Jim Connelly

Jim Connelly is the USCHO Executive Editor. He has been with USCHO since 1999 and previously covered Atlantic Hockey and Hockey East. He also serves as a color analyst for Hockey East on NESN.

TMQ: ‘First-half’ surprises include AIC flying out of the gate, potential panic in Denver, Omaha soaring in pod play

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Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback. Jim: Paula, as we write this on Monday, the NCHC pod has successfully concluded. And it did so with marked success. There wasn’t a positive COVID case reported for anyone involved … Read more

What we learned from the NCHC pod: Weekend Review college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 6

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Hockey East selects Metcalf, conference races stay hot, PairWise odds: Weekend Review college hockey podcast Season 2 Episode 19

Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger look at the games and news of the past week.

At the top of this week’s episode, we look at what we learned about the NCHC now that the bubble in Omaha – run without a hitch – is over. Nearly every team has good things to take away from the 38-game confab.

Other highlights from the weekend include Bowling Green’s road sweep at Quinnipiac, a resurgent Providence offense, and a close pair of games as Notre Dame hosted Michigan State.

Plus we look at a better-than-most-expected Minnesota and take our hats off to the conferences whose flexibility has made even this much of a season possible.

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Hockey East picks: Dec. 19-21

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Good news for Hockey East: there were as many games played last week as there were the previous three. Bad news for Hockey East: more COVID-related cancelations this weekend for Maine and New Hampshire. Here are our picks on the games we hope are played: Jim last week: 4-2-1 Jim to date: 9-3-2 Marisa last … Read more

Northeastern coach Jim Madigan previews home-and-home with Providence: Game of the Week college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 4

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No. 8 UMass home-and-home vs. No. 14 UMass Lowell preview with Minutemen head coach Greg Carvel: Game of the Week college hockey podcast Season 2 Episode 20

Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan to preview his team’s Saturday-Sunday home-and-home series with Providence.

We also look at No. 13 Bowling Green at Quinnipiac for a pair, NCHC pod tilts between No. 3 Minnesota Duluth and No. 4 North Dakota and No. 8 Denver vs. No. 9 St. Cloud. In the Big Ten, we preview Michigan State at No. 18 Ohio State.

Also of note, non-conference games between WCHA rivals Bemidji State and host No. 5 Minnesota State, Arizona State at No. 16 Notre Dame, plus an Atlantic Hockey tilt that sees Canisius back in action after a pause on the road against a restocked RIT.

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This Week in Hockey East: Conference continues to navigate 2020-21 season with ‘maximum flexibility’

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While over the last two weekends, more Hockey East games have been played on the ice than in the previous two, the biggest news across the league continues to come from decisions of the league’s commissioner and the athletic directors. Such was the case on Tuesday when Hockey East announced that any and all games … Read more

Talking Penn State hockey with coach Guy Gadowsky: USCHO Spotlight college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 4

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A conversation with incoming Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf: USCHO Spotlight college hockey podcast season 2 episode 20

After dropping its first five games, Penn State has won three in a row, including a pair of overtime games last weekend against Arizona State.

Nittany Lions head coach Guy Gadowsky joins hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger to talk about his young team, the Big Ten, COVID-19 adjustments, rule changes this season, and playing in an empty Pegula Ice Arena.

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TMQ: Never too early to think about how we would choose the field for the 2021 NCAA hockey tournament

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Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback. Paula: Well, Jimmy, there’s a new No. 1 in this week’s poll, and that seems like a good place to start. Minnesota improved to 8-0-0 this week after sweeping Michigan on … Read more

Minnesota climbs to the top, there’s parity in the NCHC pod: Weekend Review college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 5

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Hockey East selects Metcalf, conference races stay hot, PairWise odds: Weekend Review college hockey podcast Season 2 Episode 19

Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger look at the games of the past week and a couple of news items.

Last week there were four undefeated teams who had seen action, but this week there’s only one of them standing alone on top. Minnesota’s perfect 8-0 record has the poised and confident Golden Gophers reaching No. 1 in the USCHO.com men’s D-I poll.

The teams right behind all had one or more losses in the past week, including North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth in the very competitive NCHC pod in Omaha, and Boston College, which lost its first game of the season to UConn.

The WCHA is down to eight teams with the announcement of Alaska’s suspended season – which the team is working to reverse – and off to a great start is Bowling Green.

