2024-25: D3whky

[Lord_Zubin]

There is no way Oswego isn’t in first. They go have more points than Cortland and a game in hand. Not even sure how the SUNYAC page is sorting the teams at this point.

evidently no one knows. the sunyac thinks 20>21 USCHO has oswego 1st but the top three are all tied with 21 points and d3 hockey news hasnt even updated his standings yet on either side since 1/26. I also think its crazy they dropped 4 spots after not losing last weekend. Does an OT win really hurt that much against a bad team?? The MIAC teams seem to be the wildcards in all this. If one (or both)of them suffers an upset it seems theyre gonna drop far down the NPI and knock themselves out and that conference certainly has some teams that can beat their top contenders on any given night.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

evidently no one knows. the sunyac thinks 20>21 USCHO has oswego 1st but the top three are all tied with 21 points and d3 hockey news hasnt even updated his standings yet on either side since 1/26. I also think its crazy they dropped 4 spots after not losing last weekend. Does an OT win really hurt that much against a bad team?? The MIAC teams seem to be the wildcards in all this. If one (or both)of them suffers an upset it seems theyre gonna drop far down the NPI and knock themselves out and that conference certainly has some teams that can beat their top contenders on any given night.

They also think 10>11 for fourth place.

They seem to be ordering them by winning pct. Which of course is assinine because this isn't a Covid year. Eventually everyone is going to play the same number of games. Just use points, and let us figure out the rest with games in hand. Sheesh...

 

[Scott_TG]

Watching the SMU vs UWRF game...what on Earth possessed that ref to signal goal after his fellow ref blew the whistle? Totally unnecessary controversy there...currently 2-1 SMU after 2. The Falcons took the lead into the first intermission but the only western Cardinals team tied it early on and took the lead with 5 mins left in the 2nd frame.

In other news:

Eau Claire is up 2-0 on Superior after 2, courtesy of two goals from Lauren Ballinger. The Blugolds welcome River Falls this Saturday.

#1 Midd downed Suffolk 4-1. Appleyard and McInerney with a goal and two assists each. Suffolk has really struggled since losing Wasylk to Lindenwood. The Panthers welcome Trinity for two games this weekend.

#9 Cortland defeated Morrisville 5-2 in conference play. 5 different goal scorers for the Red Dragons who now catch up to Oswego in conference games played. Katie Diem and Drew Kopek with a goal and an assist and Ella Iwinski had 2 assists. The Red Dragons are off this weekend ahead of two home games against Potsdam and a home and home pair vs Oswego that will determine the top seeds in the SUNYAC.

 

[Scott_TG]

Really fun finish at SMU. UWRF wins in OT 3-2 after Aure burned her covering player behind the net came around turned and fired it in past Rimstad. UWRF tied it early in the third after a hard bounce off the end boards sailed to where there was only a lone Falcon in the low slot who used the time and space to snipe Rimstad. Around 2 mins left in the 3rd both goalies made great saves to keep it tied. The puck was loose heading towards the low slot with a Cardinal trying to catch up for mini-breakaway, O'Kane came way out of net and smothered the puck and got crashed into. On the following shift the puck went back the other direction and Rimstad made a great spinning save to keep the puck from finding twine and clear the crease. SMU was saved by the buzzer as Rimstead and two Cardinal skaters were looking for and trying to fall on the loose puck in the crease as the 3rd expired. OT was pretty much all UWRF and the size difference between the defending champs' top OT unit and the Cardinals' was very noticeable.

As mentioned upthread, the Falcons head to Eau Claire on Saturday while St. Mary's returns to MIAC play with a home-and-home against Bethel.

Eau Claire finished off Superior 3-1. Hulter put the Blugolds up 3-0 while Marks got one back to break the shutout. This is Superior's last regular season home game as they are on the road against UWSP and Northland to finish the regular season.

 

[JDHack51]

Really fun finish at SMU. UWRF wins in OT 3-2 after Aure burned her covering player behind the net came around turned and fired it in past Rimstad. UWRF tied it early in the third after a hard bounce off the end boards sailed to where there was only a lone Falcon in the low slot who used the time and space to snipe Rimstad. Around 2 mins left in the 3rd both goalies made great saves to keep it tied. The puck was loose heading towards the low slot with a Cardinal trying to catch up for mini-breakaway, O'Kane came way out of net and smothered the puck and got crashed into. On the following shift the puck went back the other direction and Rimstad made a great spinning save to keep the puck from finding twine and clear the crease. SMU was saved by the buzzer as Rimstead and two Cardinal skaters were looking for and trying to fall on the loose puck in the crease as the 3rd expired. OT was pretty much all UWRF and the size difference between the defending champs' top OT unit and the Cardinals' was very noticeable.

