Season previews for teams
Former Canisius hockey coach Brian Cavanaugh once said that the Jesuit way is to gradually but continually improve. Current Golden Griffins coach Dave Smith has his team along that path. For a few years, his better players have been his younger ones, and as those classes have matured, the wins have started to come — … Read more
Success for the Bentley Falcons has come in cycles. In 2006, Bentley reached the Atlantic Hockey championship game, but then fell out of contention the next two years. Last season saw a resurgence that resulted in the team recording its best record in school history and reaching the league semifinals. But the Falcons might be … Read more
This season was already looking like a challenging one for the Sacred Heart Pioneers. After posting consecutive 21-win seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07, Sacred Heart’s win totals dropped to 16 the following year and then just 11 last season. After claiming the top seed in the 2007 playoffs, the Pioneers are picked to finish eighth … Read more
Last season was a roller coaster ride for the Mercyhurst Lakers. Things started off with high expectations thanks to the return of a healthy Matt Lundin in net. Lundin had was one of the top goalies in the league in 2007-08 despite playing through a serious shoulder injury most of the season. “He literally played … Read more
Two seasons ago, RIT was outclassed by Air Force 5-0 in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals, in the school’s first Division I postseason experience. Wayne Wilson’s team used that game as motivation all last season as the team went on to win 23 games, the best ever as a D-I program. But the Tigers season ended … Read more
Connecticut is celebrating its 50th season of hockey, and Bruce Marshall’s current squad would like to make some history of its own. It’s a tall order for a young team that skated 20 underclassmen last season. “It’s time for the junior class to step up,” said Marshall, whose team has just two seniors on the … Read more
Finally! Just a few days before Thanksgiving and the last of the D-III leagues get underway this weekend after three grueling weeks of practice and looking at players wearing the same color shirts. Surviving without sustaining any injuries to players anxious to start the season is only one of the areas of concern for coaches … Read more
The interlocking schedule between NESCAC and ECAC East provides hockey fans in the Northeast some of the best match ups anywhere on virtually every weekend between now and the end of February. In this the last season in its current configuration before the commencement of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) next year takes … Read more
Don’t sleep on the MIAC “The MIAC is the most underrated conference in the country, from top to bottom.†That’s the message heading into this season as the Western league that isn’t considered a powerhouse and doesn’t have Adrian within its ranks laces up the skates for the 2008-09 hockey season. With the national tournament … Read more
There are only so many ways to talk about the competitiveness of the NCHA. Besides, by now it is good for nothing other than stating the obvious. In light of such, let’s cut to the chase and check out the teams that will soon be entering Division III’s biggest king-of-the-mountain contest. I will point out … Read more
This season marks the end of the ECAC NE as we have all known it, as the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) formally announced the addition of men’s ice hockey as a conference-sponsored sport on Monday, July 14. With Westfield State reinstating its program following a 20-year hiatus, the MASCAC now has five member … Read more
As many may recall, last season’s MCHA preview focused on the myriad of changes the league had gone through in the previous year. Though the state of the MCHA has solidified somewhat between then and now, it is still evolving at a more rapid pace than any other league in the nation. As certain questions … Read more
Entering last season, the big question mark for Manhattanville was in net as the Valiants attempted to find a replacement for first-team All American Andrew Gallant. Down the stretch, freshman Steve Parry seemed to step to the forefront culminating with a huge shutout of Elmira in the ECAC West Championship game to lift Manhattanville to … Read more
For most teams in the ECAC West this season, player turnover has been rampant. With the exception of Hobart, every team is adding a double-digit sized class of freshmen to their rosters. The league hasn’t seen fresh talent of this magnitude in a single season in a long time. Whichever team can get their freshmen … Read more
Another summer has gone by at Neumann College, and another late coaching change has occurred. After completing only one season at the helm, Phil Roy left Neumann in August for an assistant position at D-I Merrimack. Neumann College athletic director Chuck Sack scrambled — again — and hired Dominik Dawes in mid-September. Dawes, a 2004 … Read more
Lebanon Valley coach Ted Russell enters his second season at the helm of the Flying Dutchmen this month. Having had an entire year to recruit, he has brought in 18 freshmen in an attempt to turn around the team’s fortunes. Combined with last year’s class of newcomers, there is definitely a youth movement afoot at … Read more
The Elmira Soaring Eagles have had all summer to dwell on the old cliché “You’re only as good as your last game.†Elmira was up 2-0 just five minutes into its NCAA semi-final game in Lake Placid last March, only to watch as Plattsburgh skated circles around them as the Cardinals eventually won 6-3. “When … Read more
When you think of Hobart hockey players, two factors usually come to mind: character and role players. Statesmen head coach Mark Taylor is known for recruiting players that are good, all-around kids that each fits a specific place in the puzzle. Shawn Houde, who graduated from Hobart last spring, was perhaps the epitome of the … Read more
The calendar may have turned to the next season in Utica but it is more of the same for the Pioneers. The fans that pack the Aud, leading the nation in attendance for the past two years, like their hockey fast and physical. The fans should love this year’s class of 11 freshman, half of … Read more
Last year, the theme was early departures. This year, there were a few, but nowhere near enough to continue as this year’s theme. Instead, everyone’s concerned with special teams. Understandably so, given the new rule changes that have been instituted as well as the implementation of the four-official system which was tested last year. The … Read more