Archive of USCHO’s blog content
Welcome, one and all, to USCHO.com’s newest blog. I hope to use this resource to address noteworthy material that falls outside the scope of my weekly ECAC Hockey column (though many of my readers would argue that over the years, precious little has qualified as falling out of range of a carefully crafted tangent). Turnstiles … Read more
Some random thoughts this week, while I read up on the Torpedo system: * Bob Daniels for coach of the year? Sounds OK to me if we’re voting right now, which, of course, we’re not. All credit to Tom Serratore at Bemidji State and Rand Pecknold at Quinnipiac, but Daniels, the Ferris State coach, has … Read more
Some random D-III observations: East Meets West Thanksgiving tournaments saw three teams crossing the “border” to play some out-of-region games. UW-Stout bussed 1,300 miles to Northfield, VT to play in the Primelink Tournament, while Salem State and Buffalo State went West. The Vikings were in Duluth participating in the St. Scholastica tournament while the Bengals … Read more
Another collection of random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the ninth week of the season: * Just when I start to question Miami’s fitness as the No. 1 team in the country, the RedHawks shut out Notre Dame for the weekend. Thanks for clearing that up. * Something Michigan Tech coach Jamie Russell said in the … Read more
Driving home through four states on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend? Not fun. But the trip that yielded that ride home also yielded some more insight on college hockey this season, so here goes with this week’s installment of some random (and not-so-random) thoughts: * Of the four teams in the College Hockey Showcase, the … Read more
If you like college hockey tournaments, there’s much to be thankful for this weekend. One of the many cool things about D-III hockey is the large number of holiday tournaments taking place (Division I has just three tourneys this weekend). Here’s a rundown of the action, which includes a pair of Western Tourneys. Pack the … Read more
Week 7 already? College hockey season is already a quarter done? And what do we know? Probably not as much as we think we know, but here goes anyway: * We have our first teams to 10 victories on the season, and if you had Quinnipiac and Bemidji State in that exacta box, pick up … Read more
Some random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the sixth week of the season: * Part of you has to feel bad for Niagara. As close as the Purple Eagles come to getting their first victory of the season, they just can’t get it done. Saturday at Robert Morris, they were up 3-1 midway through the game … Read more
Some random (and some not-so-random) thoughts after the fifth week of the season: * Defending national champion Boston University is 2-5 overall and 1-4 in Hockey East play. There’s not much more you can say to illustrate how much things can change from one season to the next. The Terriers had six overall losses and … Read more
Part of the draw was to see which Minnesota team would take the ice at the Kohl Center on Friday. (Part of the draw, of course, was the Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry — something a college hockey fan should experience in either building at least once.) Would it be the Golden Gophers that were shut out in … Read more
We’re underway with the 2009-2010 season (at least most of the teams are by now). It’s going to be tough to top last season. Neumann College, the last team into the NCAA tournament, a team that finished fourth in the ECAC West and had to play a play-in game to get into its conference playoffs, … Read more
Some thoughts after the fourth weekend of the season: * I know many do have a real problem with the CCHA using shootouts to decide how points are allocated after tie games. I share some of those concerns, but I am in favor of the shootout as a way to inject some life into what … Read more
Trying out a new weekly installment of the blog — some random (and not-so-random) thoughts on the week prior. * I’ve never seen this before. And neither have you, unless you were a Minnesota hockey follower in 1930 and were around for those momentous games against the Tulsa Athletic Club and Wisconsin. Denver blanked the … Read more
The USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I preseason men’s poll is out today, and I’ll be the first one to tell you that it doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot. Really, what do we have to go on? Last season and a lot of conjecture, neither of which tends to amount to anything definitive … Read more
Nice to see you again. Good summer? Ours was fine, thanks. The offseason is just about over — in case you missed it, college hockey won’t look quite the same after this season because of what took place over the last few months — and soon enough, USCHO will be getting back to full speed. … Read more
One of Bowling Green’s prominent hockey alumni is involved in an effort to make sure the program stays alive in tough times for the athletic department. Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee said in a meeting with reporters in the second intermission of Saturday’s national championship game that he hosted a meeting Friday with Bowling … Read more
When Bemidji State emerged from the Midwest Regional after downing Notre Dame and Cornell, the Beavers became instant media darlings and the unofficial new favorite team of everyone whose true love wasn’t playing in D.C. this weekend. The George Mason basketball pep band even adopted them for the Frozen Four when BSU didn’t have the … Read more
Miami coach Enrico Blasi threw out a one-liner today when talking about his relationship with Boston University coach Jack Parker, his counterpart in Saturday’s national championship game. Blasi was talking about Parker’s legacy and how he takes time to initiate conversation with young coaches. Then he added this: “A few years ago in Florida, he … Read more
This is making its way through college hockey tonight, including over on our message board, but I thought it deserved to be mentioned here. The D.C. Sports Bog, a production of the Washington Post’s Web site, is reporting that George Mason’s pep band, known as the Green Machine, will be standing in for the Bemidji … Read more
If you’re headed to the Frozen Four a day early and want to check out the Verizon Center and the four competing teams, check out the free practice sessions. Not only do you get the chance to see how the hockey-covering media lives (note the tongue planted firmly in cheek there), but teams usually make … Read more