Season previews for leagues
It sure feels like this is Northeastern’s conference to lose and everyone else is just going to try and keep up. The Huskies had control from start to finish last season and they return all but one player from that squad. They have more experience, more confidence and more drive to win that final game … Read more
With four of the top five teams in the country, the members of this conference are set to beat each other up for the next few months. Every one of these teams can and will beat each other on any given day and their records will reflect that.
Only four ECAC teams competed in the abbreviated season last year, so there is a lot of unknown in the conference to start this season. Many of the squads have two years – half the roster – of new players to acclimate. There are some very intriguing rookies that seem to be a bit under … Read more
It’s very difficult to try and parse the small bits of info gathered through fits and starts last season to prognosticate what might shake down in this conference this season. Most of the rosters have had significant turnover since the abrupt end of the 2019-20 season and no one knows how the time off will … Read more
Robert Morris cut their men’s and women’s hockey programs with little notice and many of the women’s team players have signed elsewhere. The Colonials won the CHA conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Northeastern in the opening round. There is an ongoing fight to reinstate the teams, but I’m … Read more
The NCHA is going to look a little different this season. For starters, St. Norbert won’t be in the league as it opted out of the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But for every other team, hockey is on and Adrian and Marian are the frontrunners to be league champions. Lake Forest is … Read more
After the last game of the 2019-2020 ECAC Hockey season took two overtimes to decide, the start of this season took a little extra time to finalize as well. Yale beat Union 2-1 in double overtime on March in the deciding game of the opening round of the league playoffs. That ended up being the … Read more
Even without a global pandemic, the 2020-21 WCHA season was already destined to be a weird one. Seven of the league’s ten members had already announced way back in June of 2019 that they would be leaving the conference to reform the CCHA after the conclusion of this year. It was already going to be … Read more
Nothing about this year’s Hockey East season will feel normal, so neither then will be this year’s season preview. Yes, all 11 men’s team, as of the date of publication, are still planning on playing their seasons. At publication time, six teams were already supposed to have begun their seasons. Yet, only two have. COVID-19 … Read more
It seems surreal. The last time I sat down at my computer to do a story on the NCHC, I had interviewed Denver coach David Carle about the abrupt end to the college hockey season. Carle, in a statement that seems prescient, said, “I think the lesson to be learned, or one of the many, … Read more
Do you remember where we left off? It’s painful to think about where things stood on March 12, when Atlantic Hockey players, coaches and fans were looking forward to the league’s quarterfinal round. The 2019-20 season had already ended for Mercyhurst, Holy Cross and Canisius, all falling in the preliminary round of The Atlantic Hockey … Read more
In the before times, the best case scenario for season previews was to give somewhat educated guesses. Those guesses came from watching teams last season, watching many of the incoming freshmen in U-18 World Championships and looking at how teams’ schedules might benefit or hurt them. Most of that isn’t available to us this year. … Read more
“Everything’s changed.” That simple summation by Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik at the start of the 2020-21 season isn’t an understatement as much as it is a primer for what may or may not come next. Everything has changed. No one knows what’s coming. Hockey is beginning all the same. “Flexibility’s been the big word … Read more
The road to the championship in recent years has often traveled through Hartford, Connecticut and the Trinity Bantams. This year there is maybe reason to believe that the overall depth and talent across the conference will lead to yet another dynamic race right into February where several teams could lay claim to the title … Read more
Last year’s surprise team from Wilkes saw head coach Brett Riley step down to take and assistant coach position with Colgate from the ECAC. New head coach Tyler Hynes inherits a solid team that knows how much of a battle every game is in the UCHC. The pre-season coaches’ poll showed some of the usual … Read more
The sole D-II conference in college hockey is now a seven-team league with Post University officially joining the NE-10 hockey conference. That addition sets up an 18-game conference schedule with each team playing league opponents three times. The addition of Post does not change the playoff structure where only the top four teams will qualify … Read more
The NCHA features two of the best teams in the nation in St. Norbert and Adrian, but the league as a whole is always competitive from top to bottom, and anything can happen on any given weekend. Last Year’s Champion: St. Norbert won the NCHA championship for the 15th time in program history with a … Read more
Plymouth State won the conference last year winning both the regular season and conference tournament to punch their ticket into the NCAA tournament. The path was not an easy one as teams like Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Westfield State made end of season runs to challenge for the championship. If there is a conference where last year’s … Read more
The CCC will be creating more excitement in conference games this year as they adopt new overtime rules for conference standings purposes only during the regular season. Games will still go through a five-minute overtime period if game is tied after regulation time and that result at the end of overtime will be the official … Read more
There is a new-old coach in Plattsburgh as long-time assistant Steve Moffat takes the reins following Bob Emery’s retirement and move to become the Head of Hockey Operations at Merrimack College. Moffatt has a lot of familiarity with the Cardinal program and should have them battling among the favorites despite a young roster that includes … Read more