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2025-2026 Little East

Pioneer247 said:
Utica hasn't lost since this btw...and Utica has always gotten a rough hand from this poll...even when they were the #1 seed in the tourney the never happened in 2020, the lovely voters at the USCHO wouldn't put them #1
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Think at this point it’s fine that Utica is ranked now. Their OOC schedule is always tough and the team has the firepower to compete. That and they’ve rebounded well… but also against weaker teams. losing 5 games that early and staying ranked was a bit absurd, even if the losses were to Adrian and Hobart. Poll means nothing besides bragging rights, but I don’t even know how the voters thought a 1-5 record was deserving of a spot.
 
MilkUniversity said:
Think at this point it’s fine that Utica is ranked now. Their OOC schedule is always tough and the team has the firepower to compete. That and they’ve rebounded well… but also against weaker teams. losing 5 games that early and staying ranked was a bit absurd, even if the losses were to Adrian and Hobart. Poll means nothing besides bragging rights, but I don’t even know how the voters thought a 1-5 record was deserving of a spot.
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Also...nobody cares about the poll. The only ranking that matters for Utica is #15 which is their current NPI ranking.
 
Pioneer247 said:
Utica hasn't lost since this btw...and Utica has always gotten a rough hand from this poll...even when they were the #1 seed in the tourney the never happened in 2020, the lovely voters at the USCHO wouldn't put them #1
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That's because the No. 1 team in the country was Norwich that year. ;)
 
Pioneer247 said:
But Utica was the #1 overall seed in the draw, y'know, in the rankings that matter
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Because they played one extra game in the playoffs to give them the jump they needed in the PWR to pass Norwich late.

I'm sorry to tell you that wasn't going to be Utica's year either. Norwich wasn't losing that season. The only thing that stopped them from winning was a worldwide pandemic.
 
Well since they have 0 fans on here, Id argue to throw UW Eau Claire into that debate. 22-4-2 ranked 4th in the polls and lets not forget the west teams kicked ass for over a decade until Hobart decided to start a dynasty.
 
Have to write that the LEC championship is going to be up for grabs. Keep watching the fav’s, Babson, PSU, SMU, Norwich, UMB all look good but all have big flaws that leave them very vulnerable and leave the door wide open. Babson, great coach, teams plays system to a “t” until they fall behind and then the boat takes on leaks. PSU, can beat anyone, also can lose to anyone. No discipline, selfish team, goaltending problems. Norwich, great work ethic, team comes first, not a speedy team. SMU, good goaltending, have a few snipers, do not get the respect they deserve, but run around, D is average. UMB is well coached, play hard, not going to give any game away, but talent level is light and have problems on third and fourth line. Rest of season and playoffs is going to be fun and a bit of a head scratcher er as well. Looking forward to UMB vs Babson, also Norwich vs Middlebury.
 
Lord_Zubin said:
Well since they have 0 fans on here, Id argue to throw UW Eau Claire into that debate. 22-4-2 ranked 4th in the polls and lets not forget the west teams kicked ass for over a decade until Hobart decided to start a dynasty.
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Eau Claire had some dynamite teams in the early 2010s..including a team that won the whole thing in 2013.

I simply go back to Norwich not allowing a goal in nine straight games including two shutout wins over Hobart in there. That team was absolutely dialed and I firmly believe was going to go and not only win three more games, but potentially get three more shutouts. Coach Ellsworth's defensive system, Aubrun in goal, ability to roll four lines and three pairs of D every night for the whole game.

They just kept coming at you in waves and on any given night it could be a new forward that could score or goal or two to sink you even if you did shut down Coby Downs and Felix Brassard, they still had Braedyn Aubin, Taeron Lewis, Jordan Hall, Ryan Boucher, Max Borduas, Brett Ouderkirk, Noah Williams, Phil Elgstam and Gabe Chicoine you had to deal with.
 