Plus, we ask whether the IIHF is really doing all it can to protect players as they head to Edmonton.

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North Dakota vs. Minnesota Duluth preview with writer Brad Schlossman: Game of the Week college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 3

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No. 8 UMass home-and-home vs. No. 14 UMass Lowell preview with Minutemen head coach Greg Carvel: Game of the Week college hockey podcast Season 2 Episode 20

The NCHC Pod in Omaha is producing top 10 matchups almost every day. Our game of the week comes from that bubble as No. 1 North Dakota, fresh off a loss to No. 9 Denver, takes on unbeaten No. 3 Minnesota Duluth on Thursday. Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, beat writer covering the Fighting Hawks.

We also look at other NCHC games, including Denver vs. Minnesota Duluth. In the Big Ten, only one weekend conference series is scheduled, with No. 14 Ohio State visiting No. 15 Notre Dame.

In Hockey East, it’s a home-and-home between No. 2 Boston College and UConn, while No. 8 UMass Lowell finally gets its season underway against No. 19 Providence.

Among non-conference games, we look at a couple added to the schedule as other games were canceled: No. 7 Clarkson at Mercyhurst and No. 6 Minnesota State playing host to D-III Milwaukee School of Engineering. Plus, No. 20 Arizona State has a pair at Penn State and LIU visits RIT for two.

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Boston College’s Jerry York on this season’s team, dealing with protocols: USCHO Spotlight college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 3

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A conversation with incoming Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf: USCHO Spotlight college hockey podcast season 2 episode 20

Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Boston College head coach Jerry York to talk about this year’s team, how they are dealing with pandemic protocols, a coming milestone in career wins, and about losing some players to the World Juniors.

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TMQ: New college hockey season starting to come into focus as games are played, impact players emerging

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Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback. Jim: Each week, Paula, as more teams get underway, we are learning a lot more. This week, as the NCHC pod kicked off and each of the teams (expect for Colorado … Read more

North Dakota, Boston College, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota start unblemished: Weekend Review college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 4

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Hockey East selects Metcalf, conference races stay hot, PairWise odds: Weekend Review college hockey podcast Season 2 Episode 19

Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger look at the games of the past weekend and news of the week.

The top three teams all season in the USCHO.com Division I men’s ice hockey poll remain undefeated: North Dakota, Boston College, and Minnesota Duluth. They’re joined by a 6-0 Minnesota.

In the NCHC Pod, despite an 0-3 record, Denver is playing well and 2-2 Omaha is off to a strong start.

Weekend upsets include Michigan Tech over Minnesota State and two splits: Merrimack with UMass and Mercyhurst with Bowling Green.

World Junior camp is underway, leaving a lot of holes for top teams and leaving out three Boston University players because of COVID-19 protocol.

Wisconsin on Monday announced it’s on a pause.

And a bit of a rant – the first of the season! – from Ed about what people don’t get about the aforementioned USCHO.com poll.

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Inside the NCHC Pod with Dave Starman, plus some Big 10 and non-conference matchups: Game of the Week college hockey podcast Season 3 Episode 2

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No. 8 UMass home-and-home vs. No. 14 UMass Lowell preview with Minutemen head coach Greg Carvel: Game of the Week college hockey podcast Season 2 Episode 20

In a season in which games are happening any night, it’s hard to settle on a single game of the week. In this episode, hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by hockey analyst Dave Starman, who is broadcasting more than half of the NCHC Pod games in Omaha for Midco Sports Network and NCHC.tv alongside play-by-play man Ben Holden. Dave takes us through what’s happening in the bubble and what teams are impressing him so far.

Jim and Ed also look at games coming up in the Big Ten and Atlantic Hockey, and some non-conference matchups within Hockey East.

They also add some more context to their thoughts about getting as many games in during this semester break and give a shout out to the streaming services allowing fans to see the games when they can’t be there in person.

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Hockey East picks: Dec. 4-6

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Last weekend was another thin week of games, but one of us (Jim) now has a lead in the standings. Jim last week: 2-0-0 Jim to date: 3-0-1 Marisa last week: 1-1-0 Marisa to date: 2-1-1 Boston College vs. Providence (at BC on Fri.; at PC on Sat.) While the Eagles already have a successful … Read more