Nov. 3, 2005 — Another season, and more change for Division III hockey - virtually all of it for the good.
At the top of the list is the addition of a tenth team to the NCAA field. Besides the obvious advantage of having another at-large berth available, the tenth spot brings an even number of teams to the field while making it more likely that four Western teams get bids, allowing for two Western teams in the Division III Frozen Four.
Since the addition of the ninth team three seasons ago, the East-West split has been 6-3 each time, making it necessary from a cost standpoint to have the play-in game in the West, thus making the three Western teams play down to just one prior to the Frozen Four. The addition of a tenth team makes the chances of a 6-4 spit more likely, allowing for two play-in games in the East and two teams each from the East and West regions in the NCAA semifinals.
Of course, there could be a 7-3 split, making things all the more unbalanced.
The split was also important since it would determine the region that would host the Frozen Four. A 6-3 division meant that only one team would need to be flown - a Western team to the East. That’s changing as well. This season is the first of a three-year experiment using pre-determined sites. The 2006 championships will be held in Elmira, NY (at the First Arena, not the Murray Center, where the Soaring Eagles play), with the 2007 and 2008 championships to be held in Superior, WI and Lake Placid, NY respectively.
NCAA representatives visited Elmira last week and came away pleased.
Chris Schneider, NCAA Assistant Director of Championships, told the Elmira Star Gazette, “We have a great venue…And we’re really excited about the things that we think are going to happen in this community around the championship.”
Putting the championships at a neutral location and changing the time of the title game to Sunday afternoon has already reaped some benefits - CSTV plans to televise the game live to a national audience.
Worth the Wait
The season is in full swing for many Division III programs, and several others will kick off this weekend. Some squads, specifically those in the ECAC East and NESCAC, will have to wait a while longer. In order to shorten the season as much as possible, teams from these leagues don’t start play until November 18. By that time, many teams in other leagues will have already played seven or eight games, roughly a third of their schedule.
The merits and detriments of a shortened season have been and will continue to be debated, but lost in the argument is the amount of pre-season practice the NESCAC and ECAC schedules allow for. While, for example, the ECAC West begins official practices on October 15 and has schools playing games that very day, the NESCAC and ECAC East begin practices on November 1 and don’t play games for 17 days, incorporating as many as 16 practices prior to actual play.
“I like our system,” said Babson coach Jamie Rice. “It really gives us time to work on things and prepare for the season.”
Trinity coach John Dunham agrees. “You need at least a week of dedicated practices before getting started,” he said. “Two weeks might be a little too long - guys are itching to play by then. Some years we’ve set up an exhibition game to help with that.”
Dunham says that captain’s practices, used by teams before teams can officially take the ice, have limited benefits.
“You shouldn’t really be trying to accomplish much in captains practices,” he said. “Ours are no-contact practices and really just an opportunity for guys to get into shape. ”
The MIAC also requires at least a week between the time teams can begin practice and they can play games.
“I think it’s important from a team standpoint,” said St. John’s coach John Harrington. “Chemistry is so important, and the practice time (before games can begin) is a chance to bond as a team, and a time to sort some things out.”
Game of the Week
This season I’ll preview an intriguing matchup each week. The inaugural one is a no-brainer: St. Norbert at St. John’s. These two teams were No. 1 and No. 2 in the West most of last season, and both should be near the top again this year. St. Norbert is ranked second and St. John’s fifth in the USCHO Division III Preseason Poll.
Between the two squads, there are five of the twelve All-Americans named to the Western region last season: goalies Adam Hanna (St. John’s) and Kyle Jones (St. Norbert), defenseman Darryl Smoleroff (St. John’s) and forwards Jason Deitsch (St. Norbert) and Scott Bjorklund (St. John’s).
It’s a heck of the way for St. John’s to kick off its season. St. Norbert already has three games under its belt. St. John’s coach John Harrington says this wasn’t intentional on his part.
“It’s really the league that puts the schedule together,” he said. “We have an interlock with the NCHA so for this first weekend we drew St. Norbert and Lake Forest, two very good teams.”
If he had the choice, would he want to play the second ranked team in the nation right off the bat?
“It’s hard to say,” said Harrington. “Playing a strong opponent right away will show us the things we have to work on. But you’d also like to know more about your team going into a game like that.”
Harrington says that his talented group of seniors knows this is their last shot. Archrival St. Thomas has ended the Johnnies’ season the past two years, claiming the last two MIAC championships. Last year St. John’s made the NCAA tournament as an at-large team, but lost again to St. Thomas in the play-in game. Those two losses to the Tommies within four days put a sudden end to an otherwise outstanding season.
“We played well enough (last season) to win the first time, in the MIAC championship game, but we didn’t deserve to win the second time,” said Harrington. “We got outplayed.”
Making D-III Proud
RIT left the Division III ranks this season for an eventual spot in the Atlantic Hockey Association. The Tigers are playing as an independent this season, and have a tough schedule that includes Clarkson, Cornell, St. Lawrence, RPI, and Bowling Green.
Considering the Tigers were returning 17 players from a team that underachieved in Division III last season, it wasn’t surprising to see that a poll on USCHO’s message board has predicted just four Division I wins for RIT this season.
No one but the Tigers themselves probably expected them to start 3-3, but that’s what has happened. A 3-2 win over No. 18 St. Lawrence last Friday sent shockwaves throughout college hockey. Sophomore goaltender Jocelyn Guimond made 66 saves, tying the mark for the most in Division I history in regulation by a winning goaltender.
While the RIT freshman are making major contributions, the core of the team is composed of Division III players, sending the message that D-III is, as we all know, very good hockey.
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