Chris Lerch

Postgame thoughts: Maine came out a few minutes after the game and saluted their fans. A tough end to a great season that saw the Black Bears come up short again. Maine has made an impressive nine straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including six Frozen Four appearances over that span. Nothing flashy from the … Read more

0:00: And we’re underway. The joint is about 60% full. 2:34: State’s Graham goes off for tripping, and Maine has a golden opportunity right off the bat. With Lerg down and out, Leveille’s shot at an open net hits a body in front and then caroms off the crossbar. 4:34: Penalty over. Maine 0-2 on … Read more

We’re in between the first and second periods of Game 1. Thanks to the wireless going up and down like a yo-yo and nonstop action in the first period, I haven’t had a chance to post the line combinations. Here they are: Maine Forwards: Soares-Leveille-Johnson Ryan-Hamilton-Purcell Shepheard-deKastrozza-Bellamy Hahn-Clark-Laise Maine Defense: Lundin-Duffy Tyler-Ramsey Hopson-Danis-Pepin Maine Goal: … Read more

We’re just about to drop the puck in St. Louis. The arena is less than half full right now, but at 3:00pm local time start is contributing to that, no doubt. I’ll be updating periodically throughout each period in a single blog post, so reload often. 0:00: Besides the battle on the ice, this one … Read more

I’m in the pressbox at the Scottrade Center, watching warmups and waiting for the first semifinal to begin. I’ll be liveblogging the action, so reload often!

Wednesday night saw coaches, players and various dignitaries converge on the Arch in St. Louis for a pre-tournament reception. There were lots of speakers, including broadcasters Gary Thorne and Barry Melrose, as well as St. Louis Blues General Manager and ex-goalie John Davidson. All four coaches also had brief comments. The players were all business. … Read more

Welcome to the 2007 edition of the USCHO.com Frozen Four blog. The USCHO.com crew is in the house and already hard at work cranking out the news of the day…which on Wednesday means press conferences. Stay tuned for notebooks from each of the four pressers and of course lots more news and liveblogs from the … Read more

Five of Maine’s last six games have come against Massachusetts, and the Minutemen won the first four. But the Black Bears were missing a key ingredient in those games: Big Ben. Goaltender Ben Bishop missed all four due to a groin injury that kept him sidelined for almost a month. But the 6-foot-7 sophomore was … Read more

Maine goaltender Ben Bishop, making his first appearance in net since Feb. 24, made 33 saves as his Black Bears defeated St. Cloud State 4-1 in the second East Regional semifinal. Maine was 0-4 since Bishop went down with a groin injury, with all four losses coming against Massachusetts, its opponent in tomorrow’s East Regional … Read more

I regret not being able to make it to Superior – what an amazing three games. All one goal games, with two needing overtime to settle things. Here’s the winning moment, courtesy of Oswego’s Sports Information Department: A big congratulations to Ed Gosek and his team. He’s one of the classiest guys in college hockey … Read more

Air Force got three goals from its top line and a 23 save performance by freshman Andrew Volkening in a 6-1 victory over archrival Army to win the Atlantic Hockey title. The Falcons will make their first appearance in the NCAA tournament, and the first by a service academy. Air Force freshman Andrew Volkening made … Read more