This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Zack Woodman and Milwaukee School of Engineering topped No. 1 St. Norbert, and look to build success for the second half off that. Brian Lester reports in his weekly look at the West, and also looks at Northland, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and Concordia.
Just two seasons ago, the Salve Regina Seahawks celebrated an ECAC Northeast championship and first-ever NCAA tournament berth. Last season in the newly formed CCC, the Seahawks fell in the conference quarterfinals, but this year’s edition that opened with a road win against defending national champion Norwich returns many of the same key ingredients for … Read more
Much ado was made over the first half about the scoring prowess of Boston College’s Daryl Watts and Caitrin Lonergan and Boston University’s Victoria Bach. It has been a particularly productive, high-volume first half of the season, but how does their output compare, historically? Bach leads the nation with 23 goals and her 40 points … Read more
Hey there Santa, hope all is well with you in the North Pole. As you prepare to make your journey around the world in one night, I have a few requests for you on behalf of the West region of NCAA Division III hockey. I’ll start in the MIAC. Augsburg could really use a winning … Read more
Last weekend in Bemidji, Santa Claus was in the building. That’s right. Kris Kringle himself, Jolly Old St. Nick, was at the Sanford Center on Friday and Saturday night as the Beavers hosted Alaska Anchorage. During the games, Santa let fans sit on his lap (or pose for pictures next to him) and rode on … Read more
Last weekend, Miami provided a blueprint for how to have success as the visiting team at Western Michigan’s Lawson Ice Arena, though the RedHawks’ plan may not work for everyone. Namely, Miami played within itself. The RedHawks were outshot Friday 34-25 and conceded two power play goals, but Miami handed the Broncos only their third … Read more
With only one game remaining before the break–Saturday’s Northeastern at Merrimack tilt–let’s take a look back at the first half. Before we assess individual teams, though, let’s examine the league as a whole. The most obvious point–like a Everest-sized zit on your nose on prom night–is Hockey East’s nonconference results. The league has done well … Read more
A neophyte might have been a little confused when looking at the Minnesota State-Lake Superior State score from Saturday night in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich: 7-0. Are you SURE that’s not a football score? Alas, Minnesota State’s football team was eliminated from Division II playoff contention a few weeks ago. But the way the Mavericks … Read more
While December always feels like the midway point, it’s important to note that most ECAC Hockey teams haven’t even played close to half of their league schedule yet. There’s still a lot to be decided after the holiday break. With that being said, here’s a breakdown and some thoughts on each team entering the break, … Read more
Concordia’s Dante Hahn has already exceeded his goal total from a season ago. He’s scored six times, and that goes along with one of the improvements he wanted to make to his game. “I wanted to bring more of a goal scorer element to my game this year,” said the sophomore forward. “I’ve incorporated that … Read more
Well it is the most wonderful time of the year — or at least that is how the song goes. Best wishes for the holiday season to all! The first half has closes out for all this week. It’s time to think about whether Santa puts your team on the naughty or nice list over … Read more
This time of year always feels like it sneaks up on me, and never more so than when talking Division III hockey. We’re part way through the season and ready to head into the holiday break. While students finish up finals and you all finish your holiday preparation, here are the things I’m asking Santa … Read more
Nearly three months of games are in the books, and though many of the usual suspects make up the top ten, there are plenty of surprises thus far as well. As students wrap up the first semester and the league takes its winter break, it’s time to think about what sort of goodies each of … Read more
This season has been a bit of an consistency crisis for Ferris State. Dating back to their opening weekend series against Western Michigan, the Bulldogs have been hot and cold. They’ll lose back-to-back games, then win three straight, only to follow it up with a pair of losses. The search for consistency continues this weekend … Read more
It certainly has been a topsy-turvy type of year in Hockey East. And for the league’s top teams, there has been no immunization from those types of roller coaster experiences. Northeastern has hardly been immune to the bumps in the road. Early in the season, the Huskies were swept by Quinnipiac despite holding the lead … Read more
Ohio State’s last two weekends have been the perfect example of the type of roller coaster-type highs and lows teams can experience during the season. Two weekends ago, the Buckeyes went into Ann Arbor and swept Michigan, winning 3-2 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday. A week later, things didn’t go as well. Penn State … Read more
Terry Watkins has been coaching hockey a long time. Thirty years to be exact, all at Wisconsin-Stout. He’s also one of the all-time greats. So he understands the game better than most. Watkins has seen a lot of teams in his time, and this year’s Blue Devils squad is one that he enjoys coaching. “I … Read more
Over the past several years, the MASCAC championship has come down to a battle between Plymouth State and Salem State. This year, there is a new team sitting atop the conference standings heading into the semester break with aspirations of maintaining their fast start and key early season wins over both past incumbent title winners. … Read more
The Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds finished the 2015-16 season with a 9-13-5 overall record and a 2-8-2 record in conference. In the season and a half since then, under new coach Erik Strand, UWEC has a record of 23-14-2 and has spent the last week ranked no. 10 in the country. The team has responded positively … Read more
Down 4-1 with half a period of hockey remaining, Brown remained calm as the Bears hoped to mount a comeback against Rensselaer last Saturday night. Three goals in the final eight-plus minutes led to a 5-4 overtime victory for the Bears over the Engineers as they earned a split of the weekend after falling to … Read more