Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
NESCAC Season Preview Last weekend Middlebury, Trinity, Williams, and Wesleyan half kicked off the start of the 2008-2009 season for the NESCAC schools. Middlebury downed rival Williams 5-1 and Trinity hung seven goals on Wesleyan en route to a 7-1 win over the Cardinals. Finally, this weekend all 45 Division III women’s teams will have … Read more
In this week’s column, Jim Connelly and Scott Brown mull over the continuing role of this year’s rule changes, last weekend’s topsy-turvy results by the numbers, and of course Air Force.
Unfamiliar Territory Manhattanville finds itself in a situation that it hasn’t seen in a while. The Valiants were swept two weekends ago at Neumann, the first time that has happened since January 12 and 13, 2001 when they lost to Oswego and Cortland. As if that wasn’t enough, with a 1-2 record Manhattanville is off … Read more
It’s undeniable the MIAC is making strides. Top-to-bottom the conference is improving. This week Hamline will play Concordia. Several years ago, this would have been a matchup between basement dwellers with little significance no matter who emerged victorious. Now, it’s a series between the conference favorite and a young upstart that would love to define … Read more
Dave Starman returns with goaltender-centric musings about Michigan, Denver and Michigan State as well as quick hits on topics around the nation.
Everyone in the MCHA now has had a week of league play in and the results aren’t too surprising. Adrian, Finlandia and Marian are all 2-0, though something must give this week as the Lions travel to face the Bulldogs. MSOE and Crookston are both 1-1 following a split in Crookston, while Lawrence, Northland and … Read more
You may hate it (as some say they do), love it (as many more seem to), or have no opinion (it’s hard to find anyone camped there)… but one thing appears to be certain. The shootout is likely to be with us for a while. Brought in this year by both the WCHA and Hockey … Read more
Jaw Dropping The score updates coming in on Friday most likely caused a lot of jaws to drop. And then drop again. And again. A lot of chins were sore from hitting the ground. Where do we start? How about Brockport who, as the Potsdam radio announcer said, put a beat down on Geneseo, 7-2. … Read more
Old Neumann Hockey When you think of Neumann hockey, particularly since the team started to become competitive in the ECAC West four seasons ago, a few common traits come to mind. Attributes like hard-nosed skilled forwards and solid goaltending are usually bantered about. The Knights have had so much turnover in the last two seasons, … Read more
Splits and Upsets for Everyone This past weekend featured two national powerhouses falling to unranked opponents in what turned out to be the first of what I expect to be many weekends this year with parity being the only word to describe it. The gap between the traditionally top-ranked teams and some of the middle-of-the-pack … Read more
A new number one, the start of the season in ECAC Hockey, games to watch and more Air Force — Jim Connelly and Scott Brown sound off once again.
The only thing currently keeping the Green Knights from perfection (both this season and most of last) is five voters who disagree that they are the best team in the country. With 15 still in their corner — and a perfect 5-0 record — little else is amiss at St. Norbert. Plattsburgh, meanwhile, has done … Read more
As we are already two weeks into the season, here’s a brief rundown of the big picture as it currently stands. The USCHO.com preseason poll was dotted with teams from the NCHA and MCHA. To no one’s surprise, defending national champion St. Norbert checks in as the nation’s top team. Three NCHA teams in Wisconsin … Read more
Searching for an Identity Elmira has arguably faced one of the most difficult schedules to open the season. The Soaring Eagles hosted Oswego three weeks ago and then hit the road for a game at Plattsburgh and a rematch in the Lakers’ barn. The stretch started off well with a 3-2 win over the Lakers, … Read more
The Unbalanced Schedule When Morrisville entered the league, the odd number of teams meant the schedule would be imbalanced from a timing standpoint. In the past, at any given time, with rare exceptions, when you looked at the standings, everyone played the same number of games. It made it very easy to determine the status … Read more
This space last week detailed the first appearance of Boston University into the USCHO.com Top Ten. It seems that such happenings are going to be more common place. This week finds, for the first time in its history, North Dakota making a Ten trip, albeit in a tie with a rejuvenated Northeastern team. With another … Read more
Sleeper in the MIAC? This past weekend no team made a bigger statement than the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers who upset, defending NCHA champion and Frozen Four finalist, Wisconsin-Superior 2-1 on the road. The Cobbers battled back after falling behind 1-0 in the first period on a goal from Superior’s Jessica Tyra. Kaylee Black knotted things up … Read more
Here come the Bears This season, Potsdam State will become the 46th Division III women’s team to participate in NCAA hockey. After playing last season as a club team, Jay Green’s Potsdam Bears will take to the ice Friday October 24 where they will be thrown right into the fire and face the two time … Read more
There’s a first time for everything, but that doesn’t mean that there will be a next time. Scott Brown examines the future of the fledgling State of Minnesota Hockey Showcase.
In this week’s edition, Jim Connelly and Scott Brown tackle perfect seasons, weekend heroics and matters of offense — both surges and struggles.