Interesting weekend for the LEC. Winners were Babson and UMass Boston. Great game on Sat won by Babson in OT. Babson goes 2-0 and UMB goes 1-1 but looks to be a team you do not want to play. Norwich goes 2-0 and did what they want they had to do, still looking good, but still have to wait and see against the contenders . Southern Maine still not sold on, although played well last weekend. Castleton is slowly moving into the conversation. They keep hanging around and will take you out if you don’t bring your game agains them. NEC takes out Babson and Plymouth, who knows about this team. Saw the game vs Plymouth and they throttled Plymouth 5-1. Plymouth State is a train wreck. Players do whatever they want, taking two to three minutes shifts, a 5 on 3 power play with no shots and then give up a 5 on 3 shorty. This coaching staff is awful. No control of these players. As the season plays out, there are legit four or five teams that can win the division and ticket to the NCAA dance. Overall a really strong showing for the first LEC conference.
 
Irish Eamon said:
Interesting weekend for the LEC. Winners were Babson and UMass Boston. Great game on Sat won by Babson in OT. Babson goes 2-0 and UMB goes 1-1 but looks to be a team you do not want to play. Norwich goes 2-0 and did what they want they had to do, still looking good, but still have to wait and see against the contenders . Southern Maine still not sold on, although played well last weekend. Castleton is slowly moving into the conversation. They keep hanging around and will take you out if you don’t bring your game agains them. NEC takes out Babson and Plymouth, who knows about this team. Saw the game vs Plymouth and they throttled Plymouth 5-1. Plymouth State is a train wreck. Players do whatever they want, taking two to three minutes shifts, a 5 on 3 power play with no shots and then give up a 5 on 3 shorty. This coaching staff is awful. No control of these players. As the season plays out, there are legit four or five teams that can win the division and ticket to the NCAA dance. Overall a really strong showing for the first LEC conference.
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I realize there is more to play, but you said (re: Norwich) "still have to wait to see against the contenders". Again, round two coming up for all but they have already defeated PSU, USM, and spanked Castleton. OT loss to UMB. Obviously, the Babson loss wasn't great but did feature a furious comeback.
 
Love the way Norwich plays, all hustlers, team play, good team. I don’t think that they have the speed or the goaltending to win it . Yes they have beaten Southern Maine, and Plymouth. USM relies to heavily on their goalie and Plymouth is a dumpster fire, but if Norwich faces USM and the goalie is hot, or if Plymouth ever decides to play as a team, i can’t see Norwich beating either of those teams. Even if they do, UMB and Babson is next, hard hill to conquer. NEC knocked off Babson, crushed PSU, and it’s a rock fight to play them, does Norwich have enough to beat those teams,? Maybe, but it is a tribute to the first year of the league. Castleton is also still hanging around, getting no respect and is right there for the last playoff spot. Looking forward to the second half.
 
Irish Eamon said:
Love the way Norwich plays, all hustlers, team play, good team. I don’t think that they have the speed or the goaltending to win it . Yes they have beaten Southern Maine, and Plymouth. USM relies to heavily on their goalie and Plymouth is a dumpster fire, but if Norwich faces USM and the goalie is hot, or if Plymouth ever decides to play as a team, i can’t see Norwich beating either of those teams. Even if they do, UMB and Babson is next, hard hill to conquer. NEC knocked off Babson, crushed PSU, and it’s a rock fight to play them, does Norwich have enough to beat those teams,? Maybe, but it is a tribute to the first year of the league. Castleton is also still hanging around, getting no respect and is right there for the last playoff spot. Looking forward to the second half.
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I get it, but I don't think we can ask if Norwich has enough to "beat those teams" when they've already beaten those teams. I forgot to mention in my previous post that they'd already beaten NEC as well. I guess my point is we don't have to hypothesize whether Norwich CAN beat those teams when they already have and their two league losses are each by one goal (one in OT to the current best team in the league). Does it mean they're going to beat them all again? Maybe, maybe not but they made it through the first half by beating them and I would argue that Norwich is getting better as the season goes on.

Maybe they don't have the speed, but they absolutely have the goaltending. Molu was 2nd team all-NEHC last year (respectfully, a far superior league to the LEC) and you could make the argument that Walcarius is the better goalie right now.

The other thing working in Norwich's favor is that UMB, Babson, and USM all have to come to Kreitzberg this time, and Norwich plays really well at home.

Should be an entertaining remainder of the season.
 
