Men’s D-II/III in general
The season is finally underway and after one weekend of conference play and some terrific tournaments over the Thanksgiving holiday, the ultra-competitive nature of the league is already showing through just the first handful of games. Quick: name the only team without a blemish (loss or a tie) on their record in the first couple … Read more
There have been very few surprises so far this season in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. St. Thomas is atop the standings and everyone else seems to be falling into place. One surprise is how poorly the MIAC has performed against non-conference opponents. It is no secret that MIAC teams have had their struggles against … Read more
A Different Approach A month ago, following a sloppy 4-0 win at Brockport, Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal publicly lambasted his players for exhibiting a noticeable lack of competitiveness. “We have the killer instinct of a small mouse right now,†said Levinthal. “We’ve only played three games, but our commitment to working hard for each other … Read more
A tie with St. Mary’s in their only action netted University of Wisconsin-River Falls three more first place votes as they hung on to the USCHO Division III poll’s number one spot for the second consecutive week. Hobart, the nation’s new number two, received three first place tallies (six less than UW-River Falls) but only … Read more
Buoyed by a win over St. Scholastica and a tie with new No. 14 UW-Superior, University of Wisconsin-River Falls (5-0-2) is the new number one team in Division III hockey. The latest D-III poll conducted by USCHO shows remarkable parity, with the top six teams — from River Falls to Manhattanville — receiving at least … Read more
Nichols Off to Fast Start Last season, Lou Izzi and the Nichols College Bisons got off to a 5-0-1 start, which was the best in the school’s history. This year, Izzi has his squad off to a 4-0-1 start, but one big difference is that this year’s team has nine freshmen. “We have a pretty … Read more
The other half of the interlocking leagues, NESCAC also starts this week with their ECAC East partners with the level of competition in this league no different top to bottom which is going to make for some very interesting results. Last season saw the top five teams separated by just three points and virtually all … Read more
FINALLY!!! Let’s play some hockey. Last season saw dramatic improvement from a number of programs that had every fan wondering what the scores would be from virtually every match up. The league was so tight that going into the last weekend of the regular season only three points separated the top five teams in the … Read more
MCHA league play kicked off last weekend and two game sweeps were the top order of business. While Northland was idle, Adrian made its MCHA debut with a home sweep of Lawrence, while MSOE accomplished the same over Crookston. Concordia’s opening weekend wasn’t quite as successful as they dropped two at home to Finlandia. Marian … Read more
The Red Bird Is Back Look up. Wa-a-a-a-a-ay up. There you will see the Cardinals high on top the SUNYAC perch. By Plattsburgh’s standards, they have had some off years recently. This season is more like a Plattsburgh year as they have opened the season with seven straight victories, all conference games. Even though they … Read more
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams did not fair well against schools from Wisconsin last weekend by compiling a record of 2-9-3. This does not give much hope or optimism for MIAC schools looking to make a run in the postseason. Granted it is very early in the hockey season, but with that big of a … Read more
Showing Signs Slowly but surely, Lebanon Valley is showing signs of a turn around in its fortunes. An increased level of competitiveness and its first victory this past weekend are all signs of hope. Admittedly, the season got off to a rough start with a 9-1 thrashing by Brockport, who scored two goals in the … Read more
Their season debut still four days away, Middlebury nonetheless increased its hold on the nation’s top spot, adding three first place votes to last week’s total of 10 in this week’s edition of the USCHO.com Division III men’s hockey poll. Manhattanville, now 4-0-1, is just nine points back but lost a first place vote to … Read more
The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference seems to be separated into three tiers of teams. In the first tier is Bethel and St. Thomas, the second consists of Augsburg, St. Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, and St. John’s, and the third includes St. Mary’s, Concordia-Moorhead, and Hamline. Now, this breakdown of the MIAC might seem obvious since it … Read more
I spent a huge amount of space in last season’s preview blathering on about how tight and competitive the league was going to be. Though it was pretty much stating the obvious, it turned out I was right. The top seven spots were up for grabs heading into the final weekend of the season; when … Read more
After three weeks, it is safe to say the season has officially begun. Nearly all MCHA and NCHA teams will be hitting the ice this weekend as the MCHA begins league play and the NCHA confronts week two of the MIAC Interlock. Speaking of the NCHA-MIAC Interlock, things didn’t go the way the NCHA had … Read more
Road Warriors There’s no doubt that the most intense rivalry in the SUNYAC is Plattsburgh vs. Oswego. What’s surprising is how much the road team dominates this rivalry. One would think that with a rivalry such as this, where sellout crowds are guaranteed, crowds that need no prodding to be whipped into a frenzy, the … Read more
Click here for part one. This week we’ll continue with the previews of the ECAC NE, when coaches feel good about their squad’s chances and can’t wait for that first puck to be dropped. Curry College Curry College coach Rob Davies has seen the league improve greatly over the last three to four years, and … Read more
No Hole This Year Excluding exhibitions, Elmira hasn’t had a winning record four games into the season in any of the last five seasons. It has almost become expected that the Soaring Eagles will start a season slow, build momentum mid season, and end on a tare to run for the playoffs. Unfortunately, sometimes the … Read more
Even though they do not take the ice until Nov. 16, Middlebury is the new number one team in the USCHO.com Division III men’s hockey poll. Earning half of the 20 first place votes, Middlebury doubled up Manhattanville — five first place votes — who are unbeaten (3-0-1) in their first four games. Wisconsin-River Falls … Read more