Men’s D-II/III: MASCAC

When Plymouth State and Salem State meet at 6 p.m. Saturday for the MASCAC tournament championship, the winner will achieve something historic — as the league’s first postseason champion, one team will earn the MASCAC’s first automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Plymouth State, the No. 1 seed in the six-team conference tournament, earned its … Read more

Four ECAC Northeast and MASCAC teams have at least a week off between conference playoff games, and the obvious task would be to do whatever a team possibly could to stave off monotony in that time. However, when asked how he’ll keep his team fresh between its final regular-season game and its first playoff game, … Read more

Western New England coach Greg Heffernan looks at the final week of the regular season in one way: This is the best time for his team — or for any team — to create consistency, with the playoffs approaching. “This season has been about emotional highs and lows for us,” Heffernan said. “We had some … Read more

Consider what the world was like when Bill O’Neill took over as head coach of the Salem State hockey team in 1981. There was no such thing as Facebook or Twitter. There were only 21 NHL teams. In 1981, O’Neill was three years removed from winning a national championship at Boston University in 1978. And … Read more

Louie Educate can pinpoint the change that’s come in his team, what differentiates the Nichols hockey team’s first half of the season from its second half. In the first half, when Nichols would lose a lead or make a costly mistake, it was the start of a downward slope. The mistakes through the course of … Read more

There’s little doubt that Erik Noack has to be pleased by his team’s offensive prowess this season, but with less than a month remaining in the regular season, Noack, in his ninth season of coaching at Johnson and Wales, believes his team has a pressing issue to tend to: becoming one of six teams to … Read more

John Rolli hopes this week’s stretch of games doesn’t kill the Massachusetts-Dartmouth hockey team. While Rolli, the Corsairs’ 28th-year coach, didn’t say as much, if the Corsairs survive this stretch, it’s safe to say they might be a little bit stronger as a team. “We’re just trying to survive this week,” Rolli said, prior to … Read more

For the past two years, Mike Domsodi channeled all of his energies into playing hockey, but when he arrived at Wentworth Institute of Technology in the fall, he found that he not only had to channel his energies into hockey and academics, he had to strike the right balance between them. “I think it’s something … Read more

Ryan Barlock strives for consistency anytime he’s involved in anything regarding hockey, whether it’s taking part in a 6 a.m. workout or playing in the late minutes of a close game. “The key to my success was part of buying into the team’s success,” said Barlock, a senior defenseman at Curry. “Bringing a 100 percent … Read more

It’s that time of year again. The stockings are hung, the presents are almost wrapped, and the lights on the Christmas tree are already defective. (It’s a minor inconvenience.) But after Johnson and Wales’ 7-1 win over Southern New Hampshire on December 14, and with finals wrapped up, each of the ECAC Northeast and MASCAC … Read more

Each press release reads almost the same: Jack Astedt, Plymouth State, MASCAC Goalie of the Week. For the third time in four weeks, the junior has received the honor — this week, after going 2-1 with a 1.63 goals against average, a .945 saves percentage, and a shutout in three games from November 29 to … Read more

After last week’s 3-2 win over Manhattanville, Western New England coach Greg Heffernan admitted he wasn’t even aware of a once long-standing streak Manhattanville owned. Instead, like any coach, Heffernan was preparing his team for the challenge that was in front of them, rather than focusing on a certain aura or milestone surrounding a team … Read more

Salem State is looking to restart, having had a 10-day layoff between its first and second games.

ECAC Northeast No underdog stories this time around. A year after sixth-seeded Johnson and Wales roared their way into the championship game, the top two seeds are all that remains in the final contest before the NCAA Tournament. Top-seeded Curry knocked off Becker, 5-1, while second place Wentworth ousted No. 3  JWU 4-3 in overtime … Read more

First they ran the gauntlet. Then, they ran the table. Curry entered conference play in January coming off a brutal stretch of nonconference games that included four ranked teams. They understandably struggled, winning only one game during that six-game period. However, the Colonels ran off a 10-game unbeaten streak since then and have clinched the … Read more

It’s the last week of play in the ECAC Northeast, but there’s still much to be decided. With each team having two games left, here’s a breakdown of where things stands. What We Know Curry, Johnson and Wales, and Wentworth have all clinched somewhere among the top three seeds, although the order has yet to … Read more