St. Thomas is in a good position to repeat as regular-season champs in 2006-07, despite losing three of its top five scorers. Gone are forwards Brandon Wilcox (12-26-38) and Dan Krmpotich (12-23-35) and defenseman John Bottoms (6-15-21). Bottoms may be the biggest loss for the Tommies as coach Terry Skrypek said he played probably two-thirds … Read more
The Oswego State men’s hockey team will showcase the new Campus Center hockey arena when it hosts three of the nation’s best Division III college hockey teams Dec. 29 and 30 in the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic. The Lakers will welcome Elmira, New England College, and St. Thomas to the Campus Center hockey arena, … Read more
NCAA Tournament Bids on the Line March Madness is upon us. No, not the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament, but the MIAC and NCHA championship games. If anyone from the MIAC wants to be playing in the NCAA Tournament, they will have to win the conference tournament. It doesn’t look as if any team has played … Read more
Coming Down to the Wire After one round of the NCHA playoffs, three teams made it through as expected, but one did not. I’ll give you a preview of the semifinals and what you can expect from the four teams vying for the Peters Cup. The MIAC has one weekend of play remaining and while … Read more
It’s Go Time The postseason is upon us, at least in the NCHA. And how about that nagging question-will MSOE make the NCAA Tournament? I’ll give a quick rundown of the first round matchups in the NCHA tournament and make a case for why the Raiders are for real. NCHA Playoffs No.8 Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2-19-4 … Read more
Changing of the Guard It’s no surprise that St. Norbert is leading the NCHA with one weekend to play, but it may be a surprise to see the Green Knights in the top spot in the recent USCHO.com poll. St. Norbert stole the number one ranking away from defending champ Middlebury after the Panthers lost … Read more
Critical Weekends Last weekend was huge in the NCHA as the top two teams squared off for conference supremacy. The MIAC has its own version this week as two of the top teams battle for the conference title. The St. Norbert Showcase One point separating them. Two critical points on the line. Three weeks left … Read more
The Calm Before the Storm While hockey in the West has hardly been smooth sailing this season, one player has had a calming influence on his team this year, and throughout his career. Johnnie on the Spot For three years, Adam Hanna has been St. John’s saving grace. The senior netminder has posted a 46-9-3 … Read more
Holiday Happenings While most teams had a lengthy layover for the holiday break, there were a couple of teams in the West that played some rather important games-games that could be pivotal in determining where they wind up at season’s end. Surprising Results in Vermont Expectations were high for St. Thomas when they began the … Read more
Midway Madness It’s the holiday season once again and the teams in the West have wrapped up an exciting first half of hockey. After a bumpy start to the season, things have started to smooth out and the perennial powers are sitting on their lofty perch atop the NCHA, MIAC and MCHA. But none of … Read more
The Western Jinx Only one thing is relatively certain in Division III West Region hockey; if I write about a team in one of my columns, odds are they are going to have a terrible weekend. This theory does not apply to the conference previews, but to my first two columns. In the first column, … Read more
Unrest in the West It can arguably be called the most exciting region in Division III college hockey. For the past few weeks, the teams in the West have proven the old adage true-anybody can beat anybody on any given night. In the annual NCHA/MIAC battle, Wisconsin-Superior was upset by Bethel, St. Norbert lost to … Read more
Surprised? Join the Crowd The first few weeks of hockey in the West can be summed up with two words: what happened? The MIAC and the NCHA have been battling for supremacy in the West for years, with the NCHA sitting atop the mountain. But the past few years have seen the MIAC climb further … Read more
Chris Lerch takes a look at the top 15 teams in the USCHO.com preseason poll in the first half of his 2005-06 D-III season previews.
Freshman Phenom With Middlebury freshman Mickey Gilchrist scoring his twenty-first goal of the season in the first period tonight, he has exceeded all-rookie goal scorers at Middlebury going back to records kept from the 64-65 season. The twenty-one goals beats the previous mark of twenty held by Marc Alcindor in 1989 in his rookie campaign … Read more
Chris Lerch counts down the second half of the USCHO.com/CSTV D-III men’s preseason poll, looks at some overlooked teams, and adds his salute to the no-longer-long-suffering fans in Beantown.
Elmira captured all twelve first-place votes in the Division III Women’s Poll for the first time this season. The Soaring Eagles was idle this week, as was No. 2 Manhattanville. The highlight of last weekend’s action was a pair of games between No. 4 Wis.-Stevens point and No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus. After a 5-0 Pointer … Read more
Middlebury, RIT and St. Norbert each placed two players on the first team of the Jofa/ACHA College Division All-Americans announced today. There were only three repeat winners. RIT’s Jerry Galway was named to the first team for the third time, while Adam Kragthorpe from Wisconsin-River Falls is on the first team for the second straight … Read more
St. Thomas, with five first-place votes, came out on top of the MIAC coaches poll in a vote taken during league meetings Monday at Augsburg College. Each coach ranked all teams from first to ninth. Points were awarded on a 1-to-9 basis, with the lower total going to the team ranked first. Final Results 1. … Read more
Steve Aronson capped off his storied St. Thomas hockey career by being named the American Hockey Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III Player of the Year. Aronson, a senior from Minnetonka, Minn., becomes the first MIAC player to receive the elite award, which was announced Thursday at the Frozen Four in Providence, R.I. Aronson was also … Read more