D3 18-19 season

[Scott_TG]

Re: D3 18-19 season

New polls are out:

USCHO
Rnk Team
1 Adrian [13] (1)
2 Plattsburgh [2] (2)
3 Norwich (4)
4 Wisconsin-River Falls (5)
5 Elmira (3)
6 Middlebury (6)
7 St. Thomas (7)
8 Hamline (8)
9 Wisconsin-Eau Claire (10)
10 Gustavus Adolphus (9)
Others receiving votes: Williams 7, Connecticut College 7, Augsburg 1, William Smith 1

D3hockey.com
# School
1 Adrian [10] (1)
2 Plattsburgh State [4] (2)
3 Norwich (4)
4 UW-River Falls [1] (5)
5 Elmira (3)
6 Hamline (7)
7 Middlebury (6)
8 St. Thomas (8)
9 UW-Eau Claire (10)
10 Gustavus Adolphus (9)
Others receiving votes: Williams 5, Connecticut College 2

 

[Reggie44]

Re: D3 18-19 season

St. Thomas 3 River Falls 1 final from last night.

 

[shelfit]

St. Thomas 3 River Falls 1 final from last night.

In looking at the D3 standings for all the conferences there are only 3 undefeated teams remaining:

St. Thomas
William Smith
Nazareth

I think most impressive of these is first-year program Nazareth but I haven't really seen anyone talking about them on this forum. Surely they deserve some recognition and kudos, especially as they head to Elmira this weekend to finish this half of the year. How awesome would it be if they can finish off their first semester of hockey and remain undefeated?!!! I know nothing about this program. Who can give some insights? Would love to know more about them!

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: D3 18-19 season

In looking at the D3 standings for all the conferences there are only 3 undefeated teams remaining:

St. Thomas
William Smith
Nazareth

I think most impressive of these is first-year program Nazareth but I haven't really seen anyone talking about them on this forum. Surely they deserve some recognition and kudos, especially as they head to Elmira this weekend to finish this half of the year. How awesome would it be if they can finish off their first semester of hockey and remain undefeated?!!! I know nothing about this program. Who can give some insights? Would love to know more about them!

Look at Elmira's first year. They won a national championship. Then backed it up a year later.

 

[shelfit]

Look at Elmira's first year. They won a national championship. Then backed it up a year later.

I was aware of that tidbit of ancient history. The reality is D3 was pretty awful hockey back then and it has come a very long way since those days. There are still a lot of brutal D3 programs but overall it is way better hockey from the middle of the pack and up of course. Are you thinking Nazareth has a chance to replicate that feat or just pumping up the old tires from that part of Elmira's history?! Interesting that Elmira has a chance this weekend to be the first team this season to beat Nazareth. I would guess that will be all the motivation Elmira's going to need. I plan to tune in to Elmira's broadcast if I have time and I think I'll be pulling for Nazareth as the obvious underdogs.

 

[hockeydad23]

Re: D3 18-19 season

Nazareth's first year success is a great story but take a look at their schedule so far this season. I haven't seen Elmira play this year but based on what I know about these two programs my guess is that Elmira beats Naz by at least 5 goals this weekend.

 

[Scott_TG]

Re: D3 18-19 season

Nazareth's first year success is a great story but take a look at their schedule so far this season. I haven't seen Elmira play this year but based on what I know about these two programs my guess is that Elmira beats Naz by at least 5 goals this weekend.

Naz's schedule has been extremely weak. The best team they've beaten has a record of 3-8-1 and they are ranked 66th of 66 in the SOS rank column on the DIII women's KRACH chart. I'd be shocked and very impressed if they hung in close vs Elmira.

 

[shelfit]

Naz's schedule has been extremely weak. The best team they've beaten has a record of 3-8-1 and they are ranked 66th of 66 in the SOS rank column on the DIII women's KRACH chart. I'd be shocked and very impressed if they hung in close vs Elmira.

No question their schedule has not been overly strong and they play in a very new and very imbalanced conference (same goes for William Smith and Elmira but Elmira will always have a stronger out of conference schedule), but you still have to score goals at one end of the ice and keep goals from being scored at your end of the ice to win in general let alone to remain undefeated. Keep in mind Nazareth is in its first year and then look at many other older programs that are still terrible every year, and compare them to other young programs like Kings, LVC, Wilkes, and some others and it's like night vs day! I think they deserve more credit than they've gotten so far no matter what the overall circumstances are.

P.S. I don't have a horse in this race. All my unborn daughters are already committed to BC. I wanted to make sure I got those verbals in before the new rule change takes effect.

 

[DDad16]

Re: D3 18-19 season

I think they deserve more credit than they've gotten so far no matter what the overall circumstances are.

I've seen this Nazareth team play... They have speed and are relentless on the puck. Very well coached and all of the players have bought in to the system. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they take one from Elmira.

 

[shelfit]

I've seen this Nazareth team play... They have speed and are relentless on the puck. Very well coached and all of the players have bought in to the system. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they take one from Elmira.

