John Doyle

College hockey fans can debate for hours about which conference is the best — in terms of depth, talent, history or whatever. What they can’t debate is which conference is the best for fans to make a trip to every rink in one year. That’s Hockey East, easily the most geographically compact among major college … Read more

To compare the sports world to the regular world is always fraught, but one thing is similar — everybody wants job security, whether you work in a factory or coach a Division I men’s college hockey team. Vermont’s Steve Wiedler entered the season with an uncertain future, being named interim coach of the Catamounts just … Read more

Given his success and longevity, few were surprised to hear that UMass Lowell’s Norm Bazin was the latest member of the college hockey coaching ranks to reach the 300-win milestone. Except, maybe, Bazin himself. “I wasn’t aware of it until someone mentioned it,” said Bazin in a recent interview with USCHO. “It’s going to be … Read more

A pair of teams — and everybody knows which two we’re talking about, Boston College, Boston University, cough, cough — are locked in a dead heat for the top seed in the upcoming Hockey East tournament. But that doesn’t mean the league’s remaining clubs won’t provide plenty of excitement of their own with three weeks … Read more

Not long after Northeastern took a twirl on the TD Garden ice, hoisting high the Beanpot trophy before a delirious (not to mention large) student section for the fifth time in the last six tournaments, the focus of the three Boston-based Hockey East teams shifted to what lies ahead — a sprint to the regular-season … Read more

You can’t blame Northeastern for entering Monday’s 71st Beanpot championship game feeling a little bit like a neglected sibling compared to their crosstown rivals. Boston University and Boston College have gotten plenty of attention this season — all well deserved — perched high atop both the Hockey East standings and the USCHO.com poll. But Northeastern’s … Read more

For Mike Sullivan, the men’s Beanpot is about more than just personal memories of past glory. Not that he doesn’t have plenty of them. The former Boston University forward played in the annual tournament four times, reaching the championship round each time and winning it twice between 1987-90. Before that, the Marshfield, Mass., native made … Read more

The hype is undeniable and fully warranted. Boston University and Boston College — Four miles apart! Five NCAA titles apiece! — will play this weekend as the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the USCHO.com D-I men’s poll for the first time in their storied, decades-long rivalry. Packed houses are expected each night, and lots … Read more

Northeastern’s 3-1 win over Vermont last Saturday night at Matthews Arena was only its second of the season over a Hockey East opponent. But third-year coach Jerry Keefe thinks his team’s conference record does not reflect how well it has been playing recently. “If you look at our last 10 games, we’ve played better hockey,” … Read more

Maine’s Alfond Arena isn’t the largest in college hockey — it isn’t even the largest in Hockey East. But it’s a far cry from where Maine’s Nadeau brothers played youth hockey. “Where I’m from, we have, like, 50, 60 persons coming to every game,” said Josh Nadeau, who, with his brother Bradly, hail from Ste-François-de-Madawaska, … Read more

It’s been an up-and-down season so far for Connecticut, but coach Mike Cavanaugh is confident his team has what it takes to be in the Hockey East title hunt as the calendar turns to 2024. “We were pretty consistent, we just struggled scoring goals early on,” Cavanaugh said, assessing his team’s play before the holiday … Read more

It seems the only thing that might slow down Boston College and Boston University at this point in the season is having a lot of time off. A combined 16-4-1 since the beginning of November, the Eagles and the Terriers are beyond red hot, and currently own the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, in … Read more

Opening up the Hockey East notebook as the calendar turns to December… — There’s only one all-Hockey East game this weekend, but it’s a big one as No. 9 Providence makes the short trip up I-95 to take on No. 2 Boston College on Saturday afternoon (4:30 p.m., NESN) at Conte Forum. The Eagles go … Read more

To anyone who might look at Providence’s schedule and see three straight losses as a cause for concern, coach Nate Leaman would like to point out an important fact. “We only trailed six minutes of those three games,” Leaman said after the Friars earned a split of a weekend series at Arizona State with a … Read more

Players and coaches can talk all they want about not paying attention to polls, whether it’s the weekly national rankings or a preseason poll conducted by either media or coaches. In reality, most try to find a balance — polls are just opinions, after all, and most teams usually find it best to ignore outside … Read more

Even with winter rapidly approaching, Hockey East fans might not want to hold on to their hats. Sure, it’s cold outside and hockey rinks aren’t exactly known for balmy temperatures, but with the way things have been going, there’s a good chance a lot of fans will be tossing hats onto the ice to celebrate … Read more

A little more than a month into the regular season, Hockey East has more than held its own against some of the top programs in the country. The evidence is plentiful — Boston College played a down-to-the wire contest in a 4-3 loss to Denver (NCHC) on Oct. 21, then vaulted to the No. 1 … Read more