Here we go again! Doesn’t seem to matter that the interlocking schedule between the ECAC East and NESCAC is over this year — it’s still getting too close to call at a lot of different levels in the standings. We are all in for some fun scoreboard watching as we wind down the final three … Read more
Brockport drops heartbreaker to Cortland To say the Golden Eagles dropped a golden opportunity on Friday would be an understatement. All puns intended. Brockport outshot Cortland, 51-38, led 2-0 in the first and 5-2 in the second, yet dropped the game, 6-5, in overtime. Brockport could have been in a playoff spot right now, and … Read more
As the season gets shorter, the proximity in the standings gets closer. Consider both the MASCAC and the ECAC Northeast. While not secure, Salem State is on top of the MASCAC standings, in part due to a seven-game unbeaten streak that includes five conference wins and one tie, including Saturday’s 4-2 win at Worcester State. … Read more
A 5-2-0 record last week saw a great start and a couple of Connecticut schools ruin the hopes for a perfect weekend slate — curse you Trinity and Wesleyan for both winning and losing respectively. Or since Tufts was the common opponent, I should look to Brian Murphy’s team as the cause for the miss … Read more
Game of the Week Outside of the obvious — points are points — there is no game that sticks out as a key game in the standings. So, I’ll go with the Pink the Rink game between Morrisville and Potsdam. The Mustangs have participated in this game before, and their coach Brian Grady is looking … Read more
Here comes crunch time. The final few weeks of the regular season are upon us, and teams from both the ECAC Northeast and the MASCAC are going to begin fighting it out for playoff positioning. Three weeks remain in the ECAC Northeast schedule, and entering Thursday’s games, a point separated first-place Curry from second-place Johnson … Read more
There were some upsets last weekend that knocked the standings around. St. Scholastica’s sweep of Wisconsin-River Falls helped St. Norbert gain control of the NCHA. Three teams are jammed in second place in the MIAC, with St. Thomas coasting out to a comfortable lead. Adrian will battle with Milwaukee School of Engineering for control of … Read more
I managed to go 1-1-1 in league play last week but swept the non-league contests on Saturday. It is a good thing I usually pick the ECAC West over the SUNYAC teams (grin). Neumann is idle this week after a very busy stretch since the holidays but the rest of the teams are in tough … Read more
It’s now down to the final four weeks of the regular season, and in both leagues there is a lot to play for. This past weekend saw some teams starting to assert themselves, while others are still searching for the formula to get their game going and start posting some wins and all important points. … Read more
It appears the usual suspects are beginning to take control of their respective conferences after another weekend of intense hockey action. A coaching milestone was also achieved during the weekend. St. Norbert coach Tim Coghlin joined an elite group as he won his 400th career game. In a 4-1 victory against Wisconsin-Stout Friday, he became … Read more
Nichols has seemed to have snapped itself out of a funk, and the Bison did it in a big way Saturday night at home against Johnson and Wales. To beat the team with one of the nation’s top offenses, Nichols simply had to score more goals. Louie Educate’s second goal of the game — scored … Read more
Manhattanville jumped all over Neumann this weekend, earning its first season sweep of the Knights since 2004-2005, and vaulting into second place in the league. The Valiants shutout Neumann, 3-0, on Friday, notching two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game and then riding goaltender Pierre-Olivier Lemieux to his third shutout of the … Read more
Lose a lead day The hockey stat which favors the team scoring first meant squat on Friday in the SUNYAC. Three of the four games saw the team which grabbed the early lead lose. The most extreme of all was Geneseo. The Ice Knights opened up a 3-0 lead on first period goals by Jimmy … Read more
Another weekend of important conference games is on the schedule for the Midwest this weekend. The top teams in the MCHA face each other again, as conference leader Adrian travels to Marian, which is just one point back in the standings. St. Olaf and Bethel face off in the MIAC, as both teams try to … Read more
The ECAC Northeast finally has resumed its conference schedule, yet one of the most intriguing matchups will come in the MASCAC, when Plymouth State hosts Worcester State on Saturday, a game that will pair two of the conference’s top goalies: Plymouth State’s Jack Astedt and Worcester State’s Bryan Kalczynski. Last week I finished 5-1 (.833) … Read more
Game of the Week No doubt, the biggest matchup this weekend is Geneseo at Buffalo State. Buffalo State sits in third place with nine points. Geneseo and Potsdam have eight points. Fredonia has seven points. So, not only are the two points ultra important versus each other, they are also ultra important to the teams … Read more
This weekend is the transition between nonconference play and league games. Neumann has already finished its out of league schedule, while Elmira, Hobart, and Utica wrap things up this weekend. Three key league games this week will set the tone for the race to the end. Neumann is at Manhattanville for a pair of games … Read more
Last week, I finished a very solid week of picks with a 5-1-1 record. It was a dominant weekend for the road teams. For the season, my overall record now sits at 33-13-6 (.692) — creeping up toward the 70 percent success number, but not quite there yet. Points are coming at a premium now … Read more
In the first weekend of conference play for the New Year, two teams earned a little breathing room at the top of the standings in the MCHA and MIAC, while the NCHA conference race tightened up. Adrian and St. Thomas each earned weekend sweeps in which all games were decided by a goal. St. Norbert … Read more
In two MASCAC games on Thursday and Saturday, Westfield State faced 66 shots on goal; simple math tells you that’s an average of 33 shots a game. However, it’s a sharp deviation from what was becoming the norm for the Owls. In a 4-0 loss Thursday at home to Plymouth State, Westfield State goalies Eddie … Read more