Next weekend’s MCHA and MIAC tournaments will have a tough first round act to follow, after what transpired in the NCHA’s opening round. Home teams had more than they could handle in the first round of the NCHA tournament. The Peters Cup started Friday with two road teams being victorious and the other earning a … Read more
The horse race is over in the ECAC Northeast. Now, the fight to continue the season begins for six teams. Saturday marked the final day of the regular season for the conference’s eight teams, and by virtue of Saturday’s 5-2 win over Salve Regina and Thursday’s 5-3 win over Curry, Wentworth edged out Curry by … Read more
Wow! That is really about all I can say after Sunday evening’s regular season finales in the NESCAC conference put a nice bow on a sensational regular season and definition on the quarterfinal round of the conference playoffs beginning next weekend. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a whole lot of movement among those teams that were so … Read more
Oswego makes it a hat trick Three was the magical number for Oswego. It took a third consecutive SUNYAC regular season title with a pair of 3-0 shutouts this weekend. Of course, the victory over Plattsburgh was the biggie. Andrew Hare stopped all 27 shots to shutout the rivals during White-Out weekend. “Definitely one of … Read more
As expected, it came right down to the last game of the season to set the order of finish. Elmira won the regular season title for the fifth season in a row, while Manhattanville and Hobart clinched first-round byes. Utica will host Neumann on Wednesday to open up postseason play. If the regular season is … Read more
Game of the Week It’s rare I don’t go with a Plattsburgh-Oswego contest as my game of the week. Though it is one of the top rivalries in college hockey, and the game always means something, with three points separating these two teams heading into the penultimate game of the season, it just doesn’t have … Read more
In the ECAC Northeast, playoff positioning will come down to the final day of the regular season — Saturday. Entering Thursday’s slate of games, two points separate first-place Curry (20 points) from third-place Nichols (18 points), with Wentworth sandwiched into second place with 19 points. Johnson and Wales and Western New England are tied for … Read more
It’s the last week of the regular season, and it’s all about the middle of the pack. This weekend isn’t changing anything at the top of the standings in either conference, but the closest competition among teams can be found in those crucial three-through-seven spots. All the games have serious playoff implications, either outright or … Read more
It is the last weekend of regular season play for the MCHA and MIAC. Adrian could win its fifth-straight MCHA title at Finlandia, while Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is comfortably in second place, two points behind Adrian in the standings. Lawrence and Marian are deadlocked in third place. In the MIAC, Hamline holds the … Read more
Here we are at the final weekend of the regular season and nothing is settled in the standings. That is par for the course in the ECAC West. Everything is on the line Friday, as every team but Neumann is in action. If Elmira can tie or beat Utica, the Soaring Eagles clinch the regular … Read more
It came down to the last weekend, but St. Norbert captured its 13th NCHA regular season title in 16 seasons. The rest of the NCHA has settled in on the pairings for the first round of the Peters Cup, which begins next weekend. St. Scholastica clinched the No. 2 seed and will host Wisconsin-Stout. Wisconsin-Eau … Read more
The ECAC Northeast isn’t necessarily being turned upside down in the final two weeks of the regular season, but with two games remaining on the schedule for each team, the season-long marathon will most likely come down to a sprint for the top five teams in the conference. After the weekend, Curry remains in first … Read more
So it’s now down to just one weekend remaining in the regular season. Two games will decide the final playoff fate for teams in both conferences, and while the picture is still murky, here is what we know is clear in the playoff picture, as well as the many questions that still remain in both … Read more
Brockport sweeps to playoff contention A funny thing happened on the way to Brockport’s early elimination from playoff contention. Last week they tied Geneseo, and this weekend, they did the impossible. Impossible because it’s never been done before. “With last night’s win being the first one in approximately 30 years, I’m sure this is the … Read more
For the second weekend in a row, there were no sweeps in the ECAC West. The teams entering the weekend in the last two positions of the standings took three points from the higher seed team that they played. Despite being outshot, 39-21, on Friday, Neumann put a whipping on Utica, 5-0. The Pioneers went … Read more
An unmitigated disaster, that is the best way to describe my picks last week. I got every game wrong. I am sitting in the penalty box feeling shame as I type this blog. Anyone want to guess how many I will get wrong this week? If the last two weeks are any indication, the number … Read more
As the season begins to wind down, another regular season champion could be decided. It is the last week of the NCHA regular season, and there are still many scenarios when it comes to the final standings. St. Norbert could grab the NCHA regular season title with a three-point weekend, or grab a share of … Read more
Each player and each coach in the ECAC Northeast and MASCAC will acknowledge it at this time of the year: With the regular season turning from a matter of weeks into a matter of days, each point and each win is valuable. It’s that old adage about “controlling your own destiny.” Simply put — the … Read more
Game of the Week You have to go with the game that pits the two teams closest to each other in points. That would be Potsdam at Geneseo on Friday. The Bears are in fifth place, one point ahead of Geneseo. Oh, and Potsdam has a game in hand, so Geneseo has to consider Potsdam … Read more
The next to last weekend of the regular season has some intriguing matchups at both the upper and lower levels of the standings. One thing all the games have in common is their playoff implications. At this point of the season, rest assured that no one is taking any opponent lightly, and everyone is doing … Read more