Paula C. WestonTwenty-four hours before Niagara upset New Hampshire in the Western Regionals, Purple Eagles head coach Blaise MacDonald delivered two sentences that poked fun at a collective college hockey community that had yet to learn that the CHA team deserved its first-ever NCAA playoff berth. “I’m a little disappointed we’re not the number-one seed. I’m very … Read more
After Shawn Horcoff picked up conference honors in an unprecedented five categories, Billy Jaffe quipped, “Thank you for coming to the 2000 Shawn Horcoff Awards–I mean, CCHA Awards Banquet.” Horcoff could be a household name around the CCHA, but the rest of the nation may be asking: Shawn who? Horcoff, the Spartan senior captain from … Read more
Dave Poulin is fond of talking about little steps. When his Fighting Irish took Michigan to three games in Yost during the first round of the CCHA playoffs to cap the 1997-98 season, that was a significant little step. When the Irish captured home ice at the end of the 1998-99 season and lost in … Read more
Michigan State senior Shawn Horcoff won an unprecedented five laurels to highlight the 2000 CCHA Awards, presented Thursday, March 16, at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Horcoff Fellow Spartans Joe Blackburn, Ryan Miller, and Mike Weaver, who picked up two plaques, accompanied Horcoff as Michigan State led all CCHA teams in postseason accolades. Michigan’s Jeff … Read more
It’s not your typical Cinderella story. First of all, there’s no glass slipper. Twenty or so pairs of skates, yes, but not a slipper in the bunch. And make no mistake: there’s no rags-to-riches theme here. And there is no Prince Charming. Two dozen Princes Charmed, absolutely. Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Kendall Sidoruk has been a big … Read more
Goin’ To The Joe This year’s CCHA championship tourney includes two perennials, one old friend, and one newbie. Congratulations to Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska-Omaha. Between them, Michigan and Michigan State have 20 more wins in overall play than do Notre Dame and UNO. Both Michigan and Michigan State are ranked; the Irish … Read more
Win, Maybe Place, But Probably No Show Congratulations to the Wolverines, regular-season champions of the CCHA. That’s one team going to the NCAA tournament. Where does that leave the rest of the conference? At number 12 in the Pairwise, Michigan State is on the proverbial bubble to make the NCAA tourney. Next after the Spartans … Read more
Obligatory Playoff Talk Ten teams are in. Two are out. What more do you need to know? Most of the drama of the playoff race has ended. Unless Bowling Green sweeps Michigan and Northern sweeps Lake, the Wolverines have the regular-season title. Northern, Michigan State, and Lake jockey for position near the top; Miami, Western … Read more
Who Loves Ya, Baby? In South Bend, they’re nuts about the Nanooks. Up in Kalamazoo, they’re crazy about the Falcons. Everyone in Columbus loves the Lakers. The RedHawks are lucky. The outpouring of love from both Ann Arbor and East Lansing is overwhelming. It’s the home stretch, and as much as each coach likes to … Read more
The Player Makers So, you want to be Player of the Week? Make sure your team plays Ferris State. Or Western Michigan. Or–better by far–Ohio State. After last week’s examination of the Player of the Week selection process, I thought it might be interesting to see which teams are regularly picking up awards. Turns out … Read more
The Pick of the Litter "It’s not an exact science," says Sherry Skalko. "Actually, I wish it was." Skalko, in her second season as Director of Communications for the CCHA, laughs as she explains the selection process for league Players of the Week. "There are a lot of factors, when you’re dealing with positions across … Read more
The View From Below So, you’ve slept through your alarm and you’re running late for work. You’re the last one to the shower, and there is no hot water left. The coffee’s all gone, and you’re having difficulty locating a clean pair of anything. Last night’s snowfall adds another ten minutes to your morning routine, … Read more
It’s Lonely at the Top…and the Bottom Perhaps it’s the same every year, in every league. A couple or several teams stand out, look to make a run for the regular-season title, and leave everyone else in the dust. Then there are programs that can’t get their feet out of the mud, perennially anchoring their … Read more
Act I With a two-game sweep over Miami, Michigan moved into sole possession of first place last weekend, leaving Michigan State and Northern Michigan deadlocked for second, and once again the CCHA looks like a three-tier league, with three teams on top, a bunch of teams in the middle, and several teams struggling to grab … Read more
Relativity, Or Why Size Doesn’t Matter Popular sentiment about size is fairly split. Bigger is better. Good things come in small packages. When the Buffalo Bills benched Doug Flutie in favor of Rob Johnson for their playoff game against the Tennessee Titans (titan: one that is gigantic in size or power), the pro-Flutie contingency claimed … Read more
Checking the Calendar So, midnight 2000 arrived and you found yourself Y2K-compliant, and your computer didn’t explode, and the world didn’t end in some fiery mess, and the aliens were benign after all, and your debit card still provided the means with which to purchase gas and cold beer, and the center held, and the … Read more
Happy holidays, CCHA fans! In college hockey, the only way to celebrate the end of the calendar year is with tournament action. And to many Central Collegiate Hockey Association fans, there’s only one tournament worth mentioning. The Lake Effect, 35 Times Michigan Tech originally brought us the Great Lakes Invitational 35 years ago, a moot … Read more
Gifts of the Season You have to wonder about a weekend where so many CCHA fans got to see their teams win at home. Every single home team won this weekend, with the exception of the Wildcats and Lakers, who swapped a pair of road wins in a home-and-home series. The week before Thanksgiving, nearly … Read more
College Hockey? Never Heard Of It. Q: What’s the best-kept secret in Kalamazoo? A: The Western Michigan Broncos, of course. "We’ve got the league’s second-leading scorer, the leading freshman, and the leading goal-scorer on the power play, and no one here knows about us," laments Bronco head coach Jim Culhane. In a city where Culhane … Read more
Stock Options With a third of the season behind us, now is as good a time as any to take stock and make some less-than-bold statements. Who’s the best the league has to offer? Who’s the worst? And where in this league can you get what passes for a decent meal, anyway? Best Player: Hands … Read more