Pass the Pepto
Maybe it was too much Turkey. Too much pumpkin pie. What else can account for the number of upsets in Division III last week?
Maybe…parity?
“That’s definitely part of it,” said St. Norbert coach Tim Coghlin. His Green Knights experienced a rare one-point weekend, losing 2-1 at Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday and then blowing a 2-0 third period lead and settling for a tie with Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday.
“We’ve always said that any team in this league is capable of beating anyone else. That the bottom four teams can beat any of the top four teams. It just hasn’t happened to us until now.”
Coghlin says that while the competition was strong, his squad didn’t play as well as they could have.
“We were 0-6 on the power play (against Wisconsin-Stevens Point); that certainly didn’t help. And in the Eau Claire game, when you’re up by two goals with ten minutes to play, the game should be in the bank.”
Still, Coghlin says his squad isn’t down after one of its worst weekends in years.
“We’re not discouraged,” he said. “We’re 1-2-1 (in league play), but we’re three defensive plays from being 4-0; three saves from being 4-0; three power play goals from being 4-0.”
The Green Knights have been banged up as well, with key players Andrew Derton and Spencer Carbery missing significant action over the past weekend. Their status is unsure going into weekend matchups with Wisconsin-River Falls and Wisconsin-Stout.
“They’re going to be good games,” said Coghlin. “Stout always plays us tough, and River is one of those teams that just play good hard hockey. They have a great defense and a good power play that will may you pay for mistakes.
“But we’re glad to finally be home.”
Surprises Everywhere
Recapping last weekend, and other surprises so far:
-MSOE beating Babson 3-2 in overtime in the first round of the Babson Invitational. The Raiders are the class of the MCHA, but showed last weekend they can play with teams from the more established conferences.
-Babson losing again the next day to Williams 6-2. The Beavers were thought by many to be a top five team this season, but are off to a 1-3 start.
-Norwich starting the season 1-2-1. The Cadets are under .500 for the first time in five years. They’re ranked fifteenth in the most recent poll, and are in danger of dropping out for the first time since 1998.
-Wesleyan beating Trinity 6-3. The Cardinals relied heavily on goaltender Mike Palladino (41 saves), and beat the Bantams at their own game (special teams and goaltending).
-Concordia defeating Wisconsin-Superior 4-3 in overtime in the opening round of the Division III College Hockey Showcase. In all, the top 15 was 15-8-1 last week; not very impressive. The Number Three through Seven teams were a combined 2-5-1. Ouch.
-St. Scholastica starting the season 5-3. The Saints have already won as many games as they did all of last season, and got a vote in the Division III poll this week. CSS’s large freshman class is doing very well, and great team defense has held the opposition to under 20 shots a game three times so far this season.
-Plymouth State’s wins over St. Anselm and UMass-Dartmouth. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Panthers have been on the wrong end of an upset as well (see below).
-Brockport getting its first win in 13 games. The Golden Eagles defeated Southern New Hampshire 7-5 to earn their first victory of the season and first since 1/29/05. Brockport tied Plymouth State the next day in the championship of the PAL Cup tournament, but lost the title in a shootout.
-Nichol’s quick start. The Bison got off to a 3-0 start but have cooled off a bit, going 0-2-2 in their last four games. Nichols had a three goal lead against Colby last weekend but couldn’t hold on, losing 5-4. The Bison are one win away from matching their total from last season.
-Franklin Pierce getting its first Northeast-10 win ever, and in spectacular fashion. In a 5-4 win over Assumption on November 16, the Ravens scored three goals in the final minute to force overtime, and then got the game winner with 5.4 seconds to play in the extra period. “We’ll be talking about this one for a long, long time,” said Franklin Pierce coach Jay McCormack. “I told my guys that they could play hockey for many more years and never have another game like that one.”
-Castleton State getting its first varsity win in school history, a 2-1 win over Plymouth State. The Spartans also picked up a conference point with a 3-3 tie with St. Anselm. Castleton was 0-44 in its first two seasons. This year the Spartans are off to a 1-1-1 start, outscored only 8-6. In their first three games last season, the Spartans were outscored 29-4.
-Neumann’s 5-3 start. The Knights are doormats no longer. Winning just four varsity games from 1998-2004 and matching that total last season (4-17-2), Neumann has already exceeded that total, including a 3-1 win over Utica and a pair of blowout WINS over Buffalo State.
Gag Order
Officiating is a tough job. When it’s done well, nobody says anything. When it’s done poorly, that’s another matter. As a radio commentator and writer, I am free to criticize the job done by an officiating crew, but I usually don’t. I may question a call or non-call, but it takes an exceptionally poor job to warrant calling a ref out. I feel the same way about a player’s or coaches’ performance.
But officiating is a big part of the game, and to prohibit coaches from talking about it is wrong. Sure coaches can go overboard, like Lake Superior State coach Jim Roque making a “highlight” tape of blown calls and then, in an interview with USCHO’s Paula Weston, alluding to the officials being biased against his team because of it. He was justifiably fined. But a blanket gag order on coaches is wrong. The way a game is called can have a major impact on the outcome. Officiating is often the 500 pound gorilla in the room that no one’s allowed to mention. The reason given is that the officials are not allowed to comment, so the coaches shouldn’t be either. Of course, while I understand the reasoning behind that, it would be great if the refs WERE allowed to comment on a game - I’ve found the off-the-record comments of the officials that I have talked with to be very informative and insightful.
Never going to happen.
Not That This Has Anything to Do With Anything…
I’m going to take a page from my buddy Dave Hendrickson’s book and talk a little about Boston sports. I’m in Rochester, NY, but I have a kid that’s obsessed with the Red Sox and I admit to being a lifelong Bruins fan. That was until yesterday.
The Bruins traded Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks yesterday. The Sharks, for Pete’s sake. For three average players. I’ve been able to stick with this team though crappy, skinflinted ownership and clueless management. I even stayed a fan when they traded Ray Bourque to Colorado for a puck bag. But Ray wanted to go. Thornton, in his own words, was “Blindsided”.
I’ve been a B’s fan since I got a rod-hockey game with the Bruins and Rangers on it in 1970. But, this was the last straw. I’m done. I’m looking to adopt a new team…any suggestions?
USCHO.com RSS Feeds