Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
It’s crunch time! What it’s only mid-January but that means teams are about a month away from the end of the regular season and it is time to start playing great hockey. While there are still a number of weekly postponements, I am really needing to step it up in the games that are being … Read more
Non-conference action along with big matchups in conference play dominated the weekend. The ranked teams continued to cruise with Geneseo, Endicott, Elmira, Norwich and Endicott all enjoying winning weekend play. Elsewhere Colby pulled off a pair of wins in NESCAC and Curry pulled off a sweep of games with Wentworth. Here’s the weekend wrap-up: CCC … Read more
COVID impacts aside – yes, the scheduling has been challenging but there have also been some great games early in 2022 to get excited about as conference play returns across the region. While there continues to be a high number of postponements, I am starting to pick reasonably well in the games that are being … Read more
A look at the standings in the NEHC finds Hobart leading the way with a 7-0-1 record and an overall record of 11-2-1. Heady numbers for those looking at the data but not so much for head coach Mark Taylor and his staff. The focus for all continues to be around improving the team game, … Read more
As my fellow writer covering D-III men’s hockey, Brian Lester noted, the word of the season on the schedule has been and continues to be ”postponement.” Again, this weekend there were a host of games postponed, tournaments reconfigured, and adjustments made to new opponents based on changes in teams’ availability. If nothing else the teams … Read more
Postponed has become a familiar word in the world of college athletics in the early days of 2022, and the west region of NCAA Division III hockey is not immune to it. The more we hope for normalcy, the further we seem to get away from it as the COVID-19 pandemic rolls on into its … Read more
It is just the first weekend in the New Year – technically the second weekend – and there are still some great tournaments happening along with some battles among ranked teams to pick from this week. There was a high number of postponements among games I picked in tournament action, but I finished on the … Read more
A look at the SUNYAC standings typically finds some usual suspects leading the way year after year. Geneseo, Oswego and Plattsburgh have long been the dominant teams in the conference, but this year sees an interloper sitting in second place at the semester break. Cortland finished conference play at 5-2-1 in the first-half including a … Read more
Here is hoping for a great 2022 – and not 2020-too! The holiday tournament season saw COVID protocol challenges in abundance which outright canceled Norwich’s Northfield Bank tournament and took one team out of play in both the Middlebury Classic as well as the 56th annual Codfish Bowl. The Pathfinder Bank tournament at Oswego was … Read more
The New Year Holiday always brings D-III tournament action, and this year finds some interesting fields including the University of Rhode Island in the Codfish Bowl and Augsburg traveling east to play against Oswego. Not sure how players have stayed fit and kept their edge over Christmas so it will be a challenge to pick … Read more
After starting the season 8-0-1, new head coach Peter Roundy saw his Colonels drop their final two games before the semester break to Endicott and Salve Regina on the road. Despite the losses to end the first half, there is a lot to be excited about with the Curry program in a very competitive Commonwealth … Read more
Last season ended with UW-Superior as the champion of the WIAC. With the arrival of the midway point of the season, the Yellowjackets find themselves in first place in the conference standings. UW-Superior is 6-4-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the WIAC, holding down first place by two points (13-11) over UW-Stevens Point and UW-River Falls. … Read more
As the first season of the new-look CCHA hits its halfway point, I can’t help but notice that things in the league are, so far, going about as expected. Sure, maybe there have been a few surprises – I don’t think anyone had Northern Michigan sweeping Minnesota Duluth on their bingo card – but for … Read more
Well Santa, it has been a while since I wrote one of these on behalf of all good young men playing their hearts out on the ice in D-III East men’s hockey action. I am sure that you, Mrs. Claus and all of the elves have thoroughly enjoyed the bi-weekly testing, vaccinations, boosters and North … Read more
By any measure, the Massachusetts men’s hockey team has turned in a successful defense (so far) of its NCAA championship season from last year. The Minutemen are 9-4-2 overall, ranked No. 12 in the most recent DCU/USCHO.com Division I poll, are second in Hockey East with a 7-2-2 record and — perhaps most importantly — … Read more
The first half the ECAC Hockey season concludes on Friday when Dartmouth travels to take on Hockey East’s Merrimack. While the results on the ice haven’t been there for many of the league’s teams – eight schools enter the break with an overall record of .500 of worse – the fact all 12 conference members … Read more
There are no surprises atop the MIAC as the first half comes to a close. Saint John’s and Augsburg have established themselves as the top two teams in the league at the moment. The Johnnies have won their last six while the Auggies have won two in a row and nine of their first 10 … Read more
It hasn’t quite been a return to normal in college hockey this season, because “normal” has been difficult to define. But Atlantic Hockey has managed to play every league game scheduled, in front of fans, so that’s something to be grateful for. Let’s take a look at where things stand at roughly the halfway point … Read more
Chances are, you have gone to the Internet for tips on all sorts of activities. Social media platforms, in particular, are chock-full with videos that provide inspiration. In that way, at least, hockey players are just like the rest of us. Western Michigan fifth-year forward Ethen Frank had a remarkable first half of the season … Read more
It may not get the coverage of similar matchups in Minnesota, Michigan or Massachusetts, but Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik is excited to renew the in-state rivalry between Ohio State and Bowling Green this weekend. In one of the few contests across the country this weekend, the Buckeyes and Falcons will play a home-and-home series … Read more