Nescac

[d3follower]

Agree that the Knelman lawsuit had a lasting and perhaps permanent impact on the Middlebury men's hockey program. Likely it was an indicator to the Middlebury administration that things were seriously out of whack with the men's hockey program, and a different more low-key approach to men's hockey was in order. Perhaps an over reaction but Beaney has been gone for close to 8 years now, and there is no sign that the ship is about to be righted. It seems to be a men's hockey specific problem for Middlebury since women's hockey has enjoyed huge success, and Middlebury generally performs well in most men's sports . . In fact, an argument could be made that Middlebury decided to replace men's hockey with men's basketball as its premier men's winter sport . .

Generally speaking, men's hockey seems to be down across the NESCAC, with Trinity the last national champion from the NESCAC in 2015. NESCAC teams have performed poorly in out-of-conference play, with the losses out numbering the wins. Some of the poor NESCAC performance may be attributable to tougher recruiting standards. That is hard to measure or prove but the NESCAC seems to have more players coming straight from prep hockey without any junior hockey seasoning than most other D3 leagues. Perhaps a trickle down impact of the Middlebury syndrome or a reaction to other bad episodes at other NESCACs like the sexual assualt allegations against a member of the Williams' hockey team a few years ago.

[tjoneslo]

In thinking back on this through memories, dimmed by time, of overheard conversations and hearsay I believe the Knelman lawsuit was a symptom of a deeper set of changes. And these changes resulted in the frustrations boiling over in the lawsuit.

Starting back in the bad old days where Middelbury was the dominate force there were two things coach Beaney was doing. First was recruiting the Junior College graduates, not many but enough to form a strong core of a team and bring the rest of the players along. Second was to teach a slightly unique style of play. And this worked beautifully; five national championships, and a unmatched winning record.

And then a few things changed concurrently. The number of D-I caliber and Junior College graduates willing to be recruited into playing for a D-III program increased. So the skill advantage used by Middlebury to dominate was no longer there. Second, the point at which players, even high school players, got into serious training became earlier and earlier. So now the kids were learning the "Hockey way" from age 5 or 10. But this was not Beaney's way and so he was having to spend more time getting the recruits to unlearn their old teachings and learn the "new" Beaney way.

Finally, Beaney's recruiting had to change. I heard (without anything to back these up) that either the new President of Middlebuy College, or NESCAC, or both, wanted to change the recruiting policy. The President reasoning was to focus on the Academic experience.

The NESCAC reasoning was to balance the teams within a sport. Having teams regularly blown out 9-0 isn't a learning experience, it's a humiliation. So NESCAC requested/required a change to the recruiting rules to allow the teams (not just hockey, but all sports) to be on equal footing.

For Beaney he looses the ability to have a core of highly skilled players to drive the team forward and is spending more time debating his players about how to play than actually coaching them. And I think he finally came to the realization that the world had changed and he wasn't able to change with it.

For NESCAC, the change has been hugely successful. Their goal was to eliminate having a league where there was one 15-0 team and two 0-13-2 teams, the same ones every year. You need to look a little deeper than the zero sum in-league records, but there are no teams being repeatedly blown out. The out-of-league records are less important. But, again, look deeper. Are the losses by one or two goals with the shots and zone times being about equal, or are they 5+ goal humiliations?

Which brings us to Coach Sinclair. Sinclair isn't a bad coach. He's not a national championship level coach but that not what either Middlebury nor NESCAC is looking for. There are better coaches, but finding one is time consuming (and expensive). And better coaches have requirements for their ability to recruit which may well clash with the requirements of Middlebury and NESCAC. So as long as hockey team is playing within the scope of what Middlebury considered acceptable, even if they're not winning a lot, I'm of the opinion Sinclair has the job until he wants to retire.

For Middlebury this year, I've say the team has improved except in one (utterly critical) area: Their shooting. In the game vs Cortland, Midd took 45+ shots on goal and scored once. This is terrible. But even with a slight improvement in this area the one or two goal losses become one or two goal wins.

[neumyer]

Changes at the Helm

Middlebury men's ice hockey head coach Neil Sinclair '93 has stepped down from the helm of the program, Director of Athletics Erin Quinn announced on Wednesday, May 10.
"I have decided to step down as the men's ice hockey coach at Middlebury College," said Sinclair. "This is a decision that I have taken some time to come to, and I know this is what's best for me and the program. I want to especially thank Jack Ceglarski, Nick Bingaman, Brian Phinney, and Brad Schuler for their work as assistant coaches. I also want to thank my colleagues at Middlebury, and those in the larger hockey community for their support. This program has a rich tradition and proud history; I am grateful to have been a part of that tradition."

