Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
Nearly a month into the season, we’ve learned quite a bit about the West region of NCAA Division III hockey. Some things haven’t changed haven’t changed when it comes to teams to keep an eye on, but there have also been a few surprises. As you settle in for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, sit back … Read more
Happy Thanksgiving! The Thanksgiving Holiday weekend always brings great tournament action and some intriguing non-conference matchups to delight the D-III hockey fan in all of us. Hardware is on the line so look for teams to put it all on the line to claim tournament glory and bragging rights. Last week my picks were solid … Read more
The 31st edition of the FISU World University Games (WUG) is scheduled to take place in Lake Placid, NY in January 2023. The winter games have not been contested since 2019 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia as the 2021 edition scheduled for Lucerne, Switzerland were canceled due to COVID-19. This year for the first time, the USA … Read more
Ok, let’s officially declare the world of D-III hockey wide open in the east as we continue to see upsets and still just a few teams able to connect on the 2-0 weekend results. The big stories saw Oswego winning at Geneseo for the first time since 2018 and the Knights suffering back-to-back losses for … Read more
(1) Minnesota at (3) Wisconsin The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie with the Gophers taking an extra point in the WCHA standings with their shootout win courtesy of Abbey Murphy. Vivian Jungels had the Badgers up 1-0 midway through the first and it looked like they’d double that, but the goal was overturned … Read more
While new coach Ben Guite takes over the helm at Bowdoin College this season, he and the rest of the coaches in the conference are all wondering how to beat Trinity for the conference title. The Bantams have appeared in the last six contested title games, winning four including last season. Nothing can be taken … Read more
It’s straight up conference play this coming weekend throughout the west region of NCAA Division III hockey. In the MIAC, one of the highlights is St. Scholastica’s series with Saint John’s. Both teams are unbeaten in WIAC play. UW-Stout is off to a hot start and faces two tough tests while Adrian hits the road … Read more
Justin Kelley is back in the MIAC, where he spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career when St. Thomas was still a member of it before the program transitioned to Division I. Now, he’s playing for the Bethel Royals and having success. Kelley is glad to to back. “It’s been really cool,” Kelley … Read more
Take a look at Providence’s last seven games and you’ll see something of a microcosm of the state of the game of women’s college hockey. After losing 4-1 to then #6 Northeastern, they came back to tie the Huskies the next day before losing the shootout. The next weekend Providence needed overtime to defeat Boston … Read more
Finally, a few things to check the box on this season! NESCAC opening their season, check. Picking a Thursday slate of games correctly, check. Beating a 70% success rate on picks, check. It is after all, only week number four of the season but based on the regular upsets, weekend splits in series with no … Read more
The number of unbeaten teams continues to fall and it took a Herculean effort in the final minute of play and overtime for Hobart to stay that way on Friday against a determined Buffalo State squad. The University of New England and Norwich both suffered their first losses and overall, the level of play … Read more
After a tough overtime loss to Chatham to open the season, the Skidmore Thoroughbreds have raced out to a four-game winning streak including last weekend’s upset of Geneseo. Skidmore has outscored their opponents by a 17-6 margin in that span including surrendering just one goal in wins over Chatham, Wentworth, and SUNY-Canton. With the start … Read more
Practice was cut short the other day for the reigning national champion Adrian men’s hockey team. Head coach Adam Krug demands a lot of his team, and on this afternoon, the Bulldogs just aren’t at the level they need to be at. “We had a bad day of practice, and after the second drill, I … Read more
Well, it is week three of the season and while some early power teams have emerged, last week’s results and my picks clearly showed that every game is up for grabs. I finished last week with a sub-par performance going 4-6-0 (.400) which puts the season total at 10-10-2 (.500). That rate is coin flip … Read more
A lot of excitement this weekend with overtime games, ranked teams winning close games and losing close games as well as some exciting conference play kicking off to delight fans across each battle in league play. Skidmore pulled the upset of the weekend downing No. 2 ranked Geneseo on the strength of four power play … Read more
Dylan Rallis said that when the offseason began he talked with his coaches about what he could to do play his role in helping the the UW-Stout hockey team be a much-improved squad in 2022-23. It came down to Rallis not putting a ton of pressure on himself and working hard to be the best … Read more
The Quinnipiac Bobcats have won nine straight games to open the season and have moved up to #4 in the national polls – their highest-ever ranking – after a pair of impressive weekend wins over Cornell and Princeton. The Bobcats looked to be in a great position heading into this season, returning much of the … Read more
Last year’s Plymouth State team won the MASCAC conference again while scoring 117 goals in 27 games through the first round of the NCAA tournament. The 4.3 goals per game was amongst the leaders in the country but with the departures of JR Barone and Peter Laviolette, there are expectations that the output will be … Read more
The week two matchups bring a lot of conference intrigue along with teams looking to get on track after a tough set of opening games. Last week I opened the season with a 6-4-2 record (.583) which is above average but not stellar by any standard. This week sees some pivotal early season games in … Read more
Well, that was a lot of excitement stuffed into the first weekend of competitive play in D-III action. Ranked teams won and lost and maybe with that growing trend I will stop calling games upsets seeing how the competition level across all D-III continues to get better and better. There were some thrilling overtime games … Read more