Archive of USCHO’s blog content
St. Cloud State (17-16-5, 12-12-4 WCHA) vs. No. 9 Denver (23-12-4, 16-8-4 WCHA) Tyler: Mike Lee’s past against UND, which includes zero wins in six starts, is going to rattle him Thursday. He never had a shot against UND this year (out with injury in four games vs. UND) and he’s red hot since he … Read more
Watch any hockey game and they are not difficult to identify. At times it seems they are constantly on the ice dazzling us with feats of skill and creativity which sets them apart from the rest. You hear their names called out over the P.A. system with far greater frequency than most and, long after … Read more
Don’t change that channel, ECAC Hockey fans! In fact, don’t even bother turning on the TV, for the league’s championship weekend will not be televised this year. The league confirmed today that it could not find a suitable carrier for its flagship event, to be held for the second time at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic … Read more
Here’s the field for the CCHA Championship Tournament at Joe Louis Arena: No. 4 Bowling Green vs. No. 1 Michigan No. 3 Miami vs. No. 2 Western Michigan The Broncos and RedHawks will play the early game before Bowling Green upsets Michigan. I’m just stating the obvious, at this point (and anticipating commentary and email … Read more
Three things I learned from the first round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament: – For the second straight playoff weekend, the higher seeds all advanced. But it wasn’t without a struggle as Air Force, Rochester Institute of Technology and Mercyhurst were all pushed to the limit. As a result, Niagara will be making its first … Read more
Well, we have our final foursome: Union, Cornell, Harvard and Colgate. Look familiar? They were the top four teams in the regular season, too. That, ladies and gentlemen, is why byes are important. Time and a half Surprisingly, only three of the weekend’s 10 games went to overtime, and two of those games were between … Read more
Four visitors evicted Saturday’s first round of the NCAA tournament had a little of everything. Whether you like wide-open offense, defense clamping down for 60 minutes, great saves, soft goals, goalie changes, video review, or overtime tension, there was something to offer — and that was just in Ithaca, N.Y. When the goal lights had … Read more
It wasn’t until the clock neared midnight (ET) Sunday when Michigan Tech found out it will play Denver Thursday afternoon and North Dakota learned it will play St. Cloud State in primetime when Luke Salazar’s wrap-around goal in overtime sent the Pioneers to St. Paul for the Final Five. After a typically dramatic weekend of … Read more
One round of the Hockey East tournament is in the books. And while three series needed three games to decide the outcome, only one provided an upset (that would be Providence becoming the first-ever No. 7 seed to advance). That said, plenty to learn from this first round of Hockey East tournament play. 1. Goaltenders … Read more
And then there were eight… We’ve reached the final two weekends of the season and in just over 24 hours we will know who the four teams that will be competing for the 2012 Division III Women’s National Championship. Concordia (Minn.) @ RIT Out of the four matchups, this is probably the one that everyone … Read more
Well, in my first attempt at D-III picks, I went 2-1 (.667), while Russell went 3-0 (1.000). We’ve got the quarterfinal games coming up this weekend; let’s see if I can gain any ground. Wentworth at Norwich Candace: This is one of those that makes me rethink my ideas of gambling. Norwich in a waltz. … Read more
I have a feeling about a specific upset this weekend — but I thought Northern Michigan would sweep and Alaska would win a game last weekend. You know by now never to take my picks to the bank. Last week: 4-4 Season to date: 126-82-25 (.594) Because it’s the playoffs and I call individual games … Read more
The postseason begins this weekend with six series making up the WCHA’s first round of playoff competition. By Sunday, half of these teams will be out of the conference playoffs and while a couple of those may still be able to squeeze into the NCAA’s they’ll need to rely on the success and/or failure of … Read more
Final regular reason record: 66-65 Playoff record (series): 2-2 As the numbers show, I’ve been downright mediocre with my picks (including a 6-6 mark on the final weekend of the regular season). So take these for whatever they’re worth. All series are best-of-three and start at 7 p.m. The four remaining teams will move on to … Read more
Final Regular Reason Record: 155-63-30 (.685) This Week’s Picks: Atlantic Hockey Playoffs: Quarterfinals Best of Three Series Friday, March 2 – Sunday, March 4 No. 8 Connecticut at No. 1 Air Force – While I think the other three series are toss-ups, this one favors the 19th-ranked Falcons, who swept the Huskies during the regular … Read more
Well, my second week in the playoffs I didn’t do so well. Just far too many upsets. I did great the first day, but it was all downhill from there, as I finished 7-5 (.583), dropping to 23-11 (.676). Arlan did a great job previewing the games this weekend, so let’s see if I can … Read more
Dave has his rally cap on. Let’s see if he has enough to complete the comeback! Jim last week: 7-2-0 Dave last week: 8-1-0 Jim’s record-to-date: 116-71-17 Dave’s record-to-date: 115-72-17 This week, we’ll pick all three games as if they are played. If a game three isn’t played, that pick doesn’t count. (All series Friday, … Read more
Our columnists have been watching the action all season long, and each is weighing in with picks for the tournament. The action should be fierce; can you beat any of our columnists’ prognostications? Tim Costello – ECAC East/NESCAC columnist (Drop the puck!!) First Round Wentworth over Plymouth State St. Thomas over St. Norbert Gustavus Adolphus … Read more
For the D-III tournament, D-III Editor Candace Horgan has decided to join the picks race. She and Russell will pick each round’s game. Wentworth at Plymouth Candace: Wentworth swept Plymouth at Plymouth in early January, and I don’t think much has changed since then, so expect the Leopards to move on. Russell: We have arguably … Read more
This morning, the NCAA announced the eight-team field for the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament, and I can honestly say I’m a little surprised with the outcome. The five automatic qualifiers into the tournament were defending national champion Norwich (ECAC East), 2011 runner-up RIT (ECAC West), Gustavus Adolphus (MIAC), Wisconsin-River Falls (NCHA), and Middlebury (NESCAC). … Read more