Differences between D1 and D3

[slapshot2 0]

Hey everybody, its been a while. I got a question about colleges...what are the main differences between D1 and D3 hockey? I know that D1 is the top of the tier of players and many players get drafted to the NHL from there, but is D3 comparable at all? If D1 was condsidered like a AAA hockey team....would D3 be like a AA or A or what? Im really just wondering about this because i didnt know how big the difference was in talent? thanks alot in advance...ive been pondering this for a while lol.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

I'm not sure exactly, but I gather that the difference in talent is significant. If you just go by logic and assume that D3 is two tiers below D1, then an AAA to A comparison would have some merit. Or an NHL to CHL - which we all know, is a huge difference. That said, if I had the talent to play at a D3 school, I'd be happy as hell.

[Chadd 916]

I thought D1 and D3 were the only choices in college hockey, other than club. Plus there is a huge difference between top end and bottom end D1 teams.

[Drewhunz 3]

If I remember correctly, the thing that determines a D1 and D3 school is based upon the size of school and # of teams the school has. Not sure with a specific sport however.

Edit: Division 1, 2, and 3 criteria

[beaucoup_fish 0]

If I remember correctly, the thing that determines a D1 and D3 school is based upon the size of school and # of teams the school has. Not sure with a specific sport however.

Edit: Division 1, 2, and 3 criteria

Well, I guess that settles it then. There ya go. Good job, Drew.

[#94 3]

It depends on which schools you are talking about...

For instance, a team like D3 Middlebury would beat a team like D1 Sacred Heart. Some won't agree with me on this, but I've seen both teams play, and this is just my opinion.

A lot of the D3 teams have players that have the D1 talent, but chose to play at a D3 school for whatever reason.

If you put the best D3 team (Middlebury) up against an average D1 team in terms of rankings (say UMass), I firmly believe you've got one hell of a game on your hands...

[Cavs019 702]

94 hit the nail on the head. In addition, I'd much rather be at a D3 school with phenomenal academics (Middlebury, Williams, etc) vs a D1 school that doesnt quite stack up academically.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

I keep hearing about this "Middlebury," place - it's growing to near-mythical proportions. Does Middlebury have a rival school? Time to look this "Middlebury," up.

EDIT: Looks like a neat little school, small for my tastes though. Too bad there aren't any graduate programs (at least none that I can find).

[thenizzle 0]

i know a kid that plays for middlebury, went to the Groton School.... hes nasty. Also know a kid who plays for williams... went to Belmont Hill and is WICKED NASTY... he probably could have played d1 but he didnt want to have to play a year of juniors.

[#94 3]

Exactly. One of the many reasons players will go ahead and play D3 instead of D1...

[Gongshow11 1]

also a lot of d1 talent in the sunyac is dumb as a sack of hammers so have to go d3 cuz they cant pass clearinghouse. every year in the sunyac, on avg 3 guys per team go to minor pro (uhl, sphl) tryouts, 1 on our team did and one was offered but wanted to finish school.

I bet oswego could beat middlebury and maybe most atlantic teams.

and no way would middlebury ever and i mean EVER beat UMASS, hockey east is a level beyond nay other college level, HE and WCHA are above all. UMASS would murder middlebury, r u kidding #94?

[#94 3]

Have you seen UMass this year? They're brutal...

I never said they would beat UMass, but it would be a close game. UMass would probably win, but it wouldn't be anywhere close to a blowout.

[McCabe#1 0]

I had a buddy that played for Oswego in D3, and last year he was an all-star in the CHL and made the all-rookie team. He had D1 talent, just didn't have the same kind of work ethic in College. He wanted to party too much.

[wristshot19 0]

I had a buddy that played for Oswego in D3, and last year he was an all-star in the CHL and made the all-rookie team. He had D1 talent, just didn't have the same kind of work ethic in College. He wanted to party too much.

Probably played for Don Unger out there. Met him a few times. Almost played there myself a while back. Nice guy and quality school I just didn't have the money for an out of state school at the time and D3 programs can't offer athletic scholarships. They can try to help you out with finding you "jobs" but no regular scholarships (besides academic) are offered.

