It was an up and down weekend for the ECAC West. Elmira suffered through the worst of the weekend, dropping an overtime game at Brockport and losing to Geneseo. Rumored illness might have caused some of the trouble for the Soaring Eagles’ stumble before the holidays. Elmira is now 2-5 outside of the league, which … Read more
Although the NCHA was the only conference in action, there was plenty of other hockey this weekend in the MCHA/MIAC/NCHA conferences. In the NCHA, St. Scholastica did something apparently only it can do at St. Norbert, while Wis.-Eau Claire did something everyone else had been trying to do against Wis.-River Falls. NCHA St. Scholastica did … Read more
Wow! What a great last weekend of the first half for the teams that had meaningful hockey games to play this past weekend. Norwich and Plattsburgh played a seesaw game that ended in a 4-4 tie, and the round robin among the top three teams in NESCAC ended up going the home team’s way, as … Read more
Maybe they were thinking more about Christmas vacation and less about the scoreboard. None of the ECAC Northeast’s teams had much luck against nonconference opponents in a stretch of four days, from last Wednesday to Saturday, as the ECAC Northeast finished a combined 2-7 in that span. The only two wins? Nichols, which defeated Franklin … Read more
Brockport Stuns Elmira Brockport upset the number six team in the nation, Elmira, in thrilling fashion, 4-3, in overtime. “We did a really good job taking away their rushes up the ice,” Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. “Watching film of their game against Fredonia, we noticed they really like to get up the ice and … Read more
Another week goes by where I blow the picks in league games, but do well in the nonconference play. Maybe Santa will help me sort out the teams within the ECAC West standings, because it is a big jumble right now. Lucky for me, all teams are in the throes of nonconference play for the … Read more
Two consecutive weeks of nailing the picks has this writer excited about the final weekend of play prior to the semester break. Last week’s 5-1-0 record builds to a season record of 13-6-1 (.650) with again a challenging group of conference and non-league games to choose from this week. It’s awesome this week to see … Read more
So far this season, I am picking half (6-6) the games correctly, which is not bad, I guess, but there are teams that surprise me every weekend. Bethel delivered the biggest surprise by sweeping Hamline in the MIAC, and Wisconsin-River Falls proved it is the most improved team in the NCHA with a pair of … Read more
The homestretch before the holiday break is upon us, and we’ve seen a team or two go on a tear, and a few teams that have staggered to this point, including Framingham State, which earned its first win since February with its win over Worcester State on December 1. Here’s the ECAC Northeast and MASCAC … Read more
Game of the Week With the SUNYAC schedule half over, it’s wall-to-wall nonconference games for the last weekend of the fall semester. Highlighting the dozen games is a rematch of the first round of the Primelink Tournament — Plattsburgh at Norwich. In that meeting, Norwich won, 3-0. And therein lays a serious problem for Plattsburgh … Read more
The first part of the ECAC West league play finished up this past Friday, and Elmira has taken firm control at the top of the standings. The Soaring Eagles withstood a comeback by Neumann to beat the Knights, 3-2, in overtime to post a perfect 5-0 record. They are now six points clear of the … Read more
The first weekend in December saw clutch goaltending, as Concordia (Minn.) moved to within a point of St. Thomas in the MIAC. In other Midwest action, Wisconsin-River Falls sits atop the NCHA standings alone after sweeping Wisconsin-Superior, and Adrian comes back in the MCHA after a disappointing Thanksgiving tournament. MIAC Concordia (Minn.) remained unbeaten in … Read more
With roughly a week remaining in the unofficial first half of the season, conference races are starting to shape up and heat up, making the New Year look all the more exciting for all fans. Any all points are going to be important coming down the stretch in February, but it may be points gained … Read more
Danny Kaufmann spent the summer in Washington, D.C., where he waited tables and shared living quarters with a childhood friend. Through the course of the summer however, Kaufmann admitted that while they shared the same kitchen, he and John Carlson, a second-year defenseman with the Washington Capitals and Kaufmann’s best friend from growing up in … Read more
Deadlocked rivalries The two rivalry games lived up to their reputation and hype. Perhaps too much so, as both ended up in a tie. “It’s turning into a real special rivalry,” Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said after a 3-3 tie with Buffalo State. After a scoreless first period, Buffalo State scored twice within 46 seconds. … Read more
Last week was solid at 4-1-1 (.667) slate of picks to build off the opening .500 picks. This week has some big marquee match-ups, and I am not going to shy away from taking a shot at picking the winners. It’s awesome to have a first semester match-up between two undefeated contenders that will surely … Read more
The Thanksgiving tournaments are now memories, and conference battles are back on tap for this weekend. In the MIAC and NCHA, there are some head-to-head match-ups that could tip the balance of power in this season’s standings. MCHA Marian at Northland, 3:05 p.m. Saturday Northland’s Colin McIntosh was a one-man wrecking crew last week against … Read more
Game of the Week I hate the schedule maker. The last few years, the consistently most enjoyable SUNYAC rivalry games have been Plattsburgh-Oswego (well, that’s been consistently exciting for decades) and Fredonia-Buffalo State. So what do they do? Both times these rivalry games take place, it happens on the exact same day. You see why … Read more
Last weekend’s ECAC Northeast/MASCAC slate included a slew of nonconference games, including a handful of Thanksgiving tournaments in which teams got to showcase their wares against out-of-state competition. I went 3-2-1 this week (earning a half point for Framingham’s 1-1 tie Tuesday with Fitchburg), moving to 14-9-5. Here are this week’s picks. ECAC Northeast Curry … Read more
Neumann threw me a curve before Thanksgiving. I had picked the Knights to beat Manhattanville and then lose to Utica but the opposite happened. Go figure. Other than that, my picks were pretty close to dead on, particularly the tournament games of Hobart and Elmira. This week, there is one last round of league games … Read more