Well now the season truly is in full swing as NESCAC joined the fray this week and didn’t waste any time adding to the chaos that has been a recurrent theme of upsets. Some new teams are emerging as contenders in conferences rich with traditional champions and blowout wins one night can quickly become defensive … Read more
Just like the games on the ice that appeared to be in control on the ice in the early action, I found out the result isn’t final until the last whistle. A mediocre 4-4-0 (.500) week sees the early season numbers drop to 9-6-1 (.594), so I have some early ground to make up and … Read more
Another weekend of hockey is here and the signature matchup on the schedule is a rematch of last season’s national title game, as Wisconsin-Stevens Point hits the road to take on St. Norbert in a game that should be an instant classic. St. John’s and Hamline square off against each other in a crucial MIAC … Read more
If this week is any indication of some of the drama we have in front of us for the next few months, then get ready for nonstop and heart-racing action right to the final whistles of regulation and beyond. This weekend produced extra-attacker goals, overtime thrillers, amazing comebacks, and new rivalries in the making. Here … Read more
The second weekend of November has arrived and below is a look at eight games to watch in the western region of Division III hockey. The slate includes several MIAC-WIAC crossover games. Friday, Nov. 11 Concordia (3-1) at Wisconsin-Stevens Point (3-0-1) Coming off a series split with fellow MIAC power St. John’s, the Cobbers now … Read more
The first week is always a very challenging one in predicting winners, as “on paper” rosters don’t always translate to “on-ice” performance. That said, I will take week one as being a good start, having posted a 5-2-1 (.688) record, which is just below my targeted 70 percent success goal for the season. This week … Read more
Another weekend is in the books in college hockey and among the highlights was Lake Forest stunning reigning national runner-up St. Norbert to earn a split in their NCHA series, Hamline winning a pair of games against St. Olaf to surge to the top of the MIAC standings, and Wisconsin-Superior picking up a nonconference win … Read more
While NESCAC formerly started practices on November 1, some teams eased into the season with some less challenging opponents, while others dove right into major nonconference matchups, or, better yet, great conference rivalry games to start the new campaign. This weekend saw a bit of all of it and one thing seems very obvious — … Read more
The first November weekend of hockey has arrived and it’s time for another year of making predictions. Every team out west already has games under their belt and will go into this weekend either looking to build on early-season momentum or get back on track. Several crossover matches are mixed in with conference matchups among … Read more
The ink isn’t dry on many new rosters yet and one conference has just formally taken the ice for official practices, but some great match-ups abound on the first real opening weekend of D-III play. Here are some first week prognostications to get the season off to a fast start focused on the always friendly, … Read more
It’s the final round at the Frozen Four in Lake Placid and the all-West showdown between Wisconsin-Stevens Point and St. Norbert is an epic and worthy final. One game left to decide the national championship between two very familiar opponents. Friday night’s semifinal round NCAA picks went 0-2-0 (.000) as my Eastern title hopes were … Read more
It’s the semifinal round at the Frozen Four in Lake Placid and both games feature the talent and level of play to complete the required weekend two-game win streak and hoist the national championship trophy. All efforts are focused on Friday and the need to win to play further on the weekend. Last week’s quarterfinal … Read more
The field is set for this weekend’s Frozen Four in Lake Placid. Lots of great stories among the four entrants that include perennial national title contender St. Norbert, last year’s finalist looking for a better outcome in Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a team with a cause in Geneseo and this year’s first-time participant, Massachusetts-Boston. All four earned … Read more
It’s the quarterfinal round and all four games feature matchups that are great for fans who like great offense, strong team defense and terrific goaltending. The winning teams will need to have all on display to advance to next week’s Frozen Four in Lake Placid. Last week’s first round NCAA picks went 2-1-0 (.667) with … Read more
There were three games last weekend, including the defending national champion and three first-time participants in the national tournament, that all finished with perhaps a bit less drama than expected. Two first-timers won their matchups and this year’s tournament will see a new national champion as Trinity exits in the first round at the hands … Read more
Just 11 teams remain at the D-III level and all have the desire to win that coveted NCAA title. This year, the schedule breaks down more favorably for those teams playing first-round games as the mid-week games are all moved to Saturday with the quarterfinals to follow a week later. That means some welcome rest … Read more
What a weekend it was in the East. All of the conference titles have been decided and just as the entire season has shown, don’t take anything for granted when it comes to the final outcome on the ice. While some favorites proved why they were just that, others saw their conference title aspirations dashed … Read more
Way back in October, this was a weekend circled on the calendar that coaches and teams aspired to be playing meaningful hockey on – the time has come and now opportunity meets talent and desire with the hope of winning a conference championship and maybe playing for more on a bigger stage in the national … Read more
Playoff games typically bring out the best in teams and that should be the case this weekend in the MIAC, NCHA and WIAC. The margin for error will be slim. In fact, when Adrian and St. Norbert played in the regular season, both games were decided by a goal. The same goes for the two … Read more
Well, it was most certainly a Super Saturday in all of the conference tournaments that saw favorites win, shocking upsets, overtime thrillers and a championship game postponed due to an outbreak of Mumps. There was lots of excitement and drama and for the teams remaining, one step climbed in pursuit of a conference title and … Read more