Bids were announced Sunday night for the 2006 NCAA Division III men’s ice hockey championship. This season marks the expansion of the tournament to a 10-team field. For the first time, three at-large bids were awarded to teams from the ECAC West. The Pool B berth was awarded to Manhattanville, which lost in the ECAC … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at who’s in, who’s out, and who’s on the bubble in his final column of the regular season.
March, it’s the month of March. And if your team is still playing this week it’s a pretty big deal. Conference bragging rights and a chance to play in the national tournament is what it all comes down to before Sunday, March 5th. At the beginning of the year every team had goals set out … Read more
The Promised Land After 45 league contests, four teams have reached the promised land of the ECAC West playoffs this weekend. Manhattanville clinched the regular season title last Friday and will host the extravaganza. But not only will the Valiants play host to the men’s tournament, they are also hosting the women’s ECAC East playoffs … Read more
Thrilla in Manhattanvilla It may not have been Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, but those who walked into Playland Ice Casino last Saturday saw more fighting than hockey. Friday’s game actually set the stage for the donnybrook that occurred late in the second period Saturday evening. Manhattanville built a 4-1 lead on Neumann by midway … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at two teams on the NCAA bubble, as well as D-III Bracketlology, Part II.
Twenty-eight teams will start this weekend full of playoff aspirations, looking to continue their seasons into March. By Saturday night half of the teams will move on and the rest of them will be done for the season. Win, you advance; lose, you go home. “It’s a really hard thing to identify with,” stated Curry … Read more
Can it be? Yes, as hard as it is to believe for both players and coaches, this next week represents the final games in the regular season. For some, it’s a chance to improve a playoff position; for others an opportunity to play more hockey in February and beyond. And for others, it’s a must-win … Read more
Breaking Records Hobart is the hottest team in the ECAC West at the moment, riding a four-game winning streak into second place as other teams continue to knock each other off. The Statesmen snuck out two tough one-goal wins against Utica at The Cooler this past weekend, setting several school records in the progress. On … Read more
The postseason is about to get underway, and Chris Lerch delivers his nationwide predictions for league playoffs. Plus, he checks in with UMass-Dartmouth to find the secret to the Corsairs’ success.
In the Hunt Elmira went into Neumann’s Ice Works rink last weekend and accomplished exactly what it needed to remain in the playoff hunt by sweeping the Knights. “Breaks that we didn’t get early on in the year, we definitely got this weekend,” said Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski. “They were two pretty well-played games. Neumann … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at some well-attended games, as well as the rise of MSOE in This Week in Division III.
There is an old expression in New England. If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes. The variability in climate in this part of the country is interesting to say the least and so is a look at the league standings after a single weekend of play at this point in the season. Teams … Read more
The ECAC Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Stephen R. Bamford as Interim Commissioner. Bamford began his tenure at the ECAC in August, 2000 and has served as assistant commissioner for officiating and compliance. Prior to the ECAC, Bamford was the director of athletics at Plymouth State University for 13 years. … Read more
Some teams are putting disctance from themselves and the rest of the pack as Chris Lerch reports in This Week in Division III.
Back On Top With a pair of wins this past weekend over Lebanon Valley, Manhattanville has re-staked its claim to the top of the league in the ECAC West. But getting past the Flying Dutchmen certainly wasn’t a cakewalk for the Valiants. Friday night pretty much went by Manhattanville’s game plan. The Valiants played a … Read more
February 2nd… A day we all wait religiously to find out whether or not we should keep the winter clothes out for another couple of months based on the ability of a large rodent in Pennsylvania to see his own shadow. With all due respect to Punxsutawney Phil, I am not one to buy-in to … Read more
Still Climbing Neumann continues its climb up the league standings and national rankings. The Knights are currently tied for second in the league with Manhattanville, although the Valiants have two games in hand. Neumann also edged closer to making the cut in this week’s USCHO.com national poll, coming in second in the “Others Receiving Votes” … Read more
Statement games! When a team plays virtually the perfect game and far exceeds the anticipated result in their favor – that’s a statement game! Examples? Middlebury 9-1 over Bowdoin Norwich 7-0 over Trinity Curry 11-0 over Wentworth All three teams made statements in their recent wins over perennial rivals that have historically posed difficulties for … Read more
It’s Upset City as St. Olaf, Tufts and Cortland rise up to beat their higher-ranked rivals. But is this a trend that will last? Chris Lerch takes a look at these upsets and breaks down the initial 2006 USCHO.com Pairwise Rankings.