Archive of USCHO’s blog content
Dave Hakstol said it best when he stated the morning before the season opener, that North Dakota “isn’t a top-2 team in the WCHA right now,” Hakstol said. “…right now.” The UND coach made that statement before the Sioux had to rally to beat Air Force, Friday, and before it fell hard to No. 5 Boston … Read more
Well, that was interesting. With 18 nonconference games featuring CCHA teams, we were given a good early look at the league, top to bottom. Three things stand out. 1. No one is invincible. No. 1 Notre Dame opened its season with a 4-3 loss to Minnesota-Duluth … which is the same way the Irish ended … Read more
Three things I leaned from the first weekend of play in Atlantic Hockey – For some teams, there are no moral victories. “We are way past moral victories,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said after a 4-3 loss on Friday at North Dakota, where the Falcons held a 3-2 lead with seven minutes to play. … Read more
It’s only one weekend so I reserve the right to unlearn what I think I’ve learned. But here are three things I think I learned from this weekend’s games. Three, Massachusetts may have found at least one solution to the graduation of goaltender Paul Dainton. I know it’s just one game and the road to Goaltender Stardom … Read more
BOSTON — Boston University fans know that they can count on senior goaltender Kieran Millan. Except, perhaps, in games that don’t count. In last week’s exhibition game, Millan sleepwalked through two periods, giving up five goals on just 17 shots against St. Francis Xavier. But what a difference a week, and a game that counts … Read more
It was a good week for the CCHA, with three nonconference wins and a bunch of exhibition victories (and one notable exception — congratulations, Ontario IT) but this week really kicks off the regular season. Last week: 3-0 Season to date: 3-0 Hey, that was easy! Click on any team’s name to see its season … Read more
Well, both Arlan and I kicked off our picks season in great style. I went 8-1-1 (.850), as did Arlan 8-1-1 (.850). We have some tougher games to pick this week, so hopefully our prognostication abilities are up to the task. Friday-Saturday, October 7-8 Bemidji State at Ohio State Candace: Bemidji did well to take … Read more
Welcome to the first edition of the picks for the 2011-2012 season. Friday, October 7 Air Force at North Dakota (Icebreaker Tournament) – It’s a homecoming for Air Force captain Paul Weisgarber, a former North Dakota Mr. Hockey award winner in high school. The Falcons will put a scare into the Fighting Sioux, but I … Read more
It’s almost unbelieve to think that it’s now October and the Hockey East season is back upon us. Jim will be looking to defend his picks title from a year ago over Dave, while the old man (that’s Dave) is out for blood. Here are this week’s picks: Friday, October 7 Massachusetts at Northeastern Jim’s … Read more
Here’s your latest look at what the Division I men’s college hockey conferences will look like in 2013-14, when realignment comes around. Bowling Green has committed to the WCHA and Notre Dame has said it’s going to Hockey East, which gives everyone from the current CCHA a new home. ATLANTIC HOCKEY (12 teams, unchanged) Air … Read more
A new season starts with a wealth of optimism, but more questions than answers. Although we are still awaiting the onset of conference play, action ramped up around the country, with a number of games matching squads of similar prospects. Two of the series of note featured participants that spent most of last season in … Read more
The NCHC announced on Sunday that it will begin play in 2013 as an eight-team conference and, in doing so, consequently may have announced Notre Dame’s hockey future. Last week, Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson told the South Bend Tribune that the school’s decision for a future conference was down to the NCHC and … Read more
How was your summer? Quiet? So much to talk about in the world of college hockey in the coming weeks and months, including the impending — and sad — demise of the CCHA. In the meantime, however, there is hockey to be played and within the next five days, two CCHA teams are playing hockey … Read more
Last season, I had a great time writing a weekly picks column, and I finished with an excellent record of 193-60-24 (.740) on the season. Let’s see if I can better that this year (a tough challenge). Also joining me in weekly prognostications will be new USCHO Women’s D-I columnist Arlan Marttila, who I want … Read more
It’s said that the most important factor in real estate is location. The three most important factors in real estate are quickly rising in prominence in women’s hockey. Schools’ proximity to one another, and a desire by the NCAA to limit travel costs, can produce a tournament bracket come March where the top-seeded team is … Read more
Following up on an earlier post on how the conferences will look in 2013-14, when the Big Ten and National Collegiate Hockey Conference form, here’s the breakdown after the NCHC’s addition of St. Cloud State and Western Michigan: ATLANTIC HOCKEY (12 teams, unchanged) Air Force * American International # Army * Bentley # Canisius * … Read more
In November, Rochester Institute of Technology launched a fundraising effort designed to secure $15 million needed to fund a new hockey arena for its men’s and women’s teams. So when school president William W. Destler got to the part of his annual President’s Address about building projects on campus, naturally, the potential for a new … Read more
We got a request via email the other day to publish what the conference structure will look like in 2013-14, when the Big Ten and National Collegiate Hockey Conference begin play. The situation is still fluid, of course, but let’s take a look at what we have at the moment. One caveat: I left the … Read more
It might be time for us to get out some asterisks or some other notation for our list of college hockey-related players selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. That’s because in the give and take that is the often tenuous relationship between college hockey and major juniors, there has been an awful lot of … Read more
Here’s an email that came to us recently that the writer, Brian Patterson of Minneapolis, agreed to let us publish: As a big college hockey fan, I have been following the recent developments closely and my concern, like many, is that the new conferences are completely ignoring the great history of college hockey. Consider this … Read more