I think I'll be able to tune in for tonight's game. Not sure about for tomorrow though. Looking forward to it. There's going to be an awful lot of purple & gold battling it out on the ice tonight! Golden Flyers @ Soaring Eagles...both look like birds of prey! This should be a fun one tonight!

And the Nazareth coach recruited 27 players in his first year. Wilkes took two years and two coaches to recruit 9 players. Where would you rather play?! Lmao. You can tell by roster size which schools / AD's know what they are doing and are making a proper commitment to our sport and which don't have a clue. Whatever the salaries are, Nazareth is getting more than their money's worth out of their coach and Wilkes is getting ripped off by theirs. There are other teams similar to Wilkes that couldn't recruit a full roster (using 21 as the minimum) but Wilkes is the most extreme example. I wish there was a rule in place that required a program to have and maintain a minimum of 16 players in order to participate in women's hockey. That gives you 2 goalies, 5 D, and 9 forwards. For player safety alone that should be the minimum standard required. This is supposed to be college hockey not youth hockey or intramural hockey. Most of those types of teams have no problem fielding teams of 16 players. How can a college coach not do at least that?!

 

[Birdwatcher]

I've seen this Nazareth team play... They have speed and are relentless on the puck. Very well coached and all of the players have bought in to the system. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they take one from Elmira.

Not tonight

 

[shelfit]

Nazareth's first year success is a great story but take a look at their schedule so far this season. I haven't seen Elmira play this year but based on what I know about these two programs my guess is that Elmira beats Naz by at least 5 goals this weekend.

Your guess was way off (unless you try to double-talk your way out of it by saying you meant 5 goals total after both games). 4-0 with an empty net goal the first game and 6-3 with an empty net goal today, and that was after tieing it up at 3 apiece early in the 3rd period. Pretty good for a first year program!

 

[shelfit]

Naz's schedule has been extremely weak. The best team they've beaten has a record of 3-8-1 and they are ranked 66th of 66 in the SOS rank column on the DIII women's KRACH chart. I'd be shocked and very impressed if they hung in close vs Elmira.

So how's your level of shock and of being impressed now?!

 

[Scott_TG]

Re: D3 18-19 season

So how's your level of shock and of being impressed now?!

I'm not shocked by the final results. Elmira won fairly handily both times. It wasn't a blow out, but looking at what Elmira has been offensively that's not surprising either. They've posted big scores only twice so far this year and each of those paired with a closer win over the same opponent. Elmira seems to be much more reliant on defense this year.

I'm impressed that Naz was able to come back and tie it 3-3. I feel like this weekend both brought them down to earth now that they've lost when they've finally played a winning program but they also have given themselves a lot to build on. They've shown themselves they can come back and tie it against them, they just need to learn how to close.

 

[shelfit]

I'm not shocked by the final results. Elmira won fairly handily both times.

I'm impressed that Naz was able to come back and tie it 3-3. I feel like this weekend both brought them down to earth now that they've lost when they've finally played a winning program but they also have given themselves a lot to build on. They've shown themselves they can come back and tie it against them, they just need to learn how to close.

Your Cardinals would have blown the doors off Naz, right?! I'd say Naz now realizes they can skate and stay with a top 5 team like that which is something they didn't know before. This weekend makes Naz better and will have given them more confidence as a new program than before whereas this weekend doesn't do as much for Elmira other than secure two wins they were supposed to secure anyway. I think Elmira had to work a lot harder than many people predicted beforehand.

 

[shelfit]

I've seen this Nazareth team play... They have speed and are relentless on the puck. Very well coached and all of the players have bought in to the system. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they take one from Elmira.

So I was able to tune in Friday just after Elmira scored their 1st goal early in the 2nd period and I started posting updates/edits as that game progressed but on my final post just after the game ended I accidentally clicked on Delete instead of Save so I wiped out my entire post!

Here's what I observed that night: Elmira had better puck handling and passing skills overall and that weighed in their favor throughout the game. I felt Naz made the mistake of playing very passively in their own zone for fear of making a mistake but that meant they weren't moving their feet and Elmira was able to move around Naz's zone at will. You can't play timid hockey against a good team. You have to play much more aggressively to try to force mistakes, turnovers, etc. I felt Naz skated better and was more aggressive in the other two zones but you can't play two styles of hockey at the same time and expect to win against a top team like Elmira. I loved the Naz timeout call and decision to pull their goalie when Granato got her penalty at 15:33 of the 3rd period. Trailing by 3 goals that's a good aggressive decision. They weren't able to score on their PP but it was the right move to make. The EN goal after the penalty expires is a nothing goal that is meaningless. It's a 3-0 game.

I wasn't able to tune in for Saturday's game until sometime shortly after Naz tied it up at 3 apiece early in the 3rd period. However I immediately saw that Naz was playing much more aggressively including in their own zone and it was working for them. Yes they gave up 3 goals to Elmira's PP but to be tied 3-3 with Elmira through 45 minutes of hockey is very impressive for a first year team, and to only be down 4-3 through almost 55 minutes of hockey is also impressive. When Elmira scored their 3rd PP goal to go up 5-3 they celebrated like they had just won a playoff game. They knew this wasn't an easy game to win. Again a good aggressive decision by the Naz coach to pull their goalie down by 2 goals but once again Elmira scored an empty netter.

