Jim ConnellyWith Atlantic Hockey still basking in the glory of Holy Cross’ first-round NCAA upset of Minnesota, the league and its member schools can feel the glow of even more sunshine. Mercyhurst would-be senior defenseman Jamie Hunt became the league’s first-ever early departure for the National Hockey League, signing a contract with the Washington Capitals, USCHO.com … Read more
The historic 2005 Frozen Four saw the WCHA dominate the postseason. This time around, Jim Connelly says Maine helped show Hockey East’s not half-bad either.
You always hear coaches talk about the “little things” in college sports. After Saturday’s opening game of the 2006 NCAA East Regional, Michigan State head coach Rick Comley may want to make it part of his credo. In a game where his Spartans did all of the little things perfectly, a Tim Crowder goal just … Read more
Holy Cross faithful, book your flights to Grand Forks: you’re going to the Big Dance. Thanks to a 5-2 victory over Cinderella Bentley on Saturday night, the Crusaders captured their second Atlantic Hockey championship in three years, and with it received the league’s automatic qualifier for next weekend’s NCAA tournament. With Wisconsin beating Minnesota in … Read more
The ultimate Cinderella story remained alive Friday night as Bentley, a team that six weeks ago looked headed for the golf course, upset Mercyhurst, 3-2 in double overtime, to advance to the Atlantic Hockey championship game for the first time in school history. Bentley, which will face host and No. 1 seed Holy Cross in … Read more
When it comes to playoff games, textbook hockey is the way most coaches prefer their teams to play. So after a textbook 4-1 win over Connecticut in the opening game of the 2006 Atlantic Hockey final four, its no surprise that Holy Cross head coach Paul Pearl was happy. “That would be exactly how we … Read more
Could You Imagine? Want to see the college hockey world turn upside down? Well, if Bentley beats Holy Cross for the Atlantic Hockey championship this Saturday night, you may just see that. Though the fourth-seeded Falcons are a bit of an underdog, a title win over the Crusaders could stop a lot of hearts as … Read more
Senior defenseman Brett Murphy fired a one-timer through the five-hole of Army goaltender Brad Roberts at 14:30 of the second overtime, ending the longest game in Atlantic Hockey tournament history and giving Bentley a 4-3 victory over the Black Knights Saturday night at John A. Ryan rink. In a game that featured just about everything … Read more
It’s amazing how one bounce can turn things around in college hockey. The Boston College Eagles, entering the playoffs on life support, looked ready to dump the first game of its best-of-three series against Vermont on Thursday night. Able to score in the final minute of regulation to tie the game and then get a … Read more
Too Close for Comfort Several leagues had close races to the finish this season. None, though, could touch Atlantic Hockey. It took the final minutes of the final games of the regular season this past Saturday night in order for the league champion to be crowned. It was a Pierre Napert-Frenette goal with 1:03 remaining … Read more
Peter Harrold’s goal at 10:41 of overtime completed a dramatic comeback for Boston College, giving the third-seeded Eagles a 3-2 victory over sixth-seeded Vermont and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series. Harrold intercepted a blind pass at his defensive blue line. He then cut down the right wing side, skated just … Read more
Jim Connelly discovers this weekend that New Hampshire’s pride in both its men’s and women’s hockey programs is contagious.
The Hockey East regular-season championship — and then some — came down to a very brief span of time on Saturday night, Jim Connelly writes.
Jan. 13, 2006 against Maine was UNH goalie Melissa Bourdon’s worst start of the season. She made sure Saturday’s semifinal would be different.
They say that one is the loneliest number. For Holy Cross on Friday night, it provided company. Thanks to a tight-checking, 1-0, road victory over Bentley, the Crusaders remained tied with Sacred Heart, an 8-3 winner over Connecticut on Friday, for the top spot in the Atlantic Hockey standings with one night left in the … Read more
Hand out the Hardware Could it really be true that the season is coming to an end? College sports’ longest season is just about over and it’s time to go through my list of accolades and tell you who I believe deserves the hardware come day’s end. Talking to coaches and others around the league … Read more
The first bottle of Hockey East champagne will have to stay on ice until the final night of the regular season. Thanks to a gutsy come-from-behind effort by New Hampshire, Boston College’s opportunity to clinch any part of the Hockey East regular-season championship will have to wait, as the Eagles and Wildcats skated to a … Read more
With the ECACHL playoffs starting this weekend and the Hockey East and AHA regular seasons nearing their end, Jim Connelly looks over the likely scenarios and their consequences.
Fact or Fiction? Frequent readers of this column know that I love playing the game “Fact or Fiction” at least once a year. It’s based on the ESPN segment of the same title that picks various sports topics, makes a statement about them, and then gives in-studio guests a chance to say whether they believe … Read more
What difference does a coach make with X’s and O’s in a big game? Jim Connelly finds that when the coach is Jack Parker, the answer is a lot.