Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
With the final two Division III conferences kicking off their campaigns, already there are some surprises. Some teams have already surpassed expectations, others who have fallen short. But there is the holiday break coming and then the grind of January and February that will determine where everyone lines up for the playoffs. So if your … Read more
Adjusting In an unusual Saturday/Sunday schedule, Manhattanville lost its first two games of the year, both in non-conference play. The Valiants dropped their first contest to Curry, 3-2, and then saw its weekend completely fall apart Sunday afternoon against Williams, losing 5-1. “Curry and Williams played great road games,” said Manhattanville head coach Keith Levinthal. … Read more
Does Bemidji State answer to the name David anymore? That’s one of the topics as USCHO.com senior writers Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski debate.
It’s not often that a spirited, high-octane hockey tilt leaves everybody feeling groovy (if not warm and fuzzy). That’s one thing that made Sunday’s exhibition featuring the U.S. National Team and a squad of WHEA All-Stars, staged at UNH, stand out: there were no bad guys. Only good guys. Which gave the vocal Whittemore Center … Read more
Are we seeing a shift in college hockey’s power structure early this season? That’s one of the items USCHO.com senior writers Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski debate this week.
Weekend Roundup If anyone had any doubts as to how wide open the MIAC is this season, the opening weekend of conference play dispelled them. Only one team managed to win both games this weekend and of the eight games played only two were decided by more than two goals. Bethel topped St. John’s 5-3 … Read more
The Champs are Back in Town It’s been a long seven-and-a-half-month wait for Jim Plumer and the Amherst Lady Jeffs after winning last year’s NCAA championship in thrilling fashion with a 4-3 overtime victory over Elmira. However, this Saturday the wait is finally over as the Lady Jeffs hit the ice for the first time … Read more
Ragging the puck while waiting for the Qwest Tour to hit the Granite State … Ten Years of Title-hunting Taking note that Minnesota-Duluth will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in womens’ hockey this weekend – “A Decade of Dominance†– when Minnesota State hits the Iron Range. Talk about an illustrious program. What Shannon Miller … Read more
Another week brings another installment of the USCHO.com Division III men’s poll and in what is, as usual, no real shock, NCHA teams are all over the place. Five in all grace this week’s edition, and once again St. Norbert is most newsworthy. The Green Knights two game sweep over the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point … Read more
Developing Stories The season is still quite young. However, certain stories are already starting to develop. For starters, and not surprisingly, Oswego and Plattsburgh are staking their claim as the elite teams in the SUNYAC as well as national contenders. Overall, they each have only one loss, are playing tight defense, and especially in the … Read more
Growing Pains With a very youthful team, Neumann has been struggling through the first quarter of the season. The Knights are a respectable 2-2-2, despite having played a very difficult schedule to date. But Neumann is 0-2-2 in its last four games and the two losses were by large margins. “It’s all growing pains, consistency … Read more
USCHO Senior Writers Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski talk national championship contenders — in November. Too early? Never. That and more in this week’s edition of Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
When you head west and pull off one big upset, it may be dismissed as a fluke. However, when you pull off a second such stunner, you begin to gain a reputation as a giant-killer … which is how the hockey world can now regard Robert Morris. Last weekend, the Colonials motored out to Madison … Read more
Making Strides The 2009-2010 Division III women’s hockey season is well underway and we have already had a couple of major surprises to start off the season. Adrian, a team picked to make some major noise in their first season as an official member of the NCHA, is off to a 0-4 start; dropping two … Read more
Pipers Pack a Punch The biggest bright spot for the MIAC this weekend was the Hamline Pipers. On Friday, the Pipers won 6-3 at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, who may be the most improved team in the NCHA this season. On Saturday, Hamline was the only MIAC team not to lose to their rival conference, … Read more
More Offensive The Manhattanville offense is clicking nicely three weeks into the season, averaging 6.67 goals per game to lead the nation. Coming off a strong weekend against Lebanon Valley (whom Manhattanville scored 16 goals against) some might scoff at the garish numbers. Not so fast. “I was impressed with Lebanon Valley,” said Manhattanville head … Read more
Oswego Makes First Big Statement Oswego accomplished two tasks early in the 2009-10 season. The Lakers broke a 10 game winless streak against their arch nemesis and they became the team to beat in the SUNYAC. And they did it on the road. They accomplished these tasks be defeating Plattsburgh, 5-2, after blowing a 2-0 … Read more
The first regular season installment of the USCHO.com Division III men’s poll was released on Monday, and at first glance it looks pretty much as expected. Five NCHA teams grace the top 15 and Adrian is hanging out roughly where it has for the better part of the past two years. The big mover was … Read more
Is Bemidji State a top-10 team? That’s one of the issues up for debate as USCHO Senior Writers Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski look back and look ahead.
The atmosphere at RIT’s Frank Ritter Arena and the kind of hockey Atlantic Hockey has developed are things that should be experienced by more teams (yes, big-name schools, USCHO national columnist Dave Starman is talking to you).