Men’s D-II/III in general
A Rare Feat Scoring a hat trick is an accomplishment to be proud of. Scoring a natural hat trick (three consecutive goals without anyone on either team scoring during that time span, and some would say it has to happen in the same period) is an even greater achievement, though it does rely on a … Read more
Back in the Groove? Hobart stumbled through the last two weeks of last month, starting on Nov. 14 when they gave up four one goal leads against Neumann. The bottom fell out the next weekend when Hobart dropped a pair of games against Elmira and the slide continued a week later out of conference with … Read more
The Oswego Lakers are the top team in Division III college hockey. A week after splitting the vote with SUNYAC nemesis Plattsburgh, Oswego wrested control of the nation’s No. 1 ranking after hammering Brockport, 10-1, and doubling up Geneseo, 4-2. They received 12 of 20 first place votes. The Cardinals, meanwhile, skated to a 3-3 … Read more
Around the League While most students were home for Thanksgiving break, four MIAC schools saw action over the holiday weekend. St. John’s and Concordia (MN) traveled to Adrian, Michigan to face off against Buffalo State and Adrian College, St. Thomas hosted the University of Wisconsin-Superior for one game, and St. Olaf traveled to Illinois to … Read more
Unfamiliar Contempt Familiarity breeds contempt. Or so the saying goes. However, for Potsdam and Utica, two teams that haven’t played each other since Oct. 2005, they had no problems developing plenty of enmity toward each other. They played a two game series in central New York. A hard fought, hard hitting, highly emotional two contests. … Read more
With the final two Division III conferences kicking off their campaigns, already there are some surprises. Some teams have already surpassed expectations, others who have fallen short. But there is the holiday break coming and then the grind of January and February that will determine where everyone lines up for the playoffs. So if your … Read more
Adjusting In an unusual Saturday/Sunday schedule, Manhattanville lost its first two games of the year, both in non-conference play. The Valiants dropped their first contest to Curry, 3-2, and then saw its weekend completely fall apart Sunday afternoon against Williams, losing 5-1. “Curry and Williams played great road games,” said Manhattanville head coach Keith Levinthal. … Read more
Well that’s different. After last week’s top 15 featured 16 teams, Salem State’s shocking shutout of previously No. 1 St. Norbert has upended the world of Division III hockey. And those who are tasked to rank its teams were divided in their response, voting conference brethren Oswego and Plattsburgh as co-top teams. The Cardinals, however, … Read more
The looming Thanksgiving holiday and resultant short work week means that the standard weekly columns are on hiatus this week. Just because that’s the case, however, doesn’t mean the hockey is going to stop as there will be a bountiful horn of on-ice action this weekend — all of the non-conference variety. Within the MCHA … Read more
For the third consecutive week, the St. Norbert Green Knights lord over the rest of Division III hockey. In improving to 8-0-1 overall with a road sweep of the then-sixth ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons, the Green Knights acquired an additional first place vote, receiving 17 of a possible 20 top nods. Second ranked … Read more
The interlocking schedule between the ECAC East and NESCAC conferences takes on a different look this year with the departure of the Salem State Vikings and long-time head coach Bill O’Neill to the newly formed Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Replacing the Vikings are the Nor’easters from the University of New England, who under … Read more
We are still more than a month away from Christmas and all of the good New England hockey fans have been patiently waiting for their conference season to begin after enduring daily looks at the box scores from every other league in the Northeast, including the newly formed MASCAC conference. The wait is over: Friday … Read more
Weekend Roundup If anyone had any doubts as to how wide open the MIAC is this season, the opening weekend of conference play dispelled them. Only one team managed to win both games this weekend and of the eight games played only two were decided by more than two goals. Bethel topped St. John’s 5-3 … Read more
Another week brings another installment of the USCHO.com Division III men’s poll and in what is, as usual, no real shock, NCHA teams are all over the place. Five in all grace this week’s edition, and once again St. Norbert is most newsworthy. The Green Knights two game sweep over the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point … Read more
Developing Stories The season is still quite young. However, certain stories are already starting to develop. For starters, and not surprisingly, Oswego and Plattsburgh are staking their claim as the elite teams in the SUNYAC as well as national contenders. Overall, they each have only one loss, are playing tight defense, and especially in the … Read more
Growing Pains With a very youthful team, Neumann has been struggling through the first quarter of the season. The Knights are a respectable 2-2-2, despite having played a very difficult schedule to date. But Neumann is 0-2-2 in its last four games and the two losses were by large margins. “It’s all growing pains, consistency … Read more
Ibid. What better way to describe a poll where none of the top five teams (nor the top 15) change? For the second consecutive week, St. Norbert is the top team in college hockey, followed closely by Oswego, Plattsburgh, Manhattanville, and Adrian. What did change were the first place votes. Where last week saw five … Read more
Making Strides The 2009-2010 Division III women’s hockey season is well underway and we have already had a couple of major surprises to start off the season. Adrian, a team picked to make some major noise in their first season as an official member of the NCHA, is off to a 0-4 start; dropping two … Read more
Pipers Pack a Punch The biggest bright spot for the MIAC this weekend was the Hamline Pipers. On Friday, the Pipers won 6-3 at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, who may be the most improved team in the NCHA this season. On Saturday, Hamline was the only MIAC team not to lose to their rival conference, … Read more
More Offensive The Manhattanville offense is clicking nicely three weeks into the season, averaging 6.67 goals per game to lead the nation. Coming off a strong weekend against Lebanon Valley (whom Manhattanville scored 16 goals against) some might scoff at the garish numbers. Not so fast. “I was impressed with Lebanon Valley,” said Manhattanville head … Read more