Men’s D-II/III in general
It would be somewhat easy for me to take a look at last year’s preview of the NESCAC conference and repeat many of the comments brought forth by the league coaches there are a lot of similar themes. Like last year the defending league and national champions are coming out of Middlebury and everyone has … Read more
Team Overview: For head coach Chris Potter, this is the third recruiting class coming in as he has built the program. His primary focus early on has been on the defensive end of the ice and it has paid dividends with the Cardinals yielding only 61 total goals last season. “When I first came here … Read more
Team Overview: Amherst is exactly one of the teams who was at the top of the standings in January (second place) and finished in sixth on the basis of results in a handful of games. “This league is just so tough,” said head coach Jack Arena. “Whether you are playing the NESCACs or the ECAC … Read more
Chris Glionna, entering his third year behind the Suffolk University bench, is excited about his team’s chances this year, and especially about a return to the playoffs. “We’ve only been there once since 1992, and I’d like to make the jump this year. Offensively, we can score with anybody. John Rocchio is one of the … Read more
Team Overview: “We basically won with really good team defense and exceptional goaltending,” said Middlebury coach Bill Beaney. “In fact we were a little challenged offensively which we would like to change this year.” Hard to believe a team that scored 137 goals last season was challenged offensively especially with junior Mickey Gilchrist (24-26-50) and … Read more
Up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Plymouth State coach Brett Tryder is coming off of two strong years. He has nine of twelve forwards returning, meaning three full lines will be intact. Senior Goose Lacroix will be counted on to at least equal his more than point a game average from last year, … Read more
Team Overview: The Mules enter this season looking for some depth having played several games down the stretch with a limited number of skaters. “We will have a lot better numbers this season, noted head Coach Jim Tortorella. We have a nice mix of some veteran guys and some new guys that should help us. … Read more
Team Overview: Injuries took their toll on the Jumbos coming down the stretch last season as they seemed poised to make the conference playoffs. This year head coach Brian Murphy likes his overall numbers which should provide some much needed depth: “We will have better numbers so we shouldn’t get caught only dressing 13 or … Read more
Team Overview: The Ephs’ second-place finish last season might have been a surprise to everyone else but coach Bill Kangas: “You just want to keep building momentum and its cliché, but play better in every game than one you played the night before. We were fairly young last season but those guys have a full … Read more
Team Overview: OK, not to beat a dead horse but head coach Jim Ward will have a very young team this year and expects the team to grow literally game by game. “We will probably have fifteen or more freshmen and sophomores in the lineup every night,” noted Ward. “I have really been impressed with … Read more
Erik Noack knows where his Johnson & Wales team is strong. “Our strength is in our forwards, like Dave Notartomaso and Matt McGilvary. We also have forwards who have played college hockey for a couple of years.” McGilvary, a sophomore, led the team in scoring last year, and Notartomaso is a redshirt freshman of whom … Read more
Team Overview: “You know the strength of our team is going to be on the blue line,” said head coach Phil Grady. “We surely lost a big class and will have a lot of young guys coming in eager to play this year. Losing Gus(Katsuras) is tough but it may be a good thing in … Read more
First-year coach Chris Bernard is excited about taking over at Western New England College, and he feels his troops are, as well. “We have a really competitive group who’ll play an up-tempo, physical style of play. We’re really bolstered by a big, strong sophomore class.” Some of the sophomores include last year’s leading scorer Mike … Read more
With the drop of the puck finally here, the ECAC Northeast Division III conference is comprised of teams that improve each year, not only on the ice, but off the ice, with more aggressive recruiting efforts. Pre-season polls have the league’s coaches choosing Curry College as the 2006-07 favorite, with UMass Dartmouth second. These are … Read more
R.J. Tolan is preparing for his rookie season behind the Wentworth bench. He seems pleased so far by what he’s seen. “Our depth up front will be our strength. We’ve got Matt Koehler returning, and he was our leading scorer last year, and we’re just going to find out how things go, as they go … Read more
The St. Anselm men’s hockey team is the favorite to win the Northeast-10 Conference Men’s Ice Hockey Championship according to the preseason coaches’ poll. The Hawks received 35 points, including five first-place votes, edging second pick Southern New Hampshire. The Penmen took 28 points and the remaining first-place bid. St. Michael’s took third in the … Read more
Team Overview: The Pilgrims were on the bubble last year when it came time for the at-large bids for the NCAA tournament despite almost twenty wins. This year’s team looks to be markedly different from recent teams in terms of age and experience. “We graduated a big class and lost some other kids from the … Read more
Team Overview: For St. Michael’s, the battle for recognition in the ECAC East is focused on the regular season. The Purple Knights are a D-II school like St. Anselm’s and hope to earn the respect of their opponents in the conference by succeeding during the season before the playoffs. Jared Silver leads an improved Purple … Read more
Team Overview: When is year two really year one? For head coach Neil Sinclair, he is entering his second season at Skidmore but has his first recruiting class coming on board to his program. “This is my first recruiting class here because of the timing of getting the job when Coach Dion resigned,” Sinclair explained. … Read more
Team Overview: The key thing about taking over a new program is the constant drive to improve the roster and quality of play on the ice. Second-year head coach Alex Todd has been working on both and fit in a pre-season conversation while on the road for a recruiting trip prior to starting practices on … Read more