Nescac

[MikeMidd]

Last night Maine and UNH played an exhibition match at Alfond Arena... make that Colby's Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center. Big crowd to support Maine, nice showcase for a recently built DIII arena, and proceeds will go to the Alfond Youth and Community Center.

Video feed was available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-gnW7ZAAEo

Had me thinking about other opportunities to connect a NESCAC school with DI program. Would've been fun to see UVM play at Kenyon Arena for example!

[bakdraft21]

Awesome rink, whats the capacity, looks a little like Middlebury..

[MikeMidd]

Awesome rink, whats the capacity, looks a little like Middlebury..

Capacity listed as 1,796 by Colby. Some visuals and narrative about it available here: https://express.adobe.com/page/t43uyuQWZb4Di/ (yes, it looks like a weird link, but it's real)

Agree, seems like a very nice rink. Similar to Middlebury's, except the end seating comes down to ice level at Kenyon Arena while Colby's comes halfway down and then has a wall, leaving a gap between the end seating and the boards. Would be curious to know why they did that.

[bakdraft21]

Capacity listed as 1,796 by Colby. Some visuals and narrative about it available here: https://express.adobe.com/page/t43uyuQWZb4Di/ (yes, it looks like a weird link, but it's real)

Agree, seems like a very nice rink. Similar to Middlebury's, except the end seating comes down to ice level at Kenyon Arena while Colby's comes halfway down and then has a wall, leaving a gap between the end seating and the boards. Would be curious to know why they did that.

thanks for the link,WOW that should bring in recruits, besides the academics which are top shelf..

[MikeMidd]

thanks for the link,WOW that should bring in recruits, besides the academics which are top shelf..

Definitely a plus for their program. Bowdoin saw a real uptick in results in the decade since their new rink - I'm sure it's not a direct cause, but I imagine it reflects a wider commitment to more resources and was appealing to recruits. Will be interesting to see if the same happens for Colby.

Also good for the NESCAC, after what feels like a half-decade of relative weakness for the league. Feels like the league is in a bit of down period, as witnessed by this thread being a couple years old and being close to life support for a while!

[tjoneslo]

Very much looking forward to the start of NESCAC this weekend. Still not sure how to watch all the games through.

The traditional opening weekend of Middlebury / Williams traveling to the north lands of Maine to take on Colby / Bowdoin is going to be my favorite. With Bowdoin being the NESCAC champs from last year and Colby stepping up, it will be interesting to see how Middlebuy's new coach responds, and William's trying to keep their top rankings. This will be an interesting season.

NESCAC has been so competitive with each other it's hard to find a breakout team for the national rankings. I think just a little bit of a step up and we'll see a mirror of the Women's side.

[WCHornet]

Very much looking forward to the start of NESCAC this weekend. Still not sure how to watch all the games through.

The traditional opening weekend of Middlebury / Williams traveling to the north lands of Maine to take on Colby / Bowdoin is going to be my favorite. With Bowdoin being the NESCAC champs from last year and Colby stepping up, it will be interesting to see how Middlebuy's new coach responds, and William's trying to keep their top rankings. This will be an interesting season.

NESCAC has been so competitive with each other it's hard to find a breakout team for the national rankings. I think just a little bit of a step up and we'll see a mirror of the Women's side.

Most of the games appear to be on NSN Sports

[tjoneslo]

Most of the games appear to be on NSN Sports

Oh, finding them isn't the problem, it that there are 5 games at the same time. How to choose... ?

[MikeMidd]

GAMEDAY.

The NESCAC experience begins anew, ten teams ready to battle for supremacy - or perhaps just a chance for the playoffs, where as last year showed, anything can happen.

As tjoneslo said, the league has been competitive top-to-bottom. Now it's a question of whether a team or teams will emerge as elite, after several years of not advancing past the first round of the NCAA tournament.

For my Middlebury, what an interesting moment.

First, thanks to Tim Costello for a nice preview piece with an in-depth interview with Coach Ceglarski: http://www.uscho.com/2023/11/15/cegl...-for-panthers/ He certainly sounds optimistic, even with the pressure that comes with this job and the mountain to climb.

So is it a much-needed fresh start under a new head coach after several years of dreadful results? I'd love to know more about the atmosphere that this change has created, whether it has breathed fresh life into the team.

Or equally, a young, inexperienced head coach who faces a big challenge to start to restore Middlebury's credibility as competitive, let alone a national power? And I still don't get that 'interim' tag.

The schedule offers some big tests early on, with the always tough Maine trip and Norwich, plus that New Years journey to Hobart. But four home games ahead of Christmas against Conn College, Tufts, Hamilton and Amherst, an opportunity to pick up points against teams Middlebury will need to beat if it wants to move upwards in the table.

Will also be interesting to see if some good results start to bring back what had been one of DIII's best fan bases, particularly with a passionate student following. It stuns me that Middlebury's attendance has fallen so far.

Let's gooooo!

[neumyer]

It’s shocking! Hockey used to be numero uno at Middlebury and now it is a secondary sport in terms of interest and attendance. I imagine Coach Ceglarski can shed the “interim” label if he is successful this year. He really hasn’t had much time to make changes since most of the recruiting done for the freshman class was when the previous coach was in charge. I hope they give him some help and a few seasons to turn things around, otherwise he will be out and the coaching search will begin again. Sad!

[tjoneslo]

Having watched the Colby - Middlebury game from afar with interest, I make the following observations:

Middlebuy does seem competitive, like last year, and they can play as a team, pass, manage their zone time. Their power play kept in the Colby zone for most of the time. They managed several cycles and some extended offensive zone time. Colby was the more physical of the two teams, was slightly better on the puck battles. Both goal tenders were great, making some impressive saves.

