Archive of USCHO’s blog content
How do you like your hockey action? Piping hot? If so, you should probably head to a SUNYAC rink, where on almost all fronts, heated contests with playoff implications will be staged. Who doesn’t love it when the top two teams in the conference hook up? Or when a pair of desperately playoff-hungry squads collide? … Read more
Suffolk coach Chris Glionna entered this season with some optimism. After a year to forget last season, he knew the Rams had some spunk, some spirit, and, more importantly, some motivation to right the wrongs. As the ECAC Northeast heads for its homestretch, Suffolk is well on its way to doing just that. A 5-5 … Read more
Another week of making predictions has arrived, and I own a 44-42 record heading into this week. Not impressive. I went just 3-5 a week ago, but I’m hoping for a big-time turnaround this week. The big match-up of the weekend is the one between St. Olaf and St. Thomas. The Oles and Tommies will … Read more
I am hoping that this past week’s success with the picks is not just a one-week phenomenon. I rallied back with last week’s 5-1-0 (.833) record that clearly shows I can get it right sometimes. The overall season numbers look very strong at 40-14-6 (.717), but I will need to avoid anymore bad weeks if … Read more
In a league as competitive as the NCHA, upsets aren’t too rare, even against St. Norbert, the defending Division III national champs and, as of last week, the top-ranked team in the country. For the first time in almost four years, the Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils knocked off the Green Knights on their home ice. The … Read more
Well, thanks to correctly picking Quinnipiac to sweep Robert Morris and Arlan picking North Dakota over Wisconsin on night one, I maintained my slim, one-game lead over Arlan. Both Arlan and I went 13-2-2 (.823) last week. I am now 156-54-21 (.720) while Arlan is 155-55-21 (.716). We’ve got a lot of games on the … Read more
Rolling! The pursuit of perfection may not be so elusive after all, as a 6-0-0 (.1000) record last weekend leaves me with a 34-12-6 (.712) overall record. Finally have crossed the threshold for the 70 percent success rate, but I am not taking anything for granted coming down the home stretch of the season. Have … Read more
The record stands at 36-7-4 (.808) for the season after going 2-1 last week. The conference stretch run is now in full swing, and everybody in the ECAC West will be jockeying for tournament position with less than 10 games apiece to go. Jan. 25, 2013 Elmira at No. 3 Hobart The host Statesmen (14-2-2 … Read more
Okay, I admit it. Last week was an unmitigated disaster. But come on, who out there was picking Massachusetts, Northeastern, and Providence to all knock off Hockey East’s Top 10 teams? You over there, with your hand up. Liar, liar, pants on fire! Fortunately, Jim’s picks matched my own for ineptitude so we stayed even. … Read more
Last week: 6-4-1 Overall: 68-68-23 First place Quinnipiac is off again this weekend, while travel partner Princeton concludes its exam break Sunday with a non-conference matchup against Sacred Heart. All start times are 7 p.m. unless noted. Friday, Jan. 25 Brown at Colgate He’s not going to approach the numbers the Austin Smith posted last … Read more
A couple of big upsets in the MASCAC last week, including a 4-3 victory for Worcester Sate over Plymouth State. Also, as mentioned before in my previous article, the hungrier Westfield State Owls cruised past Salem Sate, 6-1, to pick up two valuable points in the standings. It is all MASCAC games from here on … Read more
Here’s the picks for a pair of rare Tuesday games. Both start at 7 p.m. Connecticut at Quinnipiac The Bobcats were off this past weekend, but still rose to No. 2 in the latest USCHO.com poll, the highest ever for the program. Despite being in the same state, these teams haven’t played since Nov. 1 … Read more
This past weekend marked one of the biggest weekends in recent Division III women’s hockey with the top two teams battling it out in four of the five conferences. So what did we learn? For starters, Plattsburgh and Gustavus Adolphus continue to cement themselves as the cream of the crop currently. Plattsburgh swept Elmira 4-1 … Read more
It was an interesting weekend in the CCHA, one that resulted in two teams sharing the top spot. 1. Sweeping is hard to do, but sometimes you don’t need a broom to move ahead. Alaska, however, had no problem sweeping Notre Dame and thereby helping Western Michigan slide into a tie for No. 1 in … Read more
From now until the end of the 2015-16 season, North Dakota/Minnesota games will occur only if the teams play at this year’s WCHA Final Five or in the NCAA playoffs. The rivalry is not dead. It is, however, on hold. The teams move to separate conferences and Minnesota has filled out its nonconference schedule for … Read more
Trading punches Several top contenders faced off over the weekend, and each proved capable of inflicting some damage on the other. No. 4 Cornell gained revenge for its loss to No. 6 Clarkson back in November with a 3-1 win on home ice by limiting the Golden Knights to 17 shots on goal. That completed … Read more
Most teams returned to conference play over the weekend, signaling a race to the playoff finish line. As always, there were some developments that were, shall we say, very interesting. SUNYAC No. 5 Oswego held onto the top spot after notching a solid 5-2 win at Cortland, while Geneseo eased ahead of No. 9 Plattsburgh … Read more
These are the three things I think I learned this week. 1. Being a Top 10 team means nothing. The upsets flew fast and furious over the weekend and none of Hockey East’s Top 10 teams were immune. Games that on paper appeared to be money in the bank instead became major withdrawals. On Friday … Read more
The weekly do-si-do of two steps forward, two steps back carried on for another verse last weekend, as two teams earned big sweeps, while two others ate the O-fer. Fortunes improving for Elis, Engineers It was a big week for Yale and Rensselaer, as each team took four big points against formidable foes. Big Blue … Read more
Three things from Atlantic Hockey play this weekend: Bringing everyone closer together In all five league games played on Friday, the team lower in the standings won. (Bentley over Canisius, Connecticut over Mercyhurst, Rochester Institute of Technology over Army, Holy Cross over Niagara ,and American International over Robert Morris). That helped pull the standings even … Read more