This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
It’s go time in the CHA. Tournament time. March madness in northern Minnesota. For all the marbles. An NCAA bid on the line. Insert any old cliche here and it probably fits what’s going down this weekend with the four CHA teams vying for a spot in the NCAA tournament. The past three years have … Read more
Eight is Enough Atlantic Hockey moves to the quarterfinal portion of its postseason this weekend, a best-of-three series format. This year just four teams will make it to Rochester, a change from last season’s Final Five. Holy Cross and Sacred Heart moved on after winning first-round single-elimination games over AIC and Connecticut, respectively. The Crusaders … Read more
Hope y’all don’t have much real work to get done today, because I wrote another novel. So you’d better appreciate it, because these guys don’t pay me per word. Award Debate Nothing like a little competitive controversy to kick off a column. Here are the leading candidates for the league’s premier annual honors as I … Read more
There are only 11 teams left standing at this point and after Wednesday’s first round games, the list will be down to the eight quarterfinalists vying for the 2009 NCAA Division III national ice hockey championship. While both Babson and Amherst respective champions of their conferences, they took very different routes to the national tournament. … Read more
Neumann Knights (17-9-2 overall, 8-5-2 in ECAC West) Last Saturday, Neumann won its first ECAC West championship in dramatic fashion. Sophomore defenseman Jeff Rodell crashed the net and swatted home a rebound with just 4.2 seconds remaining to defeat Hobart, 3-2. The title game was the culmination of the Knights roll through the league playoffs, … Read more
Nichols Bison (25-3-0 overall, 16-1-0 in ECAC Northeast) “It’s an exciting time. It’s obviously uncharted waters for Nichols College and it’s created a lot of excitement around campus.†That was how Nichols College coach Lou Izzi responded when asked what it was like to be playing at this point in the year. “We’re in the … Read more
And now we’re down to two. Between the NCHA and MCHA, only Superior and Stout remain in the conference playoffs. As many expected heading into the playoffs, the top two seeds will meet this Saturday in Superior for the Peters Cup. The MCHA wrapped its season up last weekend with its own final four in … Read more
The Difference of One Week I thought I was a little off last week. Insert your own punch line here. It seems as though I’m a week behind giving out the annual Girl Reporter Awards. So I’m a week behind in that — Part Deux soon to follow. But heading into the first round of … Read more
Even though there is still one week left in the regular season, the CHA tournament pairings are already set for next weekend in Bemidji. Entering last weekend with a four-point lead over second-place Niagara, Bemidji State needed a loss by the Purple Eagles to clinch at least a share of the regular-season conference championship and … Read more
In the End, No Surprises One game was decided quickly. The other after a scare. But in the end, the favorites won. Brockport came to play against Plattsburgh, and took a surprising 2-1 first period lead. Dylan Clarke put the home team ahead on the power play early, but the Golden Eagles hung tough. Ray … Read more
Wow! I mean wow! Talk about polar opposites: the NESCAC conference quarterfinals basically all held to form with the top seeds holding serve on home ice in the first round setting up a classic No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 semifinal round at Amherst College on Friday while the ECAC … Read more
ECAC Northeast Top-seeded Nichols College skated past fifth-seeded Fitchburg State, 4-2, in the ECAC Northeast semifinals on Wednesday night and now the nation’s 13th ranked team will make its second straight appearance in the ECAC Northeast Championship game, hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. Wentworth advanced with a 4-2 win over … Read more
Share the Love It was an awkward but fitting end to the Atlantic Hockey season: commissioner Bob DeGregorio flanked by captains from Air Force and RIT last Saturday night, holding the regular-season trophy. The teams finished with identical 20-6-2 records, so they end the season as co-champions. Air Force gets the top playoff seed on … Read more
No. 3 Hobart Statesmen vs. No. 4 Neumann Knights Upsets ruled the day last weekend when the lower seed teams won both of the ECAC West semifinal playoff games. No. 4 seed Neumann toppled No. 1 Elmira, 2-1, at the Thunderdomes and No. 3 seed Hobart finally won at Playland Ice Casino as the Statesmen … Read more
Lots to cover this week, boys and girls, so eyes up and notebooks open. And you, spit out that gum. Kick in the Teeth Despite an exceedingly handicapped roster, Quinnipiac still managed to hang tough with Harvard on Friday night in Boston. The Bobcats, sans top scorers Brandon Wong (injury) and David Marshall, Eric Lampe … Read more
Going Into The Ark, Two By Two The final week comes down to a pairing of teams two by two (barring a hard-to-conceive sweep of Boston University by Providence). BU and Northeastern will finish one-two in some order. In the event of a tie, the two teams share the regular season title but BU gets … Read more
As we figured, it comes down to the final weekend of play to determine the standings. As we determined last week, a few things are certain, but there’s still a whole lot up in the air. I will say, though, that some part of me feels like all is right with the world again, seeing … Read more
For All the Marbles It’s taken five months, 75 games, and countless ounces of blood, sweat, and tears, but tonight the MIAC crowns its champion. Gustavus Adolphus and Hamline have braved the tortuous regular season schedule and the ‘win-or-go-home’ desperation of the playoffs. Now, one of those teams will advance to the NCAA Tournament and … Read more
The opening round of the playoffs is in the books in both the MCHA and NCHA and surprisingly there was nothing … too surprising. The higher seeds advanced in all eight quarterfinal series, and MCHA three seed MSOE was the only favorite who needed the mini-game to advance. In other MCHA action Adrian swept Northland, … Read more
Playoffs? You want to talk playoffs? If you can picture the opening lines with the voice from the NFL’s ex-Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora you can kind of imagine that sense of incredulousness that accompanies the rapid end to the regular season once we hit February and the dramatic “win or go home†aspect that … Read more