Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
JIM: The first half is just about done for this college hockey season. It certainly went by fast enough that my head is spinning a little.
But this final weekend of play (aside from the Augustana-Omaha series this weekend) brought a few notable moments. First and foremost, we saw the first crack in the armor of previously unbeaten Dartmouth. After a 3-0 win against Army at home on Friday, the Big Green got their biggest test on Sunday traveling to in-state rival New Hampshire. And the Wildcats became the first team to solve Dartmouth this season.
The Wildcats never trailed but still needed overtime after Dartmouth tied the game with an extra attacker late. That said, the UNH game plan of slowing Dartmouth seemed to work and ultimately their top line of Hayden Stavroff, Hank Cleaves and Cam MacDonald were held scoreless on the night.
I’ve really enjoyed the hot start for Dartmouth and the fact that they came just a goal away from reaching the break perfect, something that has only been done once in the USCHO poll era and even that has an asterisk next to it as it was Minnesota’s 8-0 start in the COVID season of 2020-21.
So where do you see Dartmouth heading in the second half? Their schedule gets more difficult taking on the best of the ECAC (they still have league games remaining with Quinnipiac, Cornell, Harvard, Union and Princeton, and two really strong non-conference tests from Arizona State. Do you look at this loos as a simple bump in the road, or should we read more into it?
PAULA: I don’t read a whole lot into the loss. Perfection, as many philosophers remind us, is unattainable – even for teams with a line like Stavroff, Cleaves and MacDonald and a goaltending tandem like Roan Clarke and Emmett Croteau.
And defensively especially, New Hampshire is no slouch. The Wildcats may not be ripping it up in Hockey East – yet – but they split with Michigan State early in the season and end the first half on a five-game win streak that included the impressive sweep of Maine in Alfond Arena. Maine’s a top-10 team offensively in New Hampshire held them to four goals total in that sweep, including that 1-0 shutout Dec. 5 to open that set.
Even though I don’t read too much into Dartmouth’s single loss, I wouldn’t reduce it to a bump in the road, either. As you’ve pointed out, the second half holds a tough schedule for the Big Green, so they’ll be tested by many good opponents. One thing about a strong first half that we’ve seen in the past, Jimmy, is that it can often give teams confidence to build a solid second half. Dartmouth finished with a respectable 18-13-2 overall record last year and they’re only seven wins shy of matching that total from a season ago.
My impression is that the ECAC is a stronger league this season than it has been in recent years, perhaps more competitive deeper into the field of teams than it has been. I thought Union’s home sweep of Alaska was impressive, especially following their weekend of conference play in which they followed up a 5-1 loss to Princeton with a 4-0 blanking of Quinnipiac.
I’m definitely eager to see how Dartmouth fares against Arizona State and how ECAC teams do in midseason nonconference play.
You see way more of Hockey East than I do. Does it surprise you that New Hampshire took down Dartmouth? I’ve heard some folks talk about HEA having a down year, but I never think of that conference as anything but highly competitive and often lethal. What’s your take?
JIM: Honestly, I’m not trying to seem like some sort of soothsayer, but I did feel UNH was in a good position to take down Dartmouth. You mentioned the difficulties of perfection. But you can also point to New Hampshire being arguably Dartmouth’s strongest opponent to date (and no disrespect to Cornell). But the Wildcats have been slowly building to this.
They began this short win streak with an excellent come-from-behind road with at Connecticut, then went and took care of Bentley before heading to Alfond for their memorable sweep of the Black Bears. So you saw the momentum building.
As for the reason, though, I think you hit on somewhat of a strength for this UNH team: defense. In particular goaltending, which was shored up this season with the arrival of Kyle Chauvette from Union. Knowing that seemingly every game, Chauvette will probably make a big save or three has boosted the confidence of this team.
Now to your other point about a down year for Hockey East, I do have to agree based on the numbers that this has been a tough start for the league that perennially has been among the best. But I will give you two statistics that give me hope: This past week, Hockey East posted a 6-1-0 mark out of conference, raising the league record to .563 for the season (it was as low as .519 at one point). On November 17, the league had just three teams in the top 27 of the NPI. Now on December 15, that has increased to six teams in the top 23.
There still isn’t a Hockey East team in the top 14, which has typically been the line of demarcation for at-large bids. But baby steps, right?
