Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
The dog days of winter are here and that means the end of the 2009-10 campaign is already looming on the horizon. Plenty of action remains to unfold, however, as MCHA and NCHA teams get one final chance to jockey for playoff position as both leagues wrap up their conference schedules this weekend. Aside from … Read more
Middle of the Pack The teams in the middle of the ECAC West standings re-exerted themselves this past weekend, demonstrating the depth of the league. In the Game of the Week highlighted in this column, third place Hobart went into the Thunderdomes last Saturday and handed Elmira its first conference loss, 5-3. Special teams were … Read more
Settling In With just three games left in the regular season (except for Morrisville, who has four left), teams are starting to settle into certain positions. Of course, some of this is due to two teams not eligible for postseason play. The two bye positions are virtually settled. Oswego still holds a five point lead … Read more
If this season’s outdoor games have taught us anything, it’s that when they’re done with regional rivalries, a big chunk of the college hockey country doesn’t pay attention. Dave Starman writes that it’s time to scrap the outdoor idea in favor of more appealing indoor games.
The final two weekends of the regular season are here. Eight points — all extremely valuable — are up for grabs for each team over the final four games and, interestingly enough, they are virtually all just “two pointers†for teams in both conferences. I know, you’re thinking “hey dummy all games are worth just … Read more
Down the Stretch They Come This is the second-to-last weekend of regular season games in the MIAC, and the playoff picture is as muddy as ever. The parity in this league becomes more prevalent each week as teams continue to demonstrate that any team can beat anyone else on a given night. The top two … Read more
Massachusetts is no stranger to massive construction projects, as any Boston commuter in the 1990s or earlier portion of the last decade can tell you. But while the behemoth remodeling of the city’s major road artery is complete, there’s another rebuilding project taking place at Western New England College, where first year head coach Greg … Read more
So where do Boston College and Boston University go after the Beanpot? That’s what USCHO senior writers Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski are discussing this week.
Goal in Mind Everybody loves a big upset (unless of course you are cast in the role of the forlorn favorite), so last week’s surprising 2-1 win by Niagara over No. 1 Mercyhurst caught plenty of notice across the hockey spectrum. The architect of all that eyebrow arching was junior netminder Jenni Bauer, a self-described … Read more
St. Catherine Continues to Impress in MIAC The St. Catherine women’s hockey team got off to a strong 9-1 start this season and few people took notice as the Wildcats never cracked the top 10 in the USCHO.com rankings. Granted, St. Catherine didn’t play an all-world schedule in the first half of the season but … Read more
With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the pressure is on to really refine the level of play in order to garner as many points as possible in the final half dozen games of the season. This refinement will not only help define the teams’ playoff positions but also set the stage for … Read more
Push for the Playoffs After last weekend, there are three weeks left in the MIAC schedule. With the season nearing its conclusion, in some leagues this would be the time of year when the playoff picture is becoming clearer and teams are left jockeying for positioning. In the MIAC though, where only five teams make … Read more
The Aftermath Now that a week has passed since the NCAA announcement sanctioning Buffalo State and Geneseo, the two teams involved have had some time to let it sink in. Their reactions have been admirable, and any anger they have is channeled properly. “In terms of how the team is handling it, they are remarkably … Read more
Sometimes the best laid plans can go awry. While I had touched on Curry’s unbeaten conference record last week, the plan this week was to point how little love Curry was getting in the latest polls, despite holding a one point lead over Wentworth for top spot in the ECAC Northeast. But after voting was … Read more
Focusing on Challenges Elmira kept rolling in league play last weekend, steamrolling Utica in a pair of games. The Soaring Eagles poured 49 shots on net Friday night, tallying seven goals to defeat the Pioneers, 7-3. “The guys played great,†said Elmira head coach Aaron Saul. “It is the time of the year where you … Read more
One half of the Beanpot is in the books, and that’s where USCHO senior writers Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski start this week’s look around college hockey.
Amherst goalie Cole Anderson has backstopped his team to a familiar spot in the NESCAC conference
With only one month remaining in the regular season, parity has run rampant amongst the D-III women’s ranks. Sure you have Amherst leading the NESCAC and Plattsburgh leading the ECAC West, which are no real surprises. On the other hand, Lake Forest leading the NCHA and St. Catherine and St. Thomas currently ahead of Gustavus … Read more
By chance is Tae Kwan part of your training regimen? If not, you might consider giving it a whirl. After all, it hasn’t hurt Carolyne Prevost any. In fact, Wisconsin’s sophomore forward credits that Korean martial art – which is loosely analogous to kick boxing – with helping her become a better hockey player. Not … Read more
The University of Wisconsin-Stout’s 3-2 victory over St. Olaf at the Xcel Center on Saturday (which we’ll have more on later) wrapped up the regular season action between the NCHA and the MIAC. With a 24-6-3 record over the MIAC this season the NCHA once again obliterated its western foes and has gone 66-21-5 against … Read more