Men’s D-II/III in general
Oswego Makes First Big Statement Oswego accomplished two tasks early in the 2009-10 season. The Lakers broke a 10 game winless streak against their arch nemesis and they became the team to beat in the SUNYAC. And they did it on the road. They accomplished these tasks be defeating Plattsburgh, 5-2, after blowing a 2-0 … Read more
The first regular season installment of the USCHO.com Division III men’s poll was released on Monday, and at first glance it looks pretty much as expected. Five NCHA teams grace the top 15 and Adrian is hanging out roughly where it has for the better part of the past two years. The big mover was … Read more
What is past is prologue. Or so it must seem to the St. Norbert Green Knights who, a year removed from a national championship, can again lay claim to being the top team in D-III college hockey. Gaining any sense of comfort upon that throne, however, would probably prove unwise. Closely mimicking the preseason poll, … Read more
Welcome back for what should no doubt be another chaotic season. Though many things changed from a season ago, the preseason USCHO.com Division III men’s poll is not one of them: it remains littered with NCHA teams, six in all. Defending Peters Cup champion Stout was the highest of the bunch and checked in at … Read more
MIAC Showcase The inaugural MIAC Showcase was held at the Bloomington Ice Gardens this last weekend. From Friday through Sunday, all nine teams from the MIAC got to go out and face off against each other. It wasn’t a tournament format: there were no playoffs or seedings, no champion declared or trophy won, nor was … Read more
First Big Upset It didn’t take long for the first big upset involving a SUNYAC team. Morrisville, playing their first game of the season, stunned Elmira, playing their third game, 2-1, in the Thunderdomes. “A great win for our program,” Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. “A great confidence boost. I think it’s huge. I told … Read more
Splitting the Mustangs In a bit of a surprise, Elmira split a home-and-home series with the Morrisville Mustangs this past weekend. Coming off a rough and tumble weekend against Oswego, the Soaring Eagles are a bit dinged up and keenly felt the loss of the missing players against Morrisville. “The games were interesting to say … Read more
Every season across Division III hockey it seems that parity becomes more and more prevalent. As one coach put it, “it used to be that you could look at your schedule and pencil in six to seven games as ones that you’d win; now you look at it and it’s maybe one to two.†This … Read more
It wasn’t too long ago when the SUNYAC was stacked with talented goaltenders. Netminders like Brett Walker, Rick Scott, Craig Neilson, Sean Sheehan, Matt Meacham, Ryan Venturelli, Tyson Gajda, Greg Van’t Hof, and Ben Binga. Now, there are a plethora of questions concerning goaltending for many teams. Plattsburgh lost Bryan Hince to the pros. Oswego … Read more
It is most definitely a cliché, but Neumann stunned the college hockey world when they walked away with the 2009 national championship last March. After stumbling through most of the season, the Knights got hot in the playoffs and ran the table all the way to the final buzzer in Lake Placid. That team was … Read more
After a trip to the NCAA semifinal game last season, where Hobart lost to eventual champion Neumann, the Statesmen are hungry to get back to the Promised Land this year. Hobart has played in the NCAA tournament three of the last four years, but the team knows it needs to take care of all of … Read more
The last couple of seasons have not been friendly to the Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen. Two seasons ago, Lebanon Valley went 1-23-1 and barely survived an effort to kill the program. Last year, with 17 freshmen on the roster, the Flying Dutchmen continued to struggle going winless during the season. Needless to say, the challenges … Read more
Manhattanville stumbled early last season, going 0-2-1 against Neumann within the first five games of the year, despite having what appeared to be a more talented team. The Valiants got rolling, though, losing only once in its next 19 contests and finished second in the regular season standings. Looking at the Manhattanville roster before this … Read more
Despite starting out last season with all sorts of promise, the Utica Pioneers struggled during much of the year. The Pioneers were strong out of conference, going 6-2-2 in 10 non-conference games, and amassed a 4-1-1 record by the middle of November. But the defense faltered when league play began in earnest and Utica dropped … Read more
The 2008-2009 season was remarkable for the ECAC West. The Neumann Knights ran the playoff table in stunning fashion and captured the national championship. As if that wasn’t enough, other teams in the ECAC West also had extended seasons. Hobart made it to the NCAA semifinal round, riding the coat tails of senior All-American goaltender … Read more
After eight seasons at the helm of the Elmira Soaring Eagles, Tim Ceglarski retired last April. The college immediately started a search for a new coach and landed former player and former assistant coach Aaron Saul, who had been the head coach of Potsdam State the past two seasons. Transitions are always a disruptive time, … Read more
Controlled chaos. How else to better explain USCHO’s inaugural USCHO.com Division III men’s hockey poll? Eight different teams received first place votes, with six each having a lone supporter. The top two squads–Plattsburgh, last year’s top ranked team for much of the year and Neumann, the defending national champion–are separated by a mere eight points, … Read more
For the past nine seasons, the NCHA has been a modicum of stability. It has been a highly competitive eight team league with a balanced 14 game league schedule and a nice symmetrical playoff bracket. Though there is no question the league will remain as competitive as ever this season, it’s time to throw everything … Read more
St. Norbert College has announced that Mark Mazzoleni will be joining the staff of head coach Tim Coghlin for the upcoming season. A Green Bay, Wis. native, Mazzoleni was a four-year letter winning goaltender at Michigan State from 1977-80. Mazzoleni is no stranger to the Division III and the NCHA, having coached UW-Stevens Point to … Read more
Westfield State recently announced the hiring of Bob Miele as the new head coach of it’s men’s hockey program. Miele served as an assistant with the college for the past two seasons and replaces former head coach Jerry Keefe who earlier this off-season accepted a position as an assistant with Division I Brown University. He … Read more