As mentioned upthread, the Falcons head to Eau Claire on Saturday while St. Mary's returns to MIAC play with a home-and-home against Bethel.

Eau Claire finished off Superior 3-1. Hulter put the Blugolds up 3-0 while Marks got one back to break the shutout. This is Superior's last regular season home game as they are on the road against UWSP and Northland to finish the regular season.

I didn't watch the RF game tonight, but that was pretty easy to predict. Rimstad is a great goalie, but you're right, Saint Mary's just doesn't have enough scoring threats or speed to take it above a 2 goal game against a UWRF. The flip side of this the goaltending of UWRF needs some work. Not sure how well it held up tonight since I didn't watch, but teams aren't getting great looks and still burying them. UWEC would like nothing more than to keep the Falcons out of the playoffs, but that team's been all over the place as well. Should be an interesting game to watch.

 

[Scott_TG]

Kevin Houle is not behind the bench for Plattsburgh to start the home game against Potsdam. I know he got into it with the refs during last Friday's game, not sure if this is related. I can't tell who the second woman in a coat is on the bench with assistant Emma Killeen. The goalie coach Kassi Abbott is only part time and she has bright red hair so unless she's done a dye job its not her...the play by play announcer hasn't acknowledged this...

Edit: the other woman is in fact former 7 time NCAA champion Danielle Blanchard who works on campus with University Police since last year.

 

[Scott_TG]

Some upsets tonight among the results:

#1 Middlebury defeats Trinity 2-1.
Colby defeats #3 Amherst 3-1.
Concordia (WI) upsets #5 Adrian 1-0 being outshot 41-15
#7 Oswego drubs Canton 5-0
#8 Plattsburgh shuts out Postdam 3-0 without their head coach behind the bench.
Hamilton defeats #10 Bowdoin 2-1.
#12 Endicott defeats Nichols 5-2.
#13 Utica defeats #15 Nazareth for the 4th time in program history 2-1.

#4 Gustavus is up 2-0 on St. Benedict near the end of the 2nd.
#6 Augsburg is dominating St. Catherine's 6-1 near the end of the 2nd
#11 SNC is up 4-2 on Lake Forest near the end of the 2nd.

 

[Sir Nubs]

Some upsets tonight among the results:

#1 Middlebury defeats Trinity 2-1.
Colby defeats #3 Amherst 3-1.
Concordia (WI) upsets #5 Adrian 1-0 being outshot 41-15
#7 Oswego drubs Canton 5-0
#8 Plattsburgh shuts out Postdam 3-0 without their head coach behind the bench.
Hamilton defeats #10 Bowdoin 2-1.
#12 Endicott defeats Nichols 5-2.
#13 Utica defeats #15 Nazareth for the 4th time in program history 2-1.

#4 Gustavus is up 2-0 on St. Benedict near the end of the 2nd.
#6 Augsburg is dominating St. Catherine's 6-1 near the end of the 2nd
#11 SNC is up 4-2 on Lake Forest near the end of the 2nd.

St. Norbert ended up beating Lake Forest 8-3 breaking it open with a big third period. That Adrian loss gives SNC some breathing room with three games left.

 

[Scott_TG]

Fans who made the trek up to Potsdam have spotted Coach Houle back with the team for warmups so he's back

 

[Scott_TG]

We've had a pretty interesting day already with the 3pm games:

#1 Middlebury sweeps Trinity 5-1
#2 UW-River Falls hits the 2014 natty championship scoreline of 9-2 on #14 UW-Eau Claire
Colby completes a sweep of #3 Amherst with a 3-2 comeback in the 3rd period.
#5 Adrian falls down early 2-0 to Concordia (Wisconsin) but they come back, tying it around 90 seconds left with an extra attacker. They survive a too many players penalty in OT to win it and salvage a split.
#6 Augsburg's 4 goals in the first frame carry them through to a 4-2 win over St. Catherine's.
#7 Oswego sweeps Canton with a 2-1 win.
#8 Plattsburgh sweeps Potsdam with a 3-1 win.
Hamilton sweeps #10 Bowdoin with a 3-1 win.
#12 Endicott tied with WNEU but won the shootout.

