Archive of USCHO’s blog content
Massachusetts -Boston serves up a hearty portion of classic New England fare in hosting the seventh edition of the Codfish Bowl, beginning Thursday at the Clark Athletic Center Ice Arena. Lake Forest, the defending champion, opted to stay at home this time around, thus guaranteeing a new victor for 2014. The Beacons welcome first-time participant Connecticut College … Read more
I know that it is traditional to spy on coaches’ requests to Santa Claus at this point of the year, but recent events suggest that a few programs would not be too receptive to me pilfering correspondence that originated within the athletic department, so during the extra time between wrapping and opening packages I stuck … Read more
When is two wins not enough to win a holiday tournament? Just ask the Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks. That leads off the three things I learned this weekend: 1) Two wins but not enough goals denies Catamount Cup for Lowell UMass Lowell seemingly took care of business this past weekend at the Catamount, beating Canisius, 5-2, … Read more
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In the 18 years that I covered the CCHA for USCHO.com, I extolled the virtues of those teams who defended the realm, especially at midseason. The team that did this often in delightful and unexpected ways was Ferris State, the underrated heroes of the CCHA and the team that may currently be the most under-the-radar … Read more
Well, Matthew and I both missed picking Western’s upset of Michigan. Let’s see if we are more accurate for Saturday. Western Michigan v Michigan Tech (Great Lakes Invitational championship) Candace: Western has been inconsistent so far this year, but so has Tech. I’ll go with the conference pick and figure the Broncos have more momentum … Read more
I had the best week of my year right before break giving me some breathing room over Dave. Jim last week: 8-1-0 Jim to-date: 81-39-12 Dave last week: 5-4-0 Dave to-date: 77-43-12 Friday, December 27 Three Rivers Classic (Pittsburgh) Boston College vs. Bowling Green Jim’s pick: Jerry York may be facing his old squad, but … Read more
It doesn’t seem like there are as many holiday games this year as in years past, but I’m too lazy to look that up, as it’s essentially immaterial to the issue at hand: Predictions! Wee! As always, exhibition games don’t get picks, because I haven’t the foggiest reckoning about the opposition. Friday, Dec. 27 Russian … Read more
Happy holidays and a welcome back to college hockey after a short break. Three WCHA teams are in action this weekend with Michigan Tech hosting the Great Lakes Invitational outdoors at Comerica Park in Detroit and Bowling Green participating in the Three Rivers Classic at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Here are Matt and … Read more
Happy holidays, everyone! Five of the six Big Ten teams return to play this week. First, let’s see how my partner-in-writing, Drew Claussen, and I finished up the first half of the season. Week of Dec. 13-14 Drew: 3-0 Paula: 3-0 Season Drew: 49-20-6 (.693) Paula: 51-19-6 (.711) This week We have two tournaments and … Read more
In the last week before the break, Matthew and I both went 7-2-2 (.727). On the year, I still hold a one-game lead, as I am 54-36-12 (.588) and Matthew is 53-37-12 (.578). We’ll pick the Saturday game after Friday’s result. Friday, Dec. 27 Western Michigan vs. No. 3 Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational) Candace: Western … Read more
Integrating freshman into an established lineup can be a daunting task for coaches. Finding personnel that can immediately make an impact on the blue line is often a particularly difficult exercise. The following newcomers have stepped into their respective defensemen roles in a big way. Kendall Appelbaum, Oswego: The 5-foot-9-inch Eden, N.Y., native, a graduate … Read more
The following have demonstrably improved their play during 2013. It’s a good bet that they will continue in 2014 Tori Charron, Norwich: The senior forward who led the nation in goals a year ago with 30, is back, stressing opposing goaltenders with aplomb. Charron finished off the 2013 portion of the Cadets’ schedule with a six … Read more
Last Week: Dan: 3-0-2 Chris: 2-1-2 On the season: Dan: 79-34-12 (.680) Chris: 79-34-12 (.680) This Week’s Picks Friday, Dec. 20: Providence at Army Dan: This is one of those games where PC fans have to worry that their team doesn’t take Army too lightly. That said, I think the Friars will be just fine. … Read more
Tuesday, Dec. 17 No. 17 Denver at Massachusetts Candace: Denver continues to look good since getting swept by Nebraska-Omaha at the beginning of the November. NCHC co-goaltender of the week Sam Brittain, the top goalie in the nation, is a virtual fortress in net. This could be a trap game for a Denver team playing … Read more
With the holiday break having begun in earnest, the weekend just past saw little in the way of Division III action. However, less is often more, and so it was on Sunday in Rochester, N.Y, where No. 14 Geneseo and Nazareth hooked up in what could be called the “Currier and Ives Classic.” In sum, … Read more
Fine week for WIAC For the three seasons prior to this year, Gustavus Adolphus had built a brilliant 44-0-4 record on home ice. An early season, one-goal defeat put an end to the stellar streak. In the final game before the semester break however, the Golden Gusties were stung once again at home, taking a … Read more
It was a pretty brief week for Hockey East teams, and thus my three things that I learned this week will be equally as brief. Here we go: 1) Maine is climbing toward “legit” I know this will draw the ire of some Black Bears fans, but I’ve had a difficult time calling this Maine … Read more
Three things I thought I learned this weekend … Note to MSU foes: Stay out of the box Remember when Minnesota State’s power play was one of the worst in the country? I believe I used the word “feeble” to describe it in more than one story. Don’t look now, but the Mavericks have the WCHA’s … Read more
After a dreadful November where they went 3-6-1, North Dakota has put together a five-game win streak to move two games over .500 at the break after sweeping Northern Michigan this past weekend, 4-1 and 3-1. For fans that are accustomed to seeing second-half surges, this is good news. In my column last week, I … Read more