Men’s D-II/III in general
With No. 2 St. Norbert’s vice-grip lock on the top spot, the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association may be mistakenly viewed as a one-horse race. The ongoing battles for the second through seventh spots continues to make for compelling viewing. The campaign’s roller-coaster ride is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that all seven NCHA teams … Read more
Some quick thoughts that jump out at the midway point of the SUNYAC season: – Geneseo and especially Buffalo State recovered very well from their NCAA sanctions last year. – Oswego recovered very nicely from losing some key players last year. – Morrisville is doing well, but slightly better than some expected. – Plattsburgh is … Read more
The last time Utica defeated Manhattanville in league play was February 2, 2008. The Valiants have won seven straight since then but the streak was broken last Friday in a game dominated by special teams. The Pioneers won 5-3 by scoring three power-play goals, a four-on-four goal, and an empty-netter at the end. “It’s been … Read more
With the first semester rapidly coming to a close, college freshman are beginning to get a taste of the torturous process known as finals week. However, for a young Wentworth Institute of Technology hockey team, the first test has already come and gone. The Leopards started the year 1-3-1, but have since rattled off a … Read more
A pivotal battle for first place in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference features familiar foes who have a habit of crashing each other’s party. This weekend, No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus faces first-place St. Thomas, a team that upset Gustavus in last season’s MIAC championship game, only to see the Gusties beat the Tommies in the … Read more
Quick, name the three hottest teams in Division III hockey right now. Okay, Oswego and St. Norbert were the easy picks. How about the third … waiting … waiting … waiting … Give up? It’s Buffalo State. Oswego has a nine-game winning streak this year; St. Norbert has won their last eight. The Bengals, after … Read more
Whether looking at accomplishment or futility involving an athlete or a team, it’s become an all too common practice to compare the longevity since that event’s occurrence to a public figure or cultural reference. The Cleveland Indians haven’t won a World Series since a movie ticket cost sixty cents. Mark Recchi scored his first NHL … Read more
Most teams have played the first third of their season already and certain things are now becoming very clear. First is that the teams in the ECAC West are very evenly matched from top to bottom. So little separates the skill of the players and the preparation of the coaching staffs that the old proverb … Read more
Chris Lerch saw a lot in 28 years of covering Division III hockey. As he says good-bye, he takes a look back at the highlights.
East meets West in Adrian College’s Hackett Builders Thanksgiving Showcase Friday and Saturday. The second-annual hockey revue at Arrington Ice Arena features three Top-10 ranked teams with No. 5 Hamline, No. 7 Adrian and No. 9 SUNY Geneseo, as well as Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Geneseo takes on Hamline at 3 p.m. Friday, followed by UW-Eau Claire … Read more
The Golden Bears field a more skilled team and have already matched their win total of a year ago. Nate Owen reports.
Milwaukee School of Engineering players remain grounded, despite getting a sniff of rarefied air with the team’s Top-15 ranking and first place standing. The Raiders pierced the NCAA Division III’s upper tier after a weekend sweep of then No. 15-ranked Marian. The victories in the home-and-home series lifted MSOE (6-0) into first place in the … Read more
Definition of Parity Ever watch a dog chase its tail? Round and round the dog goes, getting nowhere. Then, the dog gives up or tires or both and lies down licking its paw. The tail is still there. The dog accomplished nothing. It’s great fun to watch, but in the end, nothing happens. That’s the … Read more
There’s been a lot of inter-conference mingling in the early part of the season, particularly between the Northeast-10, MASCAC, and ECAC Northeast. In fact, with the exception of Franklin Pierce’s season-opening two-game series with Utica, all the Northeast-10 action has come against the MASCAC and ECAC Northeast, with varying results. The conference has an overall … Read more
Mixing It Up With five strong teams in the conference, an easy prediction before the season was that the teams would beat each other up in the standings. The early results are reinforcing that feeling. Elmira holds a slim lead as the only team to rack up two wins. The other four teams are all … Read more
All three respective D-III Western Region conference favorites — Adrian, St. Norbert and Hamline — were upset last weekend, which always makes pundits wonder how they will respond the following week, if not the remaining season. Like a claims adjustor, the first task was to assess the damage: were they substantial losses so seismic in … Read more
Green Hockey Fredonia is doing their share to save our planet; they are not wasting electricity to turn on the red light. In three conference games, there has been a total of 11 goals scored in Fredonia games. To put that in perspective, Morrisville has scored 11 goals themselves in just two games. “I think … Read more
A Grand Opening The pieces were in place. And when the lights went on, the results were there, as Plymouth State christened its new arena at Hanaway Rink with a convincing 6-0 win over Southern New Hampshire Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 900. “It might have even been a little over capacity,” first … Read more
Game of the Week It certainly is a no-brainer this week. Plattsburgh and Oswego slug it out again on the shores of Lake Ontario. The Oswego campus has been abuzz all week, as students lined up Monday morning before 7:00 a.m. for their allotment of tickets. The tickets were quickly gone once the windows opened. … Read more
With the opening of the new season comes a new format in the way coverage is going to be presented at USCHO. If you’ve taken a look at some of the Division I columns and Division III blog postings, you’ll probably have a good idea how this is going to work. If not, here’s a … Read more