It looked like Naz learned a lot from the first game and applied that knowledge to the second game. I applaud their effort this weekend! They will have gained more from this weekend than all their previous weekends combined because now they know they can compete against a top 5 team like Elmira and that is a huge step forward for this new program. Still looking to hear from people that know more about this team.

 

[Scott_TG]

Re: D3 18-19 season

Your Cardinals would have blown the doors off Naz, right?!

Given that Plattsburgh has beaten DIII teams by 5 or more goals 7 times compared to Elmira's twice I'd say there's a better probability because that's how Plattsburgh has played teams this season. Also Naz lost to Morrisville in their exhibition and Platts beat the Mustangs 7-1 a few weeks ago. I realize the transitive property doesn't always work in terms of who can beat who, but it did tint how I looked at their body of work against new or perennially weak teams.

If Naz can come away with the UCHC conference championship and assuming the Cardinals make the NCAAs, that's when we'd get to find out depending on the draw.

As someone who wants to see this division grow I'm happy to hear your report on Nazareth's play. The more competitive teams in the division, the better off it is. It's great to see a team be competitive in its debut season. I wasn't trying to be elitist or dismissive by not buying into the winning streak of the team with the weakest SOS, just cautious. The only Naz game I've watched was the opener against Anna Maria so it was tough to judge.

 

[shelfit]

Given that Plattsburgh has beaten DIII teams by 5 or more goals 7 times compared to Elmira's twice I'd say there's a better probability because that's how Plattsburgh has played teams this season. Also Naz lost to Morrisville in their exhibition and Platts beat the Mustangs 7-1 a few weeks ago. I realize the transitive property doesn't always work in terms of who can beat who, but it did tint how I looked at their body of work against new or perennially weak teams.

If Naz can come away with the UCHC conference championship and assuming the Cardinals make the NCAAs, that's when we'd get to find out depending on the draw.

As someone who wants to see this division grow I'm happy to hear your report on Nazareth's play. The more competitive teams in the division, the better off it is. It's great to see a team be competitive in its debut season. I wasn't trying to be elitist or dismissive by not buying into the winning streak of the team with the weakest SOS, just cautious. The only Naz game I've watched was the opener against Anna Maria so it was tough to judge.

Unfortunately the UCHC is a very weak conference so far but that's really no different than most other D3 conferences where the top few teams are miles ahead of the rest of their conference foes. That's where out of conference play really counts and that's where Plattsburgh, Elmira, Norwich, etc, have the stronger schedule than all the rest (imagine if those teams only played their own conference opponents all season....yuck!!!). All I've tried to point out is how well this new team has done so far as a first year program not only compared to other first year programs but other longtime mid to low end programs. It seems very clear that Naz is making a legitimate commitment to our sport and I wish like hell other schools would follow suit instead of being a total insult to our game like Wilkes is, like Daniel Webster was, etc. Naz has won my support as a fan and it's because they seem to be doing things the right way.

 

[arenalife]

Re: D3 18-19 season

Your Cardinals would have blown the doors off Naz, right?! I'd say Naz now realizes they can skate and stay with a top 5 team like that which is something they didn't know before. This weekend makes Naz better and will have given them more confidence as a new program than before whereas this weekend doesn't do as much for Elmira other than secure two wins they were supposed to secure anyway. I think Elmira had to work a lot harder than many people predicted beforehand.

Before you go putting Naz in the tournament look at the SOG - Maybe Elmira needs a better goalie?!
83-36 on the weekend - that isn't close...
So yes, if you give Plattsburgh that shot margin (probably would be an even wider margin) it's a 7-8 goal blowout each game.

 

[shelfit]

Before you go putting Naz in the tournament look at the SOG - Maybe Elmira needs a better goalie?!
83-36 on the weekend - that isn't close...
So yes, if you give Plattsburgh that shot margin (probably would be an even wider margin) it's a 7-8 goal blowout each game.

A haven't said a word about them getting into "the tournament" and I also believe that Plattsburgh would have beaten them by a larger margin because I believe Plattsburgh is better than Elmira. And I know Naz hasn't played William Smith, Utica, or Manhattanville yet either, but they are a first year program doing extremely well and I'm having a very hard time figuring out why nobody else here wants to give them any credit for where they stand right now. In their first year they have jumped right into the middle of the pack or higher instead of scraping along at the bottom of the tank like so many other new programs do. They quite easily beat Stevenson who used to be considered a pretty good young program too, although I think their best days are already sadly behind them. Naz has 76 GF and only 17 GA overall, 45 GF and 16 GA in their conference. Now look at and compare them to Stevenson, Neumann, Chatham (not first or second year programs), LVC, and Kings, not to mention once again the joke that is Wilkes. Why is Kings so brutal in their second year? LVC? Anyone have those answers? Easy, those programs aren't as committed to our sport or to doing it the right way. So that's all I'm saying. I simply think Naz deserves way more credit than they've gotten so far.