What I Think: Week 19

Some random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the 19th week of the college hockey season: * I didn’t think I’d ever have to invest this much thought into Minnesota’s future; it always seemed fairly solid. But when the Gophers’ present is as muddy as it is now, you can’t help but think about what’s ahead. After … Read more

What I Think: Week 18

Before I get into the trivial stuff, condolences to everyone in the Miami hockey family after the loss of student assistant Brendan Burke. You had to be struck by Burke’s courage, which a lot of us came to realize in an ESPN.com article. He’s gone far too soon, but I’m guessing there are a lot … Read more

What I Think: Week 17

Some random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the 17th week of the season: * I keep telling myself that the PairWise means nothing at this time of the year. I don’t listen. * I’m very interested to see where North Dakota comes up in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll on Monday. For the last two … Read more

What I Think: Week 16

A few random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the 16th week of the season: * The lead of this blog really should be about how great a weekend of hockey we just saw, but I just feel compelled to repeat what I learned this weekend. Speaking after his team beat Lake Superior State 6-1 on Friday, … Read more

Wisconsin, Denver Show Postseason Intensity Isn’t Reserved Just for the Postseason

MADISON, Wis. — The term playoff atmosphere gets thrown around after weekends like these, but the reality is this type of game most often doesn’t get played in front of partisan crowds. You usually see college hockey at this level on neutral ice in a conference or NCAA tournament, not when there’s still almost two … Read more

A North Andover Twist

While watching a Boston University-Merrimack game earlier this year, my friend pointed out an interesting little wrinkle in the Warriors’ game plan: practically any time the puck was in ‘Mack’s zone, one of the Warriors would skulk the neutral zone, looking for a breakout pass. I was fascinated, but didn’t look into it too much … Read more

What I Think: Week 15

Some random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the 15th week of the season: * You’ve got to think there’s at least a bit of panic at Quinnipiac. A team that finished November with a 12-1 record has fallen on hard times — big time. In December and so far in January, the Bobcats are 1-8-1. They … Read more

What I Think: Week 14

Some random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the 14th week of the season: * I think it’s time for a new No. 1. I just wish, for the sake of further believing in my poll ballot, that Denver had stepped up and emphatically taken that top spot instead of just moving up by not losing. Robert … Read more

Some Intriguing Matchups

Some intriguing matchups this weekend: #9 Adrian at #1 Oswego (1/8) – The Bulldogs come in for a single game. This would have been an even more anticipated game before last weekend, when Adrian was swept by Hamline for its first two losses of the season. The Bulldogs dropped from No. 4 to No. 9 … Read more

Two-Minute Monologue

Hockey, as an entity, has made a lot of changes in recent years. Attempts to speed up, clean up, and first and foremost increase scoring have been major priorities, especially at the NHL level. The world’s top league is looking to erase over a decade of trap-happy hockey, where the prevailing philosophy of the sport … Read more

What I Think: Week 13

A few thoughts in an abbreviated (and delayed … thanks, Sunday tournament games) edition: * Here’s a good read from Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail about the college-vs.-major junior issue, tied to the differences in the United States and Canadian World Junior Championship teams. In the end, the choice between the two routes … Read more

The Showdown, By the Numbers

Here are some interesting numbers from the 21-year history of the Badger Hockey Showdown, which came to a close Sunday with Wisconsin beating Yale in a shootout for the title: 34 — Teams that have played in the tournament. Bowling Green and Yale were the most frequently invited guests, each appearing four times. 18 — … Read more

No One Said Travel Was Easy

It seems like we hear about one travel-related nightmare around the holidays every year. This year, it was Yale having quite the adventure trying to get to Madison, Wis., for the Badger Hockey Showdown. The Bulldogs left New Haven on Thursday but then, according to coach Keith Allain, spent about 3 1/2 hours waiting on … Read more

Following Up on Tourney Rankings

A quick follow-up to the tournament rankings I posted the other day: A reader named John Cavanaugh e-mailed to let me know he crunched the numbers using KRACH and RPI rankings, and the results were fairly similar. Here are the rankings he came up with using KRACH: 1. Badger Hockey Showdown (15.75) 2. Wells Fargo … Read more

100 Years of Norwich Hockey

Thanks to Dave Moody, former color analyst for Norwich, for sharing this. It really captures the excitement of Division III Hockey. Look for former cadet and current Neumann coach Dominik Dawes, who coached his team to the national title in his first year behind the bench. Norwich Hockey 100 Years

Holiday Tourney Time

The end of the year and the beginning of the next means another round of Division III holiday tournaments. All the action takes place in the East, with MSOE and St. Mary’s making the trip for a couple of out-of-region games. Here’s a look at the various tournaments, including a rating of the strength of … Read more

What I Think: Week 12

Here’s wishing a belated happy holidays to all of our faithful USCHO readers. This week’s edition is more of what I’ve crunched rather than what I think. For the past couple of seasons, I’ve ranked the holiday tournaments by combined winning percentage of the teams involved. I can’t exactly remember why — probably because, when … Read more