D-III Men’s Week in Review: The NCHA Big Four Battle, Roos & Golden Bears Ignite Upsets, Gusties Stay Hot, Geneseo’s Statement, & Let’s Talk Strength of Schedule!

 

The NCHA ‘Big Four’ clashed this weekend with massive implications

*Rankings for NCHA are based on last week’s poll

#6 Adrian takes five of six points from #5 St. Norbert

If you would like to read our series preview from our very own Tommy Berry, you can click here.

Adrian hasn’t had much success against the Green Knights since former Head Coach Adam Krug’s departure as second-year Head Coach Adam Philips entered this weekend 0-3-0 against St. Norbert, but this weekend was different in De Pere, WI.

The Bulldogs entered the weekend 13-5-1 with four of those losses coming at the hands of current #3 Aurora (18-3-0), two of those in league and two in the non-conference. St. Norbert entered an uncharacteristic 13-5-1 with a few losses that normally you would expect to be in the win column for the Green Knights. Nevertheless, these two played a pair of incredible hockey games as always, game two featuring a little controversy on St. Norbert’s second ‘goal’ of the game which was taken off the board after a very long discussion at center-ice, eventually leading to a 2-2 tie and Adrian shootout victory.

The top four this season have been extremely competitive, currently, Adrian sits 1st in the NCHA standings with 36 points, five ahead of Aurora with 31, Trine with 30, & St. Norbert with 29. Despite Aurora’s sweep of the Bulldogs, Adrian’s been able to take care of business with their only other loss being to Trine. Aurora on the other hand was upset by Lawrence (6-14-1) in regulation.

In game one, Adrian led 2-0 after the opening period and never looked back as Jacob Suede & Bradley Somers both got on the board. St. Norbert’s Braden Lindstrom scored on the powerplay in the 2nd period to cut the lead in half, but Alec Lovisek made it 3-1 just past the halfway point in the 3rd period (12:32), essentially calling game. The Bulldogs added an empty netter in the final two minutes and they roll on Friday with a 4-1 victory. Goaltender Ryan Piros made 35 saves in the victory. Fun fact: after completing this series, Ryan Piros’ has now faced St. Norbert in three different jerseys, Dubuque, Utica University, & now Adrian College…

#2 Aurora & #12 Trine split the weekend 

Aurora has impressed everyone this season especially after their shocking four game sweep this season as mentioned over Adrian. Trine on the other hand got off to a slow start this season but has made a great recovery as the season has gone on.

Earlier this season, Trine fell to SUNY Canton 2-1 on opening day (this was Canton’s first ranked win of two as they recently defeated #4 SUNY Oswego 4-1 on the road), lost and tied against MSOE, lost and tied against St. Norbert, & got swept on the road at Saint John’s. Recently, the Thunder have really played some great hockey, they’ve won six of their last seven games, (seven of eight if you count their 2-0 exhibition win over the U.S. NTDP Team, the only NCAA Division III program to defeat USA this season as both Adrian & Utica lost earlier this year).

This past weekend we were treated to a pair of classic Aurora hockey games, which wouldn’t be an Aurora hockey game without penalties. The Spartans in the two games had three 10-minute misconducts, along with a 10-minute game misconduct. The Spartans also had two minor misconduct penalties to go along with their 10-minute issues.

In Trine’s 4-2 victory Friday, the Thunder got off to a fast start, scoring 36 seconds into the period (Brody Simko) and then about four minutes later (Evan Carroll) to double the lead, giving them a 2-0 lead after the 1st period. Aurora fought back in the middle frame, scoring was Juliano Santalucia at 6:33, but Trine’s Sam Antenucci got the lead back to two as we entered the 3rd period. Aurora scored quickly (Lukas Sedlacek – 3:43), but Trine answered back under a minute later (Logan Furstenau – 4:30), making it 4-2 which held up.

