For many Division 3 hockey fans, the start of the NESCAC season is not unlike the last present you open on Christmas morning.
It takes a while to get to it and it’s supposed to be pretty special.
Three weeks after the rest of D-3 hockey, the 10 teams in the NESCAC will play their first games next weekend, jumping right into conference play. It’s a top-level league defined by depth and tight games. But not, in the past few years, by success in March.
We examine that dilemma and some other burning questions as the league heads toward its openers.
Who is the team to beat this season?
Again, it’s Trinity.
The Bantams finished second in the regular season last year but took down first-place Colby, 4-1, in the NESCAC championship game. They lost a couple key players up front but return a superb defense led by junior John Campomenosi (3-12-15), whom coach Matt Greason calls “the toughest kid in the league.”
Seniors Andrew Troy and Jacob Borgida, junior Ned Blanchard (West Hartford, Conn.), and sophomores Eamon Doheny (Lunenburg, Mass.) and Teddy Griffin (Marshfield, Mass.) are also back on the blueline.
Add in proven goalie J.P. Mella of Stamford, Conn. (1.44 goals-against average, .944 save percentage) – who could get pushed by promising freshman Devon Bobak – and this should be a team tough to score on.
“I think it’s as good a defensive core as I’ve had here,” said Greason. “We’ve got a good balance of toughness and skill. We should be able to exit our zone pretty efficiently.”
Do we expect to hear from Colby again?
Absolutely.
Coach Blaise MacDonald engineered a superb turnaround last season, guiding the Mules from last place in 2019-20 to first place, thanks in part to a pair of breakout stars: defenseman Jack Sullivan and goalie Andy Beran.
Sullivan, a left-handed shot, led the team in goals (10), assists (14) and points (24) from the blueline. Beran gave his team a chance to win every night, posting a 1.62 GAA and .937 save percentage.
MacDonald’s early concern is that the team returned just 60 percent of its goal-scoring, which ranks them ninth of 10 league teams in that category.
“We’ve got to figure out how to replace those goals,” said MacDonald. “I think we have that capability. But who’s going to be that player to step up and have that coming out party?”
Who are the other contenders for the top four?
There’s certainly no shortage.
Bowdoin, with a new coach Ben Guite, and Middlebury both finished below .500 in conference play last year but return the bulk of their rosters and are positioned to climb in the standings.
Wesleyan returns its top three scorers in Colin Cobb (Ridgefield, Conn.), Emmet Powell and Wiggle Kerbrat. Williams has a superb goalie in Evan Ruschil (1.79, .938) and will try to generate more offense after producing more than three goals just three times last season.
Amherst has added another strong recruiting class. Hamilton always finds a way to be in the mix.
What are the stakes for the league overall?
Consider this: It’s been five seasons since a NESCAC team won a game after the conference tournament.
“We haven’t had the success that we should have, out of the league, as a whole,” said Greason.
Part of that can be blamed on the pandemic. There was no season in 2020-21. The 2019-20 season was halted before the NCAA tournament, with champion Wesleyan left hanging.
The 2017-18 season was the last time a league team won in the NCAA tournament when Colby won twice to reach the Frozen Four.
The year before that, Trinity reached the national championship game. Two years prior to that, the Bantams reached the NCAA final and won it.
@MikeZhe603
mzhe@hockeyjournal.com