Really the difference in talent level between D1 and D3 all depends on the school. Like it was said before, there are some D3 players that should probably be plaing D1 and vice versa. I have also seen some great club players that deserved to be in D1 and/or D3 programs they just didn't come from towns known for hockey so they weren't recruited.

To play in certain divisions for certains teams you need to know some people, be in the right towns, play for the right teams, and have just a bit of luck to go with your talent.

[chippa13 1844]

You guys are fooling yourselves if you think D3 is anywhere close to D1 in hockey. Having played with guys from both levels for years, I can tell you that the difference is night and day in terms of talent, awareness, and speed. Sure, there might be the rare guy in D3 who could have cracked a D1 lineup but those are few and far between.

Oh, and for those who think guys pick D3 for the education, last I checked BC, Harvard, Dartmouth, etc, etc were pretty good schools.

[driz86 0]

I've skated with d3 teams around here and they would in no way be comparable to a D1 level of skill. I would say it might be comparable to a higher level of Junior B hockey but not by much.

[areed89 3]

I've skated with d3 teams around here and they would in no way be comparable to a D1 level of skill. I would say it might be comparable to a higher level of Junior B hockey but not by much.

That's true with the club teams around here, but NCAA D1-ACHAD3 is a big jump. The NCAA D1 guys and the NCAA D3 guys I've skated with are mostly the same. the D1 guys just have faster execution speed and don't make mistakes as often.

[wristshot19 0]

You guys are fooling yourselves if you think D3 is anywhere close to D1 in hockey. Having played with guys from both levels for years, I can tell you that the difference is night and day in terms of talent, awareness, and speed. Sure, there might be the rare guy in D3 who could have cracked a D1 lineup but those are few and far between.

Oh, and for those who think guys pick D3 for the education, last I checked BC, Harvard, Dartmouth, etc, etc were pretty good schools.

I'm sorry, I forgot that I shouldn't answer something I know first hand about. I apologize for the stupidity. ;)

Like it was stated before, you have some high end D3 programs that can complete with and/or beat some low end D1 programs. The D3 programs you have played against just may be the middle to lower end ones. I would agree that it is not a matter of educational level that determines what level you play at. I think I stated some of the more important factors in my last post.

[chippa13 1844]

You guys are fooling yourselves if you think D3 is anywhere close to D1 in hockey.  Having played with guys from both levels for years, I can tell you that the difference is night and day in terms of talent, awareness, and speed.  Sure, there might be the rare guy in D3 who could have cracked a D1 lineup but those are few and far between. 

Oh, and for those who think guys pick D3 for the education, last I checked BC, Harvard, Dartmouth, etc, etc were pretty good schools.

I'm sorry, I forgot that I shouldn't answer something I know first hand about. I apologize for the stupidity. ;)

Like it was stated before, you have some high end D3 programs that can complete with and/or beat some low end D1 programs. The D3 programs you have played against just may be the middle to lower end ones. I would agree that it is not a matter of educational level that determines what level you play at. I think I stated some of the more important factors in my last post.

I've played with and against guys who were strong players at Norwich and Middlebury. The supposed powerhouses of D3 and these guys couldn't compete with D1 guys.

There is a reason that every school that makes the jump to D1 struggles their first few years. The talent just isn't the same and it takes a few years of recruiting D1 for them to be able to compete against the other D1 schools.

[wristshot19 0]

I am definitely not saying that the highest level D3 team can beat all D1 teams, but it is obvious that there are D1 teams that definitely can't even compete against high level D3 teams. It all depends on the team you play for. At some D3 schools you might be better off playing juniors somewhere else. At other D3 schools you may be playing with a team that can skate with some D1 programs. It's all about location, location, location.

Psst.... Check out the the result of the game between Robert Morris University (NCAA Div I) and Penn State (ACHA club hockey). The story is here.

