Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
So what did you think of the tourney selections? Any of the eight teams selected by the NCAA to vie for the Fro4 title cause any head scratching? Perhaps not. In fact the only the thing surprising about this year’s tourney field is that there are no surprises. Nada. Seven schools return from last season’s … Read more
The playoff action heats up this weekend — just in time for Dave Starman to offer breakdowns of every series in the WCHA, CCHA, ECAC Hockey and Hockey East.
Dave Starman can root for the underdog as much as anyone. But the personal and the professional are different matters, and overcoming the odds isn’t always a headline-grabber. Read on.
And Then There Were Seven Last weekend certainly had its surprises including both Middlebury and Plattsburgh losing in their respective conference tournaments. Fourth-seeded Colby provided the biggest shock of the weekend downing the top-seed and host Middlebury Panthers 3-2 in overtime in the NESCAC semifinals. The Elmira College Soaring Eagles also staved off elimination from … Read more
Players leaving school early for professional contracts are a part of big-time college athletics, and hockey is increasingly no exception. Jim Connelly traces the growing trend.
With the regular season now complete in all six Division I leagues, opportunities for bubble teams are coming into focus. Jayson Moy dives a little deeper into the numbers in this week’s column.
With the playoffs now in full swing, Jim Connelly and Scott Brown spotlight NCAA hopefuls in this weekend’s matchups, discuss Notre Dame’s prospects, and draw parallels regarding Division III’s Adrian College.
And then there were two. Adrian claimed the MCHA playoff championship, and the Harris Cup, for the first time ever last weekend with two hard-fought wins over MSOE and Finlandia, which leaves St. Norbert and Stout as the only teams with games remaining as the Green Knights defeated St. Scholastica 1-0 and Stout dropped Eau … Read more
Something Old, Something New For the third time in three years, they’re back in the finals. For the first time in school history, they have made the finals. That is the story line for the ECAC NE championship game as UMass-Dartmouth, seeking its third straight title, will host Nichols on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in … Read more
Recruiting is a key part of success in any college sport, but hockey’s unique mix of sources of talent creates unique problems. Gerald D. Skoning, captain of the 1964 Princeton Tigers, offers some perspective on junior hockey’s role in the process.
Championship Weekend! It’s here and by most coaches’ accounts there should be a heavy presence of local and state law enforcement officials around hosting arenas and nearby towns looking out for those who have outstanding warrants for grand larceny. It’s been happening in college towns and ice arenas all over New England all winter. The … Read more
Do you believe in miracles? … YES!!!!! So, we know that anything can happen in a hockey tournament. We always knew that thanks to a little Olympic moment that occurred in Lake Placid, back in 1980. So as the conference tournament action heats up in earnest, it’s not a bad idea to assess each school’s … Read more
No. 1 Elmira Soaring Eagles vs. No. 2 Manhattanville Valiants So far, the ECAC West playoffs have gone as scripted, with the higher seeded team winning all three games. Elmira and Manhattanville now get to play in the finals this Saturday at the Thunderdomes to see who will take home the league title. Elmira defeated … Read more
With the question of Minnesota Duluth’s eligibility resolved, Jayson Moy returns with an updated Bracketology.
It’s further PairWise chatter, the Hockey East home-ice tangle, props to Army, speculation about the conference playoffs and more from Jim Connelly and Scott Brown this week.
It’s another free-for-all for the WCHA — though with one fewer team than you might have expected if you’ve checked the PairWise Rankings lately. Jayson Moy sorts out the bracket.
18 Championships The Plattsburgh State Cardinals won their 18th SUNYAC title with a 4-3 victory over Oswego. Plattsburgh had not won the crown the past three years, tying their longest drought. Interestingly, after breaking that streak last time, they went on to win six straight. Even when they don’t win it, they are always there. … Read more
Playoff Fever! With Salve Regina’s 3-1 win over MIT on Tuesday night, the 2007-08 Women’s D-III regular season officially came to a close. Now, quoting Friday Night Lights, “Pass out the ammunition, we’re going to war,†as the second season is finally upon us. For everyone not in the NCHA (no auto-bid), the slates are … Read more
No Repeat “We’ve been thinking about them since last year at this time,” Oswego’s Brendan McLaughlin said. “We knew exactly what it felt like last year, and we like this feeling a lot more.” McLaughlin was referring to Fredonia’s upset win a year ago in the SUNYAC semifinals in Oswego. The Lakers didn’t want any … Read more
Careful what you ask for . . . yes it’s playoff time but that also means the season is winding down and now for most teams, it’s lose and you go home until next year. Everything is up for grabs and even the littlest on-ice detail now can mean the difference between moving on and … Read more