Men’s D-II/III in general
Lebanon Valley College President Stephen MacDonald announced Tuesday that the Flying Dutchmen men’s hockey team will compete at the American College Hockey Association (ACHA) level for the 2010-2011 season, leaving the NCAA, Division III, and the ECAC West. “We’re really sorry to lose a quality program like Lebanon Valley,†said Michael Letzeisen, ECAC Director of … Read more
Having gone more than two seasons without a win, Lebanon Valley is moving from NCAA Division III to the American Collegiate Hockey Association starting next season. The school cited travel, costs, missed class time and competitive concerns among reasons for the change. For the second straight year, the Flying Dutchmen were 0-25 this season, 0-15 … Read more
It’s Playoff Time And with it comes this midweek column to preview the play-in round. There are two rematches of a different sort in the first round. A rematch from last year, and a rematch from last weekend. Potsdam and Brockport do it again one year later, once again at the Tuttle North Ice Arena … Read more
The Cadets have finally graduated. After nearly two months playing second fiddle to a more seasoned Oswego squad, Norwich finally grabbed sole possession of the top ranking in Division III college hockey. Now 20-1-4 on the season, the Cadets downed Connecticut College and Tufts by a combined score of 13-2; the Lakers, meanwhile, fell to … Read more
Yes, it is true. The final weekend of the regular season is upon us and there is quite a lot at stake for virtually every team. Playoff eligibility, seeding and potential home-ice positions are up for grabs in both conferences and, ironically, the scheduling gods have deemed it necessary to obtain all of those conference … Read more
Last Leg After this past weekend, the playoff picture is starting to clear up. Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline, and St. Thomas have all clinched playoff spots, although in what position they finish is still to be determined. While the top of the standings are shaking out nicely, the fight for the playoffs has become as tight … Read more
With the NCHA playoffs ramping up this weekend and the MCHA pairings all set despite one week of regular season conference action to go, what is there to talk about this week? How about the fact the first public edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings was released this Monday? Here they are for the West … Read more
Quietly Playing Well Two weeks ago, it looked like Elmira had run away with the regular season title and that Manhattanville and Hobart would have to be content with battling for second place. Oh how things have changed. Elmira has taken a nose dive, losing its last three games. The Soaring Eagles special teams collapsed … Read more
It’s here. The final week of regular season play in the ECAC Northeast has arrived. And much has rightfully been written about the tight race in the MASCAC, as the top spot and three other home ice spots are up for grabs as the season winds down. Below is a look at each of the … Read more
Last Weekend As we head into the last weekend of regular season play, let’s get the easy information out of the way. Oswego has clinched first place and home ice throughout the SUNYAC playoffs. “If you told me we would have been in this position at the start of the year with 12 freshmen and … Read more
For the second straight week — and the 10th consecutive atop Division III overall — the Oswego Lakers are the unanimous choice as the best team in college hockey. Teams two and three, Norwich and St. Norbert, remained unchanged. Moving up to fourth was Plattsburgh, who defeated both Buffalo State and Fredonia to improve to … Read more
The dog days of winter are here and that means the end of the 2009-10 campaign is already looming on the horizon. Plenty of action remains to unfold, however, as MCHA and NCHA teams get one final chance to jockey for playoff position as both leagues wrap up their conference schedules this weekend. Aside from … Read more
Middle of the Pack The teams in the middle of the ECAC West standings re-exerted themselves this past weekend, demonstrating the depth of the league. In the Game of the Week highlighted in this column, third place Hobart went into the Thunderdomes last Saturday and handed Elmira its first conference loss, 5-3. Special teams were … Read more
Settling In With just three games left in the regular season (except for Morrisville, who has four left), teams are starting to settle into certain positions. Of course, some of this is due to two teams not eligible for postseason play. The two bye positions are virtually settled. Oswego still holds a five point lead … Read more
The final two weekends of the regular season are here. Eight points — all extremely valuable — are up for grabs for each team over the final four games and, interestingly enough, they are virtually all just “two pointers†for teams in both conferences. I know, you’re thinking “hey dummy all games are worth just … Read more
Down the Stretch They Come This is the second-to-last weekend of regular season games in the MIAC, and the playoff picture is as muddy as ever. The parity in this league becomes more prevalent each week as teams continue to demonstrate that any team can beat anyone else on a given night. The top two … Read more
Massachusetts is no stranger to massive construction projects, as any Boston commuter in the 1990s or earlier portion of the last decade can tell you. But while the behemoth remodeling of the city’s major road artery is complete, there’s another rebuilding project taking place at Western New England College, where first year head coach Greg … Read more
It had to end sometime. And with ninth ranked Williams’ upset of No. 2 Norwich, the Cadets 20 game unbeaten streak — and their status as the lone unblemished team in the nation — was over. Coupled with No. 1 Oswego’s 5-2 victory over Cortland, the Lakers are again the unanimous vote as the nation’s … Read more
Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Steve Grogan announced today that 16 NCAA Division II/III players are semi-finalists for the eighth Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England playing at the D-II/III level. The list is comprises 12 forwards, two defensemen and two goalies, including two nominees … Read more
With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the pressure is on to really refine the level of play in order to garner as many points as possible in the final half dozen games of the season. This refinement will not only help define the teams’ playoff positions but also set the stage for … Read more