[chippa13 1844]

I am definitely not saying that the highest level D3 team can beat all D1 teams, but it is obvious that there are D1 teams that definitely can't even compete against high level D3 teams. It all depends on the team you play for. At some D3 schools you might be better off playing juniors somewhere else. At other D3 schools you may be playing with a team that can skate with some D1 programs. It's all about location, location, location.

Psst.... Check out the the result of the game between Robert Morris University (NCAA Div I) and Penn State (ACHA club hockey). The story is here.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

RMU is no slouch program. I've been to plenty of their D3 games and know several players on the D3 team.

[wristshot19 0]

I am definitely not saying that the highest level D3 team can beat all D1 teams, but it is obvious that there are D1 teams that definitely can't even compete against high level D3 teams.  It all depends on the team you play for.  At some D3 schools you might be better off playing juniors somewhere else. At other D3 schools you may be playing with a team that can skate with some D1 programs. It's all about location, location, location.

Psst....  Check out the the result of the game between Robert Morris University (NCAA Div I) and Penn State (ACHA club hockey). The story is here.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Read the entire article. It was their 4th win in their last 6 games against D1 opponents. That is 4 wins and 2 losses against D1 teams... it's not a nut, it's a fact. Plus, this recent win was with a team that had 14 freshmen on it. It just goes to show you that not all D1 teams are better than D3 or even some club teams.

The original question was about the talent level between D1 and D3. In most cases D3 teams will more than likely be below D1 teams but there are exceptions.

You can always go D3 and try to move up.

[chippa13 1844]

I am definitely not saying that the highest level D3 team can beat all D1 teams, but it is obvious that there are D1 teams that definitely can't even compete against high level D3 teams.  It all depends on the team you play for.  At some D3 schools you might be better off playing juniors somewhere else. At other D3 schools you may be playing with a team that can skate with some D1 programs. It's all about location, location, location.

Psst....  Check out the the result of the game between Robert Morris University (NCAA Div I) and Penn State (ACHA club hockey). The story is here.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Read the entire article. It was their 4th win in their last 6 games against D1 opponents. That is 4 wins and 2 losses against D1 teams... it's not a nut, it's a fact. Plus, this recent win was with a team that had 14 freshmen on it. It just goes to show you that not all D1 teams are better than D3 or even some club teams.

The original question was about the talent level between D1 and D3. In most cases D3 teams will more than likely be below D1 teams but there are exceptions.

You can always go D3 and try to move up.

I hate to break it to you, but Mercyhurst was busy splitting a two game set against Michigan Tech the weekend of 10/7-10/8. Looks like that victory was against Mercyhurst's JV squad.

Correction: I just checked Mercyhurst's site and it turns out that the PSU Icers beat the Mercyhurst Club team.

[hockechamp14 0]

I am definitely not saying that the highest level D3 team can beat all D1 teams, but it is obvious that there are D1 teams that definitely can't even compete against high level D3 teams.  It all depends on the team you play for.  At some D3 schools you might be better off playing juniors somewhere else. At other D3 schools you may be playing with a team that can skate with some D1 programs. It's all about location, location, location.

Psst....  Check out the the result of the game between Robert Morris University (NCAA Div I) and Penn State (ACHA club hockey). The story is here.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Read the entire article. It was their 4th win in their last 6 games against D1 opponents. That is 4 wins and 2 losses against D1 teams... it's not a nut, it's a fact. Plus, this recent win was with a team that had 14 freshmen on it. It just goes to show you that not all D1 teams are better than D3 or even some club teams.

The original question was about the talent level between D1 and D3. In most cases D3 teams will more than likely be below D1 teams but there are exceptions.

You can always go D3 and try to move up.

I hate to break it to you, but Mercyhurst was busy splitting a two game set against Michigan Tech the weekend of 10/7-10/8. Looks like that victory was against Mercyhurst's JV squad.

Correction: I just checked Mercyhurst's site and it turns out that the PSU Icers beat the Mercyhurst Club team.

They weren't talking about the mercyhurst win in the record. That record is from six years.