Paula C. WestonAn Unsettling Start Longtime readers and CCHA fans know that I like to start the season with a column that’s more on the lighthearted side. After all, we’re all happy that it’s hockey season again, and this early in the season there isn’t much of substance to explore. But there’s nothing light about the mood … Read more
There is one fact about the Western Michigan Broncos that nobody can deny: the only place to go for WMU is up. With just eight wins overall and four in league play, the Broncos suffered through their worst year in the program’s history. “We played a number of tough road games last year,” says Bronco … Read more
If nothing else can be said about Walt Kyle — and plenty can be said about the Northern Michigan head coach — he certainly has a way with words. Kyle is obviously jazzed about the Wildcats’ prospects this season. “I think one of the reasons we’ll be strong is because of our leadership,” says Kyle, … Read more
“We feel really good about our team,” says Miami head coach Enrico Blasi. It’s just worth repeating. With Miami’s success in recent years and a gorgeous newer facilities to keep the RedHawks in the thick of the recruiting battle, there’s no reason why Blasi should feel anything but good about Miami hockey. The RedHawks matched … Read more
In 2007-08, Lake Superior State showed the league what a Laker team was without superstar goaltender Jeff Jakaitis — a team that went from 11 league wins and eighth place in both 2005-06 and 2006-07, to a 10th-place team with seven conference wins and a 12-game winless streak to bookend the midseason break. “We hope … Read more
The 2007-08 Nebraska-Omaha season was one of just this close, just this far. UNO finished eighth in the league, two games under .500 in both CCHA and overall play. One-goal regular-season losses to Michigan and Notre Dame, two teams that went on to the Frozen Four. A two-goal loss to the defending national champion Michigan … Read more
What do the Buckeyes need to climb out of the CCHA cellar? Well, scoring comes to mind. And goaltending. But four games each against Michigan and Michigan State? According to head coach John Markell, this may be the ticket. The Bucks are perennially paired with powerhouse-come-lately Miami, so Ohio State faces 12 regular-season games against … Read more
In the span of three short years, Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson has taken his team from eighth place, to a regular-season CCHA championship, and back down to fourth place — with its first-ever Frozen Four appearance and a season ended only by a loss to Boston College in the title game. The big … Read more
The 2008-09 CCHA: A Numbers Game “Coincidence,” says science fiction and fantasy writer Emma Bull, “is the word we use when we can’t see the levers and pulleys.” On April 12, 2008, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame played the Eagles of Boston College for the NCAA men’s ice hockey championship. Notre Dame was the … Read more
Quick: What do you think of when you think of Alaska hockey? Hard-hitting, up-and-down action that results in tough competition? A community that’s over the top about its local Division I team? A very long road trip for a weekend series, no matter your home base? Sure, the Nanooks can be a handful for CCHA … Read more
Michigan head coach Red Berenson has something he wants you to know. “Even though our team finished in first place and we won the CCHA championship and we got to the Frozen Four, we still have something to prove this season,” says Berenson. “We won everything but the national championship.” Ah. That little piece of … Read more
There’s nothing complicated about the Ferris State Bulldogs. They play hard. They win games. They have depth and good special teams. They’re well coached. It’s just that a Chris Kunitz doesn’t come along very often for a team like Ferris State. At the CCHA media day this year, head coach Bob Daniels was keenly aware … Read more
It’s a fact that hockey players don’t like to be referred to as elfin. It’s a theory that’s been tested on several players from Parma, Ohio, and word that was bandied about among the local reporters in the press room at the 2006 Frozen Four in St. Louis. Still, if you play for Rick Comley, … Read more
“As far as our club,” says Bowling Green head coach Scott Paluch, “we’re going to get going.” Paluch, now entering his seventh season behind the BG bench, is a sincere and genuinely optimistic guy. It’s hard not to respond to the earnestness of his voice when he talks about his team’s future — and last … Read more
For the Fighting Irish, a one-goal performance was a familiar narrative that they would have preferred to tell in past tense. At the end of the first half of the season, Notre Dame was averaging 3.50 goals per game; going into their 4-1 title game loss to Boston College, the Irish were averaging 2.93. “We’ve … Read more
Not Your Local Hero Swedish native, freshman Calle Ridderwall, had two goals in Notre Dame’s 5-4 win over Michigan in the semifinal, the opening goal for the Irish and the game-winner in overtime. In 37 previous games, Ridderall had netted just two and was playing on the fourth line in Thursday’s game. After the win, … Read more
This season’s Michigan squad took a different path to success, courtesy of the blending of young and old. Paula C. Weston reports.
One Last Time This is the third straight Frozen Four appearance for Boston College, and the fourth for North Dakota. Every senior on the ice tonight has had his season ended, at some point in his career, by the seniors on the other side of the puck. This is the third year in a row … Read more
In their first-ever Frozen Four appearance, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are heading to the championship game. At 5:44 in overtime, Calle Ridderwall picked up Dan VeNard’s rebound and sent it past Michigan goaltender Bryan Hogan to give the Irish a 5-4 win over the Wolverines. The game was tied 4-4 after the teams exchanged … Read more
In their first-ever Frozen Four appearance, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are heading to the championship game after defeating the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines, 5-4, in overtime. Freshman Calle Ridderwall — Notre Dame’s fourth-line left winger — was the OT hero, picking up senior defenseman Dan VeNard’s rebound at 5:14 and one-timing it past … Read more