NESCAC men's ice hockey play resumes with a full weekend of out-of-conference play.

By Benet Pols

Back in November while the rest of us recuperated from Thanksgiving or threw ourselves headlong into a holiday shopping frenzy, college hockey players returned from just one day off to resume play on a weekend of invitational holiday tournament play. For NESCAC this meant out-of-conference play began in earnest. Likewise New Year’s weekend tournament play puts players back on campus long before their classmates.

No team in NESCAC worked harder on Black Friday than the Middlebury Panthers who, in the opening game of the Primelink Shootout, played what is arguably one of the two toughest out-of-conference opponents a NESCAC team will face this season: Norwich.

The Panthers advanced to the Primelink final after a shootout. The result went in the standings as a 1-1 tie, but gave Middlebury the right to face Plattsburgh, arguably the other of the two toughest opponents to be seen by NESCAC teams this season. The Panthers succumbed 3-1.

Between November 24^th and January 7^th there is only one full weekend of NESCAC play; during that time NESCAC men’s ice hockey teams play a total of 56 games, 47 of them are against out-of-conference (OOC) opponents.  Outside this six-week period NESCAC teams play just 12 games OOC.

January 2nd in Salem Colby beat Wentworth 5-3 and OOC play began again.

What does OOC play mean? For some teams it’s an opportunity to renew long-standing regional rivalries that predate conference play, for others it’s a nod back to the days when NESCAC and the ECAC-East played an interlocking schedule. Geography plays a role too, with some, like Amherst, taking the opportunity to test the waters against teams from the western reaches of D-III hockey while others, like Bowdoin, work on building regional rivalries with new opponents.

Underlying it all is the question of strength of schedule. Strength of schedule is one of the key factors in determining who gets into the NCAA playoffs in March. It is also a key factor in determining which teams host and which teams travel during the first two rounds of NCAA play. With just 11 teams qualifying for the NCAA tournament in D-III play, and eight of them earning automatic qualifiers as a result of conference tournament play, competition for the last three at-large spots is fierce. Often enough the selection committee will be choosing among several seemingly deserving teams and will have to rely on strength of schedule, and play against regionally ranked opponents, to decide who gets in and who gets shut out.

Put more simply for a team---in any conference---looking to be considered for post season play a win against an OOC opponent that has done well is worth more than a win against an OOC opponent that has been regularly shelled. The flip side of the coin: a team can build an OOC schedule against a group of very strong competitors and then lose every game. The OOC scheduling game is a balancing act. Among the factors considered are geography, tradition, coaching relationships, and strength of schedule.

As the 2013 season worked its way to a conclusion last spring it was obvious that strength of schedule would likely mean that only the NESCAC tournament champion would advance to the NCAAs. Strength of schedule would eliminate any runner-up no matter how good their regular season record.

Geography
Within NESCAC Colby, Bowdoin and Hamilton are the most geographically isolated.

But Hamilton’s isolation from the rest of NESCAC on the west leaves it sitting squarely at the geographic heart of two well-regarded conferences: the SUNYAC and the ECAC-West. This year Hamilton has managed to put together one of the more competitive OOC schedules. The Conts face traditional SUNYAC and national power Plattsburgh State, along with resurgent Geneseo State. In addition they’ll face-off against the ECAC-West’s Utica College, an NCAA semi-finalist last season. Depending on how the Buck holiday tournament unfolds this weekend the Conts will see either ECAC-W power Hobart, or familiar Williams. In either event, it’ll be a game against a quality opponent.

Geography is less kind to Bowdoin and Colby. At the eastern extreme of the NESCAC, no D-III college hockey is played further north or further east. The conferences closest to the two teams from Maine are the ECAC-E, the ECAC-NE and the MASCAC. While the ECAC-E is competitive and features national power Norwich, the other two conferences are lightly regarded. For the time being neither Colby nor Bowdoin has an OOC schedule that will draw raves.

