This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Another week is in the books, and once again not much has changed in terms of the national scene. All four nationally-ranked NCHA teams went a perfect 2-0 against MIAC competition last weekend. All four also held their spots in the USCHO.com Division III poll. St. Norbert remains the third ranked team in the nation, … Read more
Crack the Goose Egg Lebanon Valley finally ended its 28-game winless streak last Friday when it beat Becker 6-1. Prior to Friday, the Flying Dutchmen hadn’t won a game since Dec. 10, 2005, going winless throughout all of 2006. “Friday was our first sixty minute game of the year,” said Lebanon Valley coach Howard Hutton. … Read more
Hey, if you’re getting tired of this, just let me know, because I still find it fascinating The Hosts and Visitors played to a draw last weekend, 4-4-2. St. Lawrence (2-0) and Quinnipiac (1-0) were perfect on home ice, and Clarkson managed two 1-1 ties. Yale, Union, RPI and Quinnipiac each won their only road … Read more
Midseason Slump It’s January in central Ohio. Yes, it’s January everywhere but it feels even more so in Ohio. In recent years, we have not been guaranteed snow and actual winter around these parts. Instead, for months on end we are trapped in a wet purgatory, so un-hockey-like that the smell of the rink hits … Read more
Ups And Downs With only one exception, every team in Hockey East has had its ups and downs. Obviously, some schools have had more peaks and fewer valleys than others, but other than New Hampshire — those Wildcats just keep rolling along — no one has been immune. Maine is probably the most extreme example, … Read more
Burning Bright The term “surprising” has been associated with RIT for much of this season. The Tigers, not quite two years removed from Division III and picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic Hockey Association’s preseason poll, have been near the top of the standings since Thanksgiving. With a sweep of Sacred Heart last weekend, … Read more
Off the Top of My Head • Talk about a topsy-turvy Friday. The “underdogs” of all four series between WCHA teams last Friday took at least a point. The nature of the league never ceases to amaze me. • While there are only three league series on the docket for this weekend, they are three … Read more
Orlando Alamano didn’t think he’d see much more than practice ice between the pipes during his time at Bemidji State. That all changed this year. When senior Layne Sedevie went down with a neck injury, junior Matt Climie assumed the bulk of the workload, but Alamano, who had bided his time the past two years, … Read more
Things Are Looking Up? Last week we focused on the crowded situation at the top of the ECAC Norhteast, and things are cramped in the basement as well, with two teams tied for tenth, and one all alone in the basement. Looking up from the bottom is Chris Heaney, whose Framingham State club is in … Read more
Though it has been almost a month since this column last appeared, little has changed in terms of the MCHA and NCHA when it comes to the national scene. Led by St. Norbert at No. 3, the NCHA still boasts four teams in the top ten of the USCHO.com Division III poll. The Green Knights … Read more
Nonconference Not So Nice It hasn’t been a spectacular midseason break for much of the MIAC as the league has gone 7-11-0 against nonconference opponents so far, getting out-scored 84-60 in that span. Only Hamline was able to win more than one game as the Pipers won the St. Michael’s Tournament with a pair of … Read more
Not quite halfway through this year’s schedule and the topsy-turvy, rollercoaster ride we call the 2006-07 season continues to boggle the minds of players, fans and coaches alike. What’s the biggest element missing among teams looking to play well on a more regular basis? Consistency! This isn’t just “coach speak.” If you look at the … Read more
Making Their Mark Every year fans around the league wonder which of the new freshmen are going to make their mark and fulfill the promise that the coaches hoped for when they originally recruited them. With the second semester of hockey well underway, we can take a good luck at which freshmen have indeed made … Read more
Starting to Roll? Elmira’s storied second half run last season is well known. With the Soaring Eagles underachieving again at the start of this season, everyone has been watching to see if they can put another run together. Perhaps, just perhaps, Elmira showed a little bit of that magical spark over the last couple of … Read more
Making Statements Atlantic Hockey scored a pair of impressive wins last week, as the top two teams in the AHA defeated the top two squads in the ECACHL. RIT defeated Quinnipiac 3-2 last Thursday, and Sacred Heart beat Cornell 2-1 on Saturday. Both games were on the road. The Pioneers’ win at Lynah was the … Read more
Off The Top Of My Head • If the first weekend of 2007 was any indication, the second half of the season looks to be just as wild as the first. • Michigan Tech’s goaltending carried it through the first half of the season, but at some point you have to start scoring. The Huskies … Read more
Robert Morris?! Okay. I’m over it. Sort of. It’s clear that Jeff Jackson’s Fighting Irish are. “It’s over.” That’s Jackson, directly. “They played hard, they played desperate, and we didn’t.” You know, for a woman who’s still haunted by the sting of four consecutive Super Bowl losses, closure can sometimes be an issue. But in … Read more
Pattern recognition. It’s a good thing. Hosts went 2-5-0 this week. Back in the habit, I suppose. Rensselaer dropped its pair to Harvard and Dartmouth, while Princeton and Quinnipiac each went 0-1-0 on home ice. Union (beat Dartmouth, fell to Harvard) and Yale (gritty victory over Brown) represented the Hosts adequately. Harvard led the Visitors … Read more
Greg Gardner has come full circle at Niagara University. The former goalie was part of the first senior class on Monteagle Ridge back in 2000 and is now back on campus as an assistant coach. After a stellar netminding career, Greg Gardner has returned to Niagara as an assistant coach (photo: Niagara media relations). It’s … Read more
Interesting Times At The Heights There were plenty of eyebrows raised when Boston College coach Jerry York stripped the captain’s and assistant captain’s letters off Brian Boyle and Joe Rooney, respectively. No doubt the rumor mills in some locations shifted into high gear. Drugs? Police charges? Barroom brawls? “It’s strictly an academic issue,” York explains. … Read more