Middlebury's problem, like last year, is their ability to score. Midd had a few odd man rushes and at least two complete breakaways. If they can improve their goal scoring even by a little bit, they will be in much better shape than last year.

[MikeMidd]

Having watched the Colby - Middlebury game from afar with interest, I make the following observations:

Middlebuy does seem competitive, like last year, and they can play as a team, pass, manage their zone time. Their power play kept in the Colby zone for most of the time. They managed several cycles and some extended offensive zone time. Colby was the more physical of the two teams, was slightly better on the puck battles. Both goal tenders were great, making some impressive saves.

Middlebury's problem, like last year, is their ability to score. Midd had a few odd man rushes and at least two complete breakaways. If they can improve their goal scoring even by a little bit, they will be in much better shape than last year.

Had a similar reaction after Friday night. Looked solid and competitive, but the ability to turn scoring chances (or half-chances) into actual goals seemed really lacking. The five-min power play was particularly frustrating.

Yesterday at Bowdoin then an interesting one. Three goals in Brunswick would usually make you feel pretty good. But arguably missed some reasonable chances.

Given where this programme has been, coming home from an opening weekend in Maine with a tie and OT loss is solid. Room to grow and improve.

Was surprised not to see Horoho in net after a great Friday night. Wonder if Ceglarski plans to rotate all season?

Beyond the USCHO preview story, is there a sense of what type of style Ceglarski wants to play? Not sure we have the shooting for a run-and-gun style or a possession-based attack style where we look for the 'perfect' shot.

[neumyer]

Had a similar reaction after Friday night. Looked solid and competitive, but the ability to turn scoring chances (or half-chances) into actual goals seemed really lacking. The five-min power play was particularly frustrating.

Yesterday at Bowdoin then an interesting one. Three goals in Brunswick would usually make you feel pretty good. But arguably missed some reasonable chances.

Given where this programme has been, coming home from an opening weekend in Maine with a tie and OT loss is solid. Room to grow and improve.

Was surprised not to see Horoho in net after a great Friday night. Wonder if Ceglarski plans to rotate all season?

Beyond the USCHO preview story, is there a sense of what type of style Ceglarski wants to play? Not sure we have the shooting for a run-and-gun style or a possession-based attack style where we look for the 'perfect' shot.

Another thing that Midd seems to improved up is taking unnecessary penalties and putting their opponent on the power play.

[MikeMidd]

Friday and Saturday were good ones for the NESCAC to forget. A record of 3-6-1 in out-of-conference games:

New England 2-1 Colby
Skidmore 3-1 Tufts
Curry 3 - 0 Wesleyan
Geneseo 4 - 2 Amherst
Babson 5 - 0 Williams
Norwich 7 - 1 Middlebury

Bowdoin 3 - 0 Suffolk
Hamilton 3 - 1 Potsdam
Trinity 4 - 3 (OT) UMB

Middlebury 2 - 2 (OT) St Olaf

The NESCAC's late start does it no favors. And there are some surprisingly strong opponents - teams like Skidmore, Geneseo, UNE all off to very good starts. But it does show there's a lot of work to do if the NESCAC wants to have teams in the national picture, other than Trinity.

As for Middlebury...oof, that Norwich score is painful. The worst loss to Norwich since 1999 (the earliest Middlebury's website has results listed), but surely the worst in much longer than that, if not ever. Painful to be that uncompetitive against a rival, though I do wonder if players of this generation have any sense of the Norwich rivalry (or Plattsburgh one!) now.

As mentioned above for the Bowdoin game, surprised Horoho didn't get the start.

But the important games are coming up, with four at home against Conn, Tufts, Hamilton and Amherst, you have to be targeting some wins.

[neumyer]

Friday and Saturday were good ones for the NESCAC to forget. A record of 3-6-1 in out-of-conference games:

New England 2-1 Colby
Skidmore 3-1 Tufts
Curry 3 - 0 Wesleyan
Geneseo 4 - 2 Amherst
Babson 5 - 0 Williams
Norwich 7 - 1 Middlebury

Bowdoin 3 - 0 Suffolk
Hamilton 3 - 1 Potsdam
Trinity 4 - 3 (OT) UMB

Middlebury 2 - 2 (OT) St Olaf

The NESCAC's late start does it no favors. And there are some surprisingly strong opponents - teams like Skidmore, Geneseo, UNE all off to very good starts. But it does show there's a lot of work to do if the NESCAC wants to have teams in the national picture, other than Trinity.

As for Middlebury...oof, that Norwich score is painful. The worst loss to Norwich since 1999 (the earliest Middlebury's website has results listed), but surely the worst in much longer than that, if not ever. Painful to be that uncompetitive against a rival, though I do wonder if players of this generation have any sense of the Norwich rivalry (or Plattsburgh one!) now.

As mentioned above for the Bowdoin game, surprised Horoho didn't get the start.

But the important games are coming up, with four at home against Conn, Tufts, Hamilton and Amherst, you have to be targeting some wins.

Midd will have to clean up that 7-1 stuff or they shouid take this Thanksgiving tournament previously know as the Primelink off their schedule and perhaps Norwich altogether. Either move would be sad. The 2-2 draw vs. St Olafs is a postive though since they were outshot. But they did surrender two one goal leads. I hope they support Coach Ceglarski to give him a chance for success. If they're just giving him a chance to improve his resume so he can potentially move to a head coaching job someplace else, that would be just delaying the inevitable. It would mean another year lost in recruiting which will be tough enough anyway. They should give him a chance with some help with admissions (tips) and a distant holiday tournament to someplace like Minn. Basketball and baseball get those distant tournaments. I would imagine that hockey alums and Chip Kenyon must be less than pleased with the situation.