Men’s D-II/III in general
It was a new beginning in Rochester, N.Y., this fall. Not for the storied Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, or the almost 30-year-old club program at the University of Rochester, but at Nazareth College, which iced its first varsity men’s hockey team in October. The preparation, though, began much, much earlier than that. … Read more
With all 20 first-place votes this week, Oswego retains its No. 1 ranking in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll. Norwich remains No. 2, while Adrian rises two places to No. 3, Wisconsin-Eau Claire jumps four to sit fourth and Plattsburgh dips one to No. 5. St. Norbert falls three to No. 6, Hobart is … Read more
Frank Salituro has gotten Hobart off to a strong start in his final season with the Statesmen. Dan Hickling reports.
The Plymouth State Panthers put themselves on the hockey map after winning the 2011-12 MASCAC championship, which also helped secure a first-ever trip to the NCAA D-III tournament. Opponents are now taking a closer look at the Panthers when the program pops up on their schedule. However, it is not just other teams that are … Read more
Brian Fleming could tell you what watching and waiting is like. The Manhattanville College sophomore goaltender spent last season observing former Valiants netminder Pierre Olivier-Lemieux start all but three games during the 2011-12 campaign. This year though, the workhorse from Quebec wasn’t between the Manhattanville pipes to start a season for the first time since … Read more
Chris Glionna speaks with tremendous pride and passion when he talks about taking part in the evolution of freshmen, not only as athletes, but as students as well. That’s a good thing, especially this season, considering he has 15 of them on his roster. After a season to forget last year, when Suffolk stumbled to … Read more
Just three games into the 2012-13 campaign and already the Massachusetts-Boston Beacons have seen a lot of different situations to chalk-up as learning experiences. With 13 freshmen on the roster, everything is new at the college hockey level, and at 2-1-0 entering this weekend, coach peter Belisle likes a lot of what he has seen … Read more
Always the last conference to kick off its regular season, the NESCAC comes together this year as maybe the most balanced conference in the nation. Last season saw two new coaches join the conference and add to its illustrious group of hockey minds. This season sees the addition of former Mass.-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald to … Read more
The top four teams remain the same as last week in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll, including top-ranked Oswego, which received 17 of 20 first-place votes this week. No. 3 St. Norbert garnered two first-place votes and No. 8 Wisconsin-Eau Claire had the other. Norwich stays No. 2 this week and Plattsburgh is back … Read more
T.J. Manastersky has pondered and plotted and gone through all of the motions, both in his head and on the ice. What to do at even strength, on the power play, on the penalty kill, trailing in the game, leading in the game, you name it. It’s understandable, of course. Manastersky, named the coach at … Read more
R.J. Tolan’s been through it all before. As the Wentworth coach set out on his seventh season at the helm of the Leopards last month, another cloud full of expectations hovered over him. Such is life when you run the ECAC Northeast’s marquee program, one that has a culture and an identity synonymous with … Read more
In a week following the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy along the Northeast corridor, it seemed a bit ironic that a team with a Nor’easter mascot claimed responsibility for one of the biggest early season upsets last Saturday evening when the University of New England defeated Castleton, 3-2, in overtime. Castleton came into the game … Read more
It wasn’t as if the 2-1 win amounted to a major upset, though, as the Gusties were ranked No. 5 in the country. The thing coach Brett Petersen wants people to remember however, is that although his team got the win, it wasn’t the better team on the ice that night. “We got outplayed and … Read more
The Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons moved up three spots in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll on the strength of an impressive 4-0 start. In the latest poll, released Monday, Wis.-River Falls climbed to No. 9, and is the second-highest ranked team in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, behind No. 3 St. Norbert. Okay, you could … Read more
Westfield State Owls coach Bob Miele is ready to get his hockey team on the right path this season after only putting together 13 wins in the past two years. Starting slowly then finishing strong, or vice versa, had Miele looking for answers on why his team could not put together a full season in … Read more
Hockey players will eagerly go the extra mile to get ahead. In Todd Graham’s case, those miles have often come about 10,000 at a time while wedged for hours and hours in the seat of an airplane. Then again, when you’re large, Australian, and itching to play hockey, you’ll range as far afield as you … Read more
With 15 first-place votes, Oswego takes over as the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll this week. Last week’s No. 1 team, St. Norbert, received four first-place votes, but tumbled to third in the poll. No. 2 Norwich, up one notch from No. 3 last week, had the other first-place vote. Plattsburgh … Read more
With hope and prayers that everyone in the Northeast has safely come through the effects of Hurricane Sandy, I now turn to what is sure to be turbulence and shifting winds throughout the ECAC East season set to begin on Friday night. While the picture at the top seems quite clear in what Norwich and … Read more
Expectations are always high at St. Thomas. It comes with the territory of being one of the top Division III programs in college hockey. The Tommies tallied their 30th consecutive winning season a year ago, winning the regular season crown in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and advancing to the NCAA tournament, where they lost … Read more
The opening week of SUNYAC play featured some middle-of-the-season-like individual performances. For instance, Cortland forwards A.J. Moyer (two goals, one assist) and Michael Lysyj (one goal, two assists) each enjoyed three-point nights in the season-opening 7-4 loss at Oswego. It was the most goals ever put up by the Red Dragons at Oswego. “To … Read more