The following night featured only two goals, a scoreless opening period, but a Landry Schmuck goal in the final two minutes of the 2nd period (18:45) which ended up being the game winner. Santalucia scored the empty netter to seal the deal and Aurora gets back on track, winning 2-0. Goaltender Matt O’Donnell made 33 saves in the victory.

SUNY Canton defeats #4 Oswego State for the first time in program history

SUNY Canton (8-10-1) has had an interesting season to say the least, filled with some high highs and low lows. On opening day, they defeated currently ranked #12 Trine 2-1 for one of the biggest wins in program history as the NCHA power headed east once again.

Most recently, they entered the weekend of death in the SUNYAC for most this season, facing travel partners #1 Hobart College & #4 Oswego State. The Roos fell to Hobart 5-1, but found life the following night in Oswego.

Before we get into the Roos’ incredible victory, later on in this article we’re going to discuss a program’s current strength-of-schedule, let’s take a second to give Canton credit for scheduling #12 Trine, #8 Utica, & #3 Hamilton in the non-conference slate.

The Roos clearly followed their Head Coach Alex Boak’s style of play as a player as they came out looking to be physical and get the Lakers off their game as they tend to play a track-meet style of game, but they managed to stay out of the penalty box while doing so, only committing four penalties to the Lakers one (not including the offsetting team misconducts as the game ended).

Goaltender Trey Miller made 35 saves in the win, while Gavin McCarthy made 16 in the loss, showing the Lakers heavy shot advantage in this one, near double the Roos.

The game featured a scoreless opening period followed by an early Roo goal in the 2nd, scoring at 4:45 was Niko Schoner. The 1-0 lead would hold until late in the period when Drake Semrad tied things up 1-1 as we headed to the final period. In the 3rd, Canton’s game-winner came from Colton Alexander, scoring at 7:44 of the period, followed by a pair of late empty net goals in the final minute to extend the lead to 4-1.

Next up for Canton is a pair of home games this weekend with Morrisville & Cortland. Meanwhile, Oswego has a fun weekend as they visit #1 Hobart on Friday night and host their old SUNYAC rival #13 Geneseo in a non-conference game Saturday night, both ranked matchups are set for 7pm ET.

Western New England shocks #9 Endicott in overtime 4-3

Western New England has had a tough season thus far, but their highlight came against the Gulls of Endicott this past Friday night in West Springfield, MA.

The player of the game has to be given to their goaltender Luca Scaglione who made an incredible 53 saves as the Golden Bears were outshot 56-24. Endicott goaltender Peter Sterling made 20 saves in the loss.

These two teams were tied 1-1 after the opening period, WNE taking the lead a quick two minutes into the game (Beau Helmeczi – 2:05) followed by the Gulls tying it up with a mere 20 seconds left in the period (Primo Self – 19:40.0). Just like the 1st period, the Golden Bears struck gold again, scoring just over two minutes into the period (Hunter Atkinson – 2:46). The Gulls would respond once again, scoring 12 minutes later was Louie Kamienski at 14:29, sending us to the final period of play tied 2-2 in a game where I don’t believe many expected this to be the situation.

In the 3rd, Endicott notched a powerplay goal a rapid 19 seconds into the period, it was Primo Self’s second of the night, giving his Gulls the 3-2 lead early on in the final period. However, 10 minutes later the Golden Bears answered back like the Gulls did earlier, Billy VanSumeren tied it up (10:04) at 3 apiece which would stand as the last regulation goal as Scaglione stood tall and we headed to overtime.

In overtime, the hero was Michael Botterell, assisted by Nick Theodos a mere one minute 49 seconds into the 3v3 overtime period.

Western New England may not be having the regular season they hoped for at 5-15-0, but this win is sure to be a bright spot on the season and a positive outlook for the future.

Gustavus makes it 11 in a row, 13-1-1 in their last 15 after a sweep of Bethel

We’ll keep this section brief as we discussed Gustavus (13-5-1) last week as they continued to win games, but the Gusties now sit tied for the #1 seed in the MIAC with Saint Mary’s and ahead of both Saint John’s & Bethel by a single point after their most recent sweep of Bethel (10-8-1), defeating them 7-4 & 2-1 in overtime.

