Two years ago this week hope for an NCAA tournament in NCAA Division III hockey was dashed as the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up and shut down the sports world.
We wondered when sports would return and when life would get back to normal.
Last season we saw some normalcy. Sort of.
Hockey teams in Division III started playing again, and that was a welcomed sight, though teams didn’t know week to week if their games would actually be played and there was no NCAA tournament for the second year in a row because of the pandemic.
Yet, here on this second Saturday of March we can finally smile and feel good that the NCAA tournament is back.
Eight teams will take the ice tonight with a chance to advance. Four other teams received byes and await the winners next weekend.
And two weeks from now in Lake Placid, a champion will be crowned for the first time since 2019 when UW-Stevens Point won it all.
It seems like forever ago since we’ve had a postseason in hockey even though in real time it’s only been two years.
It’s great to see the postseason return because we’ve missed it.
These teams still playing hockey in March have worked hard for this moment. They’ve earned this moment.
There was a point this year where cancellations and postponements were picking up and there was real concern that maybe we wouldn’t get to this point to have a tournament.
Thankfully, we’ve made it.
For a team like St. Norbert, which has basked in championship glory before, this opportunity to play in the tournament has to feel like a dream come true. The Green Knights opted not to play last year amid the ongoing pandemic.
They’ve had a heck of a year this season, sitting at sixth in the nation, and take on a St. Olaf team that wasn’t supposed to be here. The Oles were the seventh seed in the MIAC tournament and knocked off the top three seeds on their road to a title.
It’s stories like that one that make this time of the year special, and because of what we’ve seen unfold over the last years in this sport due to the pandemic, this tournament feels a little extra special.
And it should.
So enjoy the battle between the University of New England and Plymouth State, a matchup featuring two teams that have played four times before, with each game being decided by no more than a goal.
Enjoy the game between Babson and Trinity, who both boast impressive offenses, and enjoy the showdown between Elmira and Hobart, a matchup that has the potential to be a thrilling, edge-of-you-seat kind of game.
Most importantly, though, just enjoy the fact that we have postseason hockey in NCAA Division III again, and that in two weeks, one team will be standing tall as a national champion.
It beats two years ago, and even a year ago, when we had no champion at all.
