This Week in the ECAC West

Finally Progress It’s no secret that Elmira has been struggling all season. The Soaring Eagles only managed to win one of five league games in the first half of the season, and despite two early wins against Plattsburgh and Oswego lost six of their next nine games. But there are signs that Elmira is turning … Read more

This Week in the ECAC West

Alternating Current In an unusual quirk of scheduling, Utica and Neumann played three straight games against each other over the last two weekends. The string began in the championship game of the St. Michael’s Tournament over the holidays and culminated with a pair of league games at the Utica Aud this past weekend. But despite … Read more

This Week in the ECAC WEST

Still Rolling Neumann continued its roll from the first half of the season into the second, posting its first-ever tournament championship at the Saint Michael’s Tournament over New Year’s weekend. The Knights started out on Friday putting a hurt on host St. Michael’s right from the opening faceoff. Neumann tallied six goals in the first … Read more

This Week in the ECAC West

Turnaround As the saying goes, “Who’d of thunk it?”  If Las Vegas took bets on college hockey, how many people would have plunked down their hard-earned money to wager that Neumann would be 8-4 at the mid-season break? Or have conference wins over Utica at home and Elmira on the road?  Or have non-conference sweeps of … Read more

This Week in the ECAC West

Tossing Teddys Utica head coach Gary Heenan believes that an essential ingredient to a successful hockey program is building ties with its surrounding community. Last season, while on the road recruiting, he watched as local fans threw teddy bears and other stuffed animals onto the ice following the team’s first goal, all meant to benefit a … Read more

This Week in the ECAC West

Hats Galore There is something special about a hat trick in college hockey. First of all, they aren’t all that common in Division III, unless the game is a blowout where one team puts up a double digit score. Second, the diffusion of talent across all of Division III has also resulted in scoring being … Read more

This Week in the ECAC WEST

A Different Team Since joining the ECAC West four seasons ago, it is no secret that Neumann has struggled. Over that time span, the Knights have a combined total of 10 wins and haven’t been competitive in many of the other games. However, with an infusion of new blood, this year might represent the tipping … Read more

This Week in the ECAC WEST

Hobart’s (lack of) Power Play Last weekend wasn’t quite what Hobart coach Mark Taylor was hoping for. The Statesmen hit the road for games at Utica and Manhattanville, and Hobart was swept. “The games weren’t what we wanted outcome-wise,” said Taylor. “We wanted to come out of there with some points, and didn’t. So we … Read more

Youthful Exuberance

Several teams around the ECAC West are flooded with new players this season. As seen in my season preview last week, the coaches are cautiously optimistic about the season but realize that getting the freshmen up to speed may take a while. If the start that Elmira and Utica have gotten off to is any … Read more

D-III Women’s Special: No. 1 Elmira vs. No. 2 Middlebury

The NCAA has crowned three national champions in Division III women’s hockey. The Elmira Soaring Eagles captured the first two titles in the program’s first two years in existence. Last year, the Middlebury Panthers ascended to the summit, knocking out Elmira along the way in the quarterfinals. This weekend, the Soaring Eagles and the Panthers … Read more

ECAC West Expands Conference Schedule

The ECAC West will switch to a three-game format for its regular season beginning as soon as 2005-06, and is considering expanding its conference playoffs. The schedule change was agreed to during a conference call on Monday. Under the new format, each team would play each other team in the conference three times, with two … Read more

Defending Champs Top Men’s Division III League Coaches’ Polls

Preseason coaches’ polls were released for the ECAC East, ECAC West, SUNYAC and NCHA, and in all cases the coaches don’t see a lot changing at the top in their respective leagues. Defending NCAA Division III champion Norwich is a near unanimous choice to repeat as league champs in the 2003-04 ECAC East Coaches’ Poll. … Read more

Manhattanville, Elmira Women Picked in ECAC East, West

Elmira and Manhattanville, No. 1 and 2 in the USCHO Division III Women’s Poll this week, were picked by ECAC East and West coaches to capture their respective league titles this winter. Last season, Elmira won the NCAA Division III title with a 5-1 win over Manhattanville in the championship game. It was the second … Read more

Nemetz-Carlson to Coach Elmira Women

Paul Nemetz-Carlson has been named as the new head women’s coach at Elmira. He was also appointed the women’s golf coach. Last season, Nemetz-Carlson was an assistant coach at Division I Yale, and held the same position at Quinnipiac two years ago. Prior to his arrival at the collegiate level, Nemetz-Carlson was the women’s head … Read more

Elmira Tops In Women’s DIII Poll

Elmira won a 4-2 decision over No. 5 Plattsburgh to capture the ECAC West postseason title and hold on to the No. 1 ranking in this week’s USCHO.com Division III Women’s Poll. Elmira has yet to lose to a Division III opponent. The Soaring Eagles also are atop the USCHO.com East Regional Pairwise Rankings (PWR). … Read more

Elmira Loses Two, Holds On To First

Elmira lost its third and fourth games of the season, but still kept a firm grasp on the top spot in the USCHO.com Division III Women’s Poll. The Soaring Eagles were playing Division I opponent Findlay, and so the games do not count for NCAA Division III tournament selection, and correspondingly do not appear in … Read more

Soaring Eagles Top Women’s DIII Poll, PWR

Elmira pulled off the double play, earning the No. 1 spot in both the USCHO.com Division III Women’s Poll as well as holding the top spot in the USCHO.com Division III Women’s East Region Pairwise Rankings (PWR). Elmira was idle last week, but finishes out its regular season schedule with two games against Division I … Read more

St. Norbert New No. 1 In DIII Poll

St. Norbert recaptured the top spot in this week’s USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll, becoming the No. 1 team for the first time since November 18, 2002. The Green Knights won two games, over St. Scholastica 7-2, and over No. 6 Wis.-Superior 4-3, improving to 18-1-2 on the season. St. Norbert is also first in … Read more