Educate Schooling Utica's Opponents

Recently profiled sophomore forward Louis Educate of Utica College for USCHO.com. He leads the 10th-ranked Pioneers with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points so far following his off-season transfer from Nichols College, and is also one of the top scorers in NCAA Division III.

Story can be found here, in the ECAC West section.

Utica (6-2-0 overall, 3-2-0 ECAC West) will host Buffalo State on Saturday night at the 4,000-seat Utica Memorial Auditorium. The Pioneers defeated No. 8 Amherst, 4-3, in their most recent game on Nov. 24.

Michigan's Struggles Continue in Loss to Cornell at MSG

Michigan shouldn’t be a ranked team right now. And after Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Cornell at The Frozen Apple at Madison Square Garden, odds are pretty good that, despite their reputation, it won’t be any more come next week.

The No. 19 Wolverines have struggled this season, and struggled against the No. 13 Big Red, who ended Michigan’s 2011-12 campaign in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This time, Cornell (4-3-2) just looked stronger and faster at the World’s Most Famous Arena as they took it to the Wolverines (5-7-1) , who had snapped  a three-game losing streak Wednesday night with a win against Bowling Green.

Michigan had some chances on Saturday in Manhattan—but when they did, it was Cornell goaltender Andy Iles turning them away. The Ithaca native made 26 stops in his 45^th straight start as Cornell got two goals and an assist from senior forward Greg Miller in winning its first game at MSG in three tries.

The Big Red, which has eight NHL draftees among its ranks, ousted the Wolverines in OT in the NCAA Midwest Regional last spring. Saturday’s game wasn’t nearly that close.

Michigan is breaking in new goaltenders this fall, true—but goaltending isn’t the root of all the Maize and Blue’s problems. The Wolverines looked slow against Cornell, and Michigan is usually a pretty good skating team. They also seemed to have some trouble offensively, at least in finishing, for a team that has piled up goals in bunches in the past two decades, even though they outshot the Big Red.

The U-M defense has been vulnerable this year, having now surrendered four or more goals in a game no less than seven times, including a 7-2 loss at rival Michigan State on Nov. 10.

In short, this year’s squad doesn’t look like a typical Michigan Wolverines team. Not yet.

That doesn’t mean their streak of 22 consecutive NCAA Division I Tournament berths is in jeopardy—not in late November. Michigan has gotten off to slow starts before, and actually had to keep its NCAA streak alive in 2010 by winning all six games it played in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament that year to gain the conference’s automatic NCAA berth.

The Wolverines also got off to a 7-8-2 start last season after coming within an overtime goal of the 2011 national title—but then went on a nine-game unbeaten string en route to a second-place regular-season finish in the CCHA.

Michigan has time to right the ship this season , starting with a pair of games at 2012 national runner-up Ferris State  next weekend. The Wolverines have 11 NHL draft choices on their roster, and head coach Red Berenson, now in his 29^th season, has seen every kind of adversity at least twice in his long career.

Odds are the Wolverines will start winning again, and be a threat to claim the final CCHA title.

They just shouldn’t be ranked come Monday morning.

New Beginning at Nazareth

Recently spoke to head coach George Roll and one of his captains about the new NCAA Division III varsity men's hockey program at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.

Nazareth won two of its first three games under Roll, who previously coached at both Oswego State and Clarkson. The Golden Flyers, who are still seeking their first victory in ECAC West play but won't have another conference game until January, are at the Skidmore Invitational this weekend.

Story can be found here.

Rattray Leading Clarkson Scoring Parade

Saw my first women's college game in probably four years last week when No. 3 Clarkson topped host Princeton, 2-1, in overtime at Hobey Baker Rink on Nov. 17.

Tallying the winning goal for the Golden Knights was junior forward Jamie Lee Rattray, who had a hat trick the night before at Quinnipiac, and is one of the top scorers in the nation with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points through 14 games. She's had at least one point in all but one game so far this fall, and is on pace to set new personal highs in all three scoring categories this season. .

Clarkson is also currently atop the ECAC Division I women's standings with a 6-0-0 record in conference play. The Golden Knights are 12-2-0 overall, with the only blemishes so far coming at Mercyhurst and North Dakota, which both made the NCAA Tournament last spring. Clarkson itself is attempting to get back to the big dance for just the second time ever in its short history, and first since 2010

A profile I wrote on Rattray will appear in an upcoming issue of New York Hockey Journal.

Fleming Backstops MVille to Top of ECAC West

Manhattanville College has a new No. 1 netminder in sophomore Brian Fleming, and so far he's led them to a 2-1-1 record and first place in the ECAC West. More about Fleming and the Valiants here at USCHO.com.

Pair of Lakers Pacing Division III in Points

Just as I wrote a couple of weeks ago that a couple of St. Lawrence Saints were leading NCAA Division I men’s hockey in scoring, so a pair of Oswego State Lakers are doing the same in NCAA Division III.

Oswego senior forwards Luke Moodie (pictured) and Paul Rodrigues are atop the Division III scoring scroll with 12 points apiece through five games, with each having tallied five goals and seven assists to date.

Moodie, who hails from Oakville, Ont., hit the century mark for career scoring last week, tallying his 100th point in an Oswego uniform with a goal in a 5-1 win over Morrisville. In 87 career games he has 46 goals and 54 assists, including 14 power-play goals and eight game-winning goals.

Rodrigues, who is from Etobicoke, Ont., has 39 goals and 60 assists for 99 points, also in 87 games. Included in his totals are 13 power-play scores and six game-winners.

The Lakers are 5-0 so far this season, including 4-0 in SUNYAC play, and have games this weekend against Buffalo State and Fredonia. Oswego has also earned three straight NCAA Tournament berths, and won the 2007 Division III men's national championship.

2012-13 ECAC West Preview

Covering the ECAC West this year for USCHO.com - the 2012-13 season preview can be found here.

2012 ECAC West Tournament champion Hobart (shown above) is the favorite to make it two league titles in a row, while Elmira is seeking its sixth straight NCAA Division III Tournament berth.

My predicted order of finish: Hobart, Utica, Neumann, Elmira, Manhattanville, and NCAA newcomer Nazareth.

Pair of Saints Lead NCAA in Scoring

A senior and a junior are leading the nation in NCAA Division I men’s hockey scoring – and they’re not from Boston College, Michigan, or North Dakota.

Senior forward Kyle Flanagan and junior Greg Carey of St. Lawrence are 1-2 in the national scoring race, with Canton, N.Y. native Flanagan having tallied six goals and nine assists for 15 points in six games, and Burlington, Ont. resident Carey having posted 6-7—13 points. The duo has also led the Saints to a No. 13 national ranking (USCHO.com) and a 5-1-0 overall mark so far in 2012-13, including a split at Western Michigan and a two-step sweep at Maine.

For his career, team captain and hometown skater Flanagan has 37-78—115 points to date in 105 career contests, including 20 power-play goals and seven game-winning goals. Carey has already put up 44-46—90 points in 82 outings, including 19 PPG and seven game-winners.

SLU, which just took two games from Alabama-Huntsville at home, begins Eastern College Athletic Conference play this weekend at Brown and Yale. The Saints, who finished 14-19-3 (10-11-1 ECAC) overall a year ago and are seeking their first winning campaign since 2009-10, are also looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.