Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
This overtime thing isn’t anything new for St. Norbert. Which is why the Green Knights responded to the pressure of an OT game in the NCAA tournament Saturday night. Instead, the sixth-ranked team in the nation in the DCU/USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll remained poised, needing less than a minute of extra hockey seal … Read more
The action of the first-round games in the NCAA tournament did not disappoint in any way shape or form in the first D-III national tournament played in three years. If you were a wise predictor, and went with all of the home teams, you went 4-0 on the weekend as the higher seeds managed to … Read more
Two years ago this week hope for an NCAA tournament in NCAA Division III hockey was dashed as the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up and shut down the sports world. We wondered when sports would return and when life would get back to normal. Last season we saw some normalcy. Sort of. Hockey teams in Division … Read more
It is finally here! After an absence of two seasons, the D-III NCAA Tournament is back and what a great field of 12 teams that will contend for the title. The bracket did seem pretty straight forward this time around and the Selection Committee did a great job in keeping the integrity of the top … Read more
It was a long time coming but the Utica Pioneers celebrated their UCHC championship win with over 3000 excited fans that filled the Utica Memorial Auditorium for the first time in a very long time. In a season where the program has matched or set a new standard with statistics like wins, there is just … Read more
With Geneseo’s fourth consecutive SUNYAC title wrapped up with a 6-1 win over Oswego last weekend, senior forward Dan Bosio became the first Knight in program history to win titles in all four of his seasons as a player. While his play on the ice has spoken volumes for the Knights all season long, Bosio … Read more
While the body of work included wins over other NCAA tournament teams like Geneseo and Babson, Elmira finds a very familiar opponent from their current conference and dating back to the days of the old ECAC West in Saturday’s first round NCAA matchup. It’s their biggest and oldest rival, Hobart on the schedule and the … Read more
The Hobart Statesmen have established a new record for consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament with their seventh coming this year on an at-large bid. While the consistency has been remarkable, Hobart is looking to payoff their place in the tournament with a national championship and their coach Mark Taylor knows how hard that is … Read more
The NESCAC champions from Trinity are riding an eight game win streak to close out the regular season and conference tournament. During the NESCAC playoffs, the Bantams surrendered just one goal in three games playing stifling defense and scoring early and opportunistically to advance into the NCAA tournament. The early part of the season did … Read more
With three teams from the NEHC in the NCAA tournament, the quality of the league overall and schedule of tough games found every weekend tests the resolve of every team. The conference champions from Babson feel like they are battle-tested and appreciate the opportunity to take the next step in the 12-team field selected for … Read more
For the fifth time in program history, the Plymouth State Panthers will play an opening round NCAA game in the 2022 tournament bracket looking for their first win on the national stage. With a core group of returning seniors and graduate students, PSU won their third consecutive MASCAC title to earn the conference auto-bid and … Read more
After Saturday’s thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Endicott to win the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), the University of New England enters the first round of the D-III NCAA tournament with a lot of momentum and excitement as they will host Plymouth State on Saturday in first round action. The Nor’easters have been hot at the … Read more
Junior forward Evan Shoemaker had a feeling this season could be special for St. Olaf. To those on the outside of the program, that didn’t seem possible. Not for a team that played only two games a year ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic and had won a total of four games the year before … Read more
The prize was there for all to see and no matter how your team got to the semifinals or finals of the conference tournament, there was everything to play for in this ultimate week of conference action. So, congratulations to Assumption, Babson, Geneseo, Plymouth State, Trinity, University of New England and Utica who played great … Read more
Currently standing at No. 2 in the nation, the 24-2-1 (17-0-1 in conference play) Utica Pioneers have already established a new threshold for wins in a season but look to add so much more over the upcoming weeks. This Saturday, the Pioneers host the No. 8 ranked Wilkes Colonels for the UCHC championship – the … Read more
All I can say about last week is, it probably reflected the incredible parity, across all of the teams and conferences. This is exactly what you want in the playoffs – teams needing to go out an earn the win. My picks at 9-10-0 (.474) last week mirrored the stunning results – took too many … Read more
The best thing about playoff hockey is you never really know what is going to happen. How about a No. 1 seed, three No. 2 seeds and four No. 3 seeds all being dispatched from their conference tournaments this week? The NEHC championship is going to be hosted by the No. 4 seed (Babson) playing … Read more
Conference tournament action is in full swing for all three leagues in the west region of NCAA Division III hockey. The Bulldogs and Green Knights could be on a collision course to meet in the NCHA final once again, though Trine and Aurora will take aim at upsets. Meanwhile, Augsburg begins its quest for a … Read more
After playing eleven games in 22 days, where they had lost just one game, the young Stevenson Mustangs were focused on the UCHC playoffs and a chance to get back to the championship game where they lost last season to Elmira in the only conference contested for title in the East. This year’s team has … Read more
If last week was any kind of true indicator for what we are going to see in the playoffs across the region, then the excitement and drama level may hit an all-time high for the D-II/III action on the ice in the playoffs. Overtime games were already abundant last week and there is no higher … Read more