TMQ: Taking detailed assessment of last little bit of 2022-23 college hockey regular season with playoffs on way

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. Dan: Hey everyone, and Happy Tuesday! Well, Paula, we finally made it. The last week of the regular season (well, for some leagues). A season that started in October with hopes … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Minnesota aiming to clinch first place, first-round playoff bye, as Gophers looking to ‘play good hockey’

In advance of Minnesota’s series in Wisconsin last weekend and two wins away from securing the Big Ten regular-season title, Golden Gophers coach Bob Motzko was asked about how his team had handled a break in the schedule the week before. “The best answer would be Saturday night late,” he said. “We’ll tell you.” The … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Taking a look at numbers, what they mean for seven conference teams entering stretch run

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, everything in the Big Ten is a numbers game. Last weekend’s results created the kind of scenario that many sports fans love and coaches hate, the possibility that nothing concrete will be resolved until the last game of the season. Well, maybe not nothing. While results aren’t … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Death scare now in rearview mirror, Michigan’s Holtz feeling ‘pretty damned good, all things considered’

This is a story about Steven Holtz, a player you may not know who nearly lost his life to adenovirus in November. This is also about an interim head coach whose approach exemplifies a new – and welcome – way of defining what it means to be a college coach. It’s also the story of … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Conference official Augustine weighs in on state of league, how B1G can be sustainable going forward

Adam Augustine is a pragmatic man. A son of the great state of Wisconsin, the senior director of sports administration for the Big Ten is of course pleased with what he’s seeing from B1G hockey this season, but his Midwestern sensibilities add a dose of slow-your-roll when discussing any bigger picture. “While it’s nice that … Read more

TMQ: PairWise numbers starting to show which teams are national contenders, which teams are pretenders

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: Ed, I hardly know where to begin this week after what feels like a dramatic weekend for the top 10 teams in the USCHO poll, resulting in St. Cloud climbing … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Conference standings looking to become clearer as teams starting push for playoff seedings, NCAA tournament berths

How strange is this season of Big Ten hockey? If the season were to end today, five of the conference’s seven teams would play in the NCAA tournament. Minnesota would be the overall No. 1 seed and Penn State would likely be the top seed in its regional. How strange? Of the five Big Ten … Read more

TMQ: Looking at PairWise numbers, remembering game’s simpler times, what NCAA should do to keep improving college hockey

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. Dan: Greetings to all of our readers, and a special Happy New Year to you all…and especially Happy New Year to my cohost for the week. It’s been a wild couple … Read more

Monday 10: No. 1 Denver splits with unranked Alaska, Michigan Tech romps to Desert Hockey Classic title, Quinnipiac continues hot streak

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Another No. 1 falls as Alaska beats Denver The Nanooks scored two power-play goals in the first half of the second period Friday – one by Jonny Sorenson, one by Brady Risk, both assisted by T.J. … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: With second half kicking off, conference teams starting to scoreboard watch with PairWise on collective minds

As Jimmy Connelly and I lamented in the last TMQ of the first half of the season, once upon a time in the college hockey world, there were many significant and highly anticipated holiday tournaments. While the number of these tourneys has dwindled, the impact that any interleague play has on those who participate remains … Read more

TMQ: Second-half college hockey outlook, discussing where the holiday tournaments have gone

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, we’ve finished a very interesting first half of the season and a much-needed break for everyone involved. The schedule was light over the weekend, and no one plays … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Wisconsin swept by Minnesota as Badgers ‘go through something like that’ in loss Saturday

Sometimes when you’re down, every setback seems to add another rung to the ladder you’re climbing. In situations like these, even the littlest things get amplified. Sometimes when you’re down, though, something that looks small to outsiders really is bigger than it appears. It’s only diminished to others because you appear diminished to others. The … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Struggling on offense, Notre Dame keeping heads high as Irish ‘just not scoring the way I thought we would’

As the first half of the season begins to wind down, the Fighting Irish aren’t where they’d like to be. With a record of 7-7-2, Notre Dame is 15 points out of first place in the Big Ten standings and is lowish – for Notre Dame, anyway – in the very early PairWise Rankings. None … Read more

TMQ: Discussing college hockey teams jumping out to fast starts, what to do with men’s Division I independent teams

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. Ed: Last week, Paula, you and Jim ended this column highlighting teams that had turned standings upside down in their conferences. So I thought maybe it would be good to dive … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Past week has conference facing extraordinary times, both on and off the ice

By every possible measure, the past seven days have been extraordinary for Big Ten hockey. Minnesota swept Michigan at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan State – the team picked by coaches’ preseason to finish last – split a pair of road games against Penn State, and the Spartans sit in second place, one point behind the … Read more