Paula C. WestonIf statistics can be trusted, two things are true of last year’s Alaska Nanooks: 1. The Nanooks didn’t shoot the puck enough. Alaska’s shot percentage was just .089 last season, the Nanooks were tied for eighth in goals per game in league play, and their power play was eighth in conversions. 2. The Nanooks didn’t … Read more
When you think of the 2006-07 Bowling Green Falcons, two things come to mind immediately: 1. Jonathan Matsumoto was a superstar. With 11 goals and 22 assists, the Falcons junior led the team in scoring. He also had six power-play goals. 2. In every possible way, BGSU was a last-place team. Last year’s Falcons were … Read more
There are two hard-fast rules when it comes to Michigan hockey: 1. Don’t get too comfortable with your favorite player. Andrew Cogliano and Jack Johnson are gone, fleeing for the greener pastures of professional hockey rather than sticking around to graduate. 2. Never underestimate Red Berenson. Even as Notre Dame ran away with the CCHA … Read more
In 2006-07, there were two words to describe the Ohio State Buckeyes: 1. Average. The Buckeyes finished seventh in the CCHA with a record of 12-12-4, were a hair below .500 overall, had team stats that ranged anywhere from third to eighth in conference play, and scored as many goals as they allowed overall (120). … Read more
What two things immediately come to mind when you think of the Ferris State Bulldogs? 1. They play a rather, um, tough brand of hockey. Ferris State was the third most-penalized team in CCHA play last season with 18.71 minutes per game, and the 13th most-penalized team in the NCAA. 2. The Bulldogs don’t really … Read more
If the 2006-07 Lake Superior State Lakers could be defined by just two things, they would be these: 1. Jeff Jakaitis. The senior goaltender finished the season with the 19th-best goals-against average in the NCAA (2.31), but the second-best save percentage (.931). 2. Injuries. The Lakers were so beaten up by the end of the … Read more
There are two things about the Western Michigan Broncos that don’t immediately come to mind, but should: 1. The Broncos are smart. The team’s grade-point average for last year was 3.30. 2. The Broncos had a good season. Western Michigan had 10 wins in the second half of the season, including splits with Miami and … Read more
While every team in the league taught us something during the 2006-07 season, Michigan State showed us two universal truths: 1. Rick Comley is psychic. “I think in our locker room, we believe in what’s there. We believe that we have the opportunity to be a good team, we believe that if we go through … Read more
The 2007-2008 CCHA: The Kids Are All Right Our fourth-place team can beat your anyplace team. So there. Phthhhhht! Thanks to the sweet, improbable postseason juggernaut that was the 2006-07 Michigan State Spartans, CCHA fans can now in all good conscience make that claim, loudly and often … at least for another 185 or so … Read more
College? Major juniors? European leagues? There are more plausible choices than ever, even for a Swiss prospect. Paula C. Weston reports.
Players Playing the Press After the history-making simulcast of Friday night’s first round, Saturday’s pickings felt a little bit like the day after Christmas — anticlimactic, but with many good deals left. Incoming Minnesota freshman forward Mike Hoeffel was ranked 22nd by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau, but became the property of the New Jersey … Read more
A Very Popular Guy When John H. McConnell, majority owner of the host Columbus Blue Jackets, addressed the crowd remotely via the big screen in Nationwide Arena, the crowd responded in an unusual manner for Draft-goers: they gave McConnell a prolonged standing ovation. McConnell, a native of West Virginia who built his fortune in the … Read more
Though college hockey seems to present a more and more attractive route to the NHL, not everyone takes that path — even when legendary coach Scotty Bowman says so. Paula C. Weston reports.
Michigan State kept it loose all throughout the NCAA tournament, and it paid off for the Spartans. Paula C. Weston examines MSU’s X-factor.
So, you’re playing for a national championship for the first time in 20 years, and the eyes of the college hockey world are on you, and you’re the first team from your league to make it this far since 1998. What are you going to do? If you’re the Michigan State Spartans, you’re going to … Read more
With their top line of Josh Soares, Michel Levielle, and Keith Johnson clicking, the Black Bears led by two goals before this contest was five minutes old, making their first score just 23 seconds in. Right after the opening faceoff and just 23 seconds in, Johnson gave Maine the 1-0 lead with a one-timer from … Read more
It may be a much different squad than last year’s Sioux, but Paula C. Weston finds that it’s not a surprise for North Dakota to be back in the Frozen Four.
After ending the 2005-06 season with a 5-4 loss to Maine in the final game of the East Regional, Michigan State experienced 3:25 of history repeating when the Black Bears took an early two-goal lead Thursday, but four unanswered Spartan goals led MSU to a 4-2 victory and a chance to play for the NCAA … Read more
This is the first year in Frozen Four history that no No. 1 seeds have advanced to the championship tournament, and there’s a feeling in St. Louis that this is anyone’s title to capture. Said UND head coach Dave Hakstol, “This is a Frozen Four where we have four teams that are realistically playing their … Read more
With Michigan State back in the Frozen Four for the first time since 2001, we bring you Paula C. Weston’s chat with the man in net for that Spartan squad: now-Buffalo Sabres star Ryan Miller.