Norwich Cadets (23-1-4 overall, 16-1-2 in the ECAC East) The top ranked Cadets come into the NCAA tournament as the number one overall seed, following their winning the ECAC East conference title last weekend in Northfield. The formula of great goaltending, a very tight defense, and balanced scoring continues to drive the success of the … Read more
NCAA Tournament First Round Preview And then there were seven. Nineteen weeks of hard work and preparation paid off for seven teams this past Monday when they were selected to the 2010 NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament. This year we have one new face in the crowd as Trinity makes its first NCAA … Read more
Elmira Soaring Eagles (18-8-1 overall, 11-4 in the ECAC West) The last few days have been an emotional roller coaster for the Elmira Soaring Eagles. Leading 3-2 on Saturday in the ECAC West championship game, Elmira saw Manhattanville tie the game with one second left in regulation and then lost when the Valiants scored midway … Read more
No. 1 Elmira vs. No. 2 Manhattanville The top two teams square off for the league title on Saturday at the Thunderdomes. Elmira and Manhattanville found themselves in scraps last weekend during the semifinal games, but both prevailed in the end by identical 4-2 scores. Manhattanville hosted third seeded Hobart, who came out flying during … Read more
The postseason has arrived in the ECAC West. Unfortunately, a wet blanket was thrown over what should be the most exciting time of the year when Lebanon Valley withdrew its team from Division III on Tuesday. But the remaining ECAC West teams battle on with the semifinals on tap for Saturday. As my esteemed SUNYAC … Read more
Lebanon Valley College President Stephen MacDonald announced Tuesday that the Flying Dutchmen men’s hockey team will compete at the American College Hockey Association (ACHA) level for the 2010-2011 season, leaving the NCAA, Division III, and the ECAC West. “We’re really sorry to lose a quality program like Lebanon Valley,†said Michael Letzeisen, ECAC Director of … Read more
Having gone more than two seasons without a win, Lebanon Valley is moving from NCAA Division III to the American Collegiate Hockey Association starting next season. The school cited travel, costs, missed class time and competitive concerns among reasons for the change. For the second straight year, the Flying Dutchmen were 0-25 this season, 0-15 … Read more
Quietly Playing Well Two weeks ago, it looked like Elmira had run away with the regular season title and that Manhattanville and Hobart would have to be content with battling for second place. Oh how things have changed. Elmira has taken a nose dive, losing its last three games. The Soaring Eagles special teams collapsed … Read more
Middle of the Pack The teams in the middle of the ECAC West standings re-exerted themselves this past weekend, demonstrating the depth of the league. In the Game of the Week highlighted in this column, third place Hobart went into the Thunderdomes last Saturday and handed Elmira its first conference loss, 5-3. Special teams were … Read more
Focusing on Challenges Elmira kept rolling in league play last weekend, steamrolling Utica in a pair of games. The Soaring Eagles poured 49 shots on net Friday night, tallying seven goals to defeat the Pioneers, 7-3. “The guys played great,†said Elmira head coach Aaron Saul. “It is the time of the year where you … Read more
Right Mindset With a pair of road victories last weekend, Manhattanville extended its current winning streak to nine games. But even more amazing is the Valiants are riding a 20 game unbeaten streak on the road. With a record of 19-0-1 in its last 20 games away from the Playland Ice Casino, Manhattanville is defying … Read more
Mediocrity With all but one non-conference game now behind the ECAC West teams, it is a good time to take stock of the season so far and see what teams need to do with the remaining league schedule. The teams of the ECAC West did not fare well in non-conference play this season. Over the … Read more
After less than three seasons on the job, Lebanon Valley’s Ted Russell has resigned, effective immediately. He also was an assistant coach with the team from 2001-2006. Current assistant Brendon Herr will take over control of the Flying Dutchmen. Lebanon Valley’s Ted Russell. Russell’s record at the school was 1-65-1, with both the win and … Read more
Putting the Pieces Together Since early December, the Hobart Statesmen have been quietly getting on a bit of a roll. They have won four of their last five games, with the only defeat coming at the hands of top ranked Oswego. “We have a lot of good things, a lot of good pieces,” said Hobart … Read more
Better Effort Elmira returned from the holiday break and jumped right into the fire at Oswego’s Pathfinder Classic tournament last weekend. The Soaring Eagles last game was an 8-1 thrashing of Utica way back on Dec. 5 and the long layoff showed as Elmira opened up against the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in the … Read more
Back in the Groove? Hobart stumbled through the last two weeks of last month, starting on Nov. 14 when they gave up four one goal leads against Neumann. The bottom fell out the next weekend when Hobart dropped a pair of games against Elmira and the slide continued a week later out of conference with … Read more
Adjusting In an unusual Saturday/Sunday schedule, Manhattanville lost its first two games of the year, both in non-conference play. The Valiants dropped their first contest to Curry, 3-2, and then saw its weekend completely fall apart Sunday afternoon against Williams, losing 5-1. “Curry and Williams played great road games,” said Manhattanville head coach Keith Levinthal. … Read more
Growing Pains With a very youthful team, Neumann has been struggling through the first quarter of the season. The Knights are a respectable 2-2-2, despite having played a very difficult schedule to date. But Neumann is 0-2-2 in its last four games and the two losses were by large margins. “It’s all growing pains, consistency … Read more
Making Strides The 2009-2010 Division III women’s hockey season is well underway and we have already had a couple of major surprises to start off the season. Adrian, a team picked to make some major noise in their first season as an official member of the NCHA, is off to a 0-4 start; dropping two … Read more
More Offensive The Manhattanville offense is clicking nicely three weeks into the season, averaging 6.67 goals per game to lead the nation. Coming off a strong weekend against Lebanon Valley (whom Manhattanville scored 16 goals against) some might scoff at the garish numbers. Not so fast. “I was impressed with Lebanon Valley,” said Manhattanville head … Read more