Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
The Utica Pioneers have been highly successful winning three consecutive UCHC titles and consistently being ranked among the nation’s best D-III hockey teams but struggled over the past two seasons to advance beyond the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. Following two consecutive upsets at the hands of the University of New England, this year’s … Read more
Make it three in a row for Adrian’s men’s hockey team. The Bulldogs are headed to the NCAA Division III Frozen Four for the third consecutive year and are hoping to bring home a national championship for the second time in that stretch. They advanced with a 5-3 win over NCHA rival St. Norbert, a … Read more
The quarterfinal round in the East provided incredible action on Saturday night inclusive of Utica exorcising some past Round of 8 demons with their win over Plymouth State as well as a four overtime thriller that saw Hobart down Curry, 4-3 after more than 135 minutes of game action. Trinity also was a winner meaning … Read more
Columbus Regional (9) Connecticut vs. (8) Minnesota Duluth This game brought the drama, including a seemed-to-be game-winner in OT that was brought back for offsides. After an even first period, UMD started to pull away, ultimately outshooting the Huskies 49-33. Both goalies put on a show and neither team seemed able to solve the problems … Read more
Adrian vs. St. Norbert. It’s a great matchup on paper. The kind you want to see in an NCAA hockey tournament. It just shouldn’t be a quarterfinal game, which it happens to be as the two teams face off tonight at Adrian’s Arrington Ice Arena. We’re talking about two of the top five teams in … Read more
The defending national champions from Hobart are rested following their first-round bye in the NCAA tournament and open their title defense against a disciplined Curry team that knocked off Geneseo to advance to the quarterfinal round. The 3-0 win over the Knights was the first road win on the national stage for the Colonels, who … Read more
For the past two seasons, the Utica Pioneers have earned a first round bye in the NCAA tournament only to be upset on home ice in successive seasons by the University of New England who captured a pair of Frozen Four berths with the wins. This season, the quarterfinal opponent traveling to Utica is a … Read more
The Trinity Bantams and their 22-3-1 record with a NESCAC championship earned themselves a first round bye in the NCAA tournament. They now prepare for a dangerous Elmira squad fresh off their win over Endicott in what will be Trinity’s fifth consecutive home game and seventh in their last eight with the possibility of closing … Read more
We’ve gotten down to four teams remaining who’ll travel to River Falls, WI for the Women’s D-III Frozen Four this Friday & Sunday (3/15 & 3/17/24). We’ve got: Elmira (22-7-1) vs Middlebury (18-6-4) Adrian (28-2-0) vs UW-River Falls (29-0-0) First, we must recap the weekend which featured four quarterfinal matchups which featured a pair of … Read more
One round of hockey is complete in the NCAA Division III tournament and two teams remain from the west region. Adrian and St. Norbert both took care of business in the opening round and now the NCHA rivals face off against each other next weekend for the right to go to the Frozen Four. Here’s … Read more
It was only natural, fitting really, that UW-Stevens Point’s Noah Finstrom decided to play hockey at a young age. After all, his dad was a pro for more than a decade, playing in few different leagues. “I was involved in lacrosse and a little bit of baseball, but hockey has always been my thing,” Finstrom … Read more
Geneseo and Curry have so much in common entering their first round game in the NCAA tournament on Saturday night. Both teams secured the regular season title in the very competitive SUNYAC and CCC conferences but lost in the semifinal round of the conference tournament and have been idle for what will be two weeks … Read more
After winning their fifth MASCAC championship in a row, Plymouth State now seeks an elusive first win in the NCAA tournament hosting a red-hot Cortland squad that recently upset Geneseo and Plattsburgh on their way to their first ever SUNYAC title. The Panthers will host the first-round game against the Red Dragons in what should … Read more
After losing in the semifinals of the NEHC tournament, Elmira benefited from their strong regular season and competitive schedule to earn one of the four at-large bids to the national tournament. Their reward was being able to host a first round game against the two-time defending champions from the CCC, Endicott. Despite having not played … Read more
The 2024 D-III Women’s NCAA Tournament is upon us, here we are with our game picks as Myself, Tim Costello, & Brian Lester make our Round One picks! #8 Hamilton (15-6-6) vs. #10 Nazareth (22-6-1) Brian Lester The Continentals fell short of a conference championship, but the good news is they have new life in … Read more
What a great championship weekend across the East! More than half of the nine games played were one-goal affairs that included a couple of overtime thrillers and one double-overtime marathon played. More surprising was the continued “upset bug” that saw Cortland take the SUNYAC with an overtime win over defending champion Plattsburgh. Hobart (NEHC), Plymouth … Read more
‘We are the champions.’ Those four words are what St. Olaf, St. Norbert and UW-Stevens Point could say proudly after their respective conference tournament championship games Saturday night. Two teams won the title as underdogs, with the Oles winning the MIAC crown over nationally ranked Bethel as the fifth seed and the No. 2 seed … Read more
Forget about the two shutouts in the MIAC tournament, the nine wins or the 2.05 goals against average. All are impressive, but St. Olaf goalie Thomas Lalonde deflects credit for his success the way he knocks away a puck during an action-packed game. “I really believe my team deserves the credit,” Lalonde said. “We’ve worked … Read more
Hello conference championship weekend. This is what a lot of us have been waiting for, and it’s where NCAA tournament dreams are either going to come true or be dashed. The MIAC, WIAC and NCHA all have automatic bids on the line Saturday, and I expect all three championship games to be competitive as can … Read more
Following a 9-2-0 start to the season, Cortland came out of the semester break and struggled with some inconsistency to open the second half. Since the start of February that strong 200-foot game has returned along with the strong play of their leading players to reflect a four-game win streak that has them playing for … Read more