Bizarro World Last week I mentioned there was perfect symmetry for the start of the second half of conference play as the travel partners squared off coincidentally giving us the match ups of 1st vs. 8th, 2nd vs. 7th, and so on. With that symmetry, one would have expected some of the outcomes to be … Read more
Finally Progress It’s no secret that Elmira has been struggling all season. The Soaring Eagles only managed to win one of five league games in the first half of the season, and despite two early wins against Plattsburgh and Oswego lost six of their next nine games. But there are signs that Elmira is turning … Read more
Alternating Current In an unusual quirk of scheduling, Utica and Neumann played three straight games against each other over the last two weekends. The string began in the championship game of the St. Michael’s Tournament over the holidays and culminated with a pair of league games at the Utica Aud this past weekend. But despite … Read more
Still Rolling Neumann continued its roll from the first half of the season into the second, posting its first-ever tournament championship at the Saint Michael’s Tournament over New Year’s weekend. The Knights started out on Friday putting a hurt on host St. Michael’s right from the opening faceoff. Neumann tallied six goals in the first … Read more
Turnaround As the saying goes, “Who’d of thunk it?” If Las Vegas took bets on college hockey, how many people would have plunked down their hard-earned money to wager that Neumann would be 8-4 at the mid-season break? Or have conference wins over Utica at home and Elmira on the road? Or have non-conference sweeps of … Read more
Tossing Teddys Utica head coach Gary Heenan believes that an essential ingredient to a successful hockey program is building ties with its surrounding community. Last season, while on the road recruiting, he watched as local fans threw teddy bears and other stuffed animals onto the ice following the team’s first goal, all meant to benefit a … Read more
Hats Galore There is something special about a hat trick in college hockey. First of all, they aren’t all that common in Division III, unless the game is a blowout where one team puts up a double digit score. Second, the diffusion of talent across all of Division III has also resulted in scoring being … Read more
A Different Team Since joining the ECAC West four seasons ago, it is no secret that Neumann has struggled. Over that time span, the Knights have a combined total of 10 wins and haven’t been competitive in many of the other games. However, with an infusion of new blood, this year might represent the tipping … Read more
Hobart’s (lack of) Power Play Last weekend wasn’t quite what Hobart coach Mark Taylor was hoping for. The Statesmen hit the road for games at Utica and Manhattanville, and Hobart was swept. “The games weren’t what we wanted outcome-wise,” said Taylor. “We wanted to come out of there with some points, and didn’t. So we … Read more
Several teams around the ECAC West are flooded with new players this season. As seen in my season preview last week, the coaches are cautiously optimistic about the season but realize that getting the freshmen up to speed may take a while. If the start that Elmira and Utica have gotten off to is any … Read more
Alex Todd has been named head coach of the Castleton State men’s ice hockey team. Todd, a native of Wisconsin, was an assistant at Utica College last season. Todd takes over a Spartans program that is looking for its first win. Castleton State began play two seasons ago under former coach Greg Stone, and joined … Read more
The ECAC West will switch to a three-game format for its regular season beginning as soon as 2005-06, and is considering expanding its conference playoffs. The schedule change was agreed to during a conference call on Monday. Under the new format, each team would play each other team in the conference three times, with two … Read more
Neumann College has appointed Dennis Williams its men’s ice hockey coach and assistant athletic director, replacing Nick Russo, who stepped down earlier this year.
Nick Russo, head coach of the Neumann’s men’s ice hockey program since its inception six year ago, has resigned. It was a mutual decision by the administration and Russo. Russo “Six years of building a program from the ground up takes its toll physically,” said Russo. “The program has turned the corner, and it was … Read more
Matthew Kennedy has been chosen to take the reins of the Neumann women’s hockey program. The announcement was made by Director of Athletics Chuck Sack. Kennedy, a 2001 graduate of the school, played for the Neumann men for two seasons after transferring from Mohawk Valley Community College where he was a Junior College All-American. He … Read more
Five finalists have been pared down from the 15 nominees for the 2003 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented anually to “college hockey’s finest citizen” during Frozen Four weekend. The announcement of this year’s recipient will be made Friday, April 11 in Buffalo, N.Y. The five are John Flint, senior, St. Michael’s; Chanda Gunn, junior, Northeastern; Bryan … Read more
Last year was Neumann’s rookie season in the ECAC West. After playing an independent Division III schedule for three seasons, the Knights stepped into league play and received an eye-opening reception, getting thoroughly thumped in most of their contests. “It couldn’t get any worse than last year,” said Neumann coach Nick Russo. “I say that, … Read more
The Neumann Knights are entering their fourth season as a hockey team, all under coach Nick Russo, but this year is different. Neumann is no longer playing an independent schedule, no longer playing games against club teams and weaker D-III teams and no longer on the outside looking in. Neumann has joined the ECAC West … Read more
ECAC West athletic directors have accepted the applications of both Utica College and Neumann College for admission into the league, at league meetings being held on Cape Cod this week.