Plattsburgh Cardinals (23-4-0 overall, 14-2-0 in SUNYAC) The most successful SUNY hockey team is back in the NCAA playoffs. The Plattsburgh Cardinals, after winning their 18th SUNYAC championship, return to the national playoffs for the 18th time (making it to the final four nine of those times), and their first since 2004. In that year, … Read more
Norwich Cadets (22-6-0 overall record, 15-4-0 in the ECAC East) With Sunday’s convincing 8-2 win over yet another six seed (Salem State) in the ECAC East looking to claim the title, the Cadets claimed the auto-bid to the NCAA tournament and now move on to prepare for an ECAC East meets ECAC West battle as … Read more
No. 1 Elmira Soaring Eagles vs. No. 2 Manhattanville Valiants So far, the ECAC West playoffs have gone as scripted, with the higher seeded team winning all three games. Elmira and Manhattanville now get to play in the finals this Saturday at the Thunderdomes to see who will take home the league title. Elmira defeated … Read more
The regular season is over, and playoff hockey is in the air throughout Division III. The ECAC West is no exception. Hobart defeated Neumann 3-2 on Wednesday to keep their season alive. Next up is the semifinal round this Saturday with games hosted by Elmira and Manhattanville. No. 1 Elmira Soaring Eagles vs. No. 4 … Read more
Elmira Clinches Regular Season Title With a three point series against Manhattanville last weekend, Elmira secured the regular season title. But it certainly wasn’t easy, and started out with a rocky game on Friday. Manhattanville’s Vinny Ciardullo scored on a turnover at center ice midway through the first period, and the Valiants’ trap gave the … Read more
And Down The Stretch They Come There are just two weeks to go in the regular season of the ECAC West and the playoff race has tightened up. Two teams have a shot at the top, while three other teams are vying for home ice. Let’s take a team-by-team look around the league and see … Read more
A Special Senior Night As the season hits the final stretch in February, the usual litany of end-of-season events starts to be held. One of those is Senior Night, where each school celebrates its graduating class, saying a tearful farewell to the student-athletes they have gotten to know so well. Neumann started off the tradition … Read more
To Have A Humanitarian Over the years, I have highlighted the community outreach in the ECAC West in this column. Every team has programs to get the players out of the rinks and into the communities helping on numerous community service projects. Now, three programs have been recognized on a national level for the efforts … Read more
Getting Your Money’s Worth Hobart and Neumann played a pair of wild games last weekend in Aston, PA that provide a glimpse of the kind of hockey that fans can expect in the ECAC West down the stretch. Friday’s contest saw Neumann start out on a tear, scoring four goals in the first 6:11 of … Read more
With most ECAC West teams winding up their non-league games and heading back into league play this weekend, it is time for my annual mid-season review. The first half of the season has been a wild ride, with surprises, disappointment, and some incredible hockey. The ECAC West has done an outstanding job in the non-conference … Read more
Hat, Hat, Hat, Hat, Hat Trick Over the holidays, Neumann junior Mike Hedden completed one of the most amazing feats in hockey amidst very little fan fare. It started on November 30 as Neumann defeated Lebanon Valley 8-2. Hedden tallied three goals and an assist that night, and began a streak of scoring hat-tricks that … Read more
Not Our Legacy Gut check time. It has been said so many times in sports that it has almost become cliché. A team finds itself in a certain situation where they need to either dig deep from within to overcome the obstacle, or collapse like a house of cards. Cliché or not, the Utica Pioneers … Read more
A Different Approach A month ago, following a sloppy 4-0 win at Brockport, Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal publicly lambasted his players for exhibiting a noticeable lack of competitiveness. “We have the killer instinct of a small mouse right now,†said Levinthal. “We’ve only played three games, but our commitment to working hard for each other … Read more
Showing Signs Slowly but surely, Lebanon Valley is showing signs of a turn around in its fortunes. An increased level of competitiveness and its first victory this past weekend are all signs of hope. Admittedly, the season got off to a rough start with a 9-1 thrashing by Brockport, who scored two goals in the … Read more
No Hole This Year Excluding exhibitions, Elmira hasn’t had a winning record four games into the season in any of the last five seasons. It has almost become expected that the Soaring Eagles will start a season slow, build momentum mid season, and end on a tare to run for the playoffs. Unfortunately, sometimes the … Read more
The offseason was certainly a busy time for the ECAC West. Manhattanville basked in the glow of its first ever Final Four appearance. Lebanon Valley was saved from extinction following an administrative review and got a new head coach. And Neumann also hired a new coach. Even the individual player awards rolled in for the … Read more
The Manhattanville Valiants rode Player of the Year goaltender Andrew Gallant all the way to the NCAA semifinal last year, only to drop a 3-2 decision to Middlebury. But even making it as one of the final four teams in the country was a great accomplishment and has set the expectations high for this year’s … Read more
The Neumann Knights were an overtime loss away from winning the ECAC West Championship last season, amassing an impressive 17-5-5 record. Compare that to just three short seasons ago, when the Knights went 4-17-2 and only won two games in the league. This year Neumann is picked to finish first in the ECAC West coaches … Read more
There is a youth movement afoot at Hobart this season. Take 10 freshmen who join the roster this season, add in two sophomore Division-I transfers, mix with seven returning sophomores, and you have a very young Statesmen team. With such a youthful squad, head coach Mark Taylor isn’t quite sure what to expect at the … Read more
The Elmira Soaring Eagles have been stuck in a rut the last two seasons. They start slow, look like they are about to fold their proverbial tents, and then get on a roll in January to save the season. For months now, head coach Tim Ceglarski has been wracking his brain to put in place … Read more