Derek Dunning:Yes that right, count them 7 NCHA teams. The NCHA is by far the class conference of D-III hockey this year and although River Falls just is just above .500, they are arguably one of the hottest teams in the NCHA right now winning 7 of their last eight. The knock of River Falls for a long time has been their inability to win in the 2nd half of the season and down the stretch come playoff time, wouldn't it be something after their horrendous start if they went on to win the NCHA this year.
I dropped Middlebury again this week because of their slip up against Castleton. Another loss in the near future puts them in danger of dropping out of my top 10. Elmira and Adrian both moved up one after Stout had an ugly 4-1 loss to Concordia.
It's time to start giving Manhattanville their due as they have rebounded nicely from a 1-2 start to their season. They now sit at 8-2-2 with wins over Elmira, Hobart, and Nichols. They also tied Curry who beat Middlebury earlier this year.
Hamline and Stevens Point played to a 0-0 tie in a game that USCHO.com MCHA/NCHA writer Matthew Webb called one of the best D-III games he has seen in years. I figured it'd be poetic justice to stack the two right next to each other in the poll this week.
New England College enters my poll this week at #13. I thought about adding them last week but chose 14-1 Nichols instead. The Pilgrims get the nod though this week with a very quiet 9-2 record. They've beaten Castleton, Curry (2), Bowdoin, and Colby which have given some other top 15 teams problems.
Wisconsin Eau-Claire and River Falls round out my poll. Eau-Claire enters the poll this week at #14 after beating Hamline an Augsburg. They are a solid 12-5 in the toughest conference in the country and have a big date with Stevens Point this weekend followed up with St. Norbert the following Friday.
Ryan Maloney
This weekend illustrated the parity we are seeing in D3 hockey this season. I know one thing, WNYO's 2009 Selection Sunday Special will be very interesting. Pool C's picture is still fuzzy to me, distorted even further by the fact that a fourth school gets a bid this season. I'm getting ahead of myself, back to the here and now:
Plattsburgh is the only remaining unbeaten team in the NCAA...I mean ALL of the NCAA. Men's, women's, D1, D3, they're the last one standing. The five USCHO pollsters who did not vote them No. 1 this week should be tarred and feathered. The Cards look like a legitimate threat to run the table. They still have a challenging non-conference game with Middlebury on Jan. 27, but the Panthers have been in a bit of a slide since getting creamed by Team USA.
Superior continues to be just that in the West, but they'll have their hands full Saturday when they visit St. Scholastica. Neither team has lost in quite some time and are currently 1-2 in the powerful NCHA. That being said, I had a hard time ranking the Saints over St. Norbert since the Knights handed them a home shutout loss on Nov. 21. However, that was six weeks ago and I believe SNC is faltering after losing to St. Thomas. Not that the Tommies aren't good, they're a game over 500 halfway through a difficult schedule, but they're not the caliber of opponent SNC should fall to.
Adrian moves into the top five this week. Yes, they play a junk schedule. But they take their inferior opponents to the woodshed, which is about all you can ask of them until more top teams schedule them.
Middlebury falls three spots after a loss to Castleton. I'm keeping a very close eye on the Panthers right now. And by close eye I mean I have yet to see them play and probably won't this season. But, that's two losses to unranked foes in as many weeks. Their offense disappeared in both of those contests, recording just one goal against both Curry and Castleton.
Manhattanville leaps from No. 10 to No. 7 because they are one of the hottest teams in the nation. They faced a formidable opponent in Nichols and shut them out on the road. It is very much within the realm of possibility that they go into a two-game homestand with Elmira (Jan. 30 & 31) at 12-2-2 and on a 10-game unbeaten streak.
Stout falls two spots after an embarassing loss at the hands of Corcordia MN. CONCORDIA MN! The Devils won five straight including victories over three teams in Derek's top 15 and then have it snapped by a one-win team? As Oswego's announcer, the game against Morrisville naturally comes to mind...but this is way worse.
Norwich's loss has to put them behind Elmira again. They now have the same number of losses and the Eagles have beaten the Cadets twice. The purple and gold didn't show up until their third period at Potsdam, but a win is a win and five late goals against an at-times stingy Bears defense is impressive. Hobart hasn't played since their 6-3 drubbing of Oswego, so they stay put at No. 11.
Geneseo lost to an unranked Utica team 3-2, but winning at The Auditiorium is no small task. Plus, Utica is among the best of the rest outside of the top 15. If I only dropped Stout two spots for losing to Concordia MN....CON-freaking-CORDIA MN...than I can't be too harsh on the Ice Knights for this L. Oswego State is now hot on their tale at No. 13. The Lakers sat their best offensive weapon in Ryan Ellis and let an improved defense carry them to a 2-1 win over Hamilton Tuesday night. I've heard many people say that new backstop Tim Potter looks shaky, but his 3-0-0 record looks fine to me. Circle Valentine's Day on your calendar. If you've read this far into the post, it's likely a day you'll spend alone with your palm. But it's also the day the Lakers visit Geneseo. Just take care of your business before you tune into my broadcast.
Hamline remains despite the fact that they went winless and scored just twice this past weekend. Reason being, they've still only lost three games. I dabbled with the thought of putting Eau Claire ahead of them, but I'm still skeptical of the Blugolds after their 5-1 loss to St. Olaf on Jan. 2. As for Nichols, they were ranked #14 last week and I'm not dropping them out after a win and a tight loss to a top 10 team.
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