Nescac

[neumyer]

Neumyer: "Midd was out shot 40-24, but I think they found a goaltender in Horoho."
Well, one might have thought so, but Sinclair went right back to Wisco against Trinity.

Yeah, I watched the game and it wasn't pretty. Midd was out shot 43-29 and could not finish at all. I think Coach Sinclair still wants a goalie tandem and probably Horoho will get tomorrow's game at Wesleyan. If Horoho can get a W perhaps he will get more time moving forward. One improvement is that they only committed 3 penalties for 6 minutes.

[rufus22]

I'm certainly going to reserve judgement because of Covid etc, but I've followed Midd Hockey for a long time, I used to walk to games at the old War Memorial (Duke) arena, and its tough to watch this.

[neumyer]

I'm certainly going to reserve judgement because of Covid etc, but I've followed Midd Hockey for a long time, I used to walk to games at the old War Memorial (Duke) arena, and its tough to watch this.

Rufus-this blog has become a conversation between you and I. I didn’t see the whole game, but you have to chalk this L up to an inability to score. Goaltending by Horoho was good and their penalties were down to just 3. It is sad far the mens team has fallen from its proud past. The rink is empty due to covid, but based on pefomance it would be empty. Kenyon and it’s predecessor used to be rocking.

[MELIN27]

Would be interesting to track overall attendance figures for DIII hockey over the past 10 years. I think attendance has dropped all around and not just due to relative strength of teams (and without COVID #s of course).

[bakdraft21]

Would be interesting to track overall attendance figures for DIII hockey over the past 10 years. I think attendance has dropped all around and not just due to relative strength of teams (and without COVID #s of course).

FYI This site has a attendance drop down if you care to take a look, goes back pretty far...

[neumyer]

I suppose I should be encouraged when Midd scores 3 goals since they have had such a hard time finishing and they ended the 1st period up 1-0. Then the roof fell in and they allowed 6 unanswered to a 3-6-1 Amherst team. When Midd (1-7) plays a team that is buried in the standings like they are themselves, you would like to see them put up a better result. Wisco started in net and allowed the first 5 goals, so maybe the goaltending tandem is not working and they should stick with Horoho? We've had a decade of hockey malaise and I hate seeing that empty rink. I know with covid it would be empty anyway, but with these kind of results it would be empty without any covid restrictions. I guess we need more and better players ASAP?

[neumyer]

So Midd managed a tie with Plattsburgh, but survived the Cards only because the goalie stood on his head and had 45 saves to 14 for the Platts netminder. That goalie was Horoho, so Midd's goalie tandem should be discontinued and they should stick with Horoho. He, at least, gives them a chance to stay in games.

[tjoneslo]

Well that was an exciting paring: I managed to watch chunks of the Bowdoin - Colby / Trinity - Wesleyan match-up. For Bowdoin's Alex Kozic smoking performances in goal they have managed to take every one of their last 6 games into overtime. A little more offense on their part would be very helpful.

A sweep of the weekend by Colby puts them into a tie for 2nd place in NESCAC. Tied with Trinity and Wesleyan. What is a year without having the standings being confused mess of tied teams?

Trinity does look like a team on a mission. They play fast and offense minded hockey.

This weekend marked the middle of the season. One more round of games against each team to determine the standings. Expect some really interesting and exciting games going forward.

[neumyer]

Mens and Womens hockey tonight with Norwich and Plattsburgh against Midd have been canceled, but the mens basketball at Plymouth State is still on. Again, I wonder if it that will be played tonight? Perhaps the hockey cancellations are due to the opponent, not Midd? If it was Midd, why wouldn’t all three be canceled?

[PrezdeJohnson09]

Mens and Womens hockey tonight with Norwich and Plattsburgh against Midd have been canceled, but the mens basketball at Plymouth State is still on. Again, I wonder if it that will be played tonight? Perhaps the hockey cancellations are due to the opponent, not Midd? If it was Midd, why wouldn’t all three be canceled?

I won't speak on Middlebury's behalf, but I will say at Norwich every team is treated on its own merit and the cases if any they are dealing with. If men's hockey has a positive case for instance, that has no bearing on what is happening with the women's basketball team etc.

[tjoneslo]

In an unusual Thursday night NESCAC game the Polar Bears manage to break their 6 game overtime streak and defeat the Continentals 3-1. An evenly played game. The continentals needed to put in the goal the one of the three times the Bears goaltender decided to go for a skate and leave the goal wide open. Still this leaves the two teams tied in the middle of the NESCAC standings.

