D III ECAC Bottom Dwellers

[futurestar]

Which of the following ECAC teams are most poised to move from last year's bottom 4 into this year's top 4? Will there be any surprises, or are these teams permanent bottom feeders?

East---------------------------West
Southern Maine----------------Buffalo State
Castleton----------------------Cortland
MIT---------------------------Oswego
Plymouth State----------------Chatham

[Livinhocky]

In the West, Oswego came out and surprised some teams in their inaugural season, then had somewhat of a "sophomore slump" last season when they weren't able to sneak up on anyone.

I think they have the the pieces that are needed (i.e. good coach, new facilities, "hockey" culture w/strong men's program, administrative support, etc.) to continue to improve to the point that they will eventually be a force in the ECAC West.

My darkhorse would be Cortland, but I admit I am basing this solely on coach Utter, who knows how to build a winning program. I don't expect it to happen overnight, but as he starts to bring in his type of players, who knows???

[wihobserver]

what's your definition of a bottom feeder...how many teams in those leagues make the playoffs...out here in the ncha 6 out of 7 teams make the playoffs (i think there should only be 4 or 5 playoff teams in such a small league) but only 5 out of 10 teams in the miac make the playoffs (they should probably have at least 6 teams eligible for playoffs in such a big league)...finlandia made the ncha playoffs but had an awful record so i'd say they are bottom feeders but st. kate's finished in 6th place in the miac with a stronger record but didn't make the playoffs...are they bottom feeders? i wouldn't say so but that's just my opinion...see what i mean

[Hux]

I think Southern Maine is due for some improvement. They have good coaching and seem to be attracting better talent of late.

[goaliedad35]

Hux,
I have got to agree with you regarding USM. Saw Coach Lauziere scouting all over the place last season, they are returning a solid core after a very respectable showing in the quarterfinals last year. The campus is nice and the facility is superb. Not to mention they have a great brewery/restaurant right in town!

[Hux]

Hux,
I have got to agree with you regarding USM. Saw Coach Lauziere scouting all over the place last season, they are returning a solid core after a very respectable showing in the quarterfinals last year. The campus is nice and the facility is superb. Not to mention they have a great brewery/restaurant right in town!

A brew pub eh? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm......I'm thinking mid-winter road trip. Take in some USM, sample the local quisine, and then maybe throw in a Maineiacs game for good measure. (And crash at my buddies place in Auburn to boot ;) )

[Da Big Bad Cow]

assuming he's talking about sebago brewery, there are 3 location in the area....one by the mall in south portland, one in downtown portland and then the one in gorham. i find the ambiance is a lot better at the other two locations, but the food and beverage are good at all 3.

[Ironman33]

Chatham will make some more strides to be competitive. Oz and Cortland should challenge Neumann in the middle. this should be an excellent and exciting league this year. I wonder when Brockport will add womens hockey and this league will become a SUNYAC.

In the East...I don't see any changes happening there. USM should be decent but Lauziere out recruiting does not equal more wins or better players, he hasn't done much to improve them the previous two years and there is no real evidence USM is on the move. I would say that Norwich is on the up and up and everyone else will remain close to where they are. The key to this league is simple...the haves and the havenots...state run vs private institutions that provide ANY support the their team in this league is the key. this is what keeps UMB from getting over the hump in this league...prediction...same old same old, with Norwich the big mover, perhaps into contention for the league title this year.

Just my $.02...DBBC how about your ideas on this question? Your analysis of brew pubs was good but what about the leagues? Also I spoke with some folks in Portland about you...all very good stuff, good luck with that, let me know how it turns out.

[Da Big Bad Cow]

Just my $.02...DBBC how about your ideas on this question?

I tend to agree with you on the East....of the teams listed, I think USM has by far the best chance to improve....it does seem that they have a more talented class (on paper) than in recent years past, but is it enough to compete with the top teams in the league? i dont think so, at least not right away. I think the biggest thing with USM is finding some consistency. They'll skate with a strong team..then lose to a team that they should beat. They've been very up and down. Plymouth should also be better than they have been, but I still expect them to get walked on by most teams. MIT is MIT...they'll hang in games with the lower tier teams as long as they have Steph Brenman who is for my money one of the top couple defensemen in the league. And Castleton...they have nobody listed on the BTD site, so who knows what kids if any they have coming in. I've heard rumors that they do not have a single recruited goaltender for the upcoming season...and for a team that has relied so heavily on Vanessa Carter, who is no longer there, that is a scary thought.

