Well, it is a new season! One new league, four new teams and the continued pursuit for conference and national title glory coming ahead over the next six months. In addition to all that is new in the D-II/III landscape on the ice, I plan on trying some different things in the coverage this year … Read more
Last season, Gustavus Adolphus won the regular season title and then battled a determined St Olaf squad to win the MIAC championship and NCAA berth before losing a one-goal game to St Norbert in the national tournament. No surprise, the Gusties appear to be a contender again this year in the typically unpredictable and … Read more
The CNE will have something old and something new as part of the conference for the 2025-2026 season. Former member of the CCC, Johnson & Wales returns to the league along with the new NCAA program started by Roger Williams College in Rhode Island. That brings the total to nine teams for this season … Read more
MASCAC will change from a ten-team league this season to the traditional and more familiar eight-team conference following the departure of Plymouth State and Massachusetts-Dartmouth to the new Little East conference (LEC). That does change the landscape somewhat based upon PSU’s recent dominance in the league, but many see the conference as wide open … Read more
The newest conference starting in 2025-2026 is the Little East which adds a deep ten-team conference that merges the Little East athletic conference schools with some associate members from the former NEHC. The league also features Keene State in first season affiliated with a conference as well as the introduction of Western Connecticut State … Read more
If only the hockey gods and maybe a friendly bounce or two had gone the right way for three teams from the west in last year’s NCAA tournament, the Frozen Four would have looked very different. All of those teams from the NCHA (Aurora, St. Norbert & Trine) are back and looking forward to … Read more
SUNYAC has seen its own fair share of changes over the past couple of seasons. First, Brockport and Geneseo departed to join the ranks of the UCHC. Two familiar rivals in Oswego and Plattsburgh battled for the conference title with the Lakers earning their fist SUNYAC title in many years. Now this season, the … Read more
The UCHC, like virtually every other conference, will have a new look this season with the additions of Albertus Magnus and Elmira from the now defunct NEHC along with St John Fisher which commences NCAA play this season. The new nine-team league will certainly add more excitement to the pursuit of the conference title … Read more
New looks, there are a lot of them this year across the D-III hockey landscape. OK, you might even say why is the guy from the east covering the WIAC? Well, like the hockey landscape so too has the coverage changed. I will only hope to be able to come close to all Brian … Read more
The Hobart Statesmen celebrate their third straight national championship (photo: Eric Gulseth)
Eric Vitale’s goal at 4:25 of overtime sends Utica to the D-III national championship game where it will face Hobart (photo: Eric Gulseth)
Matthew Iasenza’s goal with 9:24 remaining in regulation broke a 1-1 tie and keeps Hobart’s chances of a three-peat as National Champions alive. The Statesmen will face the winner of Curry and Utica on Sunday in the finals (photo: Eric Gulseth)
Utica’s Andrew Della Rovere has been named the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award for the 2025 NCAA Division III men’s hockey tournament. Della Rovere, majoring in Business Management, was presented with the award during the event’s banquet in downtown Utica. In addition to his excellence in the classroom, Della Rovere also had a … Read more
For the fourth time in its history, the NCAA conducted a comprehensive site selection process, putting most of its championships up for bid simultaneously. The association chose over 240 host sites for preliminary and final rounds of predetermined championships across Divisions I, II and III, primarily for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. This cycle marked … Read more
The NCAA Division III Management Council took action this week to support expanding the football championship bracket from 32 to 40 teams and to change the championship access ratio for all team sports to 1:6. This means men’s hockey will go from a 12-team tournament to a 14-team tournament and women’s hockey from 11 teams … Read more
The 2024 NCAA Convention ended last Saturday, capping a busy week of progress and celebration. The Division III Management Council and Presidents Council approved expanding the men’s hockey championship bracket from 12 to 13 teams, starting with the upcoming 2024 tournament. The NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Committee recommended the addition of another team … Read more
Nothing like playoff hockey. Team defense. Tight checking. Hot goaltending. Thrilling endings. Just don’t tell that to Geneseo and University of New England after their NCAA Division III men’s hockey semifinal game Friday night at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. That was an up-and-down, run-and-gun, red light burning-out type of playoff game. … Read more
Give a dog a bone, and he may not give it back. Give a bulldog a bone, and he’ll chew it to smithereens and spit out the remains. Give the Adrian Bulldogs a bone, and they will end your season. Adrian’s mode of operation in the playoffs, whether NCHA or NCAA, has been to score … Read more
The Adrian Bulldogs won the NCHA reglar-season championship and will await the winner of Hobart and Elmira in the quarterfinal round the NCAA Division III men’s championship (Photo: Adrian Athletics)
The NCAA announced Monday that it will have predetermined sites for all winter national tournaments, including Division III men’s and women’s hockey.