[Mr.Right]

I had been posting on the D3boards site but would rather support this site's fan forum since they do a good job of covering both D1 and D3 College Hockey. I will repost a couple

[Mr.Right]

What we got 01/31/22.

Williams at Tufts tonight at 7pm.

#MuleTrain has the lead with 2 games in hand. Can they bring it Home? Or do they stay bunched up and claw it out?

Team GP PTS
Colby 10 24
Williams 12 23
Trinity 12 21
Wesleyan 12 21
Amherst 12 17.5
Bowdoin 12 17.5
Hamilton 11 16
Tufts 10 10.5
Conn 9 10
Midd 10 4.5

[Mr.Right]

This I wrote up on the Colby v USM game last Tuesday.

Colby-

This team put on an absolute clinic on Tuesday v USM. All 4 lines and 3 pairs of D-Men skated hard and were relentless all night. This is a focused team right now with every line contributing every night they play. The team speed has to be one of the best in Nescac. They might be a little undersized but they make up every inch lost with tenacity and grit. I wonder if they keep a stat for the time of possession in each zone because Colby was in their O Zone all night. They looked like the Babson team I was complimenting the other day playing fast, moving off the puck, filling the lanes and unselfishly executing passing plays that were giving teammates openings for dangerous chances on goal that at times were a thing of beauty. #12 Bourhas Goal was a perfect example with an excellent Pass from #13 Molson. What a team picture that would be from behind the goal seeing Bourhas follow thru on his shot while the puck pings the net and pops the water bottle. The Blind passes and Double Seam passes were great and they took risks and were rewarded because there were bad reads made and bad passes in bad areas but they hunted the puck down and recovered. Since they were not afraid to make mistakes they had the confidence to keep making their reads and learning throughout the game. Freedom to make mistakes on the Ice breeds confidence and it forces the players to have to rely on each other for help.

Colby has been using pretty much the same 1st and 2nd lines all year. Top Line is LW #14 Breitenfeldt, C #28 Morrissey and RW #8 Grillo the Captain, Leader and Speedster. These three have some chemistry going on right now as all 3 are incredibly dangerous players. Colby not keeping individual F/O Wins and Losses as Stats does no favors for Morrissey, #12 Bourhas, #22 Klein and #18 MacDonald as it all starts with them. Top line production has Morrissey at 2G-9A, Breitenfeldt 4G-5A and Grillo 6G-7A. 2nd Line is LW #15 Doyle, C #22 Klein and RW #3 McElaney. These guys friggin scrap and are unselfish. Doyle had a key Poke late in the game when USM was threatening and they all contributed on McElaney's GW'er early in the 2nd Period. Doyle picked up a loose puck in the Neutral Zone and rushed up Ice, stopped on a dime near the goalline but did not like his initial read so he played back to Klein who faked a bomb and played a wide open McElaney right in front of the net who calmly buried it and then McElaney and Klein celebrated by pointing to each other. That was all you NAH NAH it was all you. Hmm OK maybe it was me then. Umm Yea it was the both of them. Deception and Unselfishness.

3rd Line usually has some combination of LW #9 Sanzone, C #12 Bourhas and RW #16 Burke. Burke I think owes the Frosh #48 O'Brien a favor this week. Any kind of favor really. Maybe he should carry the kid's bag or buy him lunch because that blind pass O'Brien fed to Burke in the 2nd period was unreal and frankly deserved an Assist.

4th Line is usually some combination of LW #24 Stapleton, C #18 MacDonald and RW #19 Thousand or #29 Blanchard. The wingers are fast and scrappy and then there is the Frosh Jake MacDonald. This kid does all the little things right but more importantly shows an abundance of courage and heart. Always fun to see a Frosh in any Sport with the confidence to make sure every other Nescac team knows he has arrived and is in the building. He is always tussling with someone and does not let his opponent off easy. The MacDonald / Gellerman tussle earlier this month up at Hamilton is easily the funniest and almost worth the $10 paywall but I saw it live. The MacDonald v LaChance dustup when Wes came to town was probably my 2nd favorite. He is one player that definitely earns his penalties which is much better than a lazy hook or trip.

The D Men are led by one of the finest two way players in Nescac right now #20 Jack Sullivan who leads Nescac with 7G-9A-16. He leads the Mules in Shots and PPG with 3. He courageously blocked a vicious shot late in the 3rd against USM and I really think Colby's MVP right now. I mean #7 Korpi and #23 Kaplan are beasts as well and really play above their size as they both battle and hit with some pop. This is all being done without Colby's 2 starting Defencemen from the start of the season #2 Thomas and #6 Halpin.

