On frozen ponds all across the northern parts of the continent, young hockey players dream of scoring the game-winning goal in a critical playoff game. They hear the crowds cheering, see the puck tickling the twine in the back of the net, and imagine their teammates mobbing them in celebration. Elmira junior Justin Joy has … Read more
The Hobart Statesmen may have lost to St. Norbert, 5-4, in overtime in the national semifinal game, but that does not overshadow the fact that few teams in college sports have performed a rebuilding job like the one Hobart hockey has accomplished the past four years. When Hobart coach Mark Taylor came to Geneva, N.Y. … Read more
Elmira, N.Y. is a historic town, having been established in 1792. Driving through the quaint town in the Southern Tier region of New York a traveler notices building after building that are more than a hundred years old. Nestled in between one such building and the flowing Chemung River is the five year old First … Read more
The American Hockey Coaches Association has issued its selections for the 2006 Division III All-American teams. In all, players from 13 different schools were selected, including seven from teams playing in the Division III Frozen Four. East First Team: Goal – George Papachristopoulos, Sr., Bowdoin Defense – Jon Landry, Sr., Bowdoin Defense – Jeff Smith, … Read more
In previous seasons, the week between the NCAA Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds can best be characterized as a mad scramble by the school chosen to host the final two rounds of the playoffs. Historically, the right to host the Division III men’s ice hockey championship weekend has been awarded to one of the four remaining … Read more
Chris Lerch plays the old game of “Fact or Fiction” in This Week in Division III.
Let’s play word association. Go up to a college sports fan and mention Hobart. Most likely, the response will be “lacrosse”. That would be very logical. After all, Hobart lacrosse has been insanely successful. They have won 16 national championships (one USILA title before the NCAA awarded the trophy, two in Division II, and 13 … Read more
Panthers peaking at right time to take on upstart UMass-Dartmouth In looking at this Saturday’s match-up between Middlebury and UMass-Dartmouth, Middlebury coach Bill Beaney is confident that his Panthers are playing their best hockey of the year right now. Following their dominating performances against conference rivals Wesleyan, Hamilton and Bowdoin in the NESCAC tournament, Middlebury … Read more
Re-Match Part Deux Two years ago, almost to the day, Norwich hosted Hobart in the 2004 NCAA quarterfinals. The teams experienced the most wild momentum swings perhaps every seen in Division III tournament play during that contest. Norwich rolled out to a quick 4-0 lead, before Hobart chipped in five unanswered goals to hold a … Read more
The Rematch Lack of familiarity with their opponent is not one of the excuses that either Elmira or Manhattanville will be able to use following this Saturday’s NCAA Quarterfinal game at Manhattanville’s Playland Arena. These two ECAC West foes met three times during the regular season with the Valiants holding a slim 2-1 advantage. “It … Read more
This intriguing matchup features a tale of two coaches-a first-year coach who guided his team to a repeat SUNYAC title, and a long-time mentor whose team captured its seventh title under his guidance, but is making its first NCAA appearance. UMass-Dartmouth is in the postseason for the 22nd time under John Rolli, but this is … Read more
The selection is just hours away. Veteran D-III prognosticator Chris Lerch provides his picks.
Bids were announced Sunday night for the 2006 NCAA Division III men’s ice hockey championship. This season marks the expansion of the tournament to a 10-team field. For the first time, three at-large bids were awarded to teams from the ECAC West. The Pool B berth was awarded to Manhattanville, which lost in the ECAC … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at who’s in, who’s out, and who’s on the bubble in his final column of the regular season.
The Promised Land After 45 league contests, four teams have reached the promised land of the ECAC West playoffs this weekend. Manhattanville clinched the regular season title last Friday and will host the extravaganza. But not only will the Valiants play host to the men’s tournament, they are also hosting the women’s ECAC East playoffs … Read more
Thrilla in Manhattanvilla It may not have been Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, but those who walked into Playland Ice Casino last Saturday saw more fighting than hockey. Friday’s game actually set the stage for the donnybrook that occurred late in the second period Saturday evening. Manhattanville built a 4-1 lead on Neumann by midway … Read more
Chris Lerch looks at two teams on the NCAA bubble, as well as D-III Bracketlology, Part II.
Breaking Records Hobart is the hottest team in the ECAC West at the moment, riding a four-game winning streak into second place as other teams continue to knock each other off. The Statesmen snuck out two tough one-goal wins against Utica at The Cooler this past weekend, setting several school records in the progress. On … Read more
The postseason is about to get underway, and Chris Lerch delivers his nationwide predictions for league playoffs. Plus, he checks in with UMass-Dartmouth to find the secret to the Corsairs’ success.
In the Hunt Elmira went into Neumann’s Ice Works rink last weekend and accomplished exactly what it needed to remain in the playoff hunt by sweeping the Knights. “Breaks that we didn’t get early on in the year, we definitely got this weekend,” said Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski. “They were two pretty well-played games. Neumann … Read more