Jim ConnellyJust days before its MAAC quarterfinal with Mercyhurst, Iona announced Tuesday that it will drop its men’s hockey program effective at the end of this season. Iona joins Fairfield as the second MAAC school to drop men’s hockey this season. The announcement came after a meeting on March 6 of the college’s Legal Board of … Read more
Merrimack goaltender Joe Exter remained in serious condition Tuedsay at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Tuesday with multiple fractures sustained in a collision during last Friday’s Hockey East quarterfinal game at Boston College. According to hospital officials, there is no change in Exter’s condition, and nothing further is expected before Wednesday morning. The injury … Read more
Merrimack goaltender Joe Exter remains in serious condition with multiple skull fractures at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center today following a collision in last Friday’s opening game of the Hockey East quarterfinal series at Boston College. (Original story) According to hospital spokespersons, Exter’s condition is unchanged in the last 24 hours, and unless there … Read more
As a tragedy unfolds before your eyes, keeping focused on the game is hard for everyone.
With his star goalie Joe Exter still in the hospital in serious condition with a fractured skull — the result of a nasty head-first collision with Boston College freshman Patrick Eaves — Merrimack coach Chris Serino addressed the media Saturday afternoon. Serino spoke candidly and emotionally about Exter, the ugly melee that followed the incident, … Read more
With Merrimack goaltender Joe Exter still battling a major head injury sustained in Friday’s opener, few minds Saturday night were on the rematch between Merrimack and Boston College in game two of the Hockey East quarterfinals. That, though, didn’t translate onto the ice, as both teams treated the 2,513 in attendance to an entertaining game … Read more
On Feb. 15, in a 6-1 victory for Merrimack over Boston College, BC’s Andrew Alberts delivered a late-game hit to Merrimack’s then-leading scorer Marco Rosa. The hit resulted in Rosa breaking his wrist and suffering a concussion that ended his season. The hit also set off a series of conversations and a request to Hockey … Read more
Merrimack goalie Joe Exter was in critical condition Friday night after a collision with BC’s Pat Eaves in their quarterfinal round game.
Mercyhurst wins the regular-season title in a fashion fitting to this year’s edition of the MAAC; four teams scramble for the last playoff slot; and Jim Connelly hands out his year-end awards.
“The hockey gods have paid us back.” The glorious words of Massachusetts-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald were a fitting summary of Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Northeastern, which earned the River Hawks the final spot in the Hockey East playoffs on the last night of the regular season. In a season of almosts for Lowell that has … Read more
Sacred Heart establishes a milestone with a win over a CCHA opponent, while the MAAC brings college hockey back to the Big Apple as Connecticut and Quinnipiac decide the Heroes’ Hat. Jim Connelly reports.
The NCAA Frozen Four, now revered as one of the most successful NCAA championships annually, could be taking its show to the world’s most famous arena. Madison Square Garden, home to the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers, is exploring a bid for the next cycle of Frozen Four host sites. The current cycle is … Read more
One of Massachusetts’ two state-funded Division I hockey programs could soon be privatized; if Massachusetts’ new governor, Mitt Romney, has his way. As part of an overwhelming state restructuring plan that Romney will institute in hopes to pull the state from extreme debt, he unveiled Wednesday a plan that would privatize the state’s main campus … Read more
Tuesday night’s battle between Merrimack and Massachusetts-Lowell probably wouldn’t have been billed as a goaltending duel entering the game. While Merrimack’s Joe Exter night in and night out this season has impressed teams enough to make him a strong MVP candidate, Lowell’s Achilles’ heel for much of the year has been goaltending. But despite an … Read more
The rollercoaster year for Boston College’s Tony Voce continues. The junior forward for the Eagles began the season on a scoring tear, only to see his offense dry up leading into the holiday break. After being a healthy scratch in the Eagles first game back after the break, Voce returned a house afire, scoring 17 … Read more
With the regular season drawing to a close, Jim Connelly answers the MAAC’s imponderable questions — the 50-50 imponderables, at least. Also: Quinnipiac shows the rest of the league its two sides at an inopportune time.
Boston College goaltender Matti Kaltiainen waited all night to make a big save. With just seconds remaining in regulation, he got his chance. After Merrimack tied the game with 34 seconds left, Kaltiainen (13 saves) stopped Marco Rosa with 15 seconds to play on a partial breakaway, setting up Chris Collins’ breakaway goal at 1:35 … Read more
Rank! Over the last year, E! Entertainment Television made popular the show “Rank.” On the geared-towards-pop-culture hour-long show, the network ranks anything from “hottest celebrity” to “richest person.” Taking the route of the spinoff, we present to you “Rank, College Hockey Style.” On this episode, we’ll be ranking the toughest remaining MAAC schedules as the … Read more
Boston University had a goal coming into the 51st Beanpot championship game — stay out of the penalty box. Hockey East’s most-penalized team, the Terriers were facing one of the country’s best power play in the Boston College Eagles. Measured against that goal, the Terriers failed miserably. BU took nine minor penalties that accounted for … Read more
Reaction to Thursday morning’s announcement that Fairfield was ending men’s ice hockey in a cost-cutting measure. Gene Doris, Fairfield athletic director “It’s obviously a tough day for us in terms of needing to cut two programs. It was based on the institution’s priorities on where the money needed to be allocated and where the sports … Read more