That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski greeted me when we talked early on Tuesday morning. It may have been the case of too many cups of coffee, but he definitely has a point.<\/p>\n
It is time for playoff hockey in the ECAC West and teams either win or see their season come to an end. Semifinal action is on tap this Saturday.<\/p>\n
Elmira won the ECAC West regular season title for the second year in a row. The Soaring Eagles secured the crown Friday night when they eked out a tie against Utica and then saw that Hobart and Manhattanville had also deadlocked.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our guys deserve a ton of credit for two years in a row finishing in first place, especially having graduated two All-Americans and 60 some points on the blue line last year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Ceglarski.<\/p>\n
But like last year, the final week of the regular season was not kind to the Soaring Eagles as Elmira tied and lost to Utica. Teams try to get on a roll at the end of the year so they have momentum entering the playoffs, but it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite what happened to Elmira last week.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Friday night, I thought both teams didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really come out and play that well early on,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Ceglarski. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We played great for the last 30 minutes of the game, but Utica is a hardworking team and you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t only play 30 minutes against them and expect to win. We had guys with the flu and injuries and everything else last week. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say stumbling but we definitely are coming in to the playoffs through the back door a little bit. We aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going into the playoffs the way we would like but I still think we are a very fast skating and hardworking team.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Neumann defeated a tough Utica team Wednesday night, 4-3, in the ECAC West First Round. Utica controlled play for much of the first two periods, building a 3-1 lead by 15:37 into the second period. But after a flat start to the game, Neumann kept plugging away until the third period, at which point they took control of the contest, dominating shots on goal 12-1 in the third period and scoring a pair of goals to win the game.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We came out flat,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Neumann coach Dominick Dawes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153[Utica] came out and did what [coach] Gary [Heenan] wanted them to do which was get in our face and play physical. From the first period to the third period we improved and got better. We got a little better and a little better. From the first shift of the third period, we were all over them.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The victory kept the Neumann season alive for another game, this time only three days later at Elmira on Saturday. That quick turn-around doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give the Knights much time to review tape and make a game plan, but that shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter as these two teams are very familiar with each other.<\/p>\n
Elmira and Neumann have met four times already this season, three times in league play and once at the Times-Argus Invitational tournament. Elmira holds a 3-0-1 advantage over the Knights, but in a one game playoff anything can happen this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It is good to get right back out there and get going,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Dawes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think the guys like that. [Elmira has] had our number for the most part this year. Last time they beat us pretty good. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have to go in there and work hard, play like we did in the third period on Wednesday night.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Elmira\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strength all season has been its team speed, a trait the Soaring Eagles have used successfully against most other teams. The only time they got out-skated this season was against No. 1 ranked Plattsburgh back in late October.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our overall team speed is far and away the best it has ever been,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Ceglarski. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our team speed is there. We have a lot of youth and energy on our team with nine freshmen who are contributing almost every night.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nScoring has been a strength all season for Neumann. Averaging 4.46 goals per game, the Knights\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 potent offense currently ranks eighth in the country.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our offense has scored a lot of goals this year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Dawes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have to continue to chip away, score goals, and do all the little things that have helped us score goals.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Elmira\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s offensive output isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t far behind Neumann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, though, averaging 4.40 goals per game and 11th nationally. It could be quite the shootout in the Thunderdomes on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
It was about as even as it could get last weekend at the Playland Ice Casino in Rye, NY. Hobart and Manhattanville played 130 minutes of hockey but settled nothing, as they skated to a pair of 1-1 ties.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was great hockey,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Hobart coach Mark Taylor. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The officiating went well. You had two teams trying to get first place without screwing things up. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why [they] ended up as tied games.\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n
Official shots on goal were close in the first game, but Saturday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s contest gave an advantage of 46-23 to Manhattanville. However, the shots on goal recorded on the official score sheet don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily reflect what happened on the ice.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I saw the shot total after the second game and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy that for a second,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the game that way. We might have had a couple more shots, but the game was very even back and forth. They were two really good hockey games, hard fought, right down to the last second, could have gone either way. Hobart is a very good team, very fast with great goaltending. It is as close as you can get to a series in college hockey.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
With the pair of ties, Manhattanville and Hobart also tied for second place in the league standings. However, the Valiants defeated Hobart 3-1 on December 6 and win the head-to-head tiebreaker to earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
As the No. 3 seed, Hobart returns to Playland this Saturday but this time it is a single elimination semifinal playoff game. The sparring matches last weekend were just a warm-up to playoff hockey. This Saturday it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for real, but don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect either team to change much.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hobart came in as advertised,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Levinthal. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Both teams have a certain way they play. We play a certain sort of trapping system and they do certain things too. As much as Saturday was a hard fought game, boy was it an ugly game. They refused to pass pucks up the middle and we refused to pass it around their forecheck. It was back and forth that way. The two games really didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do anything but setup the next game. It was a pretty good draw.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are some things we did that we thought cost us goals,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d added Taylor. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll make a few adjustments there. But for the most part, if you play two 1-1 ties on the road, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not doing too many things wrong. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fine line wanting to come away with a win, but in playoff hockey you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shoot yourself in the foot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Manhattanville has been on a roll for most of the season, going 15-1-5 in its last 21 games. The Valiants have been scrappy at times as 14 of those games were decided by two goals or less. Some might call that playing to the level of your opponent, but in Manhattanville\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case it is more akin to finding a way to win no matter what circumstances arise in a game.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Regardless who we have played, we have found a way to raise our level to what it needs to be against the opponent that we are playing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Levinthal. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have only lost one in our last 21 NCAA games. We have played a wide range of teams and have almost identical scores in almost all of our games. This group refuses to give in. They have been pretty defiant. When it comes time to get it done, they find a way to get it done on multiple occasions even when you thought we couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Goaltender Keith Longo has been stellar in net for Hobart all season long. The senior leads the league with a 93.4% save percentage and has set several school goaltending records this season and throughout his collegiate career.<\/p>\n
The Statesmen players have another strength that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite as obvious but is equally important in the playoffs. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no question one of our strengths is Longo between the pipes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Taylor. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made me look like a pretty good coach for four years. I also like the intent of the group. I like what is in the guy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heads, what they want to get done, and how they are going about it. There is stuff within a team that binds you pretty tight and that is one of the strongest things you can have.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
It should be a barn burner of a playoff game between Manhattanville and Hobart on Saturday, but don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised if it takes extra time to determine a winner.<\/p>\n
Late last week, Hobart senior Ryan Adler was named as one of 10 finalists for the Bank of New York Mellon Hockey Humanitarian Award. This is the second year in a row that Adler received such an honor.<\/p>\n
The Hockey Humanitarian Award is given annually to college hockey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finest citizen. Adler is one of four repeat finalists, and one of four Division III players who were named as finalists.<\/p>\n
The winner will be announced on Friday, April 10, as part of the Frozen Four festivities held in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00e2\u20ac\u009dRise and Shine, It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Playoff Time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski greeted me when we talked early on Tuesday morning. It may have been the case of too many cups of coffee, but he definitely has a point. It is time for playoff hockey in the ECAC West and teams either win or see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n