Men’s D-II/III in general
Breaking Records Hobart is the hottest team in the ECAC West at the moment, riding a four-game winning streak into second place as other teams continue to knock each other off. The Statesmen snuck out two tough one-goal wins against Utica at The Cooler this past weekend, setting several school records in the progress. On … Read more
The postseason is about to get underway, and Chris Lerch delivers his nationwide predictions for league playoffs. Plus, he checks in with UMass-Dartmouth to find the secret to the Corsairs’ success.
In the Hunt Elmira went into Neumann’s Ice Works rink last weekend and accomplished exactly what it needed to remain in the playoff hunt by sweeping the Knights. “Breaks that we didn’t get early on in the year, we definitely got this weekend,” said Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski. “They were two pretty well-played games. Neumann … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at some well-attended games, as well as the rise of MSOE in This Week in Division III.
Changing of the Guard It’s no surprise that St. Norbert is leading the NCHA with one weekend to play, but it may be a surprise to see the Green Knights in the top spot in the recent USCHO.com poll. St. Norbert stole the number one ranking away from defending champ Middlebury after the Panthers lost … Read more
There is an old expression in New England. If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes. The variability in climate in this part of the country is interesting to say the least and so is a look at the league standings after a single weekend of play at this point in the season. Teams … Read more
A Grand Farewell What better way for Oswego to say goodbye to the Romney Field House than with an emotional roller coaster shootout 7-6 victory over archrival Plattsburgh and then blowing out Potsdam, 9-3, to wrap up the sold out weekend. However, it wasn’t easy. Despite the bravado Oswego coach Ed Gosek put on during … Read more
The ECAC Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Stephen R. Bamford as Interim Commissioner. Bamford began his tenure at the ECAC in August, 2000 and has served as assistant commissioner for officiating and compliance. Prior to the ECAC, Bamford was the director of athletics at Plymouth State University for 13 years. … Read more
Thanks to new leadership and a powerhouse rookie class, Matthew Webb finds St. Scholastica making its mark on the NCHA.
Some teams are putting disctance from themselves and the rest of the pack as Chris Lerch reports in This Week in Division III.
Back On Top With a pair of wins this past weekend over Lebanon Valley, Manhattanville has re-staked its claim to the top of the league in the ECAC West. But getting past the Flying Dutchmen certainly wasn’t a cakewalk for the Valiants. Friday night pretty much went by Manhattanville’s game plan. The Valiants played a … Read more
Crank Up The Stress “For all the coaches, I’m sure it’s stressful,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. I have always written that I believe the SUNYAC playoff system is the best in all of college hockey because it allows for every team-no matter what position they are in-to fight for a spot in the standings … Read more
February 2nd… A day we all wait religiously to find out whether or not we should keep the winter clothes out for another couple of months based on the ability of a large rodent in Pennsylvania to see his own shadow. With all due respect to Punxsutawney Phil, I am not one to buy-in to … Read more
Critical Weekends Last weekend was huge in the NCHA as the top two teams squared off for conference supremacy. The MIAC has its own version this week as two of the top teams battle for the conference title. The St. Norbert Showcase One point separating them. Two critical points on the line. Three weeks left … Read more
They don’t make ’em like Romney Field House any more. As the swan song nears for Oswego hockey’s longtime home, Russell Jaslow tells the classic arena’s story.
Big Weekends in the West The next two weekends feature some of the most exciting match-ups and biggest rivalries in the West that will have serious playoff implications. The MIAC and NCHA races look like they will come to down to the wire, while MSOE is getting closer and closer to locking up the MCHA. … Read more
Still Climbing Neumann continues its climb up the league standings and national rankings. The Knights are currently tied for second in the league with Manhattanville, although the Valiants have two games in hand. Neumann also edged closer to making the cut in this week’s USCHO.com national poll, coming in second in the “Others Receiving Votes” … Read more
Bizarro World Last week I mentioned there was perfect symmetry for the start of the second half of conference play as the travel partners squared off coincidentally giving us the match ups of 1st vs. 8th, 2nd vs. 7th, and so on. With that symmetry, one would have expected some of the outcomes to be … Read more
Statement games! When a team plays virtually the perfect game and far exceeds the anticipated result in their favor – that’s a statement game! Examples? Middlebury 9-1 over Bowdoin Norwich 7-0 over Trinity Curry 11-0 over Wentworth All three teams made statements in their recent wins over perennial rivals that have historically posed difficulties for … Read more
It’s Upset City as St. Olaf, Tufts and Cortland rise up to beat their higher-ranked rivals. But is this a trend that will last? Chris Lerch takes a look at these upsets and breaks down the initial 2006 USCHO.com Pairwise Rankings.