Paula C. WestonTiming Is Everything. In the Friday, Nov. 4 game between Ohio State and Miami, there were a total of 178 penalty minutes, 101 of which — stop smirking — were assessed to the Buckeyes. Of course, I wasn’t there to see it. This is the way every week before moving households should go: Secure the … Read more
An Object Lesson in Five Minutes Last weekend, Michigan State traveled to Ithaca, New York, to open Cornell’s D-I season in front of the Lynah faithful. By all accounts, this was a terrific, emotionally-charged series that provided up-and-down action, great goaltending, fierce competition. The series also gave more than what was reported, and less perhaps … Read more
But Ann Arbor Is Miles from Punxsutawney Does Harold Ramis get royalties every time the Wolverines and Spartans meet? For the third consecutive game going back to February of last season, the famed archrivals have met on the ice and departed tied, with those pesky Spartans coming from behind in each contest to force OT. … Read more
One night after beating the Falcons 7-2 in Bowling Green, the No. 3 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes found themselves having to come from behind to earn a single point, ultimately tying BGSU 2-2 in their home opener at Value City Arena tonight. It was John Dingle’s one-timer from high in the slot at 4:03 in … Read more
It’s Early, but It’s Nice Once upon a time, the CCHA was a league to be feared. As recently as the 1990s, the teams around these parts were considered among the toughest in the country, with savvy goaltending, fearsome defense, and physicality second to none. During the last five years or so, however, changes have … Read more
Editor’s note: a previous version of this article reported on an altercation during Northern Michigan’s intrasquad scrimmage, information which has subsequently been determined to be unreliable. USCHO.com apologizes for the error. Like I Never Really Left It’s a brand-new season, but I felt as though the last one never ended, thanks to the email I … Read more
History teaches everything, including the future. — Lamartine The UAF Nanooks will look to their most recent history, namely last year, to learn what’s necessary to take them to their immediate future. “We got older in age marginally, but by class and experience we’re younger,” says head coach Tavis MacMillan. Just how young is this … Read more
History is full of delightful reversals, where the opposite of what one predicts comes true. — Edmund Carpenter. For the first time in the history of such things — preseason polls, Ohio State hockey — the Buckeyes are expected to finish first in the CCHA this season. All but one CCHA coach picked OSU to … Read more
The 2005-2006 CCHA: Tiers or Tears? “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” So said Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana, a Pulitzer Prize nominee whose early-20th century output rivaled only Emerson in volume and insight. “On paper, I think our league is really going to be improved.” So said Canadian-born American … Read more
History isn’t really about the past, settling old scores. It’s about defining the present and who we are. — Ken Burns Three summers ago, the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks were rocked by a number of departures. Both players and coaches left unexpectedly, some just before the beginning of the new season. Last year, after spending the 2003-04 … Read more
History is the great propagator of doubt. — A.J.P. Taylor Miami deserves a better fate than that of sixth in the CCHA preseason coaches’ poll, seventh in the media poll. Yes, the RedHawks struggled last season — to put a team on the ice. Once they got there, however, they really knew how to play. … Read more
In history, there are no real beginnings. — Warren Sylvester Smith Out with the old, in with the new. Or should we say that everything old is new again? Not to imply that Jeff Jackson is old, by any means. There’s a certain symmetry to Notre Dame hiring Jackson after firing Dave Poulin. Jackson is … Read more
You must always know the past, for there is no real Was, there is only Is. — William Faulkner You’re only as good as your last game. Every coach, every player knows this. To end last season, the Ferris State took Ohio State to three games in first-round CCHA playoff action in Columbus, shutting out … Read more
Nothing capable of being memorized is history. — R.G. Collingwood If there is one thing to learn from Bowling Green’s 2004-05 season it’s this: humility. “I didn’t want to keep on saying it was the ‘flu.” That’s the simple explanation that Jordan Sigalet, BGSU’s senior goaltender last season, gave for making public his struggle with … Read more
It takes three facts to make a truth. — Eugene Manlove Rhodes. One. The Northern Michigan Wildcats return one of the toughest defenses in college hockey. Two. The Wildcats were collectively born under a star lucky enough to award Andrew Contois, their 2004-05 leading goal scorer, a fifth year of NCAA eligibility. Three. NMU’s cluster … Read more
The only true knowledge of things is the knowledge of their causes. — Archbishop Leighton All those who think that Michigan State will emerge a top-tier CCHA team this season, say, “Aye!” Come on. A little enthusiasm here. “I feel good about our hockey team,” says head coach Rick Comley. That’s a big statement from … Read more
History repeats itself because no one was listening the first time. — Anonymous 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. Anyone following Bronco hockey … Read more
History is not melodrama, even if it usually reads like that. — Robert Penn Warren Ah, Frank. Why did you have to go? We hardly knew ye. So it took a few years for CCHA fans to adjust to the unique coaching and public speaking style of Frank Anzalone. It certainly took this writer more … Read more
We cannot escape history. — Abraham Lincoln Talk about a change in the wind. Michigan captured just one first-place vote in this year’s CCHA preseason coaches’ poll, presumably only because Ohio State head coach John Markell couldn’t vote for his own team to give the Buckeyes the unanimous nod. Sure, OSU returns a killer team … Read more
After 43 games, it’s hard to call a freshman a freshman, especially when he’s the game-winning goalie for a national champion, and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. In two games, Denver goaltender Peter Mannino made 85 saves on 88 shots in a performance that earned him 2005 Frozen Four MOP honors and made him the … Read more