Paula C. WestonOne of the most endearing things about sixth-year Miami head coach Enrico Blasi is his belief in the CCHA. “This is a tough league,” says Blasi. “We got five teams in the NCAA tournament last year because of the strength of our league, night in and night out.” Blasi and the RedHawks found out just … Read more
The Fighting Irish ended the 2003-04 season with a 5-2 loss to Minnesota in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal, marking Notre Dame’s first NCAA tournament appearance and the last game for six sensational Irish players. “Five of them you know very well,” says Poulin. “One of them you don’t know very well.” T.J. Mathieson was … Read more
Finally, this team belongs to Rick Comley. With the departure of Brock Radunske (7-6-13) and Lee Falardeau (2-4-6) and the return of the league’s genuine superstar, Jim Slater (10-21-31), Comley can feel pretty confident that the Spartans are all on the same page. “Our hockey team will be a pretty good team,” says Comley, a … Read more
The Falcons tied opponents nine times last season, including six CCHA one-pointers. The near-misses — against opponents as diverse as Lake Superior State, Cornell, Union and Northern Michigan — would be enough to frustrate any team, but BGSU head coach Scott Paluch takes them as signs of improvement. He also takes encouragement for the Falcons’ … Read more
In a league that graduated a large class at the end of the 2003-04 season, the Mavericks are an anomaly with 20 veterans on the roster for the upcoming campaign. While that can be a positive — experience, maturity — these are the same Mavericks responsible for last year’s last-place finish. The kindest way to … Read more
“Youth is the strength of our hockey program.” So says first-year head coach Tavis MacMillan, and he’d better be right. The Nanooks welcome 11 rookies this season — almost half the team — after saying goodbye to a senior class that twice engineered home ice in the first round of the CCHA playoffs and brought … Read more
Editor’s note: This is the first part of USCHO.com’s CCHA season preview, featuring a look at the league as a whole and six individual team previews — Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Alaska-Fairbanks, Lake Superior State, Ferris State and Nebraska-Omaha. Part two, featuring the remaining six teams, will appear Sunday. As September slips into October and … Read more
The 2003-04 season is one that Bulldog head coach Bob Daniels would like to put behind him. “It was a disappointing year … coming off the championship season. I don’t think we handled success all that well and I don’t think we got off to a very good start.” Last year’s record of 15-20-3 was … Read more
What can you say about a campaign that ended just one puckwidth away from a trip to Joe Louis Arena? “It was a very emotional season for us,” says Western Michigan head coach Jim Culhane. The Broncos had a wild ride in 2003-04, putting together an 8-2-1 midseason streak before running into Michigan, then — … Read more
Ask any coach in the league about Lake Superior State, and he’ll tell you that they play hard. They compete for 60 minutes, skate and execute well, take the body and finish their checks — and absolutely cannot find the back of an opponent’s net. Like any head coach, Frank Anzalone demands that his players … Read more
Al Montoya, according to published reports, says he’s close to announcing a decision about whether he’ll sign with the New York Rangers and give up his final two years of eligibility at Michigan. But the 19-year-old goaltender has yet make that decision, and the official word out of Ann Arbor today is that the coaching … Read more
The former CCHA commissioner is set to be inducted into the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame in Parry Sound, Ontario.
Never, perhaps, have the differences between East and West been so sharp.
There’s something missing in Boston …
With goals by Jon Jankus and Dustin Penner and in front of Jimmy Howard’s 40-save performance, the Maine Black Bears downed the Boston College Eagles 2-1, earning the right to play Denver in Saturday’s NCAA championship game. The Black Bears struggled to keep their composure against an Eagle team that outshot them 41-18, and often … Read more
After two periods, it’s a 1-1 tie between Maine and Boston College in the second Frozen Four semifinal Thursday. Jon Jankus had the first-period goal for Maine, Ryan Shannon tied it up for BC early in the second, and Maine goaltender Jimmy Howard put on a show of his own. Jon Jankus shoots on Matti … Read more
There will not be a three-peat. Minnesota-Duluth knocked off the two-time national champion Golden Gophers of Minnesota, 3-1, to advance to the 2004 NCAA Frozen Four. It was the fifth win this season by the Bulldogs over their cross-state rival. Luke Stauffacher had the game-winning goal at 1:37 in the third. Isaac Reichmuth, the Midwest … Read more
Two-time defending champion Minnesota came from behind to beat Notre Dame, 5-2, in the opening game of the NCAA Midwest Regional. Thomas Vanek had two goals — including the game winner — and an assist to lead the Golden Gophers in scoring. Matt Koalska had a goal and assist, Chris Harrington had two key helpers, … Read more
The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs delivered an old-fashioned shellacking to the Michigan State Spartans, winning 5-0 in the second Midwest Regional contest to advance to Sunday’s regional final against Minnesota. After his first NCAA appearance as head coach, UMD’s Scott Sandelin said the win was all about the Bulldog players. “It’s more exciting for the program and … Read more
It’s former coach vs. his old team captain in Colorado Springs.