Season previews for leagues
The start of a new season always comes with optimism, and for Atlantic Hockey, hopes are sky-high after a momentous offseason. New Digs Three schools announced plans to upgrade their facilities, including a pair of upgrades that begin this season. American International is moving from the Olympia Ice Center to downtown Springfield’s MassMutual Center. Sacred … Read more
What will the WCHA look like in the near future? That seems to be the theme to the questions that curious fans and reporters continue to ask following a tumultuous offseason that saw the league announce a series of significant changes. First, the league announced that it was eliminating the neutral-site championship semifinals and finals. … Read more
Even with all the offseason changes, the WCHA still looks to be a talented 10-team conference in 2016-17. Here is a team-by-team look at what to expect this season in the WCHA: Alabama-Huntsville Last season 7-21-1 overall, 5-17-6 WCHA (10th in conference). Missed playoffs Names to know Junior Max McHugh led the Chargers with 15 … Read more
The NCHC was a difficult enough conference to succeed in before one of its member teams won a national championship. Don’t expect that to change in the wake of North Dakota’s title success earlier this year. If anything, the grind is likely to now become even more brutal. Half of the eight-team league qualified for … Read more
The eight NCHC teams all have something to prove and something to gain in 2016-17. Here is what you need to know for each school on the eve of the new season: Colorado College Last season 6-29-1, 4-19-1 (eighth in conference). Lost to North Dakota in the first round of the NCHC tournament. Names to … Read more
Last year saw a transition in the ECAC, as the league which had often been dominated by Ivy League teams like Harvard and Cornell saw two non-Ivies, Quinnipiac and Clarkson, finish 1-2 in the league and then advance to the NCAA tournament. Colgate also seemed to come out of nowhere and make a challenge, defeating … Read more
For the last several years, Hockey East has been about the Boston teams. With Boston College being led by two of the most prolific scorers in the game in Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa, and Northeastern matching with Kendall Coyne, and Boston University having strong players like Marie-Philip Poulin, the Boston teams have dominated the … Read more
The late addition of Amanda Kessel back to Minnesota’s lineup gave the Gophers just the jump they needed heading into the playoffs last season, and they rode that momentum to a sixth NCAA title, defeating Boston College in the final. The Gophers graduated a strong senior class, as in addition to Kessel, they lost scoring … Read more
The CHA has, in its history, been about one team: Mercyhurst. The Lakers have finished first in the league in 11 of 12 seasons, and even before the CHA tournament gave the winner an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, Mercyhurst usually qualified as an at-large team. Other CHA teams have challenged the Lakers at … Read more
The six teams that comprise the Northeast-10 are technically Division II programs that play a limited schedule against each other and the majority of their games with D-III schools across the region. While two schools, St. Anselm and St. Michael’s, also compete in the NEHC, they are only eligible to play in the NE-10 postseason … Read more
What a spring and offseason for the hockey teams of NESCAC. First, Trinity shakes off a quarterfinal loss in the conference tournament to go on a four-game run as an at-large entrant in the NCAA tournament and wins its first-ever national title. Secondly, Middlebury and D-III coaching legend Bill Beaney announces his retirement from coaching … Read more
The rest of the MASCAC might want to watch out if the defending champs from Plymouth State address their coach’s concern about having “underachieved” last season. Panthers coach Craig Russell isn’t taking anyone lightly and knows his team is going to have to be better to be in the same position again next March. “We … Read more
Last year saw Hobart win the ECAC West regular-season title and then the conference tournament with an overtime win against Neumann. The Statesmen then subsequently suffered a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament to Oswego. Both finalists from last season ranked high in the preseason coaches’ poll, but this always-competitive conference, without the automatic qualifier … Read more
While coach Kevin Swallow has departed last year’s conference champion Nichols team for the same position at the University of New England, the expectations remain the same this season. Parker Burgess takes over in his first head coaching job looking to build on his experience out west as an assistant with St. Thomas. “I really … Read more
If there is a constant theme to the SUNYAC conference, it is likely the chase by the rest of the league of Oswego and last year’s conference champions from Plattsburgh. While the Cardinals took the conference title with a win over the Lakers, both teams qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2015. This season brings … Read more
Last Year’s Champion: St. Thomas won the regular-season crown but Hamline prevailed in the conference tournament and earned the league’s automatic NCAA tournament bid. Favorites: St. Thomas, Hamline and St. Mary’s are the favorites in the conference this year. Dark Horse: St. John’s should be a much-improved team and has a great chance of returning … Read more
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Despite all the news in New England about new conference alignments coming next year and University of New England’s departure to the newly formed CCC next year, as well as St. Anselm in Division II exploring the move to D-III across their entire athletic department, … Read more
Last Year’s Champion: Adrian. The Bulldogs also won the Harris Cup for the sixth time in program history. Favorites: Adrian, St. Norbert and the Milwaukee School of Engineering are the favorites to win the conference championship. Dark Horse: Lake Forest could be the surprise contender this year as it returns league player of the year … Read more
Last Year’s Champion: Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Pointers won the championship for the 10th time in program history and for the first time since 2000. Favorites: Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Wisconsin-River Falls are the top three favorites in the five-team conference. Dark Horse: Wisconsin-Superior could end up being the surprise team in the conference as … Read more
Jimmy Vesey, Rob O’Gara and Alex Lyon could be playing in the pros this season but chose to return to school.