Offseason departures leave Wisconsin starting fresh

After being shut out of the NCAA tournament in 2008-09, last year Wisconsin team was determined to get back on to the national scene. The Badgers accomplished that in fine form by not only making the tournament, but by going all the way to Detroit and the Frozen Four as the league’s sole representative. This … Read more

Thanksgiving Tournament Preview

The looming Thanksgiving holiday and resultant short work week means that the standard weekly columns are on hiatus this week. Just because that’s the case, however, doesn’t mean the hockey is going to stop as there will be a bountiful horn of on-ice action this weekend — all of the non-conference variety. Within the MCHA … Read more

ECAC East Season Preview

The interlocking schedule between the ECAC East and NESCAC conferences takes on a different look this year with the departure of the Salem State Vikings and long-time head coach Bill O’Neill to the newly formed Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Replacing the Vikings are the Nor’easters from the University of New England, who under … Read more

NESCAC Season Preview

We are still more than a month away from Christmas and all of the good New England hockey fans have been patiently waiting for their conference season to begin after enduring daily looks at the box scores from every other league in the Northeast, including the newly formed MASCAC conference. The wait is over: Friday … Read more

MIAC Season Preview

Every season across Division III hockey it seems that parity becomes more and more prevalent. As one coach put it, “it used to be that you could look at your schedule and pencil in six to seven games as ones that you’d win; now you look at it and it’s maybe one to two.” This … Read more

SUNYAC Season Preview

It wasn’t too long ago when the SUNYAC was stacked with talented goaltenders. Netminders like Brett Walker, Rick Scott, Craig Neilson, Sean Sheehan, Matt Meacham, Ryan Venturelli, Tyson Gajda, Greg Van’t Hof, and Ben Binga. Now, there are a plethora of questions concerning goaltending for many teams. Plattsburgh lost Bryan Hince to the pros. Oswego … Read more

2009-10 Neumann Season Preview

It is most definitely a cliché, but Neumann stunned the college hockey world when they walked away with the 2009 national championship last March. After stumbling through most of the season, the Knights got hot in the playoffs and ran the table all the way to the final buzzer in Lake Placid. That team was … Read more

2009-10 Hobart Season Preview

After a trip to the NCAA semifinal game last season, where Hobart lost to eventual champion Neumann, the Statesmen are hungry to get back to the Promised Land this year. Hobart has played in the NCAA tournament three of the last four years, but the team knows it needs to take care of all of … Read more

2009-10 Lebanon Valley Season Preview

The last couple of seasons have not been friendly to the Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen. Two seasons ago, Lebanon Valley went 1-23-1 and barely survived an effort to kill the program. Last year, with 17 freshmen on the roster, the Flying Dutchmen continued to struggle going winless during the season. Needless to say, the challenges … Read more

2009-10 Manhattanville Season Preview

Manhattanville stumbled early last season, going 0-2-1 against Neumann within the first five games of the year, despite having what appeared to be a more talented team. The Valiants got rolling, though, losing only once in its next 19 contests and finished second in the regular season standings. Looking at the Manhattanville roster before this … Read more

2009-10 Utica Season Preview

Despite starting out last season with all sorts of promise, the Utica Pioneers struggled during much of the year. The Pioneers were strong out of conference, going 6-2-2 in 10 non-conference games, and amassed a 4-1-1 record by the middle of November. But the defense faltered when league play began in earnest and Utica dropped … Read more

ECAC West Season Preview

The 2008-2009 season was remarkable for the ECAC West. The Neumann Knights ran the playoff table in stunning fashion and captured the national championship. As if that wasn’t enough, other teams in the ECAC West also had extended seasons. Hobart made it to the NCAA semifinal round, riding the coat tails of senior All-American goaltender … Read more

2009-10 Elmira Season Preview

After eight seasons at the helm of the Elmira Soaring Eagles, Tim Ceglarski retired last April. The college immediately started a search for a new coach and landed former player and former assistant coach Aaron Saul, who had been the head coach of Potsdam State the past two seasons. Transitions are always a disruptive time, … Read more