The new year is just 1½ weeks old and already we’ve seen results that have shaken up the order of merit in Division 3, both regionally and nationally.
There are no longer any unbeaten teams in Division 3. Norwich saw to that personally when it took down No. 1-ranked Hobart on Saturday, 2-1, dropping the Statesmen to 14-1.
The race is on everywhere but it's really on in the NESCAC, with up to six teams legitimately positioning themselves for a title run and no clear favorite.
What’s the regional top 10 look like? For starters, there’s a new team at the top.
1. NORWICH
Conference: NEHC | Record: 11-3-1 (7-1-1 NEHC)
Previous ranking: No. 2
Next game: Friday vs. UMass Boston (7 p.m.)
This was the weekend that could serve as a blueprint for the Cadets going forward, a pair of defensively-sound 2-1 wins against league rivals Elmira and Hobart. In Saturday’s win over previously unbeaten Hobart, Norwich got 36 saves from goalie Drennen Atherton and 14 blocked shots from its defense. “Drennen was unbelievable,” coach Cam Ellsworth said. "We got some timely saves and massive blocks, and the guys really hunkered down at the end."
2. BABSON
Conference: NEHC | Record: 10-4-2 (5-2-2 NEHC)
Previous ranking: No. 1
Next game: Friday vs. Elmira (7 p.m.)
The Beavers kept it simple over the holidays with just three non-conference games, and they won them all. The toughest outing was Saturday’s 3-2 battle at Southern Maine, which required a third-period power-play goal from Andrew Holland (Winchester, Mass.) to win it. The win also earned head coach Jamie Rice (Newton, Mass.) his 300th career victory. The competition ramps up several notches when Elmira and Hobart come to town this weekend.
3. ENDICOTT
Conference: Commonwealth Coast | Record: 11-1 (9-0 CCC)
Previous ranking: No. 4
Next game: Friday at the University of New England (7 p.m.)
Now it really begins for the Gulls, who moved their win streak to 10 by edging Conn. College, 2-1, on Saturday, thanks in part to goalie Ryan Wilson (Shelton, Conn.), who made 24 saves and came within 110 seconds of completing a shutout. Endicott’s next three weekends see them play home-and-homes with the other three top teams in the conference: UNE, Salve Regina and Curry.
4. CURRY
Conference: Commonwealth Coast | Record: 11-2 (7-2 CCC)
Previous ranking: No. 10
Next game: Friday at Nichols (5:40 p.m.)
Coach Peter Roundy has got something going at Curry, which has won six games in a row since the calendar flipped to December. The Colonels followed up their impressive wins against heavyweights Trinity and Norwich at the Northfield Savings Bank Holiday Tournament with gutty one-goal wins against Anna Maria (5-4 in overtime) and Salve Regina (1-0) over the weekend. Against Salve, goalie Reid Cooper made 34 saves to make a third-period goal by defenseman Nick Favaro stand up.
5. TRINITY
Conference: NESCAC | Record: 7-5 (4-2 NESCAC)
Previous ranking: No. 3
Next game: Friday vs. Colby (7:30 p.m.)
After a subpar December, the Bantams can be cautiously optimistic after beating league rivals Williams (3-0) and Middlebury (2-1) on the road over the weekend, much-needed wind for their contending sails. The good news is that of their four December losses, two were of the non-conference variety so first place is still an attainable goal. There’s time to get things right, especially if the defense performs like it did over the weekend, and not like it did last month.
6. PLYMOUTH STATE
Conference: MASCAC | Record: 11-3-1 (8-0 MASCAC)
Previous ranking: No. 7
Next game: Thursday at UMass Dartmouth (5 p.m.)
The Panthers aren’t just dominating their league, they’re burying teams with their offense. In six games since the start of December – all wins – they’ve produced 36 goals. Myles Abbate (Norwell, Mass.) ranks among the national leaders with 13 assists and Carson Lanceleve (10-12-22) is setting a torrid scoring pace. It’s all MASCAC games the rest of the way for Plymouth, which is where the conference championship looks to be going through once again.
7. UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND
Conference: Commonwealth Coast | Record: 8-3-1 (7-2 CCC)
Previous ranking: No. 6
Next game: Tuesday at Colby (7 p.m.)
Jayden Price (three goals, assist) and Ryan Kuzmich of Norton, Mass. (two goals, two assists) were the standouts for UNE at the Middlebury College Holiday Classic over the weekend, which ended with a shootout loss to Manhattanville in the championship game. Ironically the score at the end of regulation in that one was just 1-1, not a common scoreline for a UNE team that leads all of Division 3 in goal-scoring at 4.75 per game.
8. AMHERST
Conference: NESCAC | Record: 7-3-2 (6-1 NESCAC)
Previous ranking: NR
Next game: Friday at Tufts (7 p.m.)
The Mammoths lost for the first time in seven conference games on Friday, when host Bowdoin scored twice in the third period to overtake them, 3-2. But Amherst did some good things in that loss, finishing with a 30-20 edge in shots, and saved the weekend by going up to Waterville the next afternoon and blanking Colby, 3-0, behind two goals from Matt Toporowski.
9. WESLEYAN
Conference: NESCAC | Record: 6-2-1 (4-1-1 NESCAC)
Previous ranking: No. 10
Next game: Tuesday at Anna Maria (5:40 p.m.)
It’s been a quiet four weeks for Wesleyan, with just a 6-2 win over Middlebury and a 3-3 tie against Williams over the weekend marking its ledger in that span. Senior Wiggle Kerbrat scored in both games to increase his team-best total to eight. Even without much of a power play (14.7 percent) the Cardinals are producing better than four goals a game and allowing just two a game, a winning recipe that has them challenging for the top spot in their league.
10. COLBY
Conference: NESCAC | Record: 7-4 (5-2 NESCAC)
Previous ranking: No. 5
Next game: Tuesday vs. University of New England (7 p.m.)
The Mules have lost four of their last five, partly because the level of competition has increased but also because they’re not scoring. Losses to Tufts. Hobart, Elmira and Amherst saw them produce 1, 1, 1 and 0 goals. No matter how good a goalie they have in Andy Beran and how effective their penalty kill has been (an astounding 45-of-46), continued production like that will see them drop off the pace in the NESCAC.
@MikeZhe603
mzhe@hockeyjournal.com
