Nescac 2009/2010

[Old Rook NU'66]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

Congratulations to both teams. Caught the overtime period after the Norwich game and like I said earlier this Colby team has great heart to match an equally skilled goalie.

 

[Euler18]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

Colby - Bowdoin: Possibly the best hockey game I have ever seen. Has there ever been a game that so lived up to it's billing? Fans of both teams have something in common - a share in one of the great rivalries in sports. Congratulations and good luck to Bowdoin the rest of the way. And congratulations to the Bowdoin sportscasters on the Webcast last night. Good job in front of a huge audience! I look forward to the Bowdoin Webcasts of the rest of the playoffs.

And one more thing... Congratulations, Mules on a gutsy performance!

I'm an old timer... I still think the best game involving Bowdoin that I've ever seen was the 5-4 OT victory over Vermont in the 1971 ECAC final, while I was an undergraduate, with the winning goal scored by Dick Donovan'73 on Vermont's Dave Reece, who would go on to play for the Boston Bruins.

Nevertheless, I'd definitely rank last night's game as a close second, mainly because it was a quarterfinal game, not a final. Both teams played extremely well. The big shot advantage for Bowdoin doesn't tell the full story. Bowdoin tends to shoot a lot more than other teams, not always from the best angles, and Colby had many chances on excellent plays. Both goaltenders were terrific. In the past I've been critical of Chris Rossi. Let me say that I'd rank his performance last night in the top five in my forty years of watching Polar Bear hockey.

The Bowdoin-Colby rivalry is one of the oldest and best in college sports. In the past I didn't like when it carried over to bad behavior by the fans outside the rink. Last night the rivalry was all about competing in a magnificent hockey game.

 

[d3follower]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

A fascinating story about how Williams played 7 games in the middle of the season with only one goalie available for duty. Regular back-up Marc Pulde was injured so Williams asked a kid by the name of Nick Fogel who was not a member of the team and had never played goalie before to wear goalie pads and be available in case Williams' goalie was injured. Anyway, Fogel kept a diary of his 7 games as a member of the Williams' team, which is an interesting read in terms of conveying a sense of what D3 games are like.

 

[Euler18]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

When someone stated last fall that "Amherst and Middlebury [would] definitely play for the NESCAC championship," this was my reply:

Let's not bother playing the regular season and the two first rounds of the playoffs, then.

Seriously, I think the NESCAC race will once again be tight. Trinity has some young talent, which will only get better, and solid goaltending. Colby will be improved as their fine young players mature. Hamilton should benefit from a young coach with Division I experience.

Bowdoin had an off year (for Bowdoin), finishing in sixth place and losing to Williams in OT in the NESCAC playoffs, but returns its top six scorers and nine of the top ten. In fact, The Polar Bears have only lost two regular players (Mike Collins and Matt Smith). They will have a good sophomore class and a strong group of freshmen. If they can resolve their goaltending problems, and seniors like Mike Corbelle, Colin MacCormick and Ryan Blossom play up to their potential, they should contend.

Obviously, Middlebury is the team to beat, but I'm not convinced that Amherst is in the same class, and definitely not Williams.

For someone who is leery of making too many predictions, I turned out be sort of on the right track...

 

[canadianhockeyguy]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

I think it's worth nothing that, in addition to Bowdoin and Midd's success this year making the tournament, it was perhaps the one of the impressive seasons in recent memory for the NESCAC on a national level. While Williams and Amherst didn't finish strong, they both were ranked in the top 10 for most of the season. With 15-6-3 and 16-4-4 records respectively, they were, along with M-ville, probably the next teams in line for a tournament bid. Babson, who finished 2nd in the east would have finished tied for 7th in the NESCAC. An all around great year for the NESCAC.

 

[Euler18]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

I think it's worth noting that, in addition to Bowdoin and Midd's success this year making the tournament, it was perhaps the one of the impressive seasons in recent memory for the NESCAC on a national level. While Williams and Amherst didn't finish strong, they both were ranked in the top 10 for most of the season. With 15-6-3 and 16-4-4 records respectively, they were, along with M-ville, probably the next teams in line for a tournament bid. Babson, who finished 2nd in the east would have finished tied for 7th in the NESCAC. An all around great year for the NESCAC.

