Who's Next?

Earlier this year, Lake Forest announced they were leaving the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) after the 2008-09 season to join the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA). This came as a surprise to many and has left people asking who will join the NCHA as its new 8th league member in 2009. It is unsure who exactly will fill the void created by the Foresters, but one would have to think it would be a team currently playing in the MCHA.

Lake Forest originally joined the NCHA men's hockey conference in 1992 under the coaching styles of Tony Fritz. Since joining the conference, the head coach has remained the same, but almost every other facet else has gone through changes. While in the NCHA conference, the Foresters team has experienced the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. Just a couple years ago, in the 2003-04 season, the Foresters went 18-6-4 and were a semifinalist in the NCHA conference tournament. After that year, many thought the team was on the upswing and would soon be a contender in the NCHA. Instead, since then the Foresters have gone downhill fast, as over the past three seasons, their record has steadily declined to the point where the 2006-07 campaign resulted in a 3-21-3 season that included a quick exit from the NCHA playoffs.

There is no clear cut reason why Lake Forest is leaving the NCHA to join the MCHA, but any college hockey observer would be quick to point out how the Foresters have struggled to compete with NCHA competition in rescent years. Leaving the NCHA to join the MCHA would mean easier competition for the Foresters. The league change should also help their travel schedule, as the MCHA map of teams is better for Lake Forest than that of the NCHA.

With the Foresters set to jump ship and leave the NCHA after the 2008-09 season, many wonder which school will become the next member of the NCHA. In my eyes, it will be a current team in the MCHA who will join the NCHA. Here are the candidates in my eyes that would make the best fit as a new member of the NCHA :

1. Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders

MSOE would be the best fit to join the NCHA at this point. For starters, the school is conveniently located in Milwaukee, which would serve as a much better travel partner than the current Lake Forest team. MSOE would also serve as a bit of a "rival" to both Stevens-Point and St. Norbert as well. The main point however is that MSOE would bring a winning team to the conference. Having won the past three conference championships in the MCHA, MSOE would definitely strengthen the already strong NCHA league.

2. Finlandia Lions

Finlandia is another team that is a good candidate for the NCHA. The main reasons are that they have recently been a very competitive team, which would strengthen the NCHA conference, and also the fact that Finlandia's women's hockey team, is already a member of the women's NCHA conference. One major factor that I don't like about Finlandia joining the NCHA conference is the fact that they are way up in Houghton, Michigan, which would be a pain for scheduling travel dates for the NCHA conference play. Currently, each team in the NCHA has a travel partner (ex - RF/Stout, Scholastica/UWS, etc.), and adding Finlandia to the mix would throw the travel schedule off. I mean sending a team up to play Finlandia one night, and SNC or Point another night would be pretty crazy in my mind as a team would have to spend a lot of time on the bus that weekend, rather than only traveling a short distance from Friday to Saturday.

3. Lawrence Vikings/Marian Sabres

I see both Lawrence and Marian as a sort of "third option" for NCHA officials if they cannot get either MSOE or Finlandia to join the conference. The reason being is that even though both of these programs are on the rise, they would not do well in the NCHA, due to how competitive the conference has gotten as of late.

In listing my five potential applicants for the NCHA conference in 2008-09, I really hope its one of the top two. I know it will be hard getting one of the elite teams in the MCHA to join the NCHA, but if we don't get a top caliber team like that, I have no idea how a team like Lawrence or Marian would even survive in the NCHA. If anybody thinks a different team will join the NCHA conference after Lake Forest leaves, post your comments in this blog, and share your thoughts!!!

Overtime Thriller

Having come down with my first cold of this young winter season, I decided to have a relaxing night, and take in a video feed of the NCHA conference opener between UW-Superior and UW-Stout.

Needless to say, it turned out to be a great decision to sit in front of the computer and watch this game, as both clubs played an exceptionally well in a contest that ended in a 1-0 overtime victory for Superior.

The first period between these two teams was very even as both teams battled in what turned out to be a back-and-forth affair. Both teams seemed to be feeling each other out, and it proved to be a back and forth affair with lots of puck dumping, and back checking teams.

