SUNYAC Expansion Plans The SUNYAC hockey league has been set at eight teams since 1993-94 when Buffalo State joined as a provisional member moving up the next year to a full-fledged participant. That number will change in a few years as the SUNYAC as a whole will be welcoming in a new member-Morrisville-who has a … Read more
At the beginning of the season, Norwich looked to be just another average team after years of being among DIII’s best. Now on a nine-game win streak, the Cadets seem to be heading back to their winning ways. Chris Lerch finds out how the Cadets got back on track, and gives us some players to watch for in the second half of the 2005-2006 season.
While playoff contenders shake off the holiday rust, Chris Lerch profiles two teams-Neumann and Wisconsin-Stout-who have surprised most observers with their strong starts. Can they keep up their momentum and compete for a playoff spot?
Midseason Awards Most USCHO writers provide their midseason reports, reviews, and rewards in their last column before the holidays. Me? I’m doing it in my first column back from the holidays. Why? No reason except I sat down in front of the computer realizing I have no idea what I was going to write about. … Read more
Call The Labor Department Someone should file unfair overtime labor practices for the sake of the Potsdam players. The Bears have played five consecutive overtime games, and in their 14 games this year, 50 percent of them have gone to the extra period. Potsdam is 1-2-4 in those seven games. Three of those overtimes came … Read more
As the holiday break approaches, Chris Lerch hands out his midterm grades to leagues all across Division III-from the expected powerhouse performance of Middlebury to the sudden downfall of Minnesota-Crookston.
First, the bad news. Two teams in DIII are under fire for discipline and eligibility issues. However, some struggling programs are starting to put the pieces together. Chris Lerch will tell you who’s up and who’s down in this edition of This Week in DIII.
Break Up The Bengals! It is extremely difficult for any team–no matter how good they are–to take the trip all the way up to the North Country, walk into always tough Stafford Arena and difficult Maxcy Hall and beat both Plattsburgh and Potsdam in the same weekend, no matter how good or bad those teams’ … Read more
The Unwanted Shootout Three SUNYAC teams participated in two tournaments over the holidays, and it was Brockport that came away with the best result. Though technically the Golden Eagles “lost” in the PAL Cup championship game in a shootout, their official record shows they didn’t lose a game. “Mixed feelings,” Brockport coach James Eccles said … Read more
Chris Lerch takes a look at everything that happened over Thanksgiving weekend, including disappointments and surprises in the NCHA, officiating and the latest kick in the guts, courtesy of (who else?) the Boston Bruins management.
Chris Lerch previews all the tournament action in This Week in Division III.
Ryan3 Two games away from the midway point of the season, Oswego is in first place with a perfect 5-0 conference record thanks to the Ryan show-Ryan Ellis, Ryan Woodward, and Ryan Scott. First, Oswego scored a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals in front of a huge crowd at Stafford Arena. Woodward led off the … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at the start of the ECAC East and NESCAC seasons, while looking ahead to the Thanksgiving tournaments ahead. Plus, you’ll get an exclusive look at the advent of the Division III College Hockey Showcase.
Chris Lerch looks at the rise of the MIAC in This Week in Division III for November 11, 2005.
Some Answers But More Questions So, after the first full weekend of conference play, some questions were answered. However, as is typical, even more questions got raised. Heading into this past weekend, the questions to answer were when was Oswego going to wake up, how bad of a start would Potsdam get, is Geneseo prepared … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at This Week in Division III
I suppose it’s fitting that the two westernmost teams in the east decided to go further west for a pair of games against two Wisconsin schools. Fredonia and Buffalo State took a long bus trip to St. Norbert and Marian. Each came away with a split, some fond memories and a chance to get to … 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
You can’t tell the coaches without a scorecard. Three teams sport new men at the helm, and the teams affected range from the champion to the non-playoff entities. After guiding Geneseo to their second SUNYAC title in school history, Brian Hills decided to join his friend, Wayne Wilson, at RIT as an assistant coach helping … Read more
In the second half of his D-III season previews, Chris Lerch takes a look at teams 9-15 in the USCHO preseason poll, and some other teams to watch.