David H. Hendrickson

The Last Hurrah This is the final column of the season. Next week we switch to previews, first of the NCAA Regionals and then the Frozen Four. So thanks for your attention this year. Also, my apologies for being so inconsistent in responding to your emails. I tried, but it seemed that most came in … Read more

One More Time For Number Seven I can’t believe it’s over. Last Saturday, my son Ryan played his final game for the Wesleyan Cardinals. It’s been a long, wonderful journey since that first time I laced up his skates and led him onto the ice where I wrapped my arms around him to hold him … Read more

In Praise Of Elimination Getting knocked out of the playoffs is tough on the players and coaches involved, but it says here that allowing only eight of the 10 Hockey East teams into the playoffs is a good thing. It may be inconsistent with other leagues, but the current philosophy is the right one. If … Read more

Beanpot: Same Old, Same Old Once again, Boston University and Boston College will face off against each other in the Beanpot championship game. The last time that the two archrivals didn’t face each other for the title — other than those years when it was impossible because they met in the opening round, of course … Read more

In Praise Of 21-Year-Old Freshmen Last week’s column by Scott Weighart created some controversy with what some perceived as a negative view of 25-year-old seniors playing against 18-year-old freshmen. Some Maine fans didn’t care for what they considered to be a knock on Michel Léveillé, who as Scott noted will turn 26 three days before … Read more

Ups And Downs With only one exception, every team in Hockey East has had its ups and downs. Obviously, some schools have had more peaks and fewer valleys than others, but other than New Hampshire — those Wildcats just keep rolling along — no one has been immune. Maine is probably the most extreme example, … Read more

Interesting Times At The Heights There were plenty of eyebrows raised when Boston College coach Jerry York stripped the captain’s and assistant captain’s letters off Brian Boyle and Joe Rooney, respectively. No doubt the rumor mills in some locations shifted into high gear. Drugs? Police charges? Barroom brawls? “It’s strictly an academic issue,” York explains. … Read more

Before The Frivolity Although much of this column will be light-hearted, the recent violence against hockey players begs comment. I speak, of course, of the attack on BU players and the murder of former [nl]Norwich captain Michael Serba. When someone is suckerpunched and then killed with a blow to the head with something like a … Read more

Down in the valley, the valley so low… This week’s featured teams have recently hit the skids after enjoying exceptionally hot stretches, collectively going winless in their last 10 games after a stretch of 22 contests with only a single loss. That’s not to kick teams when they’re down. Longtime readers know that this column … Read more

The Sky Isn’t Falling Based on some reactions to Boston College’s 6-3 start, you’d think the Eagles are on the brink of disaster. While it’s true that there have been some surprising losses, most notably the lopsided scores in Notre Dame’s 7-1 win and Harvard’s 4-0 shutout, there isn’t a team in college hockey that … Read more

Still Undefeated Going into last weekend, Boston College had just lost to Providence, Boston University to Massachusetts-Lowell, and New Hampshire to Massachusetts. With the Hockey East mantra of “toughest league top to bottom” being chanted in rinks throughout New England, you had to figure Maine had no chance against Merrimack. The Black Bears, however, had … Read more