Backup Goalie CJ Hapward got his first start of the year and played well even coming up with a diving buzzer beating save off a rebound at the end of the 2nd Period to preserve the 2-1 lead. Now that is just like Soccer because Colby was up in USM's grill all period but only could bury one goal and still USM had one chance to come lay down a smash and grab and almost tie the score. Like Soccer you gotta bury teams when you can because the longer they stick around the more pressure you put on your own team.


Colby now sits at 10-3(7-2) having Won their 6th straight game. It boggles my mind how that team is not ranked. Completely disrespected by the pollsters. They received a couple votes but not enough for a Top 15. I mean a couple of different bounces and they could have defeated Williams and Babson as both games could have gone either way. The loss at Hamilton they led 1-0 entering the 3rd Period and they had Hamilton sleepwalking before MacDonald poked the bear one to many times with Gellerman. That woke up Joey Moore and Co and they came out gangbusters 3rd Period to dice Colby but man this team is very close to being 13-0 or 12-1. Would they then be ranked #1 thru #5? So it goes to show what a fine line every game is and frankly Nescac has to take these OOC games more seriously because that is what moves the pollsters. When one of Nescac's best announcers Caleb Lamb say's before the puck dropped "Non-Conference game here tonight so not as much on the line" that is absolute bullsh*t. If that is the mindset than forget it. Yea I get it he is the announcer and I am sure the team takes every game seriously but it is somewhat concerning. Maybe the Nescac Home and Away's actually hurt these teams. Maybe dump the round robin but leave it open for teams to play each other twice if they want to. Colby finishes the year with 9 Nescac Games starting with their rival Bowdoin on Friday. Bowdoin is another team playing with a ton of confidence right now. That kid #7 Kimball is an absolute workhorse and #23 Small can score but most importantly Bowdoin is extremely organized defensively and leads the league on the kill. I'll have to get to them another time but every team will be gunning for #MuleTrain now because they are all looking up at them in the Standings.

[Mr.Right]

One more on me and why I am here. Excuse the handle but it is mine from the other site and just easier to remember one handle / pwd.

Soccer and Hockey have many similarities but the challenge of scoring Goals which is getting harder and harder in both Sports is to me the biggest. Defenses are bigger, stronger, faster and much more organized than in years past. All the video that the Pro's and even the College Guys have makes it even harder. Attacking principles and strategies in Hockey apply to Soccer and vice versa and this is what I am most interested in. The Passing, Stickwork / Footwork, Forecheck / Pressing, Rush/ Counter, Possession, Deception, Set plays Face-offs / Set Pieces, Unpredictability in attack along with adaptability are key in both sports. Forecheck heavy with 3 guys and be willing to give up 2v1's and 3v2's is for Hockey exactly like the risks in Soccer when you Press and what you risk giving up on the counter. Either way you must be able to trust your D men and Goalie. In Hockey just like Soccer teams like to possess but they are not generating enough quality chances off that possession. As in Soccer in Hockey it is so important to make reads and play off the puck. Giving the player with the puck as many options as possible. Bad reads will happen but over time the correct reads with and without the puck will come. Cover the Ice and move off the puck. If you can grab your teammates hand you are not covering Ice. You cannot just stand and watch you have to keep moving in this Sport. To me in the O Zone of Hockey I would rather see a player make a read get 2-3 passes off and then a quick shot and retrieve the puck as fast as you can and keep possessing. If you lose the Puck in your O Zone you do not always have to get above the Puck. If the play is 50/50 or even 40/60 then you still might retrieve the Puck. Best to leave a player behind the Goaline so if you do happen to retrieve it you can keep possessing and have some serious options. In your O Zone you get behind the net and make your Reads. -Pass-Pass-Quick Shot-Battle to retrieve. To me % wise this is one of the better ways I have seen to keep generating quality scoring chances. The Puck Carrier into the O Zone is also very important in Hockey. Most Puck Carriers seem to want to drive as deep as they can and then end up dying out in the corners. Defenses want you in the corners and around the boards as it is easier for them to defend. The Puck Carrier is supposed to go only as deep as they need based on what is coming with you. This is where players that can read the game differentiate themselves. If you watch the real good D1 College teams all 5 guys play all 200 feet and your defensemen have no problem going behind the net in the O-Zone. Which means in the near future all 5 players will be interchangeable. This has serious implications for big slow players. The Hockey Gods want you playing a different sport.

Hockey is different than Soccer in regards to Goalies. Goalies in Hockey seem to have to "get set" before reacting to a shot. Not that they don't in Soccer but the Hockey Goalie is dealing with a much faster object. So if you can catch the Goalie before he can "get set up" the better chances of you scoring. Ask your Goalies what makes them most uncomfortable? I am learning some of what they will tell you is moving side to side, when attackers penetrate the slot line it makes the net bigger, when attackers get pucks to or through the slot and force the Goalie to make a decision to defend the shot or defend the pass. Ask the Goalie The Goalie knows.