Long-standing traditions

Located about 60 miles apart and an hour and half’s drive through the Middlebury gap, Middlebury and Norwich have been meeting since 1926 when Middlebury took the opener, 2-1, in a year that saw the Panthers win their first Vermont State Championship. Since then they’ve met another 145 times with the most recent being a barn burner that ended in a 1-1 tie with Middlebury advancing by virtue of a shootout victory.

The Panthers hold an 80-58-8 series advantage but, including November’s game, the Cadets have had their way recently going 5-0-2 in the last seven meetings. In March when games against regionally ranked opponents will be all the talk, the Primelink game will be seen as a tie, but for now it counts as a win for NESCAC.

Adding an interesting wrinkle to the Norwich Middlebury rivalry is the distinct culture of the two schools. While many of NESCAC’s traditional rivalries seem like sibling rivalries---after all, Bowdoin

What Norwich students think happens at Middlebury.

and Colby are cut from nearly the same cloth and legend has it that a disgruntled Williams employee founded Amherst---Norwich and Middlebury are much different.

What Middlebury students think happens at Norwich.

On the west side of the Middlebury gap you have Middlebury College, the epitome of the eastern elites, its founders descended from the founders of Yale University, but on the other side of the gap in Northfield, Norwich’s progenitors are the closely shorn drill sergeants of a military school.

Middlebury has won eight---yes 8---national championships. From 1995 to 1999 and again from 2004 to 2006 the Panthers took home all the hardware. The Panthers most recent NCAA appearance was in 2010; the Panthers, seeded second in NESCAC, took the tournament championship and the NCAA automatic qualifier at Bowdoin with a 3-2 win. Middlebury was eliminated in the first round by Plattsburgh (3-2, OT).

Norwich has three NCAA championships with wins in 2000, 2003 and most recently in 2010. Since winning it all in 2010, the Cadets have made Final Four appearances in each of the last three seasons before bowing out in the semi-final match each time.

Hockey has been played at Norwich for a long time. This
team predates the Cadets first game against Middlebury,
a 2-1 Panther win in 1926.

“Legendary” gets tossed around the D-III hockey reaches a lot when talking about coaches, but in the cases of these two coaches it is deserved. In addition to their 11 NCAA Championships both Norwich’s Mike McShane and Middlebury’s Bill Beaney are members of the “500 club.” McShane’s record comes in at 640-322-60 while Beaney’s is 584-240-55. In addition, McShane has DI head coaching experience with time at St. Lawrence and a long stretch at Providence in his background.

Coaching relationships, the Colby connection

Relationships between coaches also plays an important part developing out-of-conference rivalries. Compared to Bowdoin versus Colby. Bowdoin’s OOC conference rivalry with the University of New England is just a baby.

UNE, an hour south of Bowdoin on I-95, is in just its fifth season playing varsity hockey. Its Coach, Brad Holt, is the Biddeford Maine School’s first and only head coach. Playing in the ECAC-East, UNE has yet to host a home play-off game.

As a result of the old interlocked schedule between NESCAC and the ECAC-East, Bowdoin and UNE began play in 2009-10, UNE’s first varsity season. When the interlock ended after the 2011 season, Bowdoin and UNE stuck with the relationship adding a home-and-home series; the teams typically meet for midweek contests in November and then again in January.

UNE’s Coach Holt played for his father, the legendary Charlie Holt at UNH in the late 1970s. He recalls coming back to Durham after long weekend road trips against some other national DI powerhouse only to have to board the bus for Brunswick for a Tuesday night game against the Polar Bears: a game where a win meant little, but a loss was always an alarming possibility. Grumbling to his father about why UNH kept Bowdoin on the schedule after all these years the elder Holt would respond: the relationship is too important.

While Sid Watson was known around small college hockey
for wearing a fedora, his good friend Charlie Holt of UNH
fame also kept his head covered. Holt started his coaching
career at Colby in 1960. No word on whether
Holt's son Brad at UNE in the ECAC-E will
bring it back in style.

