Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
While no one should be surprised that Utica again sits atop the current UCHC standings after eight games, the second-place team, just one point in arrears is a new challenger in Alvernia University. The Golden Wolves in just their second season are off to a great start going 5-1-0 in UCHC play and 6-1-1 overall … Read more
We had a great weekend of Women’s D-III hockey out East, including arguably the best tournament each year, the Panther/Cardinal Classic! To go along with that, one team headed out West for a non-conference matchup, and we also had the annual Codfish Bowl! Lots to cover from this past weekend on the eastern front and … Read more
What a difference one week can make for a team – just look at the Soaring Eagles from Elmira who took down No. 5 Geneseo on Tuesday and then No. 7 Oswego on Friday and No. 3 Utica on Saturday to capture the Utica Thanksgiving tournament and knock the Pioneers from the ranks of … Read more
Parker Gnos is only a freshman. But that didn’t matter Saturday at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica. Gnos came through the biggest goal of his collegiate career so far, scoring with a little over 11 minutes remaining to put the Johnnies up for good in their battle with No. 8 Oswego. Matt DeRosa added … Read more
The Thanksgiving food has been eaten. And now it’s time for hockey. Several games are on tap this holiday weekend, including a two-game series between nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire and St. Norbert. Can’t beat a matchup like that this early in the season. And two MIAC teams will square off against top five teams in … Read more
This past week on the western front of women’s D-III hockey we saw the state of Wisconsin offer us a solid week! It started with an upset in De Pere, then a top-10 matchup in Eau Claire between the top-two WIAC rivals. We also look at Minnesota, as a surprising team is brewing! Finally, if … Read more
On this Thanksgiving day be thankful for NCAA Division III hockey in the west region. It was three years ago that there was no hockey at this time of the year, the grip of the pandemic still very much an issue. But here we are, about a month into the season and it’s been entertaining … Read more
After opening the season with a 1-2-0 record, the Anna Maria College AmCats have won four games in their last five, including a 4-1 win over previously unbeaten and nationally ranked Plymouth State from D-III and Saturday’s 4-2 win over D-I Stonehill. Two more wins over Lebanon Valley had AMC at 5-2-0 prior to Tuesday’s … Read more
We entered week 4 with some intriguing matchups on the eastern front, all in anticipation of the massive Thanksgiving tournaments in the crosshairs. We also finally got to see the late-blooming NESCAC begin its season this past weekend, the deepest conference in women’s D3 hockey. Now we’re finally in the thick of things, NESCAC play … Read more
Aurora produced the win of the weekend and made a little history in the process. The Spartans had never beaten Adrian on the ice, and it looked as if it might stay that way after losing 3-2 on Friday to the second-ranked Bulldogs. Hope for a win remained dim on Saturday after the Bulldogs jumped … Read more
Always the last conference to kick off its season, the NESCAC is certainly among the conferences that appear to have the greatest competitive mix of teams from top to bottom and this year should see that small gap across the ten teams be even smaller than years past based on simply the talent on each … Read more
It’s a week before Thanksgiving and hockey fans are thankful another weekend of games is on tap. Conference play headlines the action out west and that always makes for interesting games, including a huge NCHA showdown between Adrian and Aurora. Here’s a look at some of the predictions for the weekend ahead. MIAC Friday and … Read more
Denver plays a two-game series at home against Omaha beginning Friday (File photo: Meg Kelly).
It’s almost time for those stacked Thanksgiving weekend tournaments where we get to see some top-tier non-conference play between ranked opponents. This past week featured some expected results as well as some surprises, but for the most part, everyone held their head, and the ranked teams handled their business out west. MIAC The MIAC is … Read more
What you know about Matt Fitzgerald is that he is a pretty good goalie, playing the position for the Concordia Cobbers. What you might not know is that Fitzgerald used to play baseball, spending most of his younger days in the sport. “My dad wanted me to have time away from the rink, to do … Read more
Among the eleven new coach announcements for D-III men’s hockey teams in the East this year, there were three that are related to new programs starting play this year or next. Those included Jeremiah Ketts at MCLA, Kevin Cole at Misericordia and Bobby Rodrigue at Keene State. John MacInnis steps into the large shoes left … Read more
Week 4 out East brought us some surprises no doubt, but it seemed like nothing ranked-team wise was affected as the polls stayed relatively the same from last week. However, we had some matchups I said to keep an eye on, which turned out to be great ones, along with some other conference-play action! CCC … Read more
From Tuesday night right through Saturday afternoon, this week’s D-III men’s hockey action saw unbeatens toppled, multiple ranked teams fall and overtime thrillers sprinkled in for more dramatic effect for the scoreboard watchers everywhere. As one winning coach texted, “Same kids, same team, same coach – different outcomes and everything appears different.” Enjoy the … Read more
A little history was made over the weekend for nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point as it won the 700th game in the modern era of the program. The No. 13 Pointers did it with a 5-2 win over Saint Mary’s on Friday and then capped things off with a hard-fought 4-3 win in overtime against St. … Read more
Here’s a new semi-weekly column of my weekend game picks for certain games. I had to take a play from Tim Costello‘s playbook once again, bringing it to the Women’s D-III side of things! Overall record 0-0 Friday: Oswego at Morrisville I think this game will be closer than some expect. Oswego enters with a … Read more