This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
The final weekend of the regular season went a long way in determining the matchups in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC tournament scheduled for this coming Saturday. Trinity leveraged a pair of wins over travel partner Wesleyan to lock up first place and the top seed, but at the expense of seeing Wesleyan again … Read more
Concordia (Minn.) is headed back to the MIAC tournament, but as far as coach Chris Howe is concerned, his team has spent an entire season in postseason mode. The Cobbers have played in nine games decided by one goal, going 5-4 in those encounters, and four of those games have gone to overtime. Concordia has … Read more
Wisconsin-Stevens Point has spent this season as one of the nation’s top teams and is currently ranked third in the country as it prepares for the WIAC tournament. And while the Pointers did finish second in the standings after a 5-4 loss to Wisconsin-River Falls on Friday, coach Chris Brooks is confident his team will … Read more
It was a race to the end, but St. Norbert won the Peters Cup and earned the regular-season title last weekend. Along with the Green Knights, Adrian, St. Scholastica and Lake Forest will be hosting quarterfinals this weekend. The third-, fourth- and fifth-seeded teams finished the regular season within three points of each other. Joining … Read more
Plymouth State isn’t worried about where it will be seeded in the MASCAC tournament because according to coach Craig Russell, the Panthers can be a dangerous team. The Panthers have made a second-half push to earn a quarterfinal bye into the semifinals. They tied with Salem State for first place in the conference after both … Read more
As if last weekend wasn’t crazy enough for the teams in the ECAC East. The playoffs start on Saturday with four quarterfinal matchups that may not be as clear-cut as the seeding may indicate. Norwich again finds itself the top seed, and had to work the extra mile in beating Babson and Massachusetts-Boston for a … Read more
Every year, the last weekend of NESCAC play brings so many scenarios to what the seeding will look like once the final two games of the regular season are completed. So what do we know heading into the final two games? Not much. The only confirmed position is Tufts not qualifying for the conference tournament … Read more
How do you like your finishes? Down to the wire? If so, then the race for the ECAC West regular-season championship could be right up your alley. With two games remaining on the schedule, Elmira and Utica share a top spot tie with identical 9-3-1 conference records. And although it’s a bit of a pity … Read more
Freshman Evan Cowley got the win against Nebraska-Omaha last Saturday.
The team mathematically is still able to reach fifth place and a first-round playoff bye, but that has become a bit unrealistic with just three league games to play.
Looking back at where the Wisconsin Badgers were one year ago on the eve of the final weekend of the regular season, most teams would not have viewed it as a negative place. The Badgers were ranked sixth at the time and in the midst of an eight-game winning streak. Senior Brianna Decker had won … Read more
It’s been said that statistics are often manipulated to bolster a point of contention. For Plattsburgh, the ECAC West co-leaders, contradiction comes to mind. At 21-1-1 (13-1-0 ECAC West) and stunning, above-the-norm individual numbers, it hardly appears that the Cardinals have arrived at this point in the season with sleight of hand. Heading into the … Read more
The massive winter storm that crippled the South canceled the Chargers’ flights and forced them to find an alternative means of travel.
Western New England still has a conference tournament berth on its mind. Right now, the Golden Bears sit 4-7-0 in the ECAC Northeast standings, tied with Curry for the sixth and final tournament berth. They are 10-12 overall on the season. To secure a conference playoff spot, WNE will have to win its final two … Read more
Just one weekend of regular season play remains on the SUNYAC schedule. However, the docket will feature at least three distinct story lines, each of which will stir the stew of the upcoming playoff picture. Because of the way the SUNYAC standing have stratified over the course of the season, three key questions have yet … Read more
If there’s one thing not to talk about when it comes to these Black Knights, it’s adversity.
The Nittany Lions are still in their proverbial hockey honeymoon, a second-year program playing a full Division I schedule for the first time in 2013-14.
The Big Green were the only ECAC Hockey team to earn four points last weekend.
Life in the WIAC is tough and yet, Wisconsin-River Falls has managed to navigate its way to the top of the standings and put destiny in its grasp. The No. 10 Falcons are 7-3 in the conference after a weekend sweep of Wisconsin-Stout and now, only games against Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-Eau Claire remain on … Read more
St. Thomas coach Jeff Boeser will be the first to tell you his team doesn’t have a star. Yet, even without star power, the Tommies keep getting it done on the ice. It’s why St. Thomas enters the final week of the regular season with the MIAC championship in its possession. “If you look at … Read more