Utica College took a major step last week by earning its first-ever at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The seventh-ranked Pioneers then did even better on Saturday night by defeating No. 5 Bowdoin, 4-2, to move on to its first-ever Frozen Four this weekend in Lake Placid. “It’s still sinking in,” said Utica … Read more
The 2012-13 ECAC West campaign will continue for at least one more contest. Seventh-ranked Utica (20-5-1 overall) will represent the conference in this year’s national tournament, in the Pioneers’ first-ever NCAA appearance. They will host a second-round game on Saturday night at the Utica Memorial Auditorium against the winner of Bowdoin and Massachusetts-Dartmouth, who will … Read more
The mighty fell on Saturday night in the ECAC West Tournament semifinals, and now it’ll be the third and fourth seeds meeting for the league title this Saturday when Manhattanville College visits Neumann University. The two schools went 1-1-1 against one another this season. No. 3 seed Neumann (18-6-3 overall) topped No. 2 Hobart (19-5-2) … Read more
The NCAA has released the third of three weekly Division III men’s hockey regional rankings. This is the final update prior to the announcement of the NCAA field on Sunday, March 3. Norwich moves into the No. 1 spot in the east, up from No. 2 in the two previous rankings. Utica and Hobart, upset … Read more
The second season is about to begin in the ECAC West. The league’s 2012-13 regular season ended on Saturday, with Utica winning the league title by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker against Hobart. Both schools finished 11-3-1 in conference play for 23 points apiece, but the Pioneers claimed two of their three meetings with the … 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
Sometimes, you just need a change of scenery. Junior goaltender Braely Torris did, and it’s Neumann University that has been reaping the benefits this year. “We went into the season with three periods of (goaltending) experience,” said Neumann coach Dominick Dawes. “That’s all we had.” A native of Red Deer, Alb., Torris has gone 8-4-2 … 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
For a freshman, Hobart College forward Mac Olson has been pretty well-traveled. A native of Grosse Pointe, Mich., Olson got his start at the high school level by tallying 43 goals and 76 points in 48 games for the University of Detroit Jesuit, while twice earning All-State accolades for the Cubs. He spent the next … Read more
The wait is finally over for Nazareth College. The Golden Flyers earned their first-ever ECAC West conference win on Friday night when they defeated visiting Manhattanville, 6-4, at The Sports Centre at MCC in Rochester, N.Y. In a season of firsts for the nascent Division III program, this may have been one of the best. … Read more
The Utica College Pioneers just keep rolling right along. Fresh off a 6-4 win over Elmira on Friday night, the No. 8 Pioneers topped Hobart, the top team in the ECAC West, by a 5-3 count on Saturday evening. Utica now stands at 14-3-0 overall and 5-2 in the conference, just three points behind No. … Read more
Manhattanville won its first game of the calendar year on Saturday night when it edged host Cortland, 3-2, in overtime. “It’s a tough place to play,” said Manhattanville coach and former forward Arlen Marshall on Monday afternoon. “We knew going in it was going to be a tough game.” The No. 12 Valiants (10-4-1 overall, … Read more
The ECAC administrative committee has announced that Steve Bamford has been named interim commissioner and Ben Layton has been promoted to assistant commissioner for programs and services. Part of Layton’s responsibilities will be to oversee the ECAC Division III hockey leagues.
The mighty fell in the Green Mountain State on Saturday night. That was when the Knights of Neumann University downed the No. 1 team in the nation, the Norwich University Cadets, in the championship game of the Northfield Bank Tournament in Northfield, Vt. Sophomore forward Chris Bournazos scored two goals in the title game against … Read more
Michael Collins has certainly gotten off to a fast start in his first season at Elmira College. The freshman led the Soaring Eagles in scoring with five goals and seven assists for 12 points through his first 12 games, and had also registered 18 penalty minutes. “We thought he’d be good,” said Elmira coach Aaron … Read more
Hobart College senior goaltender Nick Broadwater has already surpassed most of his accomplishments from last season. After all, he only played in a dozen games a year ago. In 11 outings so far this season, Broadwater has gone 8-1-2, with the only blemish a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 2 Oswego on Dec. 8 in … Read more
Rather than the regular column this week, here’s a look at what each of the six ECAC West schools might like to see under their Christmas tree (or Hanukkah menorah) this month. Hobart (11-1-1 overall, 5-0-1 ECAC West) The No. 4 Statesmen would like to still be undefeated, following Saturday’s overtime loss to No. … Read more
It’s common for a senior to be leading a college team in scoring. Senior defensemen pacing their club in points, though, are rare, and those leading their schools in goals scored rarer still. Not so, at least so far this season, at Neumann University. Fourth-year blueliner Scott Farrell leads the Knights with four goals and … Read more
One of the best gifts that Utica College could have received in the offseason arrived in the form of sophomore forward Louis Educate. “When he came to us, he (already) knew the college game,” said Utica head Gary Heenan. Educate (pronounced EH-joo-CAH-tay), who tore up the scoring scroll at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. just … Read more
It was a new beginning in Rochester, N.Y., this fall. Not for the storied Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, or the almost 30-year-old club program at the University of Rochester, but at Nazareth College, which iced its first varsity men’s hockey team in October. The preparation, though, began much, much earlier than that. … Read more