The battle for the top tightens with a new top 3 after this weekend.

Babson comes out of the weekend back on top. Taking a short in-state roadtrip, Babson opens up with a 4-1 W vs UMD before slugging it out against UMB on Saturday. Both went back and forth with Babson getting more shots on net, and eventually getting one past for the OT W. By tie breaker, Babson edges out Norwich for the 1-seed.

Norwich notches two key wins to stay in the fight, winning against Keene and West Conn. Both nights Norwich dominated on shot count, and kept their opponents below 20 shots on goal.

USM loses a key matchup to UMB, but stays in the fight as the clear 3-seed. USM was forced to play catchup and played close until UMB pulled away, giving the Huskies a 4-3 L late in the 3rd. Saturday, USM recovers vs UMD to stay competitive in the standings.

The battle of in-state rivals Plymouth and NEC comes out the Pilgrims taking a dominant win over PSU. After PSU scored an early PPG, NEC scores 5 as PSU collapses and fails to score across 7 PP chances. PSU plummets to 5th as NEC sits just outside of the middle of the pack in 7th.

Castleton scores 6 in back-to-back games against West Conn and Keene. After struggling early this season, Castleton enters the middle of the pack in 6th.

(Was already like halfway done with typing this before I came back after a bit and saw Irish’s post… welp)
 
Irish Eamon said:
Interesting weekend for the LEC. Winners were Babson and UMass Boston. Great game on Sat won by Babson in OT. Babson goes 2-0 and UMB goes 1-1 but looks to be a team you do not want to play. Norwich goes 2-0 and did what they want they had to do, still looking good, but still have to wait and see against the contenders . Southern Maine still not sold on, although played well last weekend. Castleton is slowly moving into the conversation. They keep hanging around and will take you out if you don’t bring your game agains them. NEC takes out Babson and Plymouth, who knows about this team. Saw the game vs Plymouth and they throttled Plymouth 5-1. Plymouth State is a train wreck. Players do whatever they want, taking two to three minutes shifts, a 5 on 3 power play with no shots and then give up a 5 on 3 shorty. This coaching staff is awful. No control of these players. As the season plays out, there are legit four or five teams that can win the division and ticket to the NCAA dance. Overall a really strong showing for the first LEC conference.
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Plymouth absolutely fell apart and needs to reassess. On paper the team has so much potential… on the ice it’s spinning the roulette wheel. I wouldn’t say Russell is the problem coaching wise - he’s had a solid record and has built the program from a struggling ECAC/NEHC team playing 30 mins from campus into a cornerstone of the community that’s regularly made the tourney. I am wondering though how the assistant coaches are playing into the issues. Have seen a couple spars with refs that led to a coach being sent off. I fully get standing up for the players - but it feels like it’s getting to the point where it enables selfish conduct and play on the ice.

From talking with people, chemistry wise the team is going in a good direction. On the ice though they need to put their egos aside, pass the puck, and set up chances instead of skating into 1-on-3s or taking shots through traffic. Regular turnovers in all zones are setting up bad situations for our two goalies who can’t play consistently. Still don’t think we’ll make it through the playoffs, just hoping we make it through the 1st round atp.
 
Another good hockey weekend coming up for LEC. I think the most intriguing game is Saturday night, New England College vs Castleton. This game may be for the final playoff spot. Both teams love to hit so it definitely will be “Old time Hockey”. Norwich vs NEC on Friday night is the game of the night. Norwich should be the favorite, but if NEC beats them and Castleton this weekend, NEC has to be in the conversation. USM should roll both Fri and Sat night. UMB should follow suit. Babson should also get wor victories this weekend. As far as Plymouth, you have to blame the coach. Team is loaded, has a good number of the team has been together for the last two or three years, goaltending has been horrid, a big factor. Went to the NEC game and couldn’t believe the amount of of arrogance on some of the players. Coaches have no control as players take long shifts, no sense of urgency, selfish and they get put right back out there like something is going to be different. Easily the most disliked team in the LEC. Coach can’t take the credit and not the blame. Norwich should tune up Plymouth, as their fans make a case for them winning the LEC, and I suspect that Castleton won’t be an upset if/when they beat the Panthers.
 
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