For the west I'm not sure you'll see any teams from the middle or lower tier creep into the top tier. I do suspect the gap between the lower and middle tier may be a bit less, and the 'blowouts' by the top tier teams may be a little less one-sided. If you're going to go solely by the BTD site, I'd say Chatham has done the most to help themselves talent-wise (and numbers wise)...but theres no way to really say what Cortland or Oswego have coming in...i'm going to assume it is more than what is listed on BTD.

I also expect Potsdam to have a pretty decent team in their first year. I think they have a pretty good aid package to offer the kids from up north, and I've heard of a handful of PWHL kids not listed on BTD heading there. I'm not going to put them up with the Elmira's and Plattsburgh's just yet, but I suspect they'll be pretty competitive.

[EQMGR]

What is the feeling on what Nichols will be bringing to the table this year? As a 1st year team do you think that they will be competitive or will they struggle? Many 1st year teams that were club teams have a hard time that 1st year.

[EQMGR]

Chatham will make some more strides to be competitive. Oz and Cortland should challenge Neumann in the middle. this should be an excellent and exciting league this year. I wonder when Brockport will add womens hockey and this league will become a SUNYAC.

In the East...I don't see any changes happening there. USM should be decent but Lauziere out recruiting does not equal more wins or better players, he hasn't done much to improve them the previous two years and there is no real evidence USM is on the move. I would say that Norwich is on the up and up and everyone else will remain close to where they are. The key to this league is simple...the haves and the havenots...state run vs private institutions that provide ANY support the their team in this league is the key. this is what keeps UMB from getting over the hump in this league...prediction...same old same old, with Norwich the big mover, perhaps into contention for the league title this year.

Just my $.02...DBBC how about your ideas on this question? Your analysis of brew pubs was good but what about the leagues? Also I spoke with some folks in Portland about you...all very good stuff, good luck with that, let me know how it turns out.


Not sure about Norwich contending for the East title in their 2nd year? Mannhattanville is a team that was runner up to Platty for the National Championship, they are still there. Salve will be tough as will UMB. Those are all established teams that have been around longer then Norwich.

[futurestar]

What is the feeling on what Nichols will be bringing to the table this year? As a 1st year team do you think that they will be competitive or will they struggle? Many 1st year teams that were club teams have a hard time that 1st year.

Nichols will either be a real surprise or they won't. (How's that for a definitive statement?)

Based on their performance last year playing a couple of DIII teams, they didn't do too well. The coach is really enthusiastic and really pushes to find new recruits. He attends every showcase event. The school has an excellent reputation if you are interested in Business. BTD lists a healthy number of recruits, but it may be difficult to pull them together as a team.

They may win some.

[kylehockey]

Nichols will either be a real surprise or they won't. (How's that for a definitive statement?)

Based on their performance last year playing a couple of DIII teams, they didn't do too well. The coach is really enthusiastic and really pushes to find new recruits. He attends every showcase event. The school has an excellent reputation if you are interested in Business. BTD lists a healthy number of recruits, but it may be difficult to pull them together as a team.

They may win some.

It starts with the coach being a good person and he is. He believes in the school and hopefully kids will believe in him. I think he is working hard and trying to build a program the right way by getting quality kids who are also good hockey players. I wish him the best of luck.

[gojackets]

I think any team can make a surprising jump in the standings any given year. As wihob said, St Kates (and really St Bens) surprised teams last year and were able to make a jump in the standings after years of just plain suckiness. It takes the right coach with a good program to come in and jump start the team to success.

[D2D]

I think any team can make a surprising jump in the standings any given year. As wihob said, St Kates (and really St Bens) surprised teams last year and were able to make a jump in the standings after years of just plain suckiness. It takes the right coach with a good program to come in and jump start the team to success.

I can tell you that the St. Ben's coach has been very active during the off-season, talking to many different girls in Minnesota trying to interest them in the program.