Don’t call it an upset, but sixth-seeded Wisconsin-River Falls certainly captured headlines when it upset third-seeded Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the opening round of the NCHA playoffs last weekend. Playing on the road, the Falcons dropped the first game on Friday, but rebounded to win the second game, 4-1, and a mini-game tiebreaker on Saturday night … Read more
The NCAA has released the second of three weekly Division III men’s hockey regional rankings, with a final update to be published on Feb. 26. With a few changes in position, all 16 east teams from the first ranking remain in this week’s ranking. Utica remains atop the east region, again followed by Norwich. Hobart and … Read more
The NCHA announced Thursday that Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior goaltender Brandon Stephenson has been named the 2012-13 player of the year and UW-Eau Claire’s Matt Loen is the league’s coach of the year. Stephenson is 17-3-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage heading into the Peters Cup playoffs. He went undefeated from … Read more
The Wisconsin-Eau Claire men’s hockey team hopes the history it made this season is only the beginning of something special. On Saturday, the Blugolds (19-4-2, 14-3-1 in NCHA) locked up the NCHA title with a 4-1 victory at Wisconsin-Superior. It’s the first conference championship in the program’s history, and the last league title for the … Read more
The NCAA has released the first of three weekly Division III men’s hockey regional rankings, with updates to be published on Feb. 19 and Feb. 26. A similar process will be followed on selection Sunday, March 3, to determine seeding and at-large berths but those results will not be published. Utica, though voted no higher … Read more
While it hasn’t been the season they envisioned, the St. Scholastica Saints are trying to end it on a high note. Last weekend, St. Scholastica knocked off No. 4 St. Norbert and No. 14 Wisconsin-Stevens Point to complete its best series of the season. More impressively, both victories came on the road. Winning at St. … Read more
The biggest upset of the NCHA season occurred last Friday night in De Pere, Wis. Wisconsin-Stout shocked top-ranked St. Norbert, holding on to a 4-3 victory at the Cornerstone Community Center, a venue where the Green Knights seldom ever lose. The upstart Blue Devils, who came into the contest 3-7 in the NCHA, received two … Read more
The motto of the St. Norbert men’s hockey team could be, “Act like you’ve been there before.” After rolling off eight-straight wins, the Green Knights have battled their way back to the top spot in both the USCHO.com Division III men’s hockey poll and the D3hockey.com poll. St. Norbert’s last loss came on Nov. 16, … Read more
St. Norbert is the new No. 1 team in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll, getting 10 first-place votes to unseat formerly top-ranked Norwich. Norwich garnered eight first-place votes and drops to second this week. Hobart earned two first-place nods and stays ranked third. Spots four through eight remain unchanged, with Bowdoin, Oswego, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, … Read more
Despite battling through the toughest schedule in NCAA D-III, the Wisconsin-Stevens Point men’s hockey team is rolling, having won six of its last seven games, including memorable victories over two top 10 teams. The Pointers (10-6-1) have surged to the No. 15 spot in this week’s USCHO.com D-III poll. A major reason for Wis.-Stevens Point’s … Read more
Here’s what Northern Collegiate Hockey Association coaches have on their holiday wish list. On Wisconsin-Eau Claire stationary: Dear Santa, Matt Loen here, My wish list isn’t very long this year. We’re 11-2-1, currently in first place in the NCHA, and ranked third in the latest USCHO.com D-III poll. I couldn’t have asked for a better … Read more
The Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets continue to turn heads in NCAA Division III. In the past month, Wis.-Superior (8-2-1) has made a steady rise up the USCHO.com D-III Poll. In this week’s rankings, the Yellowjackets jumped from 12 to 10, and seem to be building momentum every week. Playing in the rigid Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, the … Read more
After two stellar performances, Wisconsin-Stout goaltender Nick Hopper may have solidified himself as the Blue Devils’ starting netminder. Hopper, a senior, was named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 19. With a remarkable 59 saves, Hopper propelled the Blue Devils to back-to-back wins over nationally-ranked teams in … Read more
After being showered with accolades as a freshman, it would have been easy for St. Norbert College goalie David Jacobson to fall into a sophomore slump this season. However, through nine games, Jacobson has put together numbers that make last season look like a warm-up act. The sophomore netminder has led the Green Knights, the … Read more
The Wisconsin-Eau Claire men’s hockey team is off to its best start in four years, due in large part to the play of three Eau Claire natives. Senior forward Isaiah Bennis, junior defenseman David Donnellan, and senior forward Andrew McCabe have all stepped up to lead the Blugolds to a 6-0 start. Wis.-Eau Claire is … Read more
The Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons moved up three spots in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll on the strength of an impressive 4-0 start. In the latest poll, released Monday, Wis.-River Falls climbed to No. 9, and is the second-highest ranked team in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, behind No. 3 St. Norbert. Okay, you could … Read more
For six out of the seven teams in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, the goal is clear: try to somehow weaken St. Norbert’s grip on the NCHA title. The Green Knights have won the last three regular season and playoff championships, along with at least a share of the regular season title 10 of the … Read more
There are a few shared themes throughout the MCHA when looking at the 2012-13 season: Youth, change, and excitement can be felt collectively throughout the conference. The always-successful Adrian Bulldogs have 18 underclassmen on their roster. They will look to pull on the experience of the 14-member sophomore class as they strive to take back … Read more
St. Norbert has won the last two Division III national championships and earned five of seven first-place votes in the NCHA preseason coaches’ poll. Conference play opens Oct. 26-27. This is also the final season for the five schools who are also members of the WIAC – Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-River Falls, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Stout and … Read more
Marian defenseman Tommy Fitzpatrick has agreed to a tryout with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL and will not be back with the Sabres for his senior season. Although Fitzpatrick has chosen not to participate in his final year of eligibility, he had already completed his business management degree in three years, according to … Read more