Jim ConnellyNorm Bazin knows what it is like to face challenges. As a player at Massachusetts-Lowell in the mid-1990s, he transformed from a role player to one of the leading scorers on one of Lowell’s best teams ever. As an assistant at Colorado College, Bazin successfully recruited some of the game’s top players — including Hobey … Read more
Many people see New Hampshire as a team of question marks. Having lost their top four scorers — the entire first line of Paul Thompson, Mike Sislo and Phil DeSimone, all of whom graduated, along with top-scoring defenseman Blake Kessel, who signed an NHL contract — there is reason for concern of where the offense … Read more
Northeastern’s first-year head coach Jim Madigan uses the word whirlwind to describe the last eight weeks of his life. Named the replacement for Greg Cronin late in the summer, Madigan has done everything in his power just to try to get acclimated. “I finally feel like we’re getting into a routine,” Madigan said. “The last … Read more
Coming off back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, including a Frozen Four berth in 2008, last season was, in an understatement, disappointing for Vermont. The Catamounts struggled to an 8-20-8 regular season record and were swept out of the Hockey East quarterfinals by New Hampshire. Thus, for coach Kevin Sneddon, the 2011-12 season is as much about … Read more
When Boston College was upset by Colorado College in last year’s NCAA tournament, there was not only a sense of shock for the Eagles but also, quite possibly, one of unfinished business. The Eagles had very high expectations for last year’s club, particularly given that they had captured the Hockey East regular season and postseason … Read more
The NCHC announced on Sunday that it will begin play in 2013 as an eight-team conference and, in doing so, consequently may have announced Notre Dame’s hockey future. Last week, Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson told the South Bend Tribune that the school’s decision for a future conference was down to the NCHC and … Read more
The NCHC announced on Sunday that it will begin play in 2013 as an eight-team conference and, in doing so, consequently may have announced Notre Dame’s hockey future. Last week, Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson told the South Bend Tribune that the school’s decision for a future conference was down to the NCHC and … Read more
Vermont will play Massachusetts and New Hampshire will play Maine at Fenway Park on Jan. 7, but Jim Connelly wonders whether this is where outdoor hockey jumps the shark.
Outdoor hockey games have been the “flavor of the week” for the last few years in college hockey, and that won’t keep Hockey East from once again joining the fray. Multiple sources have confirmed that Hockey East will announce on Friday that it will host Frozen Fenway, a sequel to a remarkably successful event the … Read more
The new Huskies coach doesn’t have head coaching experience but is a great networker, which seems to be a powerful thing in college hockey these days, Jim Connelly writes.
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference — college hockey’s newest conference that will be comprised of Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota-Duluth and Miami — was officially announced on Wednesday at a news conference at the Penrose House in Colorado Springs, Colo. It will begin play in the 2013-14 season. The news conference featured the … Read more
They are calling it the “super conference.” Personally, I’ll hold judgment on just how super the new conference featuring North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha, Miami and Minnesota-Duluth will be. Notre Dame and another school — quite possibly Western Michigan — might also become members. So you won’t hear that term for the remainder of … Read more
ST. PAUL, Minn. — In 2007, college hockey had a banner year at the NHL Entry Draft with a record 11 collegians selected in the opening round. If that was college hockey’s shining moment, this weekend might be considered college hockey’s draft disaster. In Friday’s opening round, only four college or college-bound players heard their … Read more
Teammates Adam Clendening and Matt Nieto were selected in the first half hour of Saturday’s second round. Jim Connelly reports.
Injuries limited the defenseman to just 11 games over the last two seasons. Jim Connelly reports.
The excitement of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft was tempered a bit on Friday night as the NHL remembered longtime head of Central Scouting E.J. McGuire, who lost his battle with cancer on April 7. The letters “EJ” in a black circle donned the upper right corner of the draft board, and most of the … Read more
It was a long night of waiting for college hockey fans watching the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. And once the waiting ended, the floodgates didn’t exactly open. Northeastern sophomore-to-be Jamie Oleksiak was the top collegian selected on Friday, going 14th overall to the Dallas Stars. Oleksiak was also the first U.S. player (he holds dual … Read more
Jim Connelly takes a shot at predicting the first 30 picks.
But college hockey should be represented in Friday’s first round. Jim Connelly reports.
The defenseman’s size helps him stand out to NHL teams, but he knows he has to work on his offense. Jim Connelly profiles the draft’s top-ranked college player.