Men’s D-II/III in general
The proverbial slate has been wiped clean, and a new season is upon the ECAC NE, which begins Saturday afternoon when the top two seeds, Curry College and UMass-Dartmouth, host their opponents. All four match-ups will be discussed below, many of which weren’t determined until the regular season ended on Wednesday night. Curry will host … Read more
Setting the Field The quarterfinal matchups are set in the MIAC with Hamline hosting St. John’s and Bethel traveling to St. Thomas on Saturday. Let’s take a look at how we got here before we delve into this weekend’s match-ups. Bethel was idle for the final week of the regular season, with St. Thomas lurking … Read more
Last week, Gridiron Club of Greater Boston’s president Al Robichaud announced that 16 NCAA Division III players are semi-finalists for the eighth Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England playing at the D-II/III level. The list is comprised of 12 forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, all … Read more
Falling one point — the margin between a first and second place tally — short of unanimity, the St. Norbert Green Knights enter the postseason on a 24-game unbeaten streak, after back-to-back shutouts of Lake Forest last weekend. The nation’s new No. 2, Plattsburgh, capitalized on a 6-0 blanking of Potsdam and the loss and … Read more
A Tale of Two Teams This week we take a look at two programs at opposite ends of the spectrum. We’ll check in on Nichols College and get Lou Izzi’s thoughts on what could be a record-setting season. First, however, we’ll start with the only team in the ECAC Northeast without a league victory: the … Read more
Everyone is getting ramped up for perhaps the most exciting week of the season. Not only does opening round NCHA and MCHA playoff action begin this weekend, but we also have our first look at the NCAA West Region Rankings. They are: 1. St. Norbert 2. St. Thomas 3. River Falls 4. Adrian 5. Stout … Read more
Similar To Last Year Last year for the play-in round, one game was tight, the other not so much. The same scenario occurred again this year. The tight game was once again the Buffalo State-Fredonia match up. This year the teams met on Fredonia’s ice in Steele Hall. “Good hard fought game,” Fredonia coach Jeff … Read more
I was going to start out with something like: It’s the Final Countdown … but then the flashback to 80’s hair bands and Euro pop just kind of took the luster off of the whole moment. No, I am looking for something a little bigger than that cliché phrase and song title because, as usual, … Read more
Battling For Position Just one week to go before the MIAC postseason begins in earnest and teams are frantically jostling for playoff positioning. Four teams have locked up playoff spots, leaving just one opening for the two teams battling for it. Before delving into the playoff possibilities this week, let’s take a look back at … Read more
Elmira Clinches Regular Season Title With a three point series against Manhattanville last weekend, Elmira secured the regular season title. But it certainly wasn’t easy, and started out with a rocky game on Friday. Manhattanville’s Vinny Ciardullo scored on a turnover at center ice midway through the first period, and the Valiants’ trap gave the … Read more
In a week where few favorites won, the top two teams in the country came away from their contests unscathed. St. Norbert, now unbeaten in their last 22 games, continued to roll, while the Soaring Eagles from Elmira took three crucial points from formerly fourth ranked Manhattanville. The Green Knights received 14 of the 20 … Read more
Advantage Unknown Last weekend saw several series in the MIAC that could have provided some answers to the league’s muddled playoff picture. The conference’s second team, St. Thomas, was facing off against the fourth place, Hamline. A clear victory by the Tommies could have sent the Pipers flying out of the playoffs and had Bethel … Read more
Oftentimes in sports, things don’t always go as you would expect them. (For further clarification, ask any fan of the New England Patriots.) That can certainly be said of the Worcester State Lancers program this season. Currently in 12th place with a 2-10-0 record, the team in enduring an injury riddled campaign the likes of … Read more
OK welcome to the insanity that is the league standings at this time of the year in both the ECAC East and NESCAC. Don’t like your team’s position in the standings? Just hope they have a good weekend and almost anything can happen. With just four games left in the regular season, it’s really getting … Read more
And Down The Stretch They Come There are just two weeks to go in the regular season of the ECAC West and the playoff race has tightened up. Two teams have a shot at the top, while three other teams are vying for home ice. Let’s take a team-by-team look around the league and see … Read more
Streaks If there is one word to describe the 2007-8 SUNYAC hockey season, it would be: streaks. For some, early streaks ensured them a successful season. For others, late streaks turned a season around. For the unfortunate, the inability to get off to any kind of streak doomed them. Let’s start at the top. Plattsburgh … Read more
Time flies when you’re having fun apparently, because it’s hard to believe the NCHA and MCHA are down to their final weekends of the regular season. NCHA travel partners will square off for the last time while the MCHA has a full eight game weekend on tap. Checking in once again on the national scene, … Read more
Forgive the Green Knights of St. Norbert if they take a moment to reflect on their amazing accomplishment. Beginning over three months ago — on Nov. 10, a week after their only blemish of the season, a 4-2 loss to Gustavus Adolphus — they have gone 21 consecutive (17-0-4) games without a loss. After defeating … Read more
What a beautiful mess we live in. With two weeks of conference action remaining, the NCHA, on the heels of a few surprising results last weekend, has turned into a complete and utter pig pile. With everything going haywire in that league, at least MCHA has sorted itself out — to an extent. Though home … Read more
Sitting atop the ECAC NE, right on the heels of Curry and UMass Dartmouth, is Suffolk University, tied for second and just three points out of first place. Chris Glionna, now in his fourth year as coach of the Rams, is pleased so far. “We’ve been pretty happy with it,†when asked his thoughts on … Read more