Site AdministratorCommissioners from the nation’s six Division I ice hockey conferences have announced a 33-game series to be played among the conferences throughout the 2006-2007 season. The third annual Commissioners’ Cup Series faces off with the Denver visiting Miami on Friday, Oct. 6, in the opening round of the Ice Breaker Tournament. Miami will open its … Read more
St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko is not shy about admitting that the success of his team lies mainly on the shoulders of senior goalie Bobby Goepfert. After all, with a 2.20 GAA and a .924 save percentage — which earned him first-team All-WCHA honors — he was already carrying the team on his … Read more
Even though the Michigan Tech Huskies were one of the few teams which escaped the wrath of early departures, they will be hurting for goal-scoring just as much as any other team. Gone are three key veterans in Brandon Schwartz, Taggart Desmet and Nick Anderson. But more importantly, so is Chris Conner, who was one … Read more
There sure are some young teams in the WCHA, but as far as the youngest, you have to look at North Dakota. So what is the focus this year? In a word, development. “We’re a very young team with a theme of development and overall improvement from week to week throughout the year,” head coach … Read more
Second-year head coach Dave Shyiak knows where the Seawolves have to improve to move up in the WCHA ranks; it’s just a matter of getting them there. Alaska-Anchorage has a capable goaltender in Nathan Lawson, but got absolutely no help last year as his teammates were last in the league in scoring and second-to-last in … Read more
If Troy Jutting’s Minnesota State team has shown anything over the past few years, it is that the Mavericks have a knack for playing their hearts out and using that energy to grab league points. It has to be a good sign for him, then, that despite the fact that his team is like most … Read more
Every year there is a team that surprises in the WCHA. This year’s top candidate to fill that role is Minnesota-Duluth. Sure, the Bulldogs finished a dismal ninth a year ago, but it was a rebuilding season and one that should springboard UMD into a successful 2006-07 campaign. Head coach Scott Sandelin will look to … Read more
It is becoming a tradition that the Minnesota Gophers lose an abundance of key players every year. Equally traditional, however, is that they bring in talent capable of filling those voids, and this year is seemingly no different. The Gophers lost four of their top five scorers, and defenseman Alex Goligoski is their leading returner. … Read more
At last Thursday’s media day, Nate Hagemo, sophomore defenseman for Minnesota’s men’s hockey team, was in high spirits, to say the least. But, after a couple of days practicing with the team, it was announced Hagemo will never practice or play with the team again.
There’s nowhere to hide for Wisconsin, which starts out the year as the defending NCAA champion and atop the national polls.
Numbers don’t lie. It is no secret that NCAA men’s hockey lost a bevy of talent with the long list of players leaving college early and forgoing their last years of eligibility. But if one league was hit the most, it was the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Try these numbers on for size: In the … Read more
Minnesota, which suffered considerable losses during the offseason as players departed early for the pro ranks, lost another player Tuesday, this time to injury. Defenseman Nate Hagemo, a promising element of the Gophers’ blueline, will not return to the ice in the wake of a shoulder injury he suffered in 2004-05. Hagemo, a native of … Read more
After winning the College Hockey America tournament last March, Bemidji State was chosen as the team to beat by the league coaches. The Beavers received all four first-place votes (coaches could not vote for their own team) and 16 points. Niagara, the regular-season champion a year ago, was picked second with 13 points. Robert Morris … Read more
With opening weekend just days away, Christine Patno was named assistant women’s hockey coach today at Niagara University. “We are very pleased to have Christine join our Purple Eagle staff,” said head women’s hockey coach Margot Page. “To be able to get someone of her coaching caliber at this point in the season is a … Read more
Wisconsin, the preseason co-No. 1 with USCHO.com poll voters, is also the co-favorite of league coaches, according to the 36th annual Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald‘s preseason poll, released Tuesday. The Badgers shared that honor with rival Minnesota; the Golden Gophers received five of 10 first-place votes from league bench bosses and a total of 74 … Read more
Don’t tell North Dakota fans that the first game of the season, a 5-2 exhibition victory over the University of Manitoba, was meaningless. Grand Forks native Robbie Bina, a junior defenseman who hadn’t played a game since his neck was broken during the 2005 WCHA Final Five, received a rousing standing ovation from Fighting Sioux … Read more
Defending NCAA champion Wisconsin dominated the 2006-07 Preseason D-I Women’s All-USCHO selections by placing three players on the First Team, while Minnesota-Duluth led the Preseason All-USCHO Rookie Team with two selections. 2006 Patty Kazmaier winner Sara Bauer, defenseman Bobbi-Jo Slusar, and 2006 Frozen Four MVP Jesse Vetter were Wisconsin’s First Team selections. The forward line … Read more
There were no surprises in the WCHA women’s preseason poll released on Wednesday, as defending NCAA champion Wisconsin took the No. 1 spot. Wisconsin senior Sara Bauer, last season’s Patty Kazmaier winner, was named WCHA Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season. Traditional powers Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth took the 2nd and 3rd … Read more
The University of Denver and the Metro Denver Sports Commission have unveiled the 2008 NCAA Frozen Four logo and announced the on-sale date for tickets to the 2007 NCAA West Regional. The Pepsi Center will host the 2007 NCAA West Regional and 2008 NCAA Frozen Four, marking the first time in the history of college … Read more
The CCHA coaches and media differed in who each thought was the preseason number on team in the league – but just barely. Michigan State took seven of the 12 first-place votes in the CCHA Coaches Poll, but Michigan, with 26 first-place votes, took the top spot in the media poll. But only by one … Read more