Still to come:

#15 Nazareth hosts #13 Utica to try to avenge last night's loss at 5:30 PM Eastern.
#4 Gustavus tries to complete the sweep of CSB at 6PM Central.

 

[Scott_TG]

We've had a pretty interesting day already with the 3pm games:

#1 Middlebury sweeps Trinity 5-1
#2 UW-River Falls hits the 2014 natty championship scoreline of 9-2 on #14 UW-Eau Claire
Colby completes a sweep of #3 Amherst with a 3-2 comeback in the 3rd period.
#5 Adrian falls down early 2-0 to Concordia (Wisconsin) but they come back, tying it around 90 seconds left with an extra attacker. They survive a too many players penalty in OT to win it and salvage a split.
#6 Augsburg's 4 goals in the first frame carry them through to a 4-2 win over St. Catherine's.
#7 Oswego sweeps Canton with a 2-1 win.
#8 Plattsburgh sweeps Potsdam with a 3-1 win.
Hamilton sweeps #10 Bowdoin with a 3-1 win.
#12 Endicott tied with WNEU but won the shootout.

Still to come:

#15 Nazareth hosts #13 Utica to try to avenge last night's loss at 5:30 PM Eastern.
#4 Gustavus tries to complete the sweep of CSB at 6PM Central.

Nazareth took back the lead in the UCHC with a 1-0 win over Utica.
Gustavus dominates CSB 6-0.

 

[PrezdeJohnson09]

Are people finally done crying about how the NPI doesn’t work?

Looks pretty darn good to me right now. The west (deservedly) has the #2 and #3 teams right now and three in the top 5.

Somehow the almighty NESCAC has shaken itself out and only has two teams in the top nine now.

Oswego is tied for the best winning percentage in the whole nation and is only 7th in the NPI behind 3 western teams, including 2 west teams they have a better record than. (They are right where they should be).

Are we done complaining that the NPI doesn’t work for the West? I told folks that it didn’t make sense to put too many eggs in the basket until February.

Now that everyone has basically played the same number of games, it’s reading pretty darn well as a reflection to what is happening on the ice to evaluate teams objectively based on who they’ve played and who they’ve beaten.

Now I know we’ve still got a month left to play in the season and things can and will change. But at this point in the season, I’d say things look pretty darn good. Now, just win and the rest takes care of itself. Once you lose in your conference tournament, you’re leaving the rest to chance and lose control of your destiny.

 

[Scott_TG]

USCHO Top 15 as of 2/10:

1. Midd
2. UWRF
3. GAC
4. Augsburg
5. Oswego
6. Amherst
7. Adrian
8. Plattsburgh
9. Cortland
10. SNC
11. Endicott
12. Colby
12. Utica
14. Bowdoin
15. Nazareth

My quibble as a Plattsburgh fan is that Oswego jumps two spots for beating Canton twice while Plattsburgh doesn't get any benefit from sweeping Potsdam when those two are 49 and 50 in the NPI separated by only .504 points.

NPI rankings as of 2/10:

1. Middlebury*
2. Augsburg*
3. Gustavus^
4. Amherst^
5. UW-River Falls^
6. Plattsburgh^
7. Oswego*
8. Endicott*
9. Cortland
10. Colby
11. SNC*
12. Bowdoin
13. Adrian
14. Wilkes*
15. Arcadia
16. UW-Eau Claire
17. St. Mary's
18. Nazareth*
19. Norwich*

 

[SHockey98]

Are people finally done crying about how the NPI doesn’t work?

Looks pretty darn good to me right now. The west (deservedly) has the #2 and #3 teams right now and three in the top 5.

Somehow the almighty NESCAC has shaken itself out and only has two teams in the top nine now.

Oswego is tied for the best winning percentage in the whole nation and is only 7th in the NPI behind 3 western teams, including 2 west teams they have a better record than. (They are right where they should be).

Are we done complaining that the NPI doesn’t work for the West? I told folks that it didn’t make sense to put too many eggs in the basket until February.

Now that everyone has basically played the same number of games, it’s reading pretty darn well as a reflection to what is happening on the ice to evaluate teams objectively based on who they’ve played and who they’ve beaten.

Now I know we’ve still got a month left to play in the season and things can and will change. But at this point in the season, I’d say things look pretty darn good. Now, just win and the rest takes care of itself. Once you lose in your conference tournament, you’re leaving the rest to chance and lose control of your destiny.

I mean..... the SUNYAC's top-to-bottom strength is what's keeping them where they are. It's a perfectly fair rating for Oswego.

