George Commo’s Blog – Sunday Evening 2/19/17

Playoff season is here or fast approaching on both the college and high school fronts, and there are some very interesting stories developing …

UVM Men’s Basketball is one win away from the America East regular season championship and two wins away from a perfect 16-0 regular season conference record. Standing in their way long time rivals Albany (Wednesday night) and Stony Brook (Saturday afternoon), both at Patrick Gym.

UVM Men’s Hockey’s hopes of a top four finish and first round bye in Hockey East are on fading life support, but the Cats can still secure home ice in the opening round of the conference tournament this weekend when they play host to redhot Merrimack at the Gutt.

Sad to say the home ice light went out this weekend for the Vermont women, who came up a point short of home ice and will instead have to travel to Providence for a first round series next weekend against the Friars.

After their bye week this past weekend the Norwich men’s hockey team will face a familiar foe in the NEHC Semi-finals this Saturday night at Kreitzberg. The Castleton Spartans have seen their season end six years in a row in Northfield, five of those times at the hands of the Cadets and those two in-state rivals will match up again on Saturday.

The St. Michael’s Purple Knights will go for the NE-10 playoff title at home this weekend. St. Mike’s topped Stonehill 4-1 on Saturday while Assumption was knocking off top seeded St. Anselm, sending the Greyhounds to Cairns Arena for the title game.

The Middlebury men’s basketball team is headed to Tufts this weekend for the NESCAC semis and finals … that after surviving a big time scare against Bates on Saturday at Pepin Gym.

Throw in the final week of the regular season in high school hockey and boy’s high school basketball … the penultimate week in girl’s hoop … and you get the idea … it is a great time of the year in Vermont sports.