The second period proved to be more of the same, as both Superior and Stout traded powerplays/penalty killing duties, while both trying to get the game's first goal...which did not happen. Through two periods, both teams played pretty even, although I'd have to have given a slight advantage to Superior, as they were up 24-18 in shots on goal.

In the third period, with about 15:00 left you began to get the feeling that it was going to be a one goal game. You could just feel the tension rising, as both teams realized that the team that scored first would most likely win the game. This resulted in the closing minutes being very closely contested and both teams were playing defensive hockey and not taking any chances at all.

In overtime however, it seemed like things opened up a little bit, as both Stout and Superior were trying to get the winning goal. This resulted in a breakaway 2 on 1 for Super about halfway through the OT period, and Logan Isley got a pass from Eric Bausano and put it past Stout goalie Matt Koenig for the game-winner.

In looking back at this game, I will say that this game was huge for Superior. Being 1-1-3 coming into this game having played some questionable hockey games, many people wondered what kind of team would hit the ice come NCHA conference play. After this 1-0 nail biter, the critics have been put to sleep, as UWS showed that they will definitely be a team to be reckoned with in the NCHA this year and beat the previously unbeaten Stout Blue Devils. I was personally impressed with their speed on both ends of the rink, as they were the "fast-paced" team that many people said they were. Also Chad Beisswenger played a great game in net for UWS. Luckily he showed up because the Superior offense did not.

When looking at UW-Stout, I feel they should not hang their heads over this game. They played a great hockey game, and look to be a pretty good team. Their goalie Matt Koenig played one hell of a game and kept them in it, and they skated well with a team that was much faster on the ice than they were.

Hats off to both teams for a great effort!

Three Stars of the Game:

In determining the three stars of this game in my mind, I did not have to look far as this one seemed to be a no-brainer. Isley, Koenig and Beiswenger...enough said.

1st Star - Logan Isley (UWS) - GWG
2nd Star - Matt Koenig (Stout) - 39 saves
3rd Star - Chad Beiswenger (UWS) - 27 saves, shutout

Goals at a Premium:

After this game ended, I did some research and found that found that since the 2000-01 NCHA season, looking in both conference/non-conference games for teams in the NCHA, there have been seven games where the final was a 1-0 margin, and one game that ended in a 0-0 tie :

November 15, 2007 - Superior beat Stout 1-0
Novemeber 3, 2007 - Eau Claire beat St. Johns 1-0
December 9, 2005 - Scholastica beat Stout 1-0
January 23, 2004 - Stout beat Superior 1-0
March 20, 2004 - Middlebury beat St. Norbert 1-0
November 8, 2002 - Superior beat Stout 1-0
November 9, 2002 - River Falls tied Superior 0-0
December 8, 2001 - Stevens Point beat Gustavus 1-0

Quick Game Stats & Game Recap:

http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0708/boxes/mwsrwst1.n15
http://www.uwstout.edu/athletics/hockey/hocgame.htm#2007november15

My NCHA Preview

I know conference predictions should be made BEFORE the season starts, but I wanted to let the NCHA non-conference schedule ride, and see how teams performed the first couple weeks before making my predictions.

Here is the way I think the NCHA will shake out this year:

1. Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils
Lots of returning faces on this team, as well as a key offensive addition with Joel Gaulrupp transferring in from UWS. If they keep up this early season pace, they will be the NCHA champs. That is iffy though, as they have been known to fade through the second half of the hockey season. They may be 7-0-0 right now, but come the end of the NCHA season, they could be anywhere from #1 to #5 in my mind. It all depends on which Stout team shows up this year. For the time being though, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and place them at number one.

2. Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons
The Falcons return all their major players (Dahl, Hansberry, etc.) from last year on the offensive/defensive side of things, and are an overall strong team on both sides of the ice. The only problem entering conference play is their goaltending situation, which keeps them from winning the NCHA in my eyes. If the transfer from Providence gets the nod in the second-half of the season though, watch out. The Falcons could be dangerous.

3. St. Norbert Green Knights
SNC lost some players last year to graduation, and is returning with a rather young team this season. Kyle Jones, starting goalie for the Green Knights returns to help the young defensive corps for SNC, which is an added plus. However, with all the new faces, SNC has its run of consecutive NCHA Championships in jeopardy, as this new team is learning how to mesh and play together as a unit still. They may not win the NCHA this year, but I expect them to do well in the coming years once these underclassmen mature.

4. Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers
A team that has surprised me thus far this year is the Pointers. Off to a 3-1 start, they have several returning faces, and could turn some heads this year in the NCHA. So far goalie Marcus Paulson has been having a solid season, and if he goes on to have an outstanding year between the pipes for the Pointers, this team could do some damage in the NCHA.

5. Wisconsin-Superior Yellow Jackets
The Jackets are not off to the stellar start many envisioned, posting a 1-1-3 record thus far. With star forward Braden Desmet rumored to be injured for a couple of weeks, and the fact UWS team has not been putting up good offensive numbers so far, I will have to place them 5th in my predictions. I will say though that I see UWS getting better as a club during NCHA play and come playoff time, they could do what St. Scholastica did last year in making a run to the Peters Cup Final.

6. St. Scholastica Saints
The Saints are a team that is a “mixed bag” in my eyes. They have the talent and experience to go places, but have yet to take that step. Sure they had one heck of a great run in the playoffs last season, but going up against the big boys of the NCHA this year will wear on them, as I see them putting together another 15-12 style of year. Maybe another surge in the playoffs, but I do not see them cracking the top five in the regular season standings.

7. Wisconsin-Eau Claire Bluegolds
This team has done the past two seasons under the coaching of Luke Strand, but with Strand gone, I see nothing but for the Bluegolds to go downhill this year. I will say they may show up on any given night and give NCHA opponents a run for their money.

8. Lake Forest Forresters
Not much to be said about this team that the Forresters are putting on ice this year. Sure they have a couple of returning players that put up descent numbers, but the D is lacking at Lake Forest, and until that is fixed, they will remain cellar dwellers of the NCHA.

Updated Rankings

Yesterday, USCHO came out with their latest edition of Division III hockey rankings. Although I really don't pay too much attention to this poll early in the season, I cannot help but look at it and see where teams rank early in the season. With this being the only real "poll" for D-III hockey until the NCAA polls come out in February, it makes me wish the posters on the D-III board of USCHO had a weekly "Poster Poll". If that could be organized, I think it would be an interesting poll, which would be another way of breaking down the top hockey teams in the country. I mean college football has a coaches poll and media poll...why can't D-III Hockey have a coaches/media poll and hockey posters poll.

Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll

1 Middlebury (13) 0-0-0 284 1
2 Manhattanville ( 4) 4-0-1 273 2
3 Wis.-River Falls ( 1) 4-0-1 247 3
4 Plattsburgh ( 1) 7-0-0 240 5
5 Wis.-Stout ( 1) 7-0-0 222 6
6 Norwich 0-0-0 207 4
7 St. Norbert 4-1-0 180 7
8 Elmira 3-0-1 144 8
9 Hobart 6-0-0 137 12
10 Oswego 3-2-1 114 9
11 Babson 0-0-0 89 11
12 St. Thomas 3-1-0 58 10
13 Bethel 4-0-0 54 15
14 Bowdoin 0-0-0 46 13
15 Mass.-Dartmouth 1-0-0 40 14

Others Receiving Votes: Milw School of Eng 18, New England College 7, Castleton 6, Neumann 6, Wis.-Stevens Point 6, Gustavus Adolphus 5, Wis.-Superior 3, Curry 2, Finlandia 2, St. Olaf 2

Looking at this week's poll in-depth, I am surprised at some of the west's rankings. For starters, I was surprised to see River Falls ranked higher after their performance last weekend against two MIAC teams. Also, I wonder how MSOE got into the rankings mix...period. I mean sure they may be 5-1 to start off the young season, but last time I checked, teams like Lake Forest, Lawrence and UM-Crookston are not considered to be "real competition". I will admit that if they do hang around in the polls next week, I will be very surprised to see if they are ranked after they play UW-Superior on November 25th. Lastly, although I don't know a lot about what is going on out east, I will say that it was surprising to see Oswego State fall in the rankings, despite two road wins against Geneseo and Brockport.