Why Eau Claire/Saint Mary's/Adrian/SNC/CUW are so low is kind of remarkable in my opinion. It doesn't work for the west. It won't work for the west.

Just because Augsburg/GAC are high doesn't mean the rest of the region isn't getting the shaft. River Falls has done light years more than Amherst.

There's no reason Bowdoin should still be this high, and Colby being that high when they schedule 3? NESCAC teams in non-con play is rigging the system. Especially when they've played nobody besides that in their non-league portion of the schedule.

Wilkes at 14 is a complete joke and mockery of the system. They're probably not even a top 30 team.

Hilarious comment.

 

[Lord_Zubin]

USCHO Top 15 as of 2/10:

1. Midd
2. UWRF
3. GAC
4. Augsburg
5. Oswego
6. Amherst
7. Adrian
8. Plattsburgh
9. Cortland
10. SNC
11. Endicott
12. Colby
12. Utica
14. Bowdoin
15. Nazareth

My quibble as a Plattsburgh fan is that Oswego jumps two spots for beating Canton twice while Plattsburgh doesn't get any benefit from sweeping Potsdam when those two are 49 and 50 in the NPI separated by only .504 points.

NPI rankings as of 2/10:

1. Middlebury*
2. Augsburg*
3. Gustavus^
4. Amherst^
5. UW-River Falls^
6. Plattsburgh^
7. Oswego*
8. Endicott*
9. Cortland
10. Colby
11. SNC*
12. Bowdoin
13. Adrian
14. Wilkes*
15. Arcadia
16. UW-Eau Claire
17. St. Mary's
18. Nazareth*
19. Norwich*

The math is weird. 1-2 weeks ago oz goes 3-0 one week including a win at Utica and they slipped from 5th all the way down to 9th. Maybe since it was buff state that week it dropped their sos temporarily? I think platty was already so high teams that low doesn't allow upward movement. They might get a slight bump from Williams due to their NESCAC cheat code but oz has 2 games vs Cortland left so that could easily be counteracted.

 

[Scott_TG]

Morrisville at Oswego has been postponed due to weather.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Morrisville at Oswego has been postponed due to weather.

Both the men and women's games in Oswego. They must be getting lake effect, because in Rochester, we're not getting any effects of the storm till Saturday afternoon. Then, it gets pretty bad into Sunday. But right now, nothing is falling and shouldn't all night.

 

[JDHack51]

Augsburg drops one to St Bene's 4-3 in OT, that should shake the rankings up again. While St Bene's has an up and coming team it's definitely a disappointing loss. There is no dominant team in the West this year....kinda laugh at all the rankings. Guess you get more credit when there's more parity in your conference and region than when you finish 2nd to a dominant team.

Augsburg will bounce back but the MIAC is wide open this year.

 

[Scott_TG]

Augsburg drops one to St Bene's 4-3 in OT, that should shake the rankings up again. While St Bene's has an up and coming team it's definitely a disappointing loss. There is no dominant team in the West this year....kinda laugh at all the rankings. Guess you get more credit when there's more parity in your conference and region than when you finish 2nd to a dominant team.

Augsburg will bounce back but the MIAC is wide open this year.

Auggies went from 2nd to 4th in NPI, so even if the season ended today even if Bowdoin and Hamline won the NESCAC and MIAC tourneys respectively Augsburg is still in.

 

[JDHack51]

Auggies went from 2nd to 4th in NPI, so even if the season ended today even if Bowdoin and Hamline won the NESCAC and MIAC tourneys respectively Augsburg is still in.

That's the part that I think is weird. Augsburg loses to a team not even close to the top 25 and they barely drop. So if Hamline, St Bene's, or St Mary's win the MIAC, which would still be highly unlikely but possible. The MIAC possibly sends three teams, LOL. That would be just as bad as the NESCAC sending three teams, I don't feel any conference should get that. While the conference talent is up allowing the parity, there's not a top 5 worthy team in the MIAC. Top 10 yes, but there's no team scaring anyone.

If UWRF wins out in the senario above does the West gets 5 teams in? The point I'm making is GAC and UWRF were clearly head and shoulder's above the rest, solid top 5 teams the last few years. However UWEC had some really good teams and was always left out of the tourney because they had to beat GAC or UWRF to get ranked high enough. Seems ironic that when UWRF, Adrian, and GAC take steps down from their primes (Adrian/UWRF just one year removed) that more teams in the West would qualify. Most likely keeping a more deserving team in the East from getting in.

Guess what goes around comes around.