Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
In a weekend where four of the top five in the national poll lose a game, I would say we are off to another tremendous start for D-III hockey in the 2023-24 campaign. Hobart, Adrian, Endicott, and the University of New England all lost on the opening weekend and to other ranked teams so it … Read more
Oh what a start to the season it was for the MSOE Raiders. They faced off against 15th-ranked team in the nation in Babson at home and dominated in a 4-1 win. Carson Jones scored the first goal of the night off a power play in the opening period but the Raiders went into the … Read more
For the four Independent teams in the east, the 2023-24 season will be the final one with that distinction as all four teams move to official conferences for the 2024-25 season among the many new league and conference alignments. Albertus Magnus will join the NEHC; Anna Maria and Rivier will be members of the MASCAC … Read more
Plymouth State was one of only two teams that finished their conference schedule undefeated last year (Utica was the other) on the way to the MASCAC championship. The Panthers have dominated the conference in recent years and will be trying to extend their six-year title streak as Plymouth State and Massachusetts-Dartmouth will be departing in … Read more
Not one but two CCC teams reached the Frozen Four hosted by Endicott last spring. The Gulls certainly have a strong desire to repeat as conference champions and take another shot at a national title while the University of New England continues to get closer and closer to the big prize at the end of … Read more
The first weekend of the 2023-24 D-III West hockey season is here. And we have a handful of ranked teams in action, headlined by a USCHO.com poll top 10 battle between Adrian and Utica. Dubuque also makes its debut in NCAA hockey. We’re picking seven games this week, and those aforementioned top 15 battles are … Read more
The St. Anselm Hawks ended their title drought last season with a dominating season in the NE-10. In a league where anything can happen and usually does, the Hawks best be prepared for a series of contenders in the six-team D-II league that often sees such familiarity create some crazy results on the ice. While … Read more
SUNYAC has seen the big three dominate league titles over the past decades with Plattsburgh, Oswego and Geneseo winning their fair share of conference glory. With Brockport and Geneseo scheduled to play in the UCHC next season and Canton joining the SUNYAC conference in earnest, the 2023-24 season is the last chance for every team … Read more
As another season of hockey gets underway in the NCHA, there is no doubt the conference is poised to have a big year. Adrian is the reigning national runner-up and has played in the title game the last two seasons, winning it all in 2021, while Aurora is once again among the top teams nationally. … Read more
When Hobart celebrated their first-ever national championship last spring head coach Mark Taylor noted they would love to be back this season with a chance to repeat especially for some key players that were unable to play last year due to injury. Those players are healthy and the challenge of the NEHC is right in … Read more
The UCHC was among the front runners in seeing changes for this season and even bigger ones for the 2024-25 season where the D-III hockey landscape will be dramatically different with the emergence of the MAC conference and the Little East conference. Misericordia will field its D-III hockey squad next season that enables the six … Read more
The MIAC is one of the more interesting leagues in D-III hockey. The usual contenders always seem to thrive but you never know who might emerge as a surprise team. And the battle for conference tournament spots? That always seems to be tight right up through the last weekend of the season. A year ago, … Read more
No real surprise at the top in the WIAC as Wisconsin-Stevens Point skates into the new season as the favorite. The Pointers won their 16th regular-season conference crown last year and also claimed the Commissioner’s Cup. That doesn’t mean they won’t have their work cut out for them on the road to another title. Wisconsin-Eau … Read more
It’s that time of the year again, Division III hockey, specifically, D-III Women’s hockey is back and looking stronger than ever in nearly all facets. Here on the eastern front, we look forward to another fun and competitive year where currently, it’s anyone’s game, not simply a handful of teams anymore. Also in this article, … Read more
Two current and one former NCAA women’s hockey goalies have made history in the past few months. Minnesota Duluth’s Ève Gascon and Cornell’s Annelies Bergmann, both rookies this season, and Maine alumna Mariah Fujimagari have each broken barriers across hockey, paving the way for even more opportunities for women and girls in the future. Gascon … Read more
It’s that time of the year again, Division III hockey, specifically, D-III Women’s hockey is back and looking stronger than ever in nearly all facets. Last year we saw our first-ever west-region team Gustavus Adolphus take home their first-ever NCAA title in Amherst, MA. Their road to the title involved a two-overtime 3-2 victory over … Read more
In a season where multiple injuries plagued the defending national champions from Adrian, senior Matus Spodniak stood tall as a reliable and productive player that helped the Bulldogs reach the national championship game for a second consecutive season. The senior from Slovakia produced thirty goals and twenty-eight assists for 58 points in leading Adrian through … Read more
The attainment of something elusive and something new were the hallmarks of the 2022-2023 season for Hobart College head coach Mark Taylor. Extending his team’s current streak to eight consecutive NCAA appearances, the Statesmen won their first national title with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Adrian to finish a 29-2-0 season that also included … Read more
In D-III where goaltending exceled this past season as well as in the NEHC conference where All-American caliber goaltenders are the competitive ante, Damon Beaver arrived as a first year at Hobart and all he did was backstop the Statesmen to their first ever national championship. Beaver played in 20 games and started 18 for … Read more
The just completed D-III season showcased an immensely competitive landscape across each of the regions and conferences with outstanding team performances and individual efforts. Across the board, the level of competitiveness was on display each and every week with a large number of continuous upsets and fluctuations weekly in the standings and national polls. The … Read more