Coach Charlie Holt and Bowdoin’s Sid Watson cut their coaching teeth against one another in the 1960s when Holt coached at Colby. The relationship continued when Holt was hired by UNH in 1968. For decades the two coaches ran a six-week summer hockey program in Brunswick known as “The Clinic.” It regularly featured coaches from other hockey powers and the counselors always included top players from UNH’s roster.

Coach Holt’s assistant during Brad Holt’s years at UNH was Watson protégé Bob Kullen, Bowdoin ’71. Kullen had been Co-Capt of the Polar Bear’s first ECAC-Championship team, which defeated UVM in 1971 to claim what was then the ECAC D-II championship.

For Brad Holt his relationship with “Kully” was crucial to his success as a player at UNH. UNH made two NCAA DI final four appearance during Brad Holt’s playing years. At any level, a player-coach relationship between a parent and child is fraught with potential landmines but Kullen, who succeed the elder Holt as Head Coach at UNH in 1986, made it all work.

In 1983 when Terry Meagher took the reins at Bowdoin the games between D-I UNH and Bowdoin continued even though, by 1984, UNH had joined Hockey-East, the premiere eastern DI hockey conference, which played an interlocking western schedule with heavy travel.

Bowdoin owns an all-time record of 21-49-3 against the Wildcats, with the most recent match, in 1990, resulting in a 9-5 UNH win.

Building new traditions

UNE’s program is primed for growth and while the Nor’easters have yet to take a game from Bowdoin, Coach Holt sees progress and looks forward to a day when D-III hockey in Maine means more to those from away than just Bowdoin and Colby. With their ECAC-E travel partner, the University of Southern Maine Huskies located just 17 miles away in Gorham, just outside of Portland, Coach Holt sees the potential for the four programs to jointly host holiday tournaments, or a Maine State Championship. Both Bowdoin and Colby currently play USM in home-and-home series. Last season UNE traveled to Waterville and nearly took out the Mules who had to rally to tie the game with just 6 seconds remaining in regulation.

Not playing Colby this season was clearly a disappointment for UNE. Even so, Coach Holt looks to upgrade the schedule every year. This season the Nor’easters added three games against teams from the lower reaches of the mighty SUNYAC.

In an early season trip, UNE tied Canton (not yet playing a full SUNYAC schedule but working toward admission to the conference) and defeated Potsdam. For Potsdam, playing UNE in its home opener at the newly renovated Maxcy Ice Hall, the 6-3 loss to UNE must have come as a rude surprise. UNE takes on Morrisville State in Biddeford on January 4th.

But UNE is also turning heads within the ECAC-E. Just before the break UNE picked up 3-1 win over then 6^th ranked Babson in Biddeford.

A look around the sparkling new Harold Alfond Forum at UNE shows that in terms of student amenities UNE can match the best of NESCAC, or any other D-III program. When Coach Holt refers to the rink as a “student centered place” he’s not just talking about the 50+ skaters on the Nor’easter’s men’s and women’s ice hockey rosters. The Forum also hosts the exercise physiology department, along with other programs that support UNE’s many medical arts programs, the basketball arena, the fitness center, and a full service grill.

The Harold Alfond Forum at UNE is a student centered place.
The building houses academic offices and facilities
for the exercise physiology program as well as the
basketball court, hockey rink, fitness center and the athletic
administrative offices. There's a full service grill so spectators
can eat a real meal. Public skating is held on Friday
nights before home games.

While the Alfond Forum, opened in 2012, is an obvious indication of the newness of UNE’s hockey program—they played in the Biddeford municipal rink for their first few years—it’s not the only thing that sets them off from their NESCAC brethren.

Bowdoin, founded in 1794, and Colby, founded in 1813, are both older than the State of Maine itself. Bowdoin’s Watson Arena is its second on-campus ice arena, while Colby’s own Alfond Rink opened way back in 1955 (named for the same family, there are also Alfond ice hockey facilities at the University of Maine at Orono, at the Kent’s Hill School in Maine, and at Eaglebrook in MA).