Quinn described Sinclair as "an important part of Middlebury men's ice hockey, noting that he was "an impactful player and leader, assistant coach, and head coach."

"Neil has worked tirelessly in his career to develop a strong team culture and has set the program and players up for success moving forward both on and off the ice," Quinn said. "He has been a supportive colleague and has led within our department with integrity. We wish Neil the best in his next chapter."

During his tenure at Middlebury, Sinclair has led the Panthers to four NESCAC Tournament appearances. He was also the interim head coach during the 2002-03 season after serving as the assistant for three seasons. During the interim year, Sinclair guided the squad to the NCAA Semifinals and a 22-5-2 record. Sinclair also served as an assistant women's golf coach during his time at Middlebury.

Prior to Middlebury, Sinclair spent 11 years as the head coach at Skidmore College, during which time he earned the 2007 Edward Jeremiah Award for National Coach of the Year and was tabbed the ECAC East Coach of the Year. Sinclair also coached at Williams and Middlebury Union High School.

As a student-athlete at Middlebury, Sinclair earned First Team All-American laurels and was a member of the 1991 ECAC Championship team.

Middlebury will share more information about plans to name the next head men's ice hockey coach once it becomes available.

[MikeMidd]

Six weeks since Neil Sinclair stepped down as Middlebury head coach. Any sense of potential candidates for the job? Or when an announcement may come?

Even with the questions above about the college's commitment to hockey and the competitiveness of the league and wider landscape, I'd think this is a pretty attractive job.

[MikeMidd]

Six weeks since Neil Sinclair stepped down as Middlebury head coach. Any sense of potential candidates for the job? Or when an announcement may come?

Even with the questions above about the college's commitment to hockey and the competitiveness of the league and wider landscape, I'd think this is a pretty attractive job.

We have an answer: https://athletics.middlebury.edu/new...key-coach.aspx

Jack Ceglarski, assistant coach for the past two seasons, has been named Interim Head Coach for the year ahead.

That "interim" bothers me a bit. Why is it not a permanent position? Were they not able to recruit a permanent head coach? Very strange.

[rufus22]

This bothers me too. To be clear I know nothing about Ceglarski except what's on his Midd bio and I wish him and the team all the best. But it strikes as the same kind of lazy move as the hiring of Sinclair. This school can pay a great salary, has unmatched facilities and is in a great place to live. Even with questions about the current administration's commmittment to hockey, this opening should bring top-flight talent. I hope this guy gets a genuinely fair shot but I also hope the school stands ready to do a full-scale recruitment if he doesn't pan out.

[d3follower]

This does have all the markings of a failed search -- that Midd had a more credentialed candidate within its sights but could not work things out with that candidate so had to turn to the internal guy to ensure that someone was in place for the ongoing recruiting season and for the rapidly approaching school year. Ceglarski is too young and inexperienced to make any meaningful projections or even guesses as to how he will do. It was a mistake for Bowdoin to hire from within when former head coach Terry Meagher retired in 2016 and it did take some 6 years for the parties to recognize that it was very much a failed experiment and change course. Hopefully the Ceglarski experiment works out better for Middlebury than it did for Bowdoin but it definitely is an experiment. Still, it is a bit of a surprise that Middlebury was not properly prepared for its search for a new head coach and did not pull out all the stops in the hiring process. I am not a Middlebury person but would love to see the program get back in the running.

[rufus22]

Nail on the head: “Still, it is a bit of a surprise that Middlebury was not properly prepared for its search for a new head coach and did not pull out all the stops in the hiring process.”

Makes me wonder if they mailed it in on the process, preferring to focus on the giant set of social issues that engulf campuses like midd now (I’ll leave it at that), or whether a great candidate came close (in line w d3 follower above) and thought “wow I’m going to be fighting an uphill battle for resources and support at this institution at this time.”

[neumyer]

Well, we will see. I believe that Jack Ceglarski is the grandson of Len Ceglarski, who was the head coach at Clarkson and BC. He maybe the nephew of Mark Ceglarski, who played at Midd in the 1970's. Anyway, I heard that 10 years ago, Midd wanted Jamie Rice at Babson, but he declined the position due to his wife not wanting to leave the Boston area. Maybe they did miss out on their first choice candidate again, but let's give Jack a chance. It is all about institutional support and if he gets it, perhaps Midd won't be a doormat anymore. I would think that alumni hockey players and Mr Kenyon who coughed up something like $17M for the rink might take a dim view of playing at current level they have been operating at and could complain. Social issues could win out, but they haven't precluded success in other sports including women's hockey.

