Paula C. WestonLast year’s Mavericks were a study in dichotomy. How could a team so talented up front be so, um, shaky in front of its own net? “Our concern is with the back end of our team,” said Mike Kemp, entering his 10th season as UNO’s first and only head coach. KEMP “Last year, we did … Read more
At the start of the 2005-06 season, I feared the worst for Bowling Green. After watching the team rally around senior goaltender Jordan Sigalet, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the year before, I thought that the Falcons might struggle a little for identity last year. Sometimes, I hate being right. The Falcons went … Read more
“Every year, someone emerges in this league, if not one, two, three teams. You just never know … in this league, we talk about how strong it is, but you never know which team may emerge. “Who knows? Nebraska-Omaha may be that team this year, Notre Dame, but I guarantee there’ll be a couple teams … Read more
Okay, just for a second, forget that the RedHawks ended the 2005-06 season on a two-game downer, with a 2-1 loss to Michigan State in the CCHA championship game and a 5-0 loss to Boston College in the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal. And forget that Miami said goodbye to Andy Greene and Matt Davis. Remember, … Read more
Last year, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished 15 points ahead of where they were at the end of the 2004-05 season. Of course, that wasn’t hard to do. The 2004-05 season was the five-win year for Notre Dame — not five CCHA wins, mind you, but five wins total — and the last year … Read more
This is how I started the 2005-06 Bronco season preview: Have you heard the one about the team that can score from nearly anywhere on the ice but allows goals from nearly anywhere as well? Of course you have. It’s the recent history of the Western Michigan Broncos. Tell me, children, what have we learned? … Read more
The Alaska Nanooks, poster boys for why defense doesn’t win games. With the best penalty kill in the league and the third-best in the nation, and two goaltenders with a combined save percentage of .917, the Nanooks still managed to finish the 2005-06 season tied for eighth in the league. I know, I know. The … Read more
There is something about Jim Roque that is quintessentially endearing. “I’ve only got 25 guys this year. Last year we carried 29,” said Roque. “I couldn’t, in my heart, cut anyone who wanted to put in the time — there’s no way.” Ah. That’s it. ROQUE Last year, Roque replaced Frank Anzalone as Laker head … Read more
Rick Comley wants everyone to know that Michigan State is still Michigan State, even without Drew Miller. “I think in our locker room, we believe in what’s there,” said Comley. “We believe that we have the opportunity to be a good team, we believe that if we go through the process properly and if we … Read more
For a team that couldn’t buy, borrow, or requisition a goal last year, this was bad news: junior Tom Fritsche, the Buckeyes’ would-be lead returning scorer, probably won’t be returning. At the start of the season, Fritsche is still hospitalized in Cleveland with ulcerated colitis. Not only is this season uncertain for the Buckeye, but … Read more
This is an exciting time for Wildcat head coach Walt Kyle. Don’t take my word for it. “As all these guys are, we’re very excited about the start of our year,” said the man himself at Media Day. These are certainly interesting times for Kyle and his staff, entering their fifth season at the helm … Read more
Do you know what I like best about Red Berenson? No, not his winning ways, his impressive hockey pedigree, and his dapper looks. I like that Berenson finishes his sentences when he speaks. Jack Johnson lived up to expectations during his freshman campaign. Good news for Michigan: he’s back for more. “We had a lot … Read more
At the end of every season, college hockey fans across the country say goodbye to seniors they’ve known for four years, young men whose careers and lives they’ve followed into the early stages of adulthood. Among college hockey fans, there is a certain snobbery regarding “our” players, the arguable assertion that guys who play hockey … Read more
It was Oct. 11, 2002, and Rensselaer had just beaten Wisconsin, 5-1, in the opening game of that year’s Ice Breaker Invitational, hosted by the Badgers in Madison. “They capitalized on every opportunity,” UW head coach Mike Eaves told USCHO’s Jayson Moy after the game. “Every chance they had, they took advantage.” That was what … Read more
Most everyone in the WCHA may know Ryan MacMurchy and Jack Skille, but if you’re a college hockey fan who lives east of Milwaukee, chances are that when you think “Badger hockey,” you think “Brian Elliott.” If you’re a diehard college hockey fan, you may even know the play of sophomore Joe Pavelski, junior Robbie … Read more
When the Wisconsin Badgers walked into their locker room for the first time at the start of the 2005-06 season, they were greeted with an assortment of hardware. There was the Pettit Cup from the 2002 Badger Hockey Showdown, representing the last time Wisconsin took its own home tournament, as well as a WCHA playoff … Read more
It was a question for the Fighting Sioux all year: Could a team with such a young defense survive the season? Everyone in Milwaukee knew the answer to that question by the 18:08 mark of the first period in the first semifinal between Boston College and North Dakota. It was at that point that the … Read more
Appearances Can Be Misleading North Dakota is a team of seeming paradoxes. With more freshmen than any other team in the Frozen Four, the Sioux are the only team making a return appearance to try for the national title. And while there are 13 rookies on the Sioux squad, North Dakota faces the youngest team … Read more
Paula C. Weston isn’t quite done with the CCHA, not after last weekend’s league championship.
Nebraska-Omaha’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance owes much to the Mike Kemp, the only head coach UNO has ever had. Paula C. Weston reports.