Run Down of the NCAA DIII Leagues

[lancerplayer 0]

What are your thoughts/opinions on the NCAA Division III leagues? Which are the best? Which are the worst? Which are the most skilled? Which are the more physical? Which draw the biggest crowds? I'm just looking for general opinions on DIII college hockey.

- ECAC East

- ECAC Northeast

- ECAC West

- MCHA

- MIAC

- NCHA

- NESCAC

- SUNYAC

[Cavs019 708]

NESCAC is far and away the best because their academic standards are about 100 times better than every other conference.

[flymonty3 0]

I think as a whole the NCHA is the best league. Lake Forrest, St. Norbert’s, Stevens Point, Wisc.-Superior... every team in this league is solid, and can compete with most teams in the country. Probably the toughest (physical) league in the country also. Lots of BCHL recruits in this league (arguably the best tier II league in North America) back up my argument significantly...

I think the SUNYAC is the 2nd best with solid schools all around also. I am not sure of the numbers, but these two leagues put the most players into pro hockey (players that actually stick in pro hockey. i am not talking training camp invites...)It is no wonder a lot of recruits from the OPJHL play in this league, which is arguably the 2nd best tier II league in north America...)

Besides Middlebury there inst anything to get excited about in the NESCAC. They may have good academics, but that doesn’t always translate to good hockey. There are mostly prep school grads in this league, and I have found they are hit and miss (with the exception of blue chip NCAA D1 prospects) at the D3 level. Some are great, some aren’t.

Worst would have to be ECAC North East. Most teams there are fairly weak, and even the top teams cant hack it in the NCHA or SUNYAC... A lot of kids straight from N.E. public H.S. in this league...

[Gongshow11 1]

Ecac West, SUNYAC, NCHA, NESCAC, ECAC East, MCHA, MIAC, ECAC Northeast

[lancerplayer 0]

Is the ECAC Northeast still a big step from ACHA DI Club? Will DI Club teams like Penn State, Oklahoma University, University of Illinois, and University of Rhode Island compete with the lower to mid level NCAA DIII teams in the ECAC Northeast?

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

Wrong OU - you mean Oakland University.

[wallin2199 0]

This year, you would have to give the nod to the ECAC West as being the top conference. Nobody has 5 better teams in there conference than Manhattanville, Elmira, Utica, Hobart and Neumann. The SUNYAC is off to a slow start with Oswego stumbling out of the gates but Plattsburgh is very strong. The SUNY generally is thetop league in the east and has strong atendance as well. The NESCAC is also another strong league along with the ECAC East. The Northeast is the weakest league in the east. There are too many teams really and I know that there was talk of breaking it into two leagues, I don't know if anything ever came about that. The top teams in the Northeast are good but it begins to taper off. Overall, top teams in every conference can play with each other, but some conferences are deeper than others.

The discussion between NCAA and club is tough. For instance this season URI beat Worcester 3-1, who is a lower middle pack team in the NE, but URI was outshot. I would say most strong club teams, PSU, URI, Illini, ISU would be middle of the pack Division III teams. However, those schools also have 10 times the enrollment so its really tough to say.

[fultonreed 1]

jack kinder plays for middlebury college

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

Besides Middlebury there inst anything to get excited about in the NESCAC. They may have good academics, but that doesn’t always translate to good hockey. There are mostly prep school grads in this league, and I have found they are hit and miss (with the exception of blue chip NCAA D1 prospects) at the D3 level. Some are great, some aren’t.

Middleburry isnt even that good this year, you have Bowdoin,Colby are both ahead of Middleburry in standings and also far and away better than middleburry in the NESCAC.. it's a very strong conference

[Gongshow11 1]

ECAC West is the strongest by far. Judging from my experience, and seeng every league out east, SUNYAC is 2nd, and ECAC East is third. The reason the SUNYAC is 2nd is because top to bottom the teams are relatively even, but you don;t see thign because if you lose to say oswego and plattsburgh twice then you will never get an NCAA auto bid to the tourney, and you wont win the SUNYAC. There is a saying in the SUNYAC that anythign can happen on any given night

The ECAC NE is just a bad league since it is watered down. Say 3 good teams. However some teams which have emerged such as suffolk this year are a soft team. I was recruited by them and when i saw 34 guys on their roster i said no way. I don't like there are almost zero canadians in the NE either. The ECAC West and the SUNYAC are canadian littered, so they put up some exciting action. Just look on the hockeydb at the SUNYAC and you will see the amount of guys who went pro.

The thing with the NESCAC is that it is top prep players and thats mostly it. Ya there are EJ guys, but still an average league besides middlebury due to high high admission standards, and the cost of 40K+ for each school.

Most d1 transfers, and guys who couldnt pass clearinghouse play in the end, in the SUNYAC or ECAC west.

In terms of club, when a team such as URI wins a game in the NCAA, maybe say 7 out of 10 theyd win. Club may be getting stronger, but the disparity in the league is too high. There are some great players in club, dont get me wrong, but without school sponsorshp of the sport, it is tough to compete.

[fultonreed 1]

let's get those boyz motivated so they work harder and secure more victories.