PAULA: I am still trying to wrap my head around the NPI – talk about baby steps – but it’s clear even to me that Hockey East’s start out of the gate damaged the league’s placement in the first half. Looking at who’s just outside of NPI contention right now is pretty sobering. Hockey East teams occupy Nos. 15 through 18: Providence, Boston College, Northeastern and Connecticut, in that order. New Hampshire’s No. 21 and Boston University is No. 23.
That’s an adjustment, for sure. Like a paradigm shift.
I’m wondering if we’ll see only two Hockey East teams in the national tournament next year. That’s something else I can’t wrap my head around. Not one bit.
What’s really killing me about Hockey East’s “down” year though, Jimmy, is the level of play I’ve seen in every HEA league game. I didn’t see any of the early nonconference play but what I’ve seen in Hockey East play has been terrific – and when I typed “terrific,” I heard it in Jerry York’s voice – and that’s something that makes the quality of the league difficult for me to gauge.
Looking ahead to midseason HEA play, I’m definitely looking forward to that Boston College-Western Michigan game in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off Dec. 28 and that Maine-Denver series Dec. 28-29. Jimmy, you and I love us some good midseason holiday tournament action. What are you looking forward to before we jump back into conference play – and is there anything especially on your radar for when the leagues get back it in January?
JIM: I do still love holiday tournaments. I think it’s excellent experience the feel of a tournament: playing at different game times, not knowing your opponent until the end of the semifinals, playing for a trophy. But the unfortunate thing that often happens is roster depletion due to World Juniors.
That has always been the case but it will be magnified this season by the College Select teams headed to the Spengler Cup. So, for example Western Michigan vs. Boston College, will be missing a few key players as well as BC coach Greg Brown, an assistant for Team USA at World Juniors.
With that said, maybe that gives me a better answer because what I really look forward to, especially given recent American success. World Juniors is always a highlight of my hockey season. And now to know I will also have the famous Spengler Cup in which to place my interest, I am really excited.
I have always known about the Spengler Cup, but it wasn’t until Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf talked with me about the event and placing a college all-star team in this year’s field that I understood just how big this event is. In Europe and Switzerland, this is appointment viewing television. And it’s popularity in Canada, which places its own entry each year, is very strong. I know I will be tuned in.
How about you, Paula? What are you ready for in 2026?
PAULA: I live for the World Juniors every December and I’m exaggerating only a little bit when I say so. I rearrange my life for the duration of the tournament to watch as many games live as I can. This year, I’m delighted that the Spengler Cup will be crowding my life as well.
Like you, I knew of the Spengler Cup before this year but hadn’t paid much attention to it, very likely because the U.S. hasn’t had collegiate representation in the tournament since 1990. In the U.S., the Spengler Cup will be streamed live on the tournament’s YouTube channel. That tourney runs from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31, and all six NCAA conferences are represented on the United States Collegiate Selects team.
I love that Guy Gadowsky was picked to head the coaching staff. I don’t think that North Americans should be alone in witnessing the kind of exciting hockey that a Gadowsky-led team can play – and I’m not exaggerating about that one little bit. New Hampshire’s Mike Souza and Niagara’s Jason Lammers join Gadowsky as assistants.
In the U.S., the NHL Network will once again be carrying the World Junior tournament, which runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. This year, the tournament will be played entirely within Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Group A, which includes the U.S. team, plays in Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, home to the Minnesota Wild. Group B plays at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, the Golden Gophers’ home ice.
I know there will be a lot of young talent showcased in both tournaments, Jimmy, but I sometimes think that the NCAA coaches leading teams in international play get overlooked. Minnesota’s Bob Motzko is this year’s Team USA head coach, joined by Greg Brown (Boston College), Steve Miller (Minnesota) and Garrett Raboin (Augustana). Between that and the Spengler Cup coaching staff, that is an impressive amount of NCAA coaching talent.
As for what the remainder of the season brings, I’m just looking forward to the annual Big Ten in-conference bashing. For the past three seasons or so, the Big Ten has improved upon itself regardless of which teams have been up and which down, but this year the play is on a new level. I’m just over here asking Santa for a gift that can only be delivered in April – like every college hockey fan, I suppose.
And on that note, Happy Holidays everyone from Jimmy and me and all of us at USCHO, and here’s to an intensively competitive New Year!