{"id":26855,"date":"2004-11-19T22:56:58","date_gmt":"2004-11-20T04:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2004\/11\/19\/this-week-in-new-england-diii-nov-18-2004\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:56:03","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:56:03","slug":"this-week-in-new-england-diii-nov-18-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2004\/11\/19\/this-week-in-new-england-diii-nov-18-2004\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in New England D-III: Nov. 18, 2004"},"content":{"rendered":"
Saving the best for last? Maybe. Though the calendar and league rules are the reason why these two D-III conferences begin the season last among all others, it is hard to argue with the fact that eight of the past ten national champions have come out of these two leagues — Norwich in 2000 and 2003 and defending champion Middlebury in 1995-1999 and 2004. What’s more intriguing is that a discussion of one league has to include conversation about the other. Their interlocking schedule creates that necessity.<\/p>\n
Moving into this weekend, both conferences begin play where they get one shot at all other teams in both leagues that count towards their individual league standings. As Hamilton coach Phil Grady noted, “It’s not like you can hope to get a team again later in the year. We play everyone once so every game is important.” What makes the interlocking schedule even more interesting is the two games each week are played within 24 hours on a Friday night and Saturday afternoon. “There are no breaks or nights off with this schedule. The parity in these leagues is something else. The playoff seeding will probably come down to the final weekend just like it has the past couple of seasons,” added Grady.<\/p>\n
Yes, parity in college hockey. No, the NFL does not have a monopoly on parity and, yes, it does bring interest to every match-up on the schedule something the ECAC East and NESCAC are quite familiar with. “Every year we talk about the teams getting tighter and tighter,” said Bowdoin coach Terry Meagher. “This year looks to be no different as teams have gone out and brought in student athletes to improve their teams. It should be a lot of fun this year with such a close competitive balance among the teams.”<\/p>\n
Yes, it should be fun — particularly for the fans of great hockey in New England. Perhaps not so fun for some of us setting out to make some predictions and figure out who might finish where come playoff time in late February of next year. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, here is a breakdown of the two leagues, team by team and some thoughts on where things just might end up come next spring.<\/p>\n
With the addition of Castleton State, the league is back to a full complement of ten teams, two of which will vie for the D-II crown with four other schools playing in the ECAC Northeast. The remaining eight schools qualify for the playoffs, so no more first-round bye for the top seeded team finishing first in the regular season. <\/p>\n
Any discussion of top dog in the conference usually begins with Norwich and this year is no different. The Cadets return Player of the Year candidate Kurtis McLean along with defensive stalwart Brian Mullally and two solid goaltenders in Kevin Schieve and Mike Boudreau. Coach Mike McShane has a lot to replace due to graduation and injury but likes his core returnees as a solid base to build on. “We are going to have to see what develops with some of our new guys, stated McShane. Even Kurtis is going to have to get used to some new guys as Paul (Mattucci) graduated and Mario (Chinelli) is out with a back injury for the start of the season. With all of the other teams getting better, things are going to be tight.”<\/p>\n
All schools are reflected in the league standings, regardless of division, and so too are my prognostications for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n
Here are the team capsules and their predicted order of finish:<\/p>\n