Todd D. MilewskiThe league announced on Tuesday plans to play its postseason tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., for the next three years. The Center is being built on the site of the former St. Paul Civic Center, which hosted the tournament in its infancy.
Now the nail-biting begins. Wisconsin’s Dany Heatley has been drafted – at No. 2 by the Atlanta Thrashers in Saturday’s NHL entry draft – and now faces his decision. Should he stay or should he go? The decision rests a bit with him and a bit with the Thrashers, who could tell the 19-year-old they … Read more
A few weeks ago, when told associate coach Scott Sandelin was going to be leaving at the end of the season to take the coaching job at Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota players said they’d just have to win the national title to give Sandelin a proper sendoff. How prophetic. Sandelin joined head coach Dean Blais behind … Read more
Was there any chance anyone could pry the national championship trophy out of Peter Armbrust’s grasp? “No, not a chance in hell,” Armbrust said. “This thing is staying right here.” The University of North Dakota senior is one of a select few players who can say his last collegiate memory will be piling on the … Read more
Jeff Panzer is not a picky man. He’ll take another 2-0 final in the national championship game Saturday night. Just as long as North Dakota has the 2. Panzer and the Fighting Sioux could only find the back of the net twice in their national semifinal against Maine on Thursday, though that was enough to … Read more
North Dakota coach Dean Blais didn’t have to say much to sum up his team’s 2-0 national semifinal victory over Maine Thursday. His goaltender, Karl Goehring, did most of the talking with his play on the ice. Goehring, who missed the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five and the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament … Read more
St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh referred to his team as being “absolutely giddy” after the third overtime of his team’s NCAA quarterfinal game against Boston University in Albany, N.Y. Apparently, the giddiness hasn’t exactly left Marsh just yet. Just another one of the repercussions of the longest NCAA tournament game in history. Marsh took the … Read more
Don Brose wanted Troy Jutting to follow in his footsteps. On Monday, Brose got his wish. Jutting, an assistant under Brose at Minnesota State University for the last 10 years, was named the school’s head hockey coach. He will replace Brose, who resigned after 30 years as coach of the Mavericks. “I’m extremely excited and … Read more
No ballot, no vote? No way Obviously due to some bureaucratic oversight, U.S. College Hockey Online did not receive a ballot for the all-Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams this season. But that won’t stop me from picking the team that I would put on the ice if the WCHA was squaring off against a similar … Read more
Getting there is half the fun (?) In the last month of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season, it’s been about positioning for the playoffs. Starting now, it’s all about survival. It’s about the opportunity to advance. It’s about the dream of winning a WCHA championship, or even further, a national championship. For some, … Read more
The last weekend Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s come down to this. With two games to play in the WCHA regular season (for all but two teams), three home-ice spots remain, and vying for them are four Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams. It’s almost like a game of musical chairs. One of you will not … Read more
Losing a legend, part two How could Duluth, Minn., ever forget the joy Mike Sertich brought? If there was some way to block out the last two years of his tenure as coach at Minnesota-Duluth, there would be nothing but exemplaries to be said about the man who took the Bulldogs agonizingly close to a … Read more
If success is measured by the respect one has earned from one’s peers, Don Brose is on top of the world right now. The Minnesota State coach announced this week that, after 30 years at the helm of the Mavericks, he’s ready to step down. Reaction around college hockey was a mix of surprise, and … Read more
‘One of the most dedicated guys I’ve ever met’ One of the best things about Don Brose’s retirement, a number of college hockey coaches said this week, is that he’s going out on his terms. No one is shoving him out the door and there’s no group of fans on a certain message board calling … Read more
Don Brose has seen a lot at Minnesota State, Mankato. Over 35 years with the school, including 30 as the hockey team’s head coach, he’s been a part of a national championship, the building of an arena, the ascent to Division I, a name change at the school and entry into the WCHA. On Monday, … Read more
The great split Finally, with just four weekends remaining in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season, we are seeing some separation in the conference standings. The contenders have not exactly broken away from the pretenders yet, but we’re getting there. As it stands this week, there is a definite bottom three, a middle pack … Read more
The final countdown This shouldn’t be such a shock every year, but sometimes it seems like it. With five weeks remaining in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s regular season, every spot — from No. 1 to No. 10 — is up for grabs. Sure, some teams are locked into finishing in a certain area (Michigan … Read more
The big comeback? Is this in fact the great resurgence of the University of Minnesota? Maybe that’s a little too dramatic. But then again, it’s been a while since the Gophers have been golden at Engelstad Arena. Time and time again they would go into Grand Forks, come close to beating North Dakota but still … Read more
This hasn’t happened in a while This is a weird situation. Not many times in the last few years have we been forced to give credit to North Dakota for a great effort … in a losing cause. Most of the time, when the Sioux give that kind of performance, they win. But as hard … Read more
It’s the end of the world as we know it … or is it? Dean Blais isn’t mincing his words this week. Flat-out, undeniably, he knows exactly what this weekend means. "This," Blais said, "is the MacNaughton Cup." When presented with Blais’ remarks, Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer was a bit more diplomatic about the situation. … Read more