Men’s Hockey Battles for Tournament Spot: NESCAC gets increasingly competitive every season

From left to right: Andrew Margolin '12, Lucas Chavira-Schramm '12 and Jordan Gray '11. Photo by Amy DeGenaro.

The competition in NESCAC hockey is at its highest. The skill gap between teams is increasingly shrinking, with the top six teams all currently within three points of each other in the standings. The tight race for first place in the NESCAC is a result of inconsistent play by all teams this season.

“I don’t understand the up and down,” said Amherst head coach Jack Arena. “When we really play with intensity and effort, we are a very good hockey team, but for whatever reason it is not there every night. With such a short season, or relatively short with 24 or so games, you would think it wouldn’t be an issue to have your team come and play every night they step out on the ice.” Amherst, along with the rest of the NESCAC, is having trouble keeping up the high level of intensity and effort it takes to string together wins.

“It is hard to consistently win in the NESCAC because it is a very competitive league,” said Camel defenseman Jake Colby ’13. “The point spread in league standings never really differs more than five wins between first and eighth place. No points come easy.”

Perennial powerhouse Middlebury, for example, who has captured seven out of the last ten NESCAC championships, opened its season with losses to both Tufts and Conn.

And now teams such as Wesleyan, Conn and Tufts, who have in recent years struggled to be competitive, are gaining more respect. There are no longer any NESCAC games considered “easy” wins. The Camels took down current number one Bowdoin in a 2-1 nail-biter at Dayton Arena two weeks ago, but still have suffered some tough losses, including a recent 6-2 defeat at the hands of rival Trinity.

“In order to beat Bowdoin, who at the time was one of the top five teams in the nation, we had to come together as a team and everyone did their job,” explained Colby. “In the Trinity game, however, we deterred from the game plan. It was a lack of focus on what we needed to do to get the win.”

This year Conn has added good wins against Babson, Bowdoin and Tufts, as well as hard-fought ties against Amherst, Wesleyan and Trinity, putting their current record at 6-11-3 (5-9-1 in the NESCAC). With the loss to Wesleyan last week, the Camels have dropped to ninth in the standings, though, one position shy of a berth in the NESCAC Tournament.

Conn has missed out on the tournament in seven of the last ten years, only qualifying in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The 2009 season proved to be a landmark year for Conn, as the team posted its most wins since 1998, as well as its best NESCAC record ever (9-7-3). In 2010, however, the team was unable to live up to the expectations from the year before, as the Camels failed to secure one of the top eight spots in the conference.

Now, with only two games remaining in 2011, the Camels will have to make a late push for a playoff spot. If they manage to squeeze their way in, it will be despite the numerous injuries that set Conn back this season.
“Injuries plagued our team this year,” said Colby. “We lost some key players and it forced some other guys to step into the rotation.”

The remaining games are both against teams outside of the NESCAC: fourth-ranked Norwich University and St. Michael’s, who are both members of the ECAC East conference. These games are still important, however, as ECAC East match-ups carry over to the NESCAC point total for the playoff race.

Under the current system, NESCAC teams play each other only once during the season, aside from tournament games played during vacation breaks. The rest of their schedules are filled by mostly ECAC East teams.

However, starting next season, the NESCAC will break its close ties with the ECAC East and play 18 of 24 games within the NESCAC, leaving six games for out of conference and tournament games. This means each NESCAC team will get the opportunity to play each other twice.

What does this mean for the future of NESCAC hockey? More games in conference will heighten rivalries among all teams. The NESCAC grows more competitive each year, and giving players and coaches the chance to face off against rivals multiple times will increase the intensity and effort given throughout the season.

As Colby put it, “With the new schedule, I think it will create a larger rivalry between the teams in the NESCAC, resulting in a higher level of competitiveness in each game.”

Fans, players and coaches get amped up for NESCAC battles. Ask anyone who was at Dayton Arena during the Conn-Bowdoin matchup, and they will tell you that the excitement and energy in the building was palpable. The NESCAC rivalry gave extra meaning to the game.

Dayton Arena will host many exciting contests in the years to come as the Camels and their New England rivals compete for NESCAC pride. The Camels will be a competitive force as they look to continue on their recent success in making the NESCAC championships. •

Jack Arena quote taken from Tim Costello’s article, “In Search of Consistency,” from USCHO.org