Season previews for leagues
Ever since realignment in 2013, the WCHA has been the “Wild West” of college hockey conferences: It’s big. It’s volatile. And you never quite know what’s going to happen from one year to the next. Case in point: Bemidji State came from nowhere to win the MacNaughton Cup by 10 points last season. Nobody picked … Read more
As it enters its fifth year, the NCHC has established itself in a short time as the powerhouse conference in college hockey. In each of the last three years, the conference sent two teams to the Frozen Four and had the best out-of-conference winning percentage in college hockey. Last season, the NCHC went 48-21-14 9 … Read more
Prior to the start of last season, Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna wanted to make sure his staff was prepared in case of a tie for first place. The league purchased a second regular season trophy just in case two teams tied for first place at the end of the regular season. But come March, … Read more
ECAC Hockey has sent a team to the Frozen Four in five of the last six years, with two of its teams winning a national title. The league’s presence on the national stage is unquestioned, but it’s making an impact internationally as well. For the third straight season, the ECAC will send representatives to the … Read more
As the fifth season of Big Ten hockey begins, so much seems new. The field of teams increases to seven with the addition of Notre Dame, which pushes the number of regular-season conference games from 20 to 24. The conference playoffs will move from a single, neutral site on a single weekend at the end … Read more
There’s a wealth of talent in Atlantic Hockey this season, possibly the most skilled and experienced group of players the league has ever produced. With a few exceptions, teams were not hit hard by graduation, retaining the vast majority of their top players. Remarkably, only five of the top 35 scorers in the league graduated. … Read more
The ECAC should be a battle to the end, but expect Clarkson to emerge on top.
Perennial champ Boston College is missing two top defenders to the Olympics this year, and Northeastern returns stronger than ever, but the Eagles will likely prevail in a tight battle for the season crown.
In an Olympic year, the top teams sometimes struggle, but expect Minnesota to battle Wisconsin for the top spot in the WCHA, with the former coming out on top.
The conference is more competitive than ever, but Robert Morris is still the favorite, as the Colonials return almost their entire squad from last season’s NCAA tournament team.
What an entrance the NESCAC teams make to the season. As always, the late arrivals but with the most dramatic entrances and battles for playoff positioning amongst any of the other conferences in the D-III ranks. This year will likely be no exception according to last year’s championship coach from Williams, Bill Kangas. “We start … Read more
Last year’s champion Massachusetts-Boston defeated regular season champion Norwich 2-0 to win the NEHC Tournament. Favorites Norwich gets the nod to repeat as champions. They are currently ranked no. 6 in the USCHO poll. Holy Cross has a strong defense as well as scoring from the blue line. Dark horse St. Anselm has a potent … Read more
With two ranked teams, the NCHA looks to be a race to the NCAA tournament. Adrian and St. Scholastica are early favorites, but other teams like St. Norbert could have something to say about that. Last year’s champion Adrian was the regular season and conference tournament champions. They lost to Elmira in the first round … Read more
Though it’s a small conference, the WIAC boasts some of the country’s top teams, including Wisconsin-River Falls. Last year’s champion Wisconsin-River Falls won the regular season crown with 18 points and a 9-3 conference record. They defeated Wis.-Stevens Point to win the O’Brien Cup and the WIAC Tournament championship. The Falcons would go on to … Read more
With multiple NCAA tournament teams, including the national champion from last year, the ECAC West might be the toughest conference in the country. It will be changing after this year however, as Elmira, Utica, Neumann, and William Smith have all announced they’ll be joining the new United Collegiate Hockey Conference for the 2017-18 season. Last … Read more
The rest of the MASCAC conference watched a two-team battle unfold last year between Salem State and Plymouth State in determining the conference championship. This year, the battle looks to be again waged between the two rivals with a question around who else is going to emerge as a worthy challenger for the crown. The … Read more
The conference championship game was canceled last season due to a campus outbreak amongst hockey players at St. Anselm, and the title by conference edict was given to the top-seed Stonehill Skyhawks. This year, all of the teams hope the ultimate conference champion will be decided on the ice, and it is no surprise that … Read more
The conference is going through some upheaval off the ice, what with the departure of the University of New England to the CCC, school solvency issues with the Daniel Webster College program, and, most recently, the decision to not renew St. Anselm and St. Michael’s conference participation for the 2017-18 season, making the conference an … Read more
What better way to look at a conference preview than through the eyes of the coach of the defending champions, who just so happens to be the same guy whose team has the bullseye on them, according to the other coaches in the conference. Geneseo’s Chris Schultz understands why his team was the coaches’ pick, … Read more
For Hobart coach Mark Taylor, the philosophy is pretty simple: “Go out and win as many hockey games as you can and respect all but fear none.” With new conference configurations and new teams entering next season, this final year of play in the current ECAC West brings a new entrant from Stevenson College in … Read more