[Russell Jaslow]

Well, we will see. I believe that Jack Ceglarski is the grandson of Len Ceglarski, who was the head coach at Clarkson and BC. He maybe the nephew of Mark Ceglarski, who played at Midd in the 1970's.

There's also Tim Ceglarski, who I believe is the son of Len, who coached at Elmira.

[d3follower]

Yes, Jack Ceglarski has great hockey blood lines, FWIW. Is father ("Babe" or Len Jr) was the long-time coach at Governer Dummer Academy (where Jack played prep hockey).His grandfather was Len Ceglarski Sr, a true legend in the hockey world with many years as a D1 head coach -- first at Clarkson and then at BC. His uncle is Tim Ceglarski, who was the head coach at Elmira for some years. If there was a failed search (as likely there was since selecting such a young and inexperienced coach is very much a gamble regardless of his blood lines), I doubt that it any thing to do with "social issues." Middlebury is top drawer in virtually all sports, finishing no. 8 nationally in the Learfield Cup, which is a way of measuring success in the D3 world. And if you look more closely at traditional men's team sports -- football, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, and baseball -- you will find Middlebury in the top tier of the NESCAC in each of those sports virtually every year. So the institutional support is there in terms of facilities and recruiting . . Jack will have the chance to try to bring the Middlebury program back but it will be harder for him with the "interim" tag and with a group of player who have not been, in relative terms, top-of-the-line recruits for some time (decent but lacking that extra something that takes a team to the top tier of the NESCAC).

[d3follower]

. . I believe that Jack Ceglarski is the grandson of Len Ceglarski, who was the head coach at Clarkson and BC. He maybe the nephew of Mark Ceglarski, who played at Midd in the 1970's. . . .

Correct, Neumyer. Mark is Jack's uncle. Len Ceglarski, Sr. had six sons, with Mark being the oldest (I think).

[rufus22]

Agree to all said above except to D3Follower I’d just clarify that what I mean by social issues is that the Patton administration is absolutely consumed by issues of diversity equity and inclusion (which isnt all bad) but to the point that the men’s hockey program couldn’t possibly occupy a lower rung among leadership priorities. This bleeds through in various ways, mostly unofficial but in ways that might affect basics like salary, and moreso perceived recruiting flexibility and support, that a prospective coach might understand pretty quickly. Admittedly the last part I’m hypothesizing but not the first. Either way I’m behind Ceglarski, just frustrated w the school.

[tjoneslo]

Just to keep up with the changes in Nescac:

Neil Sinclair has stepped down as head coach of Middlebury:

https://athletics.middlebury.edu/new...ce-hockey.aspx

Jack Ceglarski has been named interim head coach

https://athletics.middlebury.edu/new...key-coach.aspx

So I'm thinking this is going to be an interesting year for Middlebury, and the NESCAC in general

[MikeMidd]

Middlebury also recently previewed their incoming class on social media:

Bobby May, D – West Kelowna (BCHL) – Davidson, NC
Joe Gerebi, D – NH Monarchs (NCDC) – Victoria, MN
Jack Morehouse, F – Jersey Hitmen (NCDC) – Pittsburgh, PA
Dante Palombo, F – NJ Titans (NAHL) – White Plains, NY
Revy Mack, F – Anchorage (NAHL) – Anchorage, AK
Andrew Heinze, G – Loomis-Chaffee (Founders League - prep school) – North Andover, MA
Max Noll, F – NH Monarchs (NCDC) – Rochester, MI
Andrew Seaman, F – Union College (DI, ECAC) – Winnetka, IL

Interesting to see only one first-year player coming directly from prep school, with nearly all coming from at least a year of junior hockey (if I've captured them all correctly). That recruiting would've been done before Sinclair's departure was announced, presumably - so wonder if there's anything to read into it, in terms of players who are Sinclair's choices, what level of quality they bring, etc. Junior hockey isn't my area of expertise, welcome thoughts from others on what level of quality they're bringing.

Seaman - a junior transfer from Union - went into the portal a couple days after Sinclair stepped down. He played regularly his freshman year, only once his sophomore year.

Middlebury also announced Jack Fitzgerald is joining as assistant coach. He spent four years at Amherst as an assistant coach and was a four year player and senior-year Captain for Amherst.

As tjoneslo said, going to be an interesting one for the Panthers. At last, change at the top and perhaps an opportunity to rebuild some respectability let alone contend for titles. But a long road ahead.