For context, Gustavus hasn’t lost since November 29, 2025 and they haven’t tied since November 30, 2025 as they began the season 2-5-1. These games were out east in Coach Walsh’s old stomping grounds of Maine against #13 Bowdoin & his former program in which he was an assistant coach, Colby. The Gusties hold the tiebreaker over Saint Mary’s if it’s needed as they swept them earlier this season, they also of course hold the tiebreaker over Bethel as they just swept them as mentioned.

Now, Gustavus sets their sights on Saint John’s as they’ll host the Johnnies this Friday night and then visit St. Cloud the following night to conclude the huge MIAC series featuring a pair of T-#1 & #T-2 seeds.

#13 Geneseo sweeps Chatham, let’s talk strength-of-schedule

Geneseo has had some uncharacteristic results this season, but they’re still an extremely good hockey team that’s a UCHC tournament away from another NCAA tournament via auto-bid. Currently, they sit 16th in the NPI and can boost themselves significantly this coming weekend as they visit #5 Oswego State (14-3-2) who’ve not looked their greatest in their past few games outside of their 9-3 victory over SUNY Potsdam. The Ice Knights also have their massive series with #8 Utica (14-5-0) that can bolster them up the NPI rankings depending how they fare. Regardless, they’re still in the hunt as they currently sit with a 13-6-1 record, second place in the UCHC behind Utica.

This past weekend, they got themselves a road sweep against Chatham University who entered with a stellar looking 15-2-0 record, defeating the Cougars 3-2 & 4-2.

Chatham goaltender Cameron Kuntar played excellent in both games this weekend despite the losses, making 41 & 35 saves respectively. Geneseo netminder Jacob Torgner also played well, making 27 & 30 in the pair of victories. Penalties were an issue for both teams, Geneseo committing seven & Chatham committing six on Saturday, meanwhile the day prior, Geneseo had three to Chatham’s four…

In game one Chatham took the early 2-0 lead after the 1st period as Nick Cyprian scored at 10:03 & Ian Norkevicus doubled the lead only three minutes later. However, the Ice Knights would claw their way back, scoring with just under two minutes left in the 2nd period was Luke Panchisin to make it 2-1 entering the 3rd period. Early on, Carter Dicemen tied the game up just over six minutes into the period, followed by the eventual game-winner coming about eight minutes later from Jackson Stimple.

In game two, the teams were tied 1-1 after the opening period, Geneseo striking first (Alex Dameski – 12:30) followed by a Chatham goal five minutes later (Ian Norkevicus – 17:18). In the 2nd period, as mentioned before, penalties were an issue in the game and it became a problem for the Cougars as Geneseo scored a pair of powerplay goals (Carter Diceman – 7:23 / Alex Dameski – 15:50) to make it 3-1 headed into the final period of play. The Cougars would cut the lead in half as Michael Roby scored just before the midway mark of the period, but Geneseo stood tall and sealed it late with Diceman’s second of the game, giving Geneseo the 4-2 win.

A quick discussion on strength-of-schedule

Now, earlier this season we had a major discussion involving Salve Regina’s extremely weak strength-of-schedule, largely to no fault of their own due to the various league / independent status issues the program faced this past offseason. This was in no way blaming Salve as we’ve repeatedly said, as again, it wasn’t the team’s fault as they were left scrambling without a league and/or schedule to speak of for this 2025-2026 season. Now, they sit 9th in the NPI (as of 2/2/2026) and are flirting with an NCAA bid depending how the teams around them shape out. Which credit needs to be given where it’s due, the Seahawks defeated #13 Bowdoin, Tufts who has a handful of ranked wins, and led Geneseo 3-2 late in the 3rd before losing 4-3.

