Division 3 Fall Recap

If there’s a way to describe Division 3 in the ECRHA, that phrase would probably be, “New Faces.” This year, we saw Division 3’s teams go down to 6 teams. Because of the relatively low amount, all six teams will make the Regional Championships in March. Now, D3 is in the same boat as Division 1 and 2, as they will be ridding of the former pool play playoff format, in exchange for a double elimination bracket setting. Needless to say, things are going to be exciting in Feasterville in March.

Currently in Division 3, Farmingdale is opening a lot of eyes, and showing the strength of roller hockey in Long Island. Currently the Rams are sitting in first place comfortably at 9-0. Most of these games, commanding wins, with their closest games both coming against Cortland, a 7-3 victory in October in Rhode Island, and most recently a 4-1 victory over the Red Dragons in Feasterville this past weekend. The Rams are showing dominance throughout the division, as they are averaging 7.56 goals for per game, and a miniscule 1.0 goals against per game. They have 2 of the top 3 scoring leaders with James Kolokathis leading the way with 28 points, and goaltender Daniel Perpezko is stopping almost everything thrown at him. He currently is sitting at a 0.86 GAA, saving 157 of the 163 shots he’s faced. Looking ahead, it is quite possible that Farmingdale could continue their undefeated run, it is worth noting, that in Old Bethpage in February, during All Star Weekend, they will finish the season against Cortland, who has played them the closest this year, and of course defending back to back D3 Champions, Neumann.

Right behind the Rams, Rowan is staying consistent as they always have in division 3. The Profs, currently 6-4 have two wins against defending champion Neumann on their resume this year, a 7-6 OT victory to start the season, as well as a 5-4 victory in Old Bethpage. Additionally, they have had a few up and down games, including a 3-5 loss to Cortland in New Cumberland, PA in October, as well as a 1-3 loss to Northeastern in Old Bethpage. Rowan wrapped up their Fall semester losing to Farmingdale 1-7. Heading into the Spring, the Profs have probably one of the most difficult schedules going ahead, as they will face Cortland twice, Farmingdale twice, Neumann once again, and ending their season against Northeastern, looking to avenge their loss this Fall.  If Rowan can remain consistent to finish the year, they could make things interesting in not only D3 in the ECRHA, but on the road to Nationals as well.

If we’ve learned anything throughout history. Never sleep on the Knights of Neumann. Neumann is, of course, the back to back D3 ECRHA Regional Champions. 2016-2017 has been an interesting year for them to say the least. 1st place Farmingdale has brought the Knights back down to Earth twice so far this season, as well as 2nd place Rowan. However, aside from those 4 games, Neumann has remained the powerhouse they are known to be. Looking ahead, Neumann has an opportunity ahead of them to even the season series against Rowan in Sewell on February, and to close out the season, they may be the one team left standing to end Farmingdale’s undefeated run.

Next heading down the standings is an interesting Team in D3, the Cortland Red Dragons. Cortland is currently at 4th in the standings at 5-5. They are tied for the most games played in the division. However, they are one of those teams, that with a few bounces here and there, their season could be in a completely different outlook. Cortland started the season off relatively slow, with three straight losses to Farmingdale, Northeastern, and Rowan. However, after that, they rattled off three straight wins to even their record against Hofstra, Rowan, and Hofstra yet again. Most recently in Feasterville, the Red Dragons lost a close game to Neumann 5-7, battled to an 8-2 victory over Northeastern, and then lost a tactically low scoring 4-1 affair with Farmingdale. Their Spring semester does not get any easier, as 5 of their remaining 6 games are against teams ahead of them in the standings, so each game is huge for the Red Dragons. Although, this also gives them a huge opportunity to make a statement heading into Regionals in March.

The Hofstra Pride are a team that struggled this Fall. After losing a close game to Cortland to start off the year, then beating Northeastern to start the year, they then lost 5 straight games, not scoring more than two goals in that time frame. However, then they found themselves defeating Northeastern again 5-3, followed by a close 1-5 loss to Rowan. They then lost to Neumann to close out the semester. In the Spring, if Hofstra can continue their success against Northeastern, and surprise either Neumann or Farmingdale, they could ride a decent wave of momentum into Feasterville.

Do not sleep on the Huskies. Northeastern is currently at 2-8. They haven’t scored a lot of goals, 19 in total through 10 games. But they do have two very interesting wins on their resume, as well as some very close games. Northeastern has defeated Cortland (3-2) and Rowan (3-1) this year. As well as playing Neumann to a 3 goal game this past weekend in Feasterville. Largely in part due to their goaltender, Christian Evans. Christian has the most saves in D3 at 243. And has come up huge for the Huskies in so many of their games this year. It will be interesting to see if he can continue seeing the puck as well as he has, and if the Huskies can surprise a few teams in the Spring, and make noise in the Regional Championships.