Excellent points. I agree entirely. NESCAC is a really strong league right now. As I said in another post before the playoffs started, I saw five strong teams (Bowdoin, Middlebury, Williams, Amherst and Trinity) competing for four home ice quarterfinal spots, with Hamilton not too far behind, and Colby capable of beating the best, as the White Mules' performance in the quarterfinals (losing to Bowdoin in overtime) indicated. In fact, Colby was nationally ranked for a while though the White Mules may have peaked a bit too early.

Re. Bowdoin, I thought the Polar Bears were going to be good, but they surpassed my expectations. It took an outstanding Middlebury team, playing at the peak of its ability, to defeat Bowdoin. Oswego is at least as good as Middlebury, so the Polar Bears will need a strong game from everyone, including a superior effort by goaltender Chris Rossi, to advance. They'll also need to be more disciplined, and avoid bad penalties at all costs even if they have a knack for scoring shorthanded goals.

 

[Euler18]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

BOWDOIN'S KYLE SHEARER-HARDY NAMED TO THE ALL AMERICA FIRST TEAM

Bowdoin's outstanding defenseman Kyle Shearer-Hardy has been named to the All-America First Team. He is Bowdoin's thirty-second All-America selection since the 1969-70 season.

Here's a complete list of Bowdoin's All-Americas:

1970: John Bradley (G); Bob Hall (D); Ed Good (F)
1971: Bob Kullen (D)
1973: Dick Donovan (F)
1975: John Vigneron (D)
1978: Bob Devaney (F); Gerry Ciarcia (D)
1979: Gery Ciarcia (D)
1980: Mark Pletts (D)
1981: Bill Provencher (G)
1982: Jean Roy (D)
1983: Jean Roy (D)
1984: Jean Roy (D)
1985: Jon Leonard (D)
1986: Jon Leonard (D)
1987: Jon Leonard (D); John McGeough (F)
1989: Brendan Hickey (F); Kevin Potter (D)
1990: Brad Chin (F)
1993: Charlie Gaffney (F)
1994: Charlie Gaffney (F); Paul Croteau (D)
1995: Charlie Gaffney (F); Paul Croteau (D)
1996: Stuart Logan (G)
2002: Mike Carosi (F)
2006: Jon Landry (D); George Papachristopholous (G)
2008: Mike Westerman (D)
2010: Kyle Shearer-Hardy (D)

Defensemen: 18
Forwards: 10
Goaltenders: 4

 

[d3follower]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

Interesting that Bowdoin's all-Americans list is so top heavy with D-men.

Other NESCAC all-Americans this year are:

Alex Smigleski - F - Williams - first team
Scott Barchard - G - Tufts - second team
Martin Drolet - F - Middlebury - second team

 

[Euler18]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

Interesting that Bowdoin's all-Americans list is so top heavy with D-men.

Other NESCAC all-Americans this year are:

Alex Smigleski - F - Williams - first team
Scott Barchard - G - Tufts - second team
Martin Drolet - F - Middlebury - second team

I'm so happy for Martin and the rest of the Drolet family. Let's hope that the Drolets will have even more to cheer about this weekend. (N.B. Martin's brother Francis is a freshman forward on the Brown University team playing in the ECAC Division I Final Four.)

 

[Euler18]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

2009-10 NEW ENGLAND HOCKEY WRITERS DIVISION II/III ALL-STARS

The list of All-Stars includes five NESCAC players, representing five different NESCAC colleges: Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Tufts and Williams.

GOALTENDERS
Ryan Klingensmith (Norwich)
Scott Barchard (Tufts)
Cole Anderson (Amherst)

DEFENSEMEN
Kyle Shearer-Hardy (Bowdoin)
Eric Tallent (Norwich)
Paul Conter (Southern Maine)
Casey Fazekas (Babson)
Shaun Jameson (Wentworth)
Greg Eskedjian (Norwich)

FORWARDS
Coleman Noonan (Saint Anselm)
Alex Smigelski (Williams)
Martin Drolet (Middlebury)
Blake Forkey (Norwich)
Chad Anderson (Norwich)
Skylur Jameson (Wentworth)
Jeff Olitch (Wentworth)
Alex Muse (New England College)
Chris Chambers (Plymouth State)

 

[doncheery]

Re: Nescac 2009/2010

Director"s Cup Div lll standings after Winter session

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/apr1DIIIDCup.pdf