Recently, I made various comments regarding Chatham’s SOS (88th out of a possible 91) due to its historically low opponent winning-percentage after last season when we saw them face the likes of Trine in the NCHA and others. Chatham is an extremely skilled team with tons of upside, no one’s denying that, but you can’t look yourself in the mirror and say this 15-2-0 (prior to facing Geneseo) record is in the same hemisphere as Hamilton’s 15-1-2 or Aurora’s 18-3-0 etc… The main reason this was brought up is because Chatham prior to facing Geneseo, was ranked (in the NPI) above St. Norbert, Wisconsin-Stout, Endicott, Curry etc… if the Cougars defeated Geneseo and maybe took a game from Utica and remained top ten or close to it, it sets a precedent against scheduling some incredible non-conference games and I simply cannot endorse that as a genuine lifelong fan of the game. Look at a middle of the road program at the moment such as SUNY Canton (8-10-1), their non-conference slate featured #3 Hamilton, #12 Trine, & #8 Utica, along with their SUNYAC games against #1 Hobart & #4 Oswego. I would like to think their tough games against those opponents led to their first ever victory over Oswego this past weekend as we discussed earlier.

Since some individuals want to take it personally, let’s look into the numbers of Chatham’s non-conference opponents thus far. We’ll separate each game as its own individual entity as being non-conference games, you’re not required to play each team a certain number of times like in conference games, so we will count team’s multiple times as needed and use their current record as of February 2, 2026:

W 10-1 vs Hiram (1-16-1) – Buffalo State Tourney
W 3-2 vs St. John Fisher (9-11-1) – Buffalo State Tourney
W 5-1 vs Fredonia (3-15-1)
W 6-1 at Fredonia (3-15-1)
W 5-1 at Morrisville (2-16-2)
W 7-4 at Morrisville (2-16-2)
W 13-2 vs Hiram (1-16-1)
W 15-1 vs Hiram (1-16-1)
W 4-0 at Hiram (1-16-1)

Cumulative opponent record: 23-137-11 (16.7%)
Strength of schedule rating as of 2/2/2026: 88th of 91

To dig deeper, if you remove the single game against St. John Fisher, the winning percentage goes down to 12.67%… Compare this to Utica who has faced #1 Hobart 2x, #3 Hamilton, #4 Adrian 2x, #5 Oswego. Compare this also to their other UCHC power Geneseo, they face #5 Oswego 2x, Amherst, Williams, Salve Regina, Tufts, & Wilkes… Also fun fact: their exhibition games were against Duquesne (ACHA) & SUNY Fredonia once again.

I understand certain programs may do this to artificially inflate their record, but in my opinion, if you want to consider yourself in the same category as the upper-tier programs, you need to schedule games like one. Hypothetical losses against Trine this season would help you more than beating Hiram 15-1 in the NPI and simply battle testing yourself, I’ll die on that hill. Chatham scheduled Trine last year twice and lost two very close games against a great opponent who made the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. You cannot tell me these games didn’t help them later down the line when they got a win against Geneseo and beat Utica in a shootout.

To end it here, my main point to all of this is I have no issue with a reasonable-tier program scheduling like this, but if you’re a program capable of beating these tier teams as one-sided as you are, you simply need to admit that’s what you’re doing as this is so bad it’s intentional. All-American awards become half laughable as you outscore one opponent 42-4, inflating statistics across the board. To use their UCHC opponent in Utica for example, Head Coach Gary Heenan talked about numerous times in the past how the league’s strength in years past didn’t prepare them for the NCAA tournament the same way teams such as Adrian who faced St. Norbert and others in the final weeks of the season & playoffs. Blowing out inferior competition every night you hand-picked doesn’t prepare you for the games that matter and it’s disappointing we don’t get to see an extremely skilled team such as Chatham face any top competition outside of their UCHC opponents in Geneseo & Utica this regular season. They’re highly capable of winning games against ranked and/or near-ranked competition and they’ll give Utica two great hockey games later this year in the Aud and possibly come out with some points.