This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Whenever one attempts to ascend the highest of peaks, there is usually an acclimatization period and central staging area commonly referred to as base camp. For Wesleyan coach Chris Potter and all of the seniors who have helped build the program’s success, this year represents yet another assault on the summit that is the NESCAC … Read more
Rochester Institute of Technology is in uncharted waters so far this season, off to its worst start since joining Atlantic Hockey in 2006. After a season-opening win at Michigan, RIT has won just one game since (2-7-2) and is 0-3 at home in conference play, the first time the team has lost more than one … Read more
If playoff hockey truly is all about goaltending and special teams, New Hampshire fans might want to start blocking out the dates April 11 and 13. Admittedly, it’s only November and the Playoff Goliath — top-ranked Boston College — will be making plans for those same dates, but it’s hard to argue with how well … Read more
Minnesota is 7-2-2 overall and in second place in the WCHA with just one loss since Oct. 19, yet there’s still plenty of work to be done according to junior defenseman Nate Schmidt. “I think we’re a work in progress right now,” Schmidt said. “We have some pieces in motion that could make us a … Read more
It has been tough to sweep conference opponents this season in the CCHA, so the fact that three teams did just that last weekend is something to note. Ferris State, Notre Dame and Ohio State each took six points in league play. For the Bulldogs and Fighting Irish, six points meant a tie for second … Read more
In its first games since Adam Oates’ induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Rensselaer manufactured some of Oates’ (class of ’85) favorite product: offense. On the heels of consecutive shutouts at Dartmouth and Harvard (each 4-0 losses), the Engineers quietly dismissed Atlantic Hockey foe Mercyhurst by 4-2 and 4-1 margins. The victories were RPI’s … Read more
The Wisconsin-Eau Claire men’s hockey team is off to its best start in four years, due in large part to the play of three Eau Claire natives. Senior forward Isaiah Bennis, junior defenseman David Donnellan, and senior forward Andrew McCabe have all stepped up to lead the Blugolds to a 6-0 start. Wis.-Eau Claire is … Read more
No win comes easily for building teams. With a slowing of the action due to the Four Nations Cup, only four games were played in Minnesota last weekend. I was able to catch the front end of a series bringing Maine to Bemidji State, as well as game two of Lindenwood visiting St. Cloud … Read more
St. Mary’s was down and out a year ago. The Cardinals won just five games, including only two in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. No wonder they were picked to finish last in the preseason conference poll. The thing is, St. Mary’s has looked nothing like a last-place team lately. It has won three consecutive … Read more
Anyone who wants to describe the term “textbook goaltender” is probably talking about some fantasy tale. There are as many ways to play the net as there are those willing to fill it, which is to say, “If it feels good, do it.” Or maybe, “Don’t mess with success,” which is the story being crafted … Read more
When Amherst hits the ice this weekend to open up its 2012-13 season with a home-and-home against Hamilton, the Lord Jeffs will be doing so without the signature fedora hat donned by Jim Plumer. Over the last nine seasons, Plumer took the Amherst women’s hockey program from a below .500 team to a national powerhouse, … Read more
The Plymouth State Panthers put themselves on the hockey map after winning the 2011-12 MASCAC championship, which also helped secure a first-ever trip to the NCAA D-III tournament. Opponents are now taking a closer look at the Panthers when the program pops up on their schedule. However, it is not just other teams that are … Read more
For the past three seasons, the Concordia Falcons were at the bottom of the conference, unable to get more than two wins in any of those seasons. That all turned around last spring when the team began its first step in a complete overhaul. Last March, Jasen Wise was hired as the new head coach, … Read more
Brian Fleming could tell you what watching and waiting is like. The Manhattanville College sophomore goaltender spent last season observing former Valiants netminder Pierre Olivier-Lemieux start all but three games during the 2011-12 campaign. This year though, the workhorse from Quebec wasn’t between the Manhattanville pipes to start a season for the first time since … Read more
Chris Glionna speaks with tremendous pride and passion when he talks about taking part in the evolution of freshmen, not only as athletes, but as students as well. That’s a good thing, especially this season, considering he has 15 of them on his roster. After a season to forget last year, when Suffolk stumbled to … Read more
Just three games into the 2012-13 campaign and already the Massachusetts-Boston Beacons have seen a lot of different situations to chalk-up as learning experiences. With 13 freshmen on the roster, everything is new at the college hockey level, and at 2-1-0 entering this weekend, coach peter Belisle likes a lot of what he has seen … Read more
Playing college hockey is challenging enough. Factor in a wife, Jyllisa, and their daughter, Raya, who is in kindergarten, and 5-foot-7 Bemidji State defenseman Brady Wacker’s contributions on the ice and success in the classroom are all the more impressive. The 24-year-old business major from Jansen, Saskatchewan, is a WCHA Scholar Athlete and one of … Read more
Atlantic Hockey commissioner Bob DeGregorio is comfortable with an 11-team conference if it comes to that, but he would like to see a full complement of 12 schools after Connecticut departs for Hockey East after the 2013-14 season. DeGregorio said the league is currently in contact with four schools that have expressed a recent interest … Read more
Hockey East fans who were at Kelley Rink last Friday night got a glimpse of just how great it may be to have Notre Dame in the league beginning next year. The Fighting Irish, from the opening faceoff, went toe-to-toe with No. 1 Boston College, finally falling 3-1. Fans were treated to some back-and-forth action … Read more
If that old sports cliche that claims you’re only as good as your last game is true, then Michigan State is positively golden. After losing on the road to Michigan 5-1 in the first game of a home-and-home series last Friday, the Spartans rebounded in a giant way Saturday, scoring 34 seconds into the game … Read more