UNE was founded in 1977 when the New England College of Osteopathic Medicine merged with St. Francis College of Biddeford to form UNE. The small St. Francis College, originally founded as a Franciscan high school and junior college, had been granting Bachelor’s degrees since only 1953. A 1996 merger with Westbrook College gave UNE a Portland presence along with expanded programs. Known for it’s medical arts programs, UNE has the state’s only medical school, it also runs a successful pharmacy program and the State’s only dental school. UNE serves more than 8,000 students including about 4,000 undergraduates.

NESCAC’s out-of-conference play to date

How have NESCAC teams done to this point?

At this point 28 of the 49 OOC games have been played. NESCAC stands at a very healthy 17-8-3 overall, but is 2-3 against ranked opponents Plattsburgh, Norwich, Babson, and Utica (each in the top 15 of the December 16th polls for both USCHO and D3hockey.com). When other quality opponents including Hobart, Manhattanville and Castleton State are considered, NESCAC’s overall record is 5-5.

At this point there’s very little to be gained from analyzing the teams individual records. NESCAC’s two ranked teams have played just one ranked opponent. Williams and Babson, tied at #7 according to the most recent USCHO poll met in December 1 with the Ephs taking 3-2 win.  The night before #15 Amherst dropped a 2-0 contest to the Beavers.

Middlebury, in the top 15 in the early weeks of the season, is 0-1-1 with a loss to #1 Plattsburgh and a tie with #5 Norwich.

Bowdoin, Colby, Trinity and Wesleyan are a combined 12-1-2 but have faced weaker competition. Bowdoin particularly has raked up some gaudy numbers, scoring 22 goals in four OOC games while giving up just 7.

Which NESCAC Team plays the hardest OOC schedule?

1.            The Hamilton Continentals.

Good arguments can be made for Middlebury and Williams but because the Conts finished low last year the nod for courageous scheduling goes to Clinton.

The Conts, 1-0 in OOC play, with an easy win over lightly regarded Canton early this season, will face a real challenge on January 3rd when they take on #1 Plattsburgh in the Buck Supply Winter Classic.

Williams is also playing in the Buck tourney in Plattsburgh so there’s a chance Hamilton will meet the Ephs in the second round of the Buck. The Ephs would likely be looking for revenge as the Conts blemished the undefeated Ephs with a tie on Dec 6th in Clinton. Otherwise, the Conts may face Hobart, last season highly regarded in both the national rankings and in the ECAC-West standings. The Statesmen were ranked as high as 8th this November but are a misleading 2-4-4 so far. Hobart has already played Utica three times and is 1-1-1 with the loss coming in OT. With the exception of a surprising 6-2 drubbing at Wesleyan, each loss has been by one-goal; six of their 10 games have gone to overtime.

At the end of the month the Conts will host Geneseo, currently ranked 12th, before traveling to #9 Utica. Geneseo State has surprised a lot of folks in the SUNYAC with a 7-1 conference record, including a win against perennial power Oswego

Four of five OOC games for Hamilton involve highly regarded, ranked teams.

2.            Middlebury.

It’s tough not to credit Middlebury with the toughest OOC schedule when you realize they’ll play Norwich and Plattsburgh twice each this year. The Panthers surprised the then second ranked Cadets by advancing to the final of the Primelink Tournament with their shootout victory. The shoot-out gave the Panthers a crack at Plattsburgh the following night. The Cards, now ranked first by USCHO were then sitting in third place, put away Middlebury with a big first period.

In mid-January the Panthers will see both teams again as part of their Lake Champlain hell weekend. The Panthers host #1 Plattsburgh on the 17th and travel to #5 Norwich the following night.

