Brian Halverson

In a game between heated rivals in which records and rankings mean little, the line between winning and losing is hair thin and opportunities must be seized when offered. Such was the case on Friday night as No. 5 Minnesota and No. 15 North Dakota combined to go 1-for-14 with the man-advantage, but Nick Bjugstad … Read more

Well, here we go, another week of picks in the books. Alaska-Anchorage has the week off so Bemidji State heads east to play red-hot Lake Superior State. One team aims to continue validating its start, another looks for a  bounce-back weekend at home, a well-respected bench boss coaches his 500th game, one series could easily … Read more

It was a weekend chalk full of upsets, comebacks, shutouts, ejections, and redemptions in the WCHA. Here’s just a hat trick’s worth of “knowledge” we gleaned from Friday and Saturday’s tilts. 1. Huskies go from pretender to contender. Michigan Tech stunned No. 2 Denver, Friday, and most people who looked at Friday’s WCHA scores. The … Read more

Well here we are at the season’s most league game intensive weekend thus far. CC’s non-conference date at RPI and Minnesota State’s open weekend is all that stands in the way of a full WCHA schedule. There are some interesting match-ups out there this weekend and, without further ado, we take our best shot picking … Read more

Congratulations are in order for Wisconsin Badgers greats Jeff Sauer and Mark Johnson who were honored in St. Paul last night by the NHL and USA Hockey as recipients of the Lester Patrick Award for their service to the game in the U.S. The contributions these two men have made to the sport, particularly on … Read more

Here’s a small sampling of what caught our eyes over the weekend. Wisconsin’s offseason goaltending questions may very well have been answered… When the final horn sounded on Wisconsin’s 2010-11 season last March in Colorado Springs, senior goaltenders Scott Gudmandson and Brett Bennett skated off the ice for the final time as Badgers, taking their … Read more

In the aftermath of Friday night’s season-opening 6-0 blowout loss to Minnesota, Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon did not mince words when evaluating his team’s play. Sneddon admonished his team saying his “go-to players didn’t show up” and went so far as to say those players, including starting goaltender Rob Madore, were “detrimental” to the team … Read more

If first impressions truly count for something, Minnesota made a lasting one on Vermont on Friday in the first-ever meeting between the schools. Nick Bjugstad scored twice for the Gophers and Kent Patterson made 17 saves for his third shutout in five games as No. 8 Minnesota rolled over the Catamounts, 6-0, at Mariucci Arena. … Read more

Michigan Tech (4-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) at Bemidji State (1-3-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) Tyler:  The Beavers are battle tested after splitting with then-No. 2 Miami before losing a couple tight games at then-No. 7 Colorado College. Tech had to sweat out a couple of close ones against one of the worst teams in the land, American International, a … Read more

Led by Jake Hansen’s four-point night and Kent Patterson’s second straight shutout, the Minnesota Golden Gophers completed a weekend sweep of the visiting Sacred Heart Pioneers in front of 7,918 at Mariucci Arena on Saturday. Goals by freshman defenseman Ben Marshall and senior Taylor Matson less than 30 seconds apart early in the second period … Read more

After a Jekyll and Hyde opening period, the Minnesota Golden Gophers stormed back with four goals in each of the final two periods on Friday night and cruised to a 9-0 season-opening win over the Sacred Heart Pioneers in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Nick Bjugstad and Seth Ambroz each scored twice for … Read more