Fitchburg State looks to repeat in MASCAC
Fitchburg State broke the hegemony of the MASCAC last year and won the league title, and looks poised to repeat.
Conference Season Preview
Season previews for leagues
St. Norbert looks to repeat in NCHA and NCAA
St. Norbert was back on top last year, winning the NCHA and then winning the NCAA tournament. They will have a huge fight from Adrian, as well as several other teams in the conference.
St. Thomas looks to win the MIAC again
St. Thomas has won six of the last seven MIAC titles, but Augsburg beat St. Thomas in the conference tournament, won the title, and advanced to the NCAA tournament. St. Thomas returns as the favorite again in a conference where parity is the norm, not the exception.
Hamline returns as the favorite to capture MIAC women’s crown
With forward Bre Simon and coach Natalie Darwitz, Hamline enters the year as the preseason favorite to win the women’s MIAC crown. New columnist Olivia Spellmire previews the season.
WCHA labeled ‘rat race’ this season as league continues to roll out competitive teams
If anybody needed the perfect explanation for what happens in the WCHA year after year, just ask Mike Hastings (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
NCHC looks as talent-rich as ever, will be ‘an extremely hard conference this season’
Some things don’t change year after year with the NCHC (photo: Melissa Wade).
Hockey East teams looking for nonconference improvement, NCAA tournament success in ’18-19
At times, it’s difficult to believe that it’s been 35 years since a group of athletic directors, led by Providence’s Lou Lamoriello, came together to form what three and a half decades later would be considered one of the game’s strongest sports conferences (photo: Melissa Wade).
Princeton, Cornell look to be favorites in ECAC Hockey, but plenty of contenders on the doorstep
Both kings of the mountain are returning major firepower for the 2018-19 ECAC Hockey season (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
After sending four teams to 2018 NCAA tournament, Big Ten ‘is only going to continue to get better’
With three conference teams in attendance, the Frozen Four was set to be a Big Ten party last season (photo: Melissa Wade).
After competitive ’17-18 season, Atlantic Hockey looks like ‘this will be the case again this year’
Anticipation is building for another photo-finish season in Atlantic Hockey (photo: Omar Phillips).
Hockey East preview: Boston College to repeat again
It would seem that once again, this is Boston College’s conference to lose. The Eagles have won five straight regular-season titles and return three gold-medal-winning Olympians back to the roster this season. The weak point for the team last season was on the blue line, so these three elite defenders will make an immediate impact. … Read more
WCHA season preview: Wisconsin looks to fight off Minnesota in the WCHA
The WCHA has four teams in the USCHO preseason poll. Wisconsin and Minnesota are ranked second and third, while Ohio State comes in at the seventh spot and Minnesota-Duluth earns the ninth slot. The Gophers, Bulldogs, and Badgers all return players from the Olympics and centralization. Last season was the first in the history of … Read more
ECAC season preview: Clarkson looks to three-peat, and again win the ECAC
With the acquisition of goalie Kassidy Sauvé from Ohio State and former Quinnipiac standout scorer T.T. Cianfarano, who will add to a potent offense that includes Patty Kazmaier Award top-three finalist Loren Gabel, the Clarkson Golden Knights look poised to not only again win the ECAC, but to three-peat as national champions. Colgate and Cornell will try to throw a wrench into Clarkson’s march to glory.
CHA season preview: Mercyhurst the favorite over Robert Morris
Mercyhurst finished second in the regular season last year to Robert Morris, but won the CHA tournament and its auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. Robert Morris lost two key players to graduation, and Mercyhurst, returning a ton, looks to be the favorite.
NESCAC: Hamilton looks to prevail over Trinity
Last season saw the Bantams from Trinity emerge from the regular season and conference tournament to advance all the way to the national championship title game, which ultimately was won by Norwich. Trinity certainly faced many challenges along the way, including a stubborn Hamilton team in the NESCAC tournament final that was decided in overtime. … Read more
Elmira the favorite in the new United Collegiate Hockey Conference
The United Collegiate Hockey Conference is brand new for the 2017-18 season. The favorites The Elmira Soaring Eagles return their top eight scorers and starting goaltender after finishing 14-2-2 last season and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They lost a heartbreaking game to Adrian in the quarterfinal, as they were defeated 5-4 … Read more
Look to Lake Forest to edge Adrian in the NCHA
The Adrian Bulldogs suffered just three losses all season in 2016-17 and were undefeated in NCHA play. They won both the regular season and conference tournament titles and advanced to the national championship game before falling to Plattsburgh. The favorites I’m bucking the trend a bit here and picking Lake Forest over Adrian, but only … Read more
Gustavus Adolphus has the edge in the competitive MIAC
Gustavus Adolphus won the regular season crown, but was upset in overtime by St. Thomas, the eventual tournament winner. The Gusties earned an at-large bid to the NCAA finals and upset Wisconsin-River Falls in the opening round before falling in the national semifinal to Adrian. St. Thomas won the conference tournament and the conference autobid … Read more
Utica the favorite in the new United Collegiate Hockey Conference
The last of the D-III conferences with an ECAC moniker is gone. The former ECAC West has now become the United Collegiate Hockey Conference, or UCHC. The members of the former league, minus Hobart (now a member of the NEHC), have been joined by newcomers King’s College and Chatham University to create a new nine-team … Read more
Norwich looks to hold off Hobart in realigned NEHC
The conference is officially realigned as an eight-team conference with the addition of Hobart from the former ECAC West, where they have won multiple conference championships and appeared in the NCAA tournament without the luxury of an autobid. The schedule is also a bit different, as this year some travel partners will play each other … Read more