USCHO Staff

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SUNDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Stonehill stuns Merrimack in OT, Union gets by Army West Point in OT, St. Lawrence scores five unanswered to beat Canisius, No. 16 St. Cloud State blanks St. Thomas

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Aside from the exhibition games, Sunday was a light schedule across men’s college hockey. Perhaps the biggest win was upstart Stonehill, in just the Skyhawks’ third season at the NCAA Division I level, knocking off Merrimack 3-2 in overtime at Lawler Arena in North Andover, Mass., on a Devlin O’Brien goal 38 seconds into extra … Read more

SATURDAY COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP: First Saturday of 2024-25 season sees Bemidji State sink No. 18 Minnesota Duluth in OT, top-ranked Denver knock off Alaska Anchorage, No. 7 Michigan earn split with Minnesota State, No. 12 Maine blank AIC, No. 3 BU down Holy Cross

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Bemidji State senior captain Jackson Jutting scored 3:47 into the three-on-three overtime period to send the Beavers to a 4-3 victory at No. 18 Minnesota Duluth Saturday night at AMSOIL Arena. It was the Beavers’ first win in Duluth since Feb. 9, 2016, and also snapped a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2) against the Bulldogs. It … Read more

Isaacson, who has ‘care for the student-athlete first and foremost,’ leaves MCLA bench, named new head women’s hockey coach at Saint Mary’s

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Saint Mary’s has announced the hiring of Heath Isaacson as the new women’s hockey head coach. Isaacson, who takes over for Chad Davis, who left for the Adrian head coaching job, comes to Saint Mary’s following an inaugural season as the head coach of the women’s hockey program at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and … Read more

Air Force hockey graduate, Augustana assistant coach Demers, who portrayed ‘how to attack the opportunity to play the greatest sport on earth,’ loses cancer battle at 33

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Augustana men’s hockey assistant coach Chad Demers passed away Oct. 3 after a long battle with cancer. He was 33. Demers is survived by his wife Danika and their three kids. “All of our love and support are with the Demers family at this time,” said Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin in a statement. “Chad … Read more

Washington DC, Chicago to host 2027, 2028 men’s Frozen Fours; Duluth, Fairfield get 2027, 2028 women’s Frozen Fours

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For the fourth time in its history, the NCAA conducted a comprehensive site selection process, putting most of its championships up for bid simultaneously. The association chose over 240 host sites for preliminary and final rounds of predetermined championships across Divisions I, II and III, primarily for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. This cycle marked … Read more

Fomer NHL netminder Roloson joins Niagara men’s hockey staff as director of hockey development for Purple Eagles

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Former NHL goaltender Dwayne Roloson has been named a director of hockey development for the Niagara men’s hockey team. “We are excited to welcome Dwayne Roloson to our coaching staff at Niagara,” said Purple Eagles head coach Jason Lammers in a statement. “Dwayne brings a wealth of experience from his impressive NHL career and his … Read more

Northern Michigan adds Russell, Contois as assistant coaches to round out Shyiak’s staff for 2024-25 college hockey season

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Northern Michigan has hired Ben Russell and Andy Contois as assistant coaches beginning with the 2024-25 season. Russell has spent the past few seasons with Cornell, which included one season as an assistant coach and two seasons as the director of hockey operations. “We are really excited about Ben joining our staff and community,” said … Read more

After pair of seasons as director of operations for Harvard women’s hockey team, Riley moves to same job with Sacred Heart men’s hockey team

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Sacred Heart has announced the addition of Mickey Riley as the director of hockey operations for the men’s hockey team. Riley, part of the distinguished Riley hockey family, joins the Pioneers after two years in the same position with the women’s hockey program at Harvard. While at Harvard, Riley coordinated all aspects of team travel … Read more

Cornell picked as favorite in ECAC Hockey men’s preseason coaches poll ahead of 2024-25 season

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ECAC Hockey has announced the results of the 2024-25 men’s hockey preseason coaches poll and all-league team selections. In the poll, league coaches have predicted Cornell to lead the conference this season, receiving 10 of 12 first-place votes. ECAC Men’s Hockey Preseason Poll (First-place votes) 1. Cornell – 120 (10) 2. Quinnipiac – 111 (2) … Read more

Former AIC director of hockey operations Finnegan returns to Yellow Jackets for same role after three seasons at UConn

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American International has announced the return of Michael Finnegan to the team as director of hockey operations. Finnegan will be responsible for several duties, most notably overseeing the video operations of the team. “We are ecstatic that Mike is back here at AIC,” said AIC coach Eric Lang in a statement. “He’s an incredibly hard, … Read more

