The weekend that was in the West Region playoffs… MIAC Thrilling is perhaps the best way to describe the semifinal round of the MIAC tournament Saturday. St. John’s edged rival St. Thomas 2-1 in overtime while regular-season champion Augsburg used a three-goal outburst in the final seven minutes of action to knock off defending tournament … Read more
Wow, it is a SUPER SATURDAY! A total of 36 teams in 18 games showcasing great hockey across the Northeast and teams hoping that this is when they find their best hockey of the season. I am just like those teams when it comes to my season-long predictions. While I have not been great all … Read more
Some of the Eastern conferences didn’t even wait for the playoffs to create some drama this past weekend. A first-year program took a giant step in winning the regular-season title and all of the seeded teams took care of business in the opening rounds of the playoffs in the NE-10 and NEHC tournaments. Needless to … Read more
The end of the regular season and first round of conference tournaments is here. Yes there is much still to battle for in many of the conferences, NE-10 semifinals and for the NEHC teams in the quarterfinals, it is win or go home! The picks from last week saw a playoff-like performance at 6-0-2 (.875) … Read more
For one conference, everything is settled, while the top is clearer in one or two more. The penultimate week for most was an opportunity to make a move in the standings and many teams did their best to gain home ice or solidify their game coming into the all-important conference tournaments. Here’s the weekend East … Read more
The home stretch is here for D-III college hockey and several big games are on the schedule for this weekend, including a showdown of the top two teams in the MIAC as St. Thomas battles Augsburg. In the NCHA, the featured matchup pits two nationally-ranked teams against each other as St. Norbert and St. Scholastica … Read more
The end of the regular season is already upon some teams this weekend, while others have just two more weekends to control their destiny for playoff positioning. Every game is critical, but the battles for home ice feel even more like it is already the playoffs. The picks from last week saw a solid bounce-back … Read more
If it is at all possible, the playoff picture with just a couple of weeks remaining got cloudier, not clearer, across many of the conferences this weekend. Some teams with opportunity to create separation fell victim to upsets, while some other teams looking to make a late-season run made a statement about the fact they … Read more
February is here and that means we’ve reached the final month of regular-season action in NCAA Division III hockey. Here are my picks for key games in the West this weekend: St. Thomas (9-6-4, 6-2-2) vs. Concordia (Minn.) (8-9-2, 6-3-1) The Tommies are tied for second in the conference and have seen their last two … Read more
The road into February just got bumpy again and teams looking to be playing at their best when it matters most are now focused on the stretch drive. That is good advice for my prediction skills as well. The picks for last week regressed coming into February as I finished at 4-3-0 (.571) for the … Read more
The battle in every conference is on for regular season supremacy and playoff seeding. Some teams helped themselves a lot this weekend while others lost out on chances to move up with the remaining weekends in the regular season swindling down as the calendar turns to February. There are just three weekends remaining and a … Read more
We’ve reached the point of the season where things start to get interesting in conference play. Over the next few weeks, the best will separate themselves from the rest as titles are decided and playoff tickets are punched. So without further delay, here are some of the big games on tap for the weekend. Augsburg … Read more
It is already the final week in January, so the home stretch is officially upon all teams and conference play is now everything in terms of points and position for playoff seeding. The picks for last week may be a confidence boosting jump start for me coming into February as I finished at 5-2-0 (.714) … Read more
The weekend in review… EAST WRAP – Tim Costello ECAC Northeast Just four points separate the top five teams in the conference after a weekend that saw contender battles tighten things up at the top. Endicott avenged an early season overtime loss by knocking off Nichols on home ice by a 5-3 score behind two … Read more
The level of competition across all of the conferences has simply been outstanding. No, I am not saying that in any way to justify my picks being just over the .500 mark in recent weeks. The old adage of any team being able to win on any given night is the reality these days and … Read more
The college hockey season is flying by and it’s time to take a stab at making predictions for some of the games on the schedule this week. The featured game, of course, is the showdown between top-ranked St. Norbert and No. 2 Adrian. Concordia (Minn.) and Augsburg square off in a key MIAC battle and … Read more
So we are already halfway through January and the conference competition is heating up with many leaders are being challenged by teams looking to make their presence known. Nonconference games, while not worth points in the standings, are important in building a resume for national consideration, but more importantly, building a level of consistency that … Read more
We’ve reached the midway point of January and here are the picks for this week’s games. The West slate includes a nonconference showdown between Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Augsburg. Eau Claire (10-3-2) vs. Augsburg (9-4) The Auggies are one of the hottest teams in hockey, having won their last five, and they have scored at least … Read more
The good news is there are still a few weekends to start making some solid picks, including that outright upset. The bad news is it is getting harder and harder to pick those upsets as the stakes get higher in the second half for all of the teams. The picks for last week missed out … Read more
Everyone is back into the swing of the second half and so it should not be surprising that this past weekend saw a bit of everything in both league and nonconference matchups. Of course, there were the usual upsets, but also a couple of 0-0 ties, numerous and unique hat tricks from players leading their … Read more