Chris LerchLast year, the preseason coaches’ poll put the Huskies in fourth, surprising some people. But lo and behold, that’s where UConn did indeed finish, earning home ice in the playoffs and a trip to Rochester. “We’d had a tough season (in 2005-06) and lost 12 games in a row at the end,” said coach Bruce … Read more
Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin was surprised when his team was picked to finish first in the 2006-07 preseason poll. But while he didn’t necessarily think he had the best team in Atlantic Hockey, he didn’t foresee a team that had won 22 games the year before chalk up just nine victories last season. “I’m not … Read more
Expectations were low for Army coming into last season. All-star goaltender Brad Roberts was gone and the Black Knights, never known as an offensive powerhouse, were expected to finish ninth in a 10-team league. Instead, Army found a more-than capable replacement between the pipes in Josh Kassel (2.38 GAA) and some firepower from Luke Flicek … Read more
The Tigers surprised everyone last year, possibly including themselves. “We knew we could compete; we didn’t know if we could win right away, and I guess that was answered,” said coach Wayne Wilson. “Not just Atlantic Hockey. We knew we could compete with anybody.” After a 6-22-2 season as an independent when they lost ten … Read more
The Crusaders came crashing back to earth after a storybook 20005-06 season, dropping from 27 wins and an epic NCAA victory over Minnesota to just 10 victories and an early playoff exit last season. Picked to finish sixth this season, after a sixth-place season last year, on paper the Crusaders may be hard-pressed to finish … Read more
The Falcons had a wild ride last season, their first in Atlantic Hockey. Coach Frank Serratore’s squad was never able to string together more than two wins in a row until February, playing musical goaltenders to try to the shore up a defense to support the high flying line of Mike Phillipich, Andrew Ramsey and … Read more
Things are headed in the right direction for AIC, but not fast enough for coach Gary Wright. The team got off to a horrendous 2-14 start before finishing the season 6-11-1 and taking points in all but two of its last eight league series. The Yellow Jackets won a first-round playoff game at Canisius before … Read more
After making it to the league championship game in 2005-06, a seventh-place finish was a disappointment for Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist and crew. The Falcons won just 12 games last season and their longest winning streak was a pair of games. Bentley was last in the league in team defense — rarely getting blown out … Read more
RIT, which won the Atlantic Hockey Regular season in its first year in the league, was picked to repeat in the league’s coaches preseaon poll, released Wednesday. The Tigers received eight of the 10 first-place votes, with playoff champion Air Force and Mercyhurst getting one first-place vote each. “It’s nice to receive the honor, but … Read more
Another Frozen Four concludes, and another college hockey season comes to an end. It’s been a blast for me to cover Atlantic Hockey and do a national D-III blog this season, and it’s been a real pleasure and privilege to do the Frozen Four Blog this week. Hopefully, it’s given you a flavor of what … Read more
Another Frozen Four concludes, and another college hockey season comes to an end. It’s been a blast for me to cover Atlantic Hockey and do a national D-III blog this season, and it’s been a real pleasure and privilege to do the Frozen Four Blog this week. Hopefully, it’s given you a flavor of what … Read more
It was a lighthearted but emotional press conference for the Spartans, who fulfilled the dream that every college hockey player has – to hold the trophy aloft after winning the final game of the season. The rest of the USCHO crew will have all the details with a variety of recaps and features. I am … Read more
It was a lighthearted but emotional press conference for the Spartans, who fulfilled the dream that every college hockey player has – to hold the trophy aloft after winning the final game of the season. The rest of the USCHO crew will have all the details with a variety of recaps and features. I am … Read more
Tim Kennedy – Michigan State Justin Abdelkader – Michigan State Nathan Gerbe – Boston College Tyler Howells – Michigan State Brian Boyle – Boston College Jeff Lerg – Michigan State MVP: Justin Abdelkader
Tim Kennedy – Michigan State Justin Abdelkader – Michigan State Nathan Gerbe – Boston College Tyler Howells – Michigan State Brian Boyle – Boston College Jeff Lerg – Michigan State MVP: Justin Abdelkader
0:00: Twenty minutes to go. Maybe. 0:00: Miscellaneous factoid: BC is 23-1 when leading after two periods this season. 1:10: A great chance by the Spartans has the crowd buzzing. Kennedy puts one through the crease behind Schneider. Right after, Abdelkader goes to the box for interference. 3:39: BC with a couple of good chances, … Read more
0:00: Twenty minutes to go. Maybe. 0:00: Miscellaneous factoid: BC is 23-1 when leading after two periods this season. 1:10: A great chance by the Spartans has the crowd buzzing. Kennedy puts one through the crease behind Schneider. Right after, Abdelkader goes to the box for interference. 3:39: BC with a couple of good chances, … Read more
3:34: BC gets its second power play of the game when Abdelkader hooks Benn Ferriero in front of the Spartan net. The Eagles’ power play is clicking at 35% over the last 13 games. 5:00: Another State hooking call – Crowder goes off. 5×3 for BC. 6:14: Lerg comes up huge on Ben Smith, who … Read more
3:34: BC gets its second power play of the game when Abdelkader hooks Benn Ferriero in front of the Spartan net. The Eagles’ power play is clicking at 35% over the last 13 games. 5:00: Another State hooking call – Crowder goes off. 5×3 for BC. 6:14: Lerg comes up huge on Ben Smith, who … Read more
I’ll be liveblogging the finals from the pressbox high atop the Scottrade Center. As with the semifinals, there will be a separate blog post for each period. Reload to see updates as each period progresses. Here are the line charts: Michigan State Forwards: Kennedy-Abdelkader-Crowder Lerg-Mueller-McKenzie (starters) Schepke-Sucharski-Sprague Lawrence-McClellan (Michigan State using an extra defenseman) Michigan … Read more