Men’s D-II/III in general
The field of 11 teams for the 2012 NCAA Division III men’s championship was announced Sunday evening. Eight conferences have been awarded automatic bids: ECAC East (Norwich), ECAC Northeast (Wentworth), MASCAC (Plymouth State), MCHA (Milwaukee School of Engineering), MIAC (Gustavus Adolphus), NESCAC (Amherst), NCHA (St. Norbert) and SUNYAC (Plattsburgh). The remaining three teams (Elmira, Oswego, … Read more
Amherst swept the NESCAC player of the year awards as senior goalie Jonathan La Rose is the men’s honoree and junior defender Geneva Lloyd won top honors for the women’s conference. La Rose has been the foundation for a remarkable season for the Lord Jeffs, as they rolled to the top seed in this year’s … Read more
Injuries in all team sports are a fact of life. You know they are going to happen, and yet there is no real way to prepare for them or identify who the casualty list is going to take from your lineup over the course of the season. For the Norwich Cadets, who have been at … Read more
No. 5 Neumann at No. 3 Hobart It certainly isn’t the most-likely matchup for the ECAC West championship game on Saturday, but it is a testament to the depth of a league that has five of the top 11 teams included in this week’s NCAA eastern regional rankings. No. 5 Neumann travels to The Cooler … Read more
This is the seventh year I’ve been helping out with these awards. I’ll repeat what I always do — I only coordinate this effort. I do not select these awards, nor does USCHO. It is the coaches who choose, in the same way they select the other SUNYAC year-end awards. I just count the votes, … Read more
When Plymouth State and Salem State meet at 6 p.m. Saturday for the MASCAC tournament championship, the winner will achieve something historic — as the league’s first postseason champion, one team will earn the MASCAC’s first automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Plymouth State, the No. 1 seed in the six-team conference tournament, earned its … Read more
MIAC The MIAC Preseason Coach’s poll was spot on when it picked No. 8 St. Thomas and No. 11 Gustavus Adolphus to finish first and second in the conference, but thanks to St. Olaf’s upset win at St. Thomas last week, Gustavus will now host St. Olaf in the MIAC tournament title game Saturday. St. … Read more
The SUNYAC announced Wednesday that commissioner Dr. Patrick Damore will retire from his post on June 30, 2012. Damore has served as the first and only commissioner in the history of the conference and has held the position since 1979, acting in the full-time capacity since 1985. “It has been a great honor to serve … Read more
The top five spots in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll remain unchanged, including Oswego in the No. 1 slot. Oswego garnered 16 of 20 first-place votes, while No. 2 Norwich and No. 3 Amherst were each atop two ballots. Plattsburgh stays fourth, as does St. Norbert in the fifth spot. Adrian jumps one to … Read more
Concordia (Wis.) announced Thursday that head coach Tony Hrkac, the program’s only coach since starting the program in 2007, will not return next season. “I have a great deal of respect for Tony Hrkac and the time he invested in accepting the incredibly difficult task of starting our men’s hockey program,” Concordia director of athletics … Read more
No. 5 Neumann at No. 1 Elmira Five straight regular season championships. That is the milestone that Elmira clinched last Saturday when it beat Utica, 6-3. It is the longest regular season title streak in the history of the ECAC West, surpassing hated RIT’s run of four straight from 1998-2002. “That is pretty unbelievable when … Read more
The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Thursday the 18 semi-finalists for the 12th annual Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born college player in New England playing at the Division II/Division III level. Last year’s winner was Castleton’s Josh Harris. The Gridiron Club plans to announce the finalists and winner of the … Read more
Now let’s see: What’s that old expression? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” For NESCAC’s number one seed Amherst Lord Jeffs, it really doesn’t seem like anything is “broke” on their 20-3-1 record heading into this weekend’s quarterfinal matchup with Hamilton at home. The fact is they really haven’t changed much all season with … Read more
Last week’s announcement by Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) commissioner Gary Karner that the five University of Wisconsin schools would leave the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) and form a WIAC conference starting the 2014-2015 season made waves in the West Region, as well as the rest of Division III hockey. The initial announcement caught … Read more
Four ECAC Northeast and MASCAC teams have at least a week off between conference playoff games, and the obvious task would be to do whatever a team possibly could to stave off monotony in that time. However, when asked how he’ll keep his team fresh between its final regular-season game and its first playoff game, … Read more
A look at the two play-in games Wednesday in the SUNYAC.
Realignment has hit D-III hockey with the defection of the WIAC schools. What will the future hold for the NCHA’s remaining members, and what do the Wisconsin schools plan for scheduling? Jason Karnosky reports.
Oswego stays atop the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll this week after getting 16 of 20 first-place votes. No. 2 Norwich and No. 3 Amherst each garnered two first-place votes. Plattsburgh stays fourth, while St. Norbert and St. Thomas trade places this week as St. Norbert moves from sixth to fifth. Adrian moves up one … Read more
The NCHA announced Thursday that St. Norbert senior forward Johan Ryd has been voted player of the year by the coaches of the men’s conference and Mark Wick of St. Scholastica was named coach of the year. Ryd ranked first in the NCHA in overall (33 points) and conference scoring (25 points) while leading the … Read more
This is it. The last weekend of the regular season. No more, “We’ll get ’em next week.” No more, “We need some points next weekend.” No more, “We’ll learn from these lessons and apply them next week.” For next week is the playoffs. This is your last chance to either get in them, host a … Read more