced group of Knights gave some lessons to the a much younger Utica team and built a 3-1 lead by early in the … Read more
I went 3-1 last with my picks last weekend. My lone loss was a big one as Hobart whipped up on Neumann. Since Elmira tied Curry, that game was a push. I throw out ties from the win/loss calculation so I’m off to a respectable .750 percentage after one week. {predicted winners bolded} Friday, November … Read more
Mixing It Up With five strong teams in the conference, an easy prediction before the season was that the teams would beat each other up in the standings. The early results are reinforcing that feeling. Elmira holds a slim lead as the only team to rack up two wins. The other four teams are all … Read more
The game of the week between Elmira and Neumann lived up to all expectations. It was a closely played affair that Neumann came out on top of 1-0. “Both teams played pretty well and had quite a few chances,” said Neumann coach Dominick Dawes. “Both goalies played well. Our team got that extra bit of … Read more