With the end of January in sight, the results are becoming more and more important in Division 3.
In each of the region’s four leagues, there’s been enough of a season to identify the teams to beat, the dark horses and the bottom-tier fodder.
With the opening rounds of the first conference tournaments barely a month away, certain head-to-head matchups possess a little more luster than others.
Here are some remaining games to be circled.
THIS WEEKEND: Norwich at Hobart
They’re the top two teams in the NEHC, but separated by a river that’s only widened since Hobart joined the league a few years ago.
Hobart is the two-time defending NCAA champion, the consensus No. 1 team in the nation and cruising along with a 15-0 overall record. It’s on home ice and has been beating teams by baseball scores.
Norwich (8-4-3, 7-1-2 NEHC) has propped up its fine conference record with a four-game win streak and has pushed into second place, but this weekend begins the iron of its schedule. Of its final 10 games, all but two are against teams that are currently .500 or better.
Junior forward Johnny Johnson scored a goal in each game during last weekend’s sweep of Castleton State, but the task for the Cadets gets much harder with games at Hobart on Friday and Saturday.
SATURDAY, FEB. 1: Hamilton at Trinity
The middle of the NESCAC is a mud puddle, with the third-place team (Colby) and the seventh-place team (Williams) separated by just three points – a gap that can be erased with a good weekend.
But two teams have stayed clean above the mud: Hamilton (12-3-0, 8-1-0) and Trinity (10-3-1, 6-1-1).
Hamilton (4.07 goals per game) is scoring at a higher clip than anyone in the NESCAC and ranks ninth nationally. Its win streak stands at six.
Trinity has put forth a credible title defense after winning the league and reaching the NCAA championship game a year ago. Behind some new defensemen, goalie Devon Bobak has again been stellar, with a 2.01 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
Whoever finishes first in the regular season can enjoy home-ice advantage for as long as they last in the NESCAC tournament.
FRIDAY, FEB. 14: Endicott at Curry
This has rapidly become one of the best rivalries in Division 3, and after splitting a series early in the season – each winning on the other’s home ice – the teams will meet again with, potentially, first place in the Conference of New England on the line.
Both teams are scoring at a high clip and rank among the Top 10 in Division 3. Curry (13-3-0, 7-2-0), additionally, owns the second-best defense in the nation. Goalie Shane Soderwall (1.45 GAA, .954 save percentage) is producing another superb season and he’s got a good unit in front of him.
For Endicott (11-5-0, 8-1-0), only two players in D-3 have more assists than senior forward Ryan Willett (4-17-21).
SATURDAY, FEB: 15: Curry at University of New England
Third-place UNE (10-5-1, 6-3-0) can still make it a three-team race in the CNE.
The Nor’easters have won three straight games and play their next seven against teams in the bottom half of the league standings. By the time they welcome Curry to the Alfond Forum in Biddeford, Maine – where they’ve lost just once all season – their position may be even stronger.
Senior Ryan Kuzmich (Norton, Mass.), and sophomores Dominic Murphy (Worcester, Mass.) and Drew Olivieri (Swampscott, Mass.) have each topped the 20-point mark already for a team averaging 4.0 goals a game.
@MikeZhe603
mzhe@hockeyjournal.com
