Archive of USCHO’s blog content
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
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
I called up one of my most dependable interviews, Rensselaer head coach Seth Appert, to get his thoughts on ECAC Hockey vis a vis its non-conference challenges. Well-spoken, affable and cerebral, Appert has proven himself time and again to be a great source when discussing the more nuanced aspects of the game. A goaltender at … Read more
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
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
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
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
Maybe you’ve seen this already. If you haven’t, it’s worth a look for the production value if nothing else. Like most schools with a video board, Alaska has an intro sequence that plays before the game. I’m not sure anything I’ve seen tops this in terms of graphics talent, but there are some head-scratching moments … Read more
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
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 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
You may have heard the criticism of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program at some point. In short, it goes like this: Too much money on too few players. I’m guessing you’d get a “bring it on” kind of look from a pro-NTDP person today if you tried to start the argument. The majority … Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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