Jim ConnellyMidterm Exams While college kids may be taking finals, it’s time to look at how each Atlantic Hockey team is doing on the ice and hand out our midterm report cards. The first half of the season has definitely been exciting. We’ve seen some stellar performances both by teams and by individuals. Mercyhurst, Holy Cross, … Read more
A freak pre-winter snow storm in the Northeast turned the Massachusetts Minutemen’s 90-minute trip into Boston for a game against #6 Boston College into a four-hour bus ride down I-90. In the end, they’d wished they’d stayed home. With the Eagles offense clicking on every cylinder, the legless Minutemen were never in the game as … Read more
365 Days of Hell When Saturday arrives, those who follow Canisius hockey may want to light a candle, do some sort of chant. Anything that might move the black cloud from over the school’s head. Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the firing of coach Brian Cavanaugh. Since that day, the Griffs program has been … Read more
Problems in Buffalo … Again It was nearly a year to the day since head coach Brian Cavanaugh was fired by Canisius College. Things seemed like they were on track for the Griffs, which boasted a new head coach, new athletic director and new attitude. But the housecleaning at Canisius following months of discipline problems … Read more
College hockey’s rivalry weekend kicked off Friday night in fine fashion as the game’s ultimate rivals, Boston College and Boston University, squared at BC’s Conte Forum for what amounted to a classic college hockey battle. A two-goal outburst for the Eagles midway through the game – and a little puck luck – was all they … Read more
Winning the Recruiting Battle Ask any college hockey coach. The biggest day-to-day worry generally isn’t how their team is playing on the ice. Nope, the top concern of most teams is building for the future. College hockey recruiting at the Division I level has become a business for most programs. Assistant coaches spend weeks, if … Read more
When Boston College defenseman Tim Filangieri won his team’s weekly shootout, few knew that it was a foreshadowing of good things to come. Filangieri scored two of BC’s three goals in a 3-0 victory over Merrimack Saturday, all of which came as a big surprise to head coach Jerry York. “He’s a defensive defenseman,” said … Read more
Time to Give Thanks For eight years I have been writing this column for USCHO.com, and over that time there have been few traditions that I’ve developed. One, though, has to do with Thanksgiving. Each year, my column published on Thanksgiving day takes a bit of a tongue-in-cheek look around the world of Atlantic Hockey, … Read more
Throughout the season, USCHO.com staffers Scott Brown and Jim Connelly will offer their views on the previous weeks’ action, alternating writing duties (and occasional potshots at each other) every Tuesday. Brown will focus on the West and Connelly on the East, in a regular column exclusive to USCHO Extra. So admit it. How many Harvard … Read more
Anything worth doing is worth doing twice. Boston College’s Chris Collins proved that Saturday as he scored two breakaway goals using an identical move, the second of which proved to be the game-winner with 3:49 remaining as the Eagles beat a pesky Northeastern team, 5-3. “I don’t really have much else in my bag here,” … Read more
1,000 And Counting It may have taken what seemed like an eternity, but Army finally reached the 1,000-win plateau last Friday night. And the Black Knights did so in the greatest way imaginable. Army, which entered the season with 999 wins and entered the weekend winless this season, beat archrival Air Force at home on, … Read more
The Harvard Crimson learned a little something on Tuesday night: a four-goal lead is enough to win a game. Barely. After Boston College spotted Harvard a 4-0 advantage midway through the game, the Crimson hung on for dear life, watching the Eagles climb within a goal late in the third before Charlie Johnson buried a … Read more
Clash of the Titans, Part I It may only be November, but it’s highly likely that the attention of many in Atlantic Hockey will be focused on Worcester this weekend as the league’s preseason favorites, Mercyhurst and Holy Cross, lock horns for the first time this year. It’s a series that everyone involved would like … Read more
Upset Hounds Just one week after dropping below .500 and to the bottom edge of the USCHO.com/CSTV poll, Boston University played the role of rebound team of the week, ending two winning streaks over the weekend with wins over Vermont and Maine. The wins came at a good time, as the Ice Dogs were on … Read more
BOSTON – There were ten goals, eighty-three shots and multi-goal games by two collegiate rookies. In the end, though, the script played out as written. New Hampshire, despite having to overcome a deficit late in the second period, rode a two-goal effort by freshman Thomas Fortney to earn a 6-4 victory over Northeastern on Friday … Read more
Blame, Burden Or Opportunity We’ve all heard by now that the CHA is running into problems in replacing Air Force, which next season will head to Atlantic Hockey as the league’s 10th member. Kennesaw State, which was a potential sixth member for the CHA, doesn’t appear ready to move to the Division I level. That … Read more
If Boston College rookie Brock Bradford has proved anything in the past week for the Eagles, it’s that he’d rather be lucky than good. For the second straight game, Bradford notched the game-winning goal, and similar to Saturday’s winner in a 3-2 victory against Providence, throwing the puck to the net was the best play … Read more
In a program steeped with history, the No. 8 Boston College Eagles were glad on Saturday night not to be making any more. Faced with going winless in its first three league games for the first time in the history of the program, the Eagles rallied behind a two-goal effort from senior Chris Collins and … Read more
Who says all great hockey is played in March? In a battle of two of the top clubs in Hockey East, the No. 5 Maine Black Bears used solid special teams and great goaltending to sneak past host No. 8 Boston College, 2-1, in a game that featured crisp passing and solid pace throughout. “Both … Read more
The Never-Ending Question Connecticut coach Bruce Marshall, when asked if Atlantic Hockey teams are beginning to close the gap between themselves and clubs in Hockey East, had a quick comeback. “You guys [the media] love to ask that question, don’t you?” he quipped. Truth is, the media and a lot of fans in Atlantic Hockey … Read more