Everyone is focused on one of two college sporting events: the Frozen Four and the Final Four.  NCAA Division 3 hockey is only on the radar of people who go to D3 schools.  It’s not that no one cares, it’s that no one has much opportunity to care.  The schools aren’t known, the games aren’t broadcast – much less mentioned anywhere – and the players aren’t going to the NHL.

But the D3 championships were held this past weekend in Lake Placid, NY, with the semi-final games held on Friday, and the final on Saturday.  Being only a few hours away from the games, and since they were held in one of my favorite towns, it was a no-brainer that I would go.

Welcome to Herb Brooks arena.

This is the arena the 1980 Miracle on Ice happened in.  I can tell you from experience, it’s great to skate here.

I’ll show you around the place in a later post.  For now, the refs are ready to go, so let’s confine this one to the game at hand.

For the puck drop of all three games, Buzz Schneider and John Harrington of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team came out to drop the puck with a few representatives from the Special Olympics.

I shook both Schneider and Harrington’s hands.  Schneider scored the first US goal against the Russians in 1980, and I got to shake the hand that did that.  Pretty cool stuff.

Game on! Action!

Geneseo had their work cut out for them.  Stevens Point pressed the attack the entire game, looking more energetic and skilled than Geneseo from the start.

That’s a goal.

That’s a goal.

That’s a bar down goal.

Stevens Point ended the first period up 3-0, and out-shooting Geneseo 12-4.  It was amazing Geneseo got 4 on net.  They looked completely outmatched in the first.  The second would prove to be more even.

But not right away.  First, Stevens Point would make it 4-0.

Finally, Geneseo would get on the board.

The second ended 4-1, shots in the period even at 6 apiece.

Let’s keep going.  We head to the third.

Stevens Point put another on the board.

If you can’t see the puck in the first photo, look at the left pad.  Zooming by.

Stevens Point would win it 5-1, and advance to the final.  SOG were 30-12 in favor of Stevens Point.  It was overwhelming for Geneseo.

OK, this was a super short post, focusing on the goals.  I make no apologies.  It was not the most exciting of games. The exciting game would happen an hour and a half later.

Trust me, come back for the next one.  I have never seen anything like it.

While it’s a labor of love and fun to do, bringing you these dispatches from the road costs real money. From tickets and gas to parking, it adds up. It also takes time to process and post images.

If you enjoy the posts, you can help offset the costs. Click the PayPal button to contribute.

Thanks for your support.

[paypal-donation]