I remember following Williams Hockey as a little kid with my father. He was the Head Soccer Coach but back then the Coaches had to do double duty. He worked with Men's Lax HC'ing legend Renzi Lamb as the JV Lax HC for maybe 15 years and to this day still hears from his former JV players who were probably Hockey and Football guys out there hitting, running around and just having a blast. I think my father was trying to take some things from the game of Hockey for Lacrosse and I would go to the Hockey games with him. I remember even before HC Kangas it was Coach McCormick at the helm then in the late 80's even before and he was another legend on campus and a super nice guy especially when he would see me running around campus as a little kid he would always stop me and say hello. His wife was actually my 4th Grade Teacher and when I was in her class it was Coach McCormick's final year in I think in 1989. I remember his final game was packed with over 2,500 people including many of his former players.


What I Like: The Speed, The Passing, The Stick Handling, The Hits, The Defending("The Poke") mixed in with the art of Skating.


What I like: Hockey, like Soccer is one of America's finest examples of a melting pot. The names are mostly immigrant names of which I come myself. Irish, Italian, Russian, German, Greek, Jewish, Polish, Hungarian etc etc. The players Great Grandfathers and Grandmothers(or Great-Great) most if not all came to this country somewhere between the 1880's-1930's and had to rely on each other just to survive. All different ethnicities many of whom did not speak English living in the same Tenement's relying on each other to survive. It is an incredible story. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in NYC is a perfect example of this and shows visually how these families lived. It was like that in all cities and that is why the Klan resurfaced so vividly in the 1920's. They already had their thumb on African Americans but it was the "dirty immigrants" they were after next. I know the Hockey Gods "want to get more diverse" but if you look closely at your history at least in this country you are farther along than you think.

What I Don't Like: I want to watch the games over so I can learn from them but most of these schools throw up a paywall OR worse make the game unavailable. Credit to Colby and Conn for not doing that. I also watch a ton of Babson because I like the way they play and their games are always on replay. Babson is a team that adapts well. Their entries into the O Zone they do not just drive and die in the corners they seem to drive with purpose They play all 200 feet and try to cover the ice and play fast while filling lanes. They are a Senior heavy team with #9 Ryan Black leading the way with some serious talent and their Goaltending and D has been much better of late.

What I Like: Hockey parents get a bad rap as the few I have talked to seem very genuine and knowledgeable. Of course I then had a conversation with a Wesleyan parent 2 years ago when they Won the Nescac Championship. He was complaining about the Trinity parents already celebrating in the Parking Lot in Williamstown after the 1st Period of the Nescac Final. It was only 1-0 but Trinity dominated the 1st Period. Before Wes made their come back the guy was talking about his kid this and that and I was trying to watch the game but half paying attention. His kid happened to be collecting the puck on the boards where we were standing and then out of nowhere a Trin player comes over and blows up HIS kid right in the back and face plants him right up to the boards right where the father and I were standing. Like kid / glass / father planted so I kinda grinned and looked at the father as to say eh tough hit u got some game here and this guy beat me to it yelling at the top of his lungs to the Trin player "Nice HIT Dipsh*t." So like Soccer its a mix of folks but the guy woke me up to "OH its time to get our crazy on".

ME: I had an urge to write and continue to learn about a sport that I find fascinating but never played. I am 40 years old, white, ancestors are immigrants, gay, 5 years sober and have many different interests. I worked as a Business Analyst for 10 years which is considered Middle Office. I switched companies and then went back. I came back to Williamstown one year to Coach with my Father in one of his final seasons. So I've bounced around a bit. For people that do not know Investment Bankers are Front office and the Middle Office functions as basically a support to the Investment Bankers and the Custodians of the Bank are in the Back Office(Operations, etc). The mundane weekly routine that these jobs force you to undertake even in your own personal life and its ridiculous. When they say they own you they mean it. The crazy work hours, tedious routines, constant ladder climbing and the consistent "who is stabbing me in the back this week" routine and I had had enough. So I moved back to Williamstown. I have always enjoyed and will make time for watching College Soccer and now College Hockey especially D3 and of course Nescac. That is in my blood and grew up right in the middle of it every year and something I have a passion for. It can become inter connected with your own life because the games, teams and players are right in front of you. It is competition at its purest. I love that. Because I am in town the hobby kind of morphed into College Hockey as well because I enjoy going to the Williams Men's Hockey games.