This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
As we hit the break, Tim Costello looks at three surprises from the first half, which include tight conference races, the good play of first-year programs Anna Maria and Wilkes, and the big goal differentials from Geneseo and Endicott.
As we head into the holiday break, Brian Lester looks at some of the surprises from the first half of the season in the West region for D-III men’s hockey.
It was a light weekend in the East, but Anna Maria, Worcester State, Morrisville and Chatham closed their first half on a positive note.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point finished the first half undefeated, Wisconsin-Stout continued its turnaround, and Augsburg got a key win over St. Scholastica.
No. 4 Wisconsin-River Falls was knocked off by No. 7 St. Thomas, and No. 5 Elmira got back on track with a sweep of Nazareth.
Alabama Huntsville hasn’t been on the good end of close games much this season (photo: Jim Rosvold).
It’s well-documented that Penn State has a talented group of forwards. So how do the defensemen fit into the highest-scoring team in the country? (photo: Craig Houtz/Penn State Athletics).
To close out our first half coverage, intrepid columnist Tim Costello pieces together a wish list for Santa for teams in each of the conferences in the East.
Looking to build on its record from last year, Williams had a strong weekend against two top squads from the UCHC, getting wins against both and subsequently getting votes in the poll. However, the Ephs, led by coach Meghan Gillis, are more focused on the NESCAC playoffs.
There are currently 45 women from 13 countries playing D-I hockey. Over the holiday, some of those players will get an opportunity to play in Europe when Clarkson and Northeastern face each other in Belfast for the Friendship Series.
Last year at this time, the Niagara Purple Eagles were flying high (photo: Omar Phillips).
I remember, back in the good old days, when Hockey East was the “Beast of the East.” We could thump our chests because our boys did the thumping on the ice (photo: Melissa Wade).
The best working relationships get to the point where people involved don’t just talk about work (photo: North Dakota Athletics).
Brown coach Brendan Whittet will be the first to say his team’s results have been inconsistent this season (photo: Brown University Athletics).
Many of the ranked teams in the East, including No. 4 UMass-Boston, No. 5 Salve Regina, No. 12 Hobart, No. 13 Plymouth State, and No. 14 Fredonia all suffered losses, while No. 2 Geneseo and No. 8 Oswego posted solid wins.
No. 2 Plattsburgh rolled over Trinity, while No. 3 Elmira was upset by Williams and Manhattanville suffered its first loss of the year.
Wisconsin and Minnesota rolled in weekend sweeps, Clarkson got back on track by sweeping St. Lawrence, Princeton is in control in the ECAC, and Boston College continues to struggle.
We’ve once again intercepted mail from Hockey East arenas to the North Pole and are sharing it with you (photo: Melissa Wade).
Max Glashauser and Northland are moving up in the NCHA behind a fearsome defense, and are on track to better last year’s win total. A tie with top team Adrian last week shows their progress.
First-year program Wilkes rebounded from a slow start and is now looking to move to the top of the conference in the UCHC.