UConn names former Colgate director of hockey operations Paluch to same job with Huskies men’s hockey team

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UConn has announced the addition of Jacob Paluch to the men’s hockey staff as the director of hockey operations. “We are so excited to welcome Jacob into the UConn hockey family,” said Huskies head coach Mike Cavanaugh in a statement. “Jacob has a great knowledge of how programs operate on and off the ice and … Read more

Hurricane Helene travel cancellations force Syracuse-Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey series scheduled for Sept. 28-29 to be moved to Jan. 2-3

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The women’s hockey series between Minnesota Duluth and Syracuse scheduled for Sept. 28-29 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn., has been postponed due to travel cancellations as the result of Hurricane Helene. The series will be made up at AMSOIL Arena on Jan. 2-3, 2025. Tickets for the previously scheduled Sept. 28 game will be … Read more

St. Lawrence promotes Hill from assistant coach to associate head coach role for Saints men’s hockey team ahead of ’24-25 season

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Tommy Hill, who has served as an assistant coach for St. Lawrence since the 2019-20 season, has been promoted to associate head coach. “We are excited to announce that Tommy has been promoted into the role of associate head coach for our program,” said SLU head coach Brent Brekke in a statement. “He has been … Read more

College Hockey Inc. hires former Colgate staffer Meriney as new director of men’s hockey athlete relations

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College Hockey Inc. has announced that Chris Meriney has been named its director of men’s hockey athlete relations. He will officially begin his duties Oct. 1. Meriney will fill the position previously held by Sean Hogan, who was promoted to executive director in August. “Chris was impressive from our first conversations with him and throughout … Read more

Dartmouth names Connolly, Peart new women’s hockey assistant coaches, Dwyer new director of operations

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Dartmouth has announced Tara Connolly and Sadie Peart have been named assistant coaches for the women’s hockey team. In addition, Rylie Dwyer is the program’s new director of operations. All three are new hires for new Big Green head coach Maura Crowell. “Thank you to Maura Crowell and athletic director Mike Harrity for the opportunity … Read more

Friendship Four men’s college hockey tournament returning to Belfast in 2025 with Miami, RIT, Sacred Heart, Union; Boston University, Harvard, Quinnipiac, Minnesota Duluth women’s teams to play in 2026

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The Odyssey Trust has unveiled plans to continue the Friendship Four and Friendship Series U.S. college hockey tournaments through 2026. Marking 10 years of NCAA hockey in Belfast, games are set to take place at the SSE Arena in Nov. 2025 and Jan. 2026. Founded by the Odyssey Trust and held in Belfast since 2015, … Read more

Reigning national champion Denver gets 42 first-place votes, earns top spot in ’24-25 preseason USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll

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Denver, which won its NCAA record 10th national championship in April, garnered 42 first-place votes in this week’s preseason USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll. Boston College sits No. 2 in the poll, getting six first-place votes, while Boston University is third, Michigan State fourth, and North Dakota fifth. Minnesota, Michigan, Quinnipiac, Cornell and Wisconsin … Read more

Sacred Heart takes top spot in 2024-25 Atlantic Hockey America preseason coaches poll; Holy Cross’ McLinskey chosen preseason player of year

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Atlantic Hockey America has announced the results of the 2024-25 coaches poll and preseason awards. 2024-25 AHA Preseason Coaches Poll (First-place votes) 1. Sacred Heart 102 (5) 2. RIT 94 (3) 3. Holy Cross 93 (1) 4. AIC 84 (1) 5. Bentley 76 6. Niagara 67 (1) 7. Air Force 57 8. Canisius 45 9. … Read more

NCHC supervisor of officials Rutherford, who ‘loved being around the game of hockey,’ passes away at 73

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The NCHC is mourning the loss of longtime officiating supervisor Brendan “Brent” Rutherford. Rutherford passed away peacefully at his home in Sterling Heights, Mich., on Sept. 20 at the age of 73. Rutherford served as an NCHC supervisor of officials for nine seasons, joining the staff in the conference’s third year of competition in 2015-16 … Read more

Michigan State sits atop 2024-25 Big Ten Hockey preseason coaches poll; 12 players comprise preseason all-conference teams

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Defending regular-season champion Michigan State is favored to win the 2024-25 Big Ten championship, according to the Big Ten Hockey coaches preseason poll released on Friday. Preseason all-Big Ten teams were also selected in voting conducted by conference head coaches. 2024-25 BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL 1. Michigan State 2. Minnesota 3. Michigan 4. Wisconsin 5. … Read more