Finally, it seems early to be thinking about the NCAA Tournament, but looking at the polls early in the year always has me thinking about what the seeding would be like if the NCAA Playoffs started today. I know this is crazy to even picture the NCAA's right now, as the current rankings will change a lot throughout the season, and teams will emerge from the woodwork as clear cut contenders, however inquisitive minds like mine always enjoy drawing up these scenarios week from week.

As for now, I don't have any clear-cut predictions for the NCAA's yet, as its way too early to determine which twelve teams will get in. I will say that in a few weeks time, I'm hoping to feature on my blog a weekly NCAA prediction of which twelve teams that will make the D-III Frozen Four field in 2008.

Bye-Bye Mr. Binga

In what seems to be a crazy story out east, hockey goalie Ben Binga was released from the Cortland Red Dragons hockey team this past weekend. In a pregame radio interview on Friday, before their contest against Geneseo, Red Dragons head coach Joe Baldarotta stated that he was "no longer with the team". This comes as a shock to many hockey fans, as Binga was popular for both his great goaltending, and questionable actions on the ice.

Last year, Binga started the majority of the games for Cortland, recording a 7-12-3 record with a 3.50 GAA and 90.4 save percentage. It should also be noted that he racked up 38 penalty minutes last year, which appears to be the most by any goalie in D-III hockey. This season however, his numbers were down as he was 0-3 with a 4.35 GAA and 86.3 save percentage. No exact reason was given as to why he left the Cortland hockey team, but he will go down in the history books as one of the most unique college hockey goalies to ever play the game.

Seems like the animated goalies of D-III hockey are all leaving, as the western version of Ben Binga, former River Falls goalie AJ Bucchino left the UWRF after last season to pursue his dream of playing major league hockey.

As Binga leaves D-III hockey, I thought I would pay homage to him on this blog, and offer fans one last look at a classic Ben Binga...

MIAC/NCHA Crossover Series

Based on recent history, the NCHA relinquishes the opportunity to play MIAC teams in the MIAC/NCHA crossover series. In the past few seasons, the NCHA teams have dominated this interleague play, and clearly established themselves as the better of the two conferences.

Going into the 2007-08 season, I thought this would hold true yet again, as the MIAC would provide as a nice tuneup schedule for the NCHA teams this season...boy was I wrong. Looking back on the past two weeks however, this year's edition of the MIAC/NCHA crossover series has been perhaps one, if not the best ever. Classic powerhouse teams such as St. Norbert, Superior and River Falls were challenged these past two weekends and the MIAC proved that they can play with the big boys of the NCHA.

Here's a quick recap of the NCHA's record against the MIAC in 07-08:

Friday Nov 2: 3-4-1
Saturday Nov 3: 5-3
Friday Nov 9: 5-0-1
Saturday Nov 10: 4-2-2

Overall: 17-11-7

Although the NCHA beat the MIAC, and once again took the title again as "Best D-III Hockey Conference in the West", the slim margin came as a surprise to many and shows that the MIAC has taken steps to becoming a much better hockey conference. It also pales in comparison to what happened to the NCHA conference as a whole in the 2006-07 season.

Flashing back to last year, it was the NCHA conference improving drastically, as the bottom-feeder teams who were once considered to be roadkill, showed that they could play with the classic powerhouse teams. This resulted in the NCHA having a very competitive league which ended with a three-way conference championship, and a darkhorse St. Scholastica team nearly running the table to win the Peters Cup.

This year, the MIAC is taking that step as they showed that they can play with the best in the NCHA. Every NCHA team was given fits at one time or another during the MIAC/NCHA crossover, and who would have thought that St. Norbert and UW-Superior, two powers in the NCHA would already have losses on their record this early in the season? Not me. The ultimate stat in my book that tells the tale of the rising competition of the MIAC/NCHA interconference battle is that UW-Stout was the only team to go undefeated against MIAC teams...now that's saying something.

I know that many of you are not thinking this far ahead yet, but this year's MIAC/NCHA conference crossover has me wondering what is in store for the future meetings between these two conferences. Will the MIAC continue to improve at such a great rate? Will the NCHA do the same? In my mind, I feel that both of these conferences will continue to gain strength, and compete against one another, but after this "wakeup call" to the NCHA this weekend, the MIAC has definitely sent a message that they are no longer a group of teams who should be taken lightly.