John Doyle

John Doyle has covered Hockey East for USCHO since 2021. A sports writer since 2004, he hosts the podcast "Sports Writers Inc."

Previewing the 2023 NCAA hockey tournament, Bridgeport Regional: Quinnipiac, Harvard, Ohio State, Merrimack

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BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL When: Friday, March 24 & Sunday, March 26 Where: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Conn. Matchups (all times Eastern): Harvard vs. Ohio State, March 24, 2 p.m., ESPNU; Quinnipiac vs. Merrimack, March 24, 5:30 p.m., ESPNews; championship, March 26, 4 p.m., ESPN2 1. QUINNIPIAC How they got here: At-large bid Overall season record: 30-4-3 … Read more

Previewing the 2023 NCAA hockey tournament, Manchester Regional: Denver, Boston University, Western Michigan, Cornell

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MANCHESTER REGIONAL When: Thursday, March 23 & Saturday, March 25 Where: SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H. Matchups (all times Eastern): Boston University vs. Western Michigan, March 23, 2 p.m., ESPN2; Denver vs. Cornell, March 23, 5:30 p.m., ESPNews; championship, March 25, 4 p.m., ESPNU 1. DENVER How they got here: At-large bid Overall season record: 30-9-0 … Read more

Monday 10: NCAA’s Sweet 16 gearing up for battle to decide college hockey’s national championship

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. And then there were 16 At long last, the field for this year’s Division I men’s tournament was released, and as expected the Minnesota Golden Gophers are the overall top seed for the first time since … Read more

Hutson’s OT goal leads Boston University to 3-2 win over Merrimack, gives Terriers 10th Hockey East playoff title

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BOSTON — If Boston University freshman Lane Hutson was expressly showing off for the Hobey Baker Award voters, he could have done a lot worse than the performance he turned in during the Hockey East championship game. Hutson scored twice, including the game winner at 1:57 of overtime to lift the Terriers to a 3-2 … Read more

Copponi scores in second OT, sends Merrimack to Hockey East championship against Boston University

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BOSTON — Like Moses parting the Red Sea or Paul Bunyan carving the Grand Canyon, Merrimack’s Ottoville Leppänen can now also lay claim to creating a legendary chasm. Leppänen’s work with the puck pulled UMass-Lowell goalie Gustavs David Grigals out of position to create the opening Matt Copponi needed to flick Leppänen’s centering pass into … Read more

Boston University beats Providence on Hutson’s overtime winner to punch ticket to Hockey East title game

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BOSTON — For a split second, Boston University freshman forward Quinn Hutson didn’t know if he could trust what his eyes were telling him. “It was pretty crazy,” Hutson said. “I saw it go in, it was kind of slow motion. I wasn’t sure, then everyone was celebrating.” Hutson’s goal at 10:52 of overtime gave … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Rematch of 2015 NCAA title game between Boston University, Providence highlights conference semifinal weekend

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One doesn’t have to look too far back in time to know how significant it is for Boston University and Providence to face off at TD Garden. There was the 2018 Hockey East championship game, won by the Terriers 2-0. And with all due respect to the Hockey East tournament, there was a meeting with … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Top-seeded Boston University proud to win regular-season title, but Terriers looking for more in conference playoffs

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It was only three weeks ago that the Boston University men’s hockey team was mired in the throes of a four-game losing streak, its longest of the season. The streak, in which the Terriers were outscored 15-7, put BU’s national standing and chances of securing the Hockey East regular-season title in peril. At the time, … Read more

This Week in ECAC Hockey: No. 3 seed Cornell facing challenge in quarterfinal matchup this weekend against sixth-seeded Clarkson

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Most of the national chatter surrounding ECAC Hockey this season has centered around Quinnipiac and Harvard, and for good reason. Both have spent plenty of time at or near the top of both the ECAC standings and the USCHO.com men’s D-I poll and are two of the favorites heading into the quarterfinals of the conference … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Peculiar PairWise placing puts league members in precarious postseason positions

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Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf acknowledges there are pros and cons to running a league known for parity. Pros: Hockey East is widely acknowledged as an “any given night” league where there’s little surprise when a team low in the standings beats a contender. See: The second-half resurgences of Maine and New Hampshire, which are … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Rivalry re-ignited as Maine, New Hampshire jockeying for home ice in upcoming conference postseason

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New Hampshire coach Mike Souza has had a front-row seat to the rivalry between his school and state-line rival Maine for the better part of three decades, both as a player and a coach. Going back to the 1999 season as a player, when Maine and UNH were the toast of Hockey East, if not … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Northeastern readies for fifth straight Beanpot title game, against a first-time opponent

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Since the Beanpot has featured the same four teams for its entire 70-year history and rotates the first-round matchups on a three-year cycle, the law of averages dictates that Harvard and Northeastern should have previously met in the final about a dozen times. But it’s never happened before until this year, and Monday’s championship matchup … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Local ties, as usual, run deep with 70th edition of upcoming Beanpot

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Growing up in Milton, Mass., in the figurative shadow of the TD Garden, Aidan McDonough was that rare youth hockey player from New England who didn’t necessarily dream about someday wearing a Bruins jersey. For McDonough, it was all about the Beanpot. “I didn’t want to play in the NHL — that’s a far-fetched dream,” … Read more

Monday 10: Down goes No. 1! (And Nos. 2 and 3!)

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. ECAC foes hand losses to No. 1 Quinnipiac In a highly anticipated matchup of ECAC heavyweights Friday night, No. 16 Cornell handed top-ranked Quinnipiac a 4-0 loss, snapping the Bobcats’ 17-game unbeaten streak “We had a … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Reputation as competitive league well-earned this year for high-end conference

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Without prying too much into Providence coach Nate Leaman’s personal life, by all appearances he’s a man of good habits. That might change, however, given how competitive Hockey East has been this year. “I don’t smoke cigarettes, but I might start,” Leaman said recently, with a chuckle. Just how competitive is Hockey East this year? … Read more