This weekend, in the Middlebury Holiday Tourney the Panthers host in-state rival St. Mike's and face a second round game against either well regarded Neumann, 5-3-2 overall (ECAC-W), or the USM Huskies (ECAC-E), coached by Bill Beaney’s brother Jeff.

If the Panthers meet Neumann this weekend, five of their six OOC games will have been played against serious competition.

3.            Williams.

The Ephs have nearly as strong a schedule playing four tough games in six OOC contests. Only Johnson & Wales of the ECAC-NE should be considered weak. Manhattanville cracked the NCAA regional rankings late last season.

The Ephs defeated Babson 3-2 on December 1st. The Beavers and Ephs currently share the seventh spot in the USCHO rankings.

In the Buck tournament Williams will play Hobart first and either top ranked Plattsburgh or Hamilton on the second day.

4.            Amherst, a clear fourth.

The Lord Jeffs have beaten St. Mike’s 4-0 and lost to 7th ranked Babson 2-0. This weekend in the Norwich New Year’s Tourney, the Jeffs will face off against Plymouth State. Currently fifth place in the MASCAC with a 3-3 record, Plymouth is 4-6 overall. Opening night, Norwich hit double digits against the Panthers in a 10-4 win. The Jeffs second night opponent will be either Norwich or Milwaukee School of Engineering. Milwaukee is 1-10 overall, and 1-7 in the NCHA. If the Jeffs get by Plymouth a game against Norwich is likely; that would certainly boost their OOC argument.

Amherst wraps up OOC play at the end of the month when they travel west to take on Concordia (8-3-1 overall, 3-2-1 and third place in the MAIC) and Lake Forest (5-6 overall, 4-4 and fifth place in the NCHA).

5.            Connecticut College.

The Camels own the 5^th toughest OOC schedule. They’ve already lost to both ranked Utica and well-regarded Manhattanville by big scores and dropped a 1-0 contest to Salem State from the MASCAC. The Camels will finish off with games against Canton, powerhouse Oswego (13th), and ECAC-NE cellar dweller Curry.

6/7            Colby and Bowdoin.

With very similar OOC schedules because they jointly host a thanksgiving event, which included UMass Dartmouth and Suffolk, the Mules and Polar Bears also typically face off against fellow Pine-Tree Staters USM and UNE. But Colby has foregone the meeting with UNE this year to play in a Holiday Tournament hosted by Salem State. The Mules beat Wentworth 5-3 on January 2nd and face Babson, who defeated Salem State, for the Championship on January 3rd. With Babson ranked 7th the Mules get the nod over their traveling partner from Brunswick in the OOC stakes.

What separates Bowdoin and Colby from the teams with even weaker OOC schedules is the fact that both UNE and USM play in the ECAC-East. Along with NESCAC, the ECAC-E is one of the most competitive D-III conferences in New England.

8.            Tufts.

The Jumbos barely avoid the label for the weakest OOC schedule. Both Castleton and Manhattanville are solid, if not glittery, programs in solid conferences. In addition, the Jumbos may also face UMass Boston in weekend tourney play. The Jumbos lost to Becker, beat Castleton State, lost to Manhattanville and face Southern New Hampshire University this weekend in tourney play. Their second game will be against either UMass Boston or Suffolk. The Jumbos close out OOC play against Suffolk.

The rear.

Wesleyan and Trinity bring in the least competitive OOC schedules. Each team plays just one OOC game against a historically strong team; their remianing five games are against decidedly weak teams.

Wesleyan handed Hobart it’s worst loss of the season and has also dealt with Stonehill and Salve Regina but tied Wentworth.

They’ll close down their OOC schedule with games against New England College and Canton.

Trinity’s toughest opponent has been Manhattanville, whom they beat 6-3, but the Bantams suffered a weird loss to Stonehill. With wins against Salve Regina and Wentworth, they’ll close out with Becker and Western New England College.

Over the next three days, 17 NESCAC OOC games will be played. What they each mean will become clearer in late February and March when the jockeying for “Pool-C” slots in the NCAA tournament begins.