Season previews for teams
In his 14th season at Fredonia, coach Jeff Meredith is still having fun. “I’m really enjoying working with this bunch of guys. So I’m having a lot of fun and they’re having a lot of fun at practice every day,” said Meredith. MEREDITH A roster which includes 13 freshmen is making up for inexperience with … Read more
It has been a gradual process, but the plan put in place during his first season at Buffalo State is now paying off for coach Jim Fowler. FOWLER Fowler started 1996-97 without a recruiting class, and over the next couple of seasons had to concentrate on filling a roster. Those teams were not competitive, and … Read more
The league that boasts the defending NCAA Division III champion is back. Ed Trefzger profiles the SUNYAC, where more than ever before, the playoffs may be anyone’s guess.
A national championship and a No. 1 ranking in the preseason USCHO.com Division III poll put a bulls-eye on the backs of the Plattsburgh Cardinals. EMERY “We’re going to be everyone’s big game, especially in our rink. It seems it’s a tough place to play, but it’s an easy place to get ready to play,” … Read more
Potsdam is in a bit of a rebuilding mode this season, with 11 rookies on the roster. Coach Ed Seney’s Bears, who in game two of the SUNYAC championship were the only team to beat Plattsburgh in its last 15 games, lose five of their top seven scorers from last year. Those five accounted for … Read more
Oswego coach George Roll adds seven rookies to an already-young squad. This year’s Lakers are talented, but like the rest of the SUNYAC, just a notch or two below league-leading Plattsburgh. “We’re pretty much a freshman, sophomore team. I think in a couple years we will have closed that gap [with Plattsburgh] — not to … Read more
Geneseo started this season with an event that had never happened in the program’s history: a coaching change. Brian Hills, a former assistant coach and All-American at Bowling Green, takes over an Ice Knights squad from Paul Duffy, who retired after 26 seasons at the helm. HILLS Although last year’s Ice Knights had three of … Read more
Under new head coach Tom Cranfield, the Cortland Red Dragons are off to a 3-0 start. How did they get there? Hard work. After downing Potsdam and Fredonia in the SUNYAC Challenge, Cranfield said, “I don’t know if we’re as talented as those teams, but we worked very hard.” That work ethic is something Cranfield … Read more
The ECAC Northeast is bidding for national respect, thanks to traditional strengths and several programs on the rise. Ed Seero rounds up the league’s prospects for 2001-02.
For the first time in 14 years, Elmira finds itself with a new coach at the start of a season. Long time coach Glenn Thomaris resigned in March, and former assistant coach Tim Ceglarski was promoted to the top job. Ceglarski finds himself with a team that many feel underachieved last year, due in part … Read more
The Neumann Knights are entering their fourth season as a hockey team, all under coach Nick Russo, but this year is different. Neumann is no longer playing an independent schedule, no longer playing games against club teams and weaker D-III teams and no longer on the outside looking in. Neumann has joined the ECAC West … Read more
“How to Rebuild a Team in 15 Easy Steps.” That’s the title of the book that Hobart head coach Mark Taylor is going to write in a couple of years if he is successful at getting the Statesmen to the top of the ECAC West. Hobart lost fifteen players to graduation from last year’s team, … Read more
Manhattanville made a strong run at the end of last season, surprising Elmira in the first round of the ECAC West playoffs, before falling to RIT in the championship game. The Knights earned a lot of respect around college hockey by going so deep in to the league playoffs in only their second year. And … Read more
Fans may not recognize the ECAC West this year, what with the changes in personnel, league membership and even facilities. Even the league’s power structure could be in flux, as Manhattanville positions itself to challenge mighty RIT. Scott Biggar previews 2001-2002.
The first official practice hadn’t even started when the new Utica team got its first surprise. The ECAC West Coaches’ Preseason Poll found the Pioneers tied for fourth place, and the team hadn’t even stepped on the ice yet. “The poll was definitely surprising. We certainly anticipated being sixth,” said head coach Gary Heenan. “It’s … Read more
When you mention RIT, most people think the Tigers are almost a shoe-in to get back to the NCAA Tournament and take another shot at the title — but things may not be quite that easy. The Tigers only lost four players during the off season, but those four players accounted for 154 points of … Read more
Last April, a lot of coaches and fans could probably have filled in Boston College as Hockey East’s favorite for 2001-2. But that was before massive losses of underclassmen added to the sting of graduation for the Eagles, leaving Maine and Providence as contenders on at least an equal footing.
Over the last 12 years, BU hockey has experienced only two losing seasons. Unfortunately, those have come in two of the last three years. Has the Terriers’ reign of dominance come to an end or only hit a couple bumps in the road? Or something in between? Most likely something in between. It’s hard to … Read more
When you finish in last place and then graduate your top goaltender, one of your top two scorers and four other forwards, you’d better have a vision for where the program is going because there may not be a lot of instant gratification in the offing. Fortunately for UMass-Amherst, second-year coach Don “Toot” Cahoon has … Read more
It’s anyone’s guess how well the Maine team will cope with the death of its long-time leader, Shawn Walsh. “It’s a huge impact,” says assistant coach Grant Standbrook. “We loved the guy. [Anyone who] saw the team at the funeral would know what I was referring to. They were all in tears and devastated by … Read more