{"id":96438,"date":"2011-11-21T12:27:53","date_gmt":"2011-11-21T18:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/womens-d3-blog\/?p=166"},"modified":"2011-11-21T12:27:53","modified_gmt":"2011-11-21T18:27:53","slug":"rit-is-turning-canadian-and-cranston-reaches-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2011\/11\/21\/rit-is-turning-canadian-and-cranston-reaches-milestone\/","title":{"rendered":"RIT is turning Canadian and Cranston reaches milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"
This past weekend marked the first time that all 49 Division III women’s hockey teams had played a game in the 2011-12 season, with the NESCAC schools finally getting underway. Middlebury and Amherst both held serve with two sweeps, and Bowdoin had a tough loss at Plattsburgh State.<\/p>\n
We are now on to Thanksgiving week, and what is usually a relatively quieter week on the D-III women’s front is packed full of interesting games this year.<\/p>\n
First up, top-ranked RIT is using the Thanksgiving break to get four extra games in, with a tour through the province of Ontario, Canada to play four Canadian University teams, starting today at 2:30 p.m. when the Tigers take on Western Ontario. RIT is using this road trip as it’s international trip that the NCAA allows college athletic teams to take once every four years.<\/p>\n
Plattsburgh is one team off the top of my head that I know has done a trip like this before. The Cardinals did it twice that I found, with one coming during the 2004-05 season and then again in 2007-08. Both years Plattsburgh made the Frozen Four, and in 2008 they went all the way and won their second straight national championship.<\/p>\n
The competition RIT will face should be on par with some of the top Division III teams, as Plattsburgh went 2-4 in its six games they played during those two trips. The Tigers will get their stiffest test in their third game when they take on unbeaten Wilfred Laurier (11-0-1), which is currently the second-ranked team in all of Canada. RIT will also play Brock and York as well.<\/p>\n
Secondly, it would be remiss to not mention Wis.-River Falls coach Joe Cranston recording his 200th career win on Saturday with a 7-2 win over Wis.-Stevens Point. Cranston has been the only coach in the program’s 13-year history, and he has helped establish the Falcons as one of the premier programs in all of D-III women’s hockey. Cranston is just the third Division III coach to reach the 200-career win milestone, and trails only Gustavus Adolphus’ Mike Carroll and Middlebury’s Bill Mandigo.<\/p>\n