Columns, excluding “This Week” columns
Change Is Good In my last two columns, I outlined proposed changes that would negatively affect Division III hockey. But not all change is bad, of course. Case in point — the NCAA has modified its tournament selection process for this and future seasons, and the changes should eliminate some of the issues that have … Read more
Scoreboard It was mostly good news from the NCAA convention — the Division III membership saw through many of the Division III reform proposals and shot them down. In summary: The grandfathered Division III schools playing at the Division I level that offer scholarships will continue to do so. This is a major victory for … Read more
What A Week The schedule-makers gave Division III women’s hockey fans a late Christmas present. In the span of five days the top four, six of the top seven, and seven of the top ten teams squared off against one another in seven thrilling contests, including a rematch of the past two national championships, the … Read more
The landscape of Division I women’s college hockey is suddenly a lot different from just a few weeks ago, both on and off the ice. Until last week, College Hockey America was all set to be a six-team autobid-eligible conference with Ohio State jumping aboard, but now Findlay has dropped its program and Ohio State … Read more
Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. … but what’s up with Union?
Joe Bertagna looks back at the holidays, and a letter you don’t want to get.
Twenty-eight years in the making, Team USA finally won the gold medal at the World Juniors, on a path paved by others.
The schedule-makers sure knew how to get 2004 going with a bang. For the first time in the same weekend, women’s hockey features the series openers for No. 1 Minnesota vs. No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth and No. 2 Harvard vs. No. 3 Dartmouth — bitter rivalries and rematches of the conference championships from a year ago. … Read more
Here It Comes On January 12, delegates from Division III institutions will vote, and are expected to pass, a sweeping reform package know as “The Future of Division III.” From a D-III hockey standpoint, the future looks bleak if this plan is adopted. Unfortunately, it looks like it will pass. This issue is so important … Read more
More on scoring, and movies, and broadcasting, and the usual assortment of musings.
Wednesday night we bade farewell to 2003, which proved to be yet another tremendous year of growth for Division I women’s college hockey. It was a year full of landmark events — the first-ever sellout crowd for the NCAA championship game, the inaugural championships for women’s Hockey East and College Hockey America, and the first … Read more
Tournament Time So did you miss it? The holidays were a nice distraction, but did you miss college hockey? Sure, if you’ve got satellite, there were some great D-I tournaments to check out, but D-III was on break from December 14 to December 27. Now it’s tournament time for D-III, and some good ones were … Read more
Crazy? I’ll Show Ya Crazy! In last week’s column, I opened by saying that in the opinion of many coaches and fans, this Division III season has been “crazy.” Well, we’re now bordering on “insane.” Cases in point: 1. Four of the top five teams in the USCHO poll lost last weekend. Combined record of … Read more
The BCS mess, more on goaltenders, some words of wisdom (and caution) about driving during this hockey season, and other musings.
Joe Bertagna remembers table hockey, and throws in his tips for the college hockey novice.
“It’s Crazy” That’s what I’ve been hearing from coaches and fans throughout the first third of the 2003-2004 season. Surprises are everywhere: Crowded poll — A whopping 25 teams received votes in this week’s USCHO.com Division III Poll, over a third of the programs out there. The lack of a consensus on the top teams … Read more
BCS = Bogus Computational System? At least hockey isn’t alone. Also: Ohio State’s good start, Harvard gets off the schneid, and a word about goalies.
Finally, the Gang’s All Here For some patient fans, the Division III hockey season starts this weekend, a full six weeks after teams from other conferences began play. The last 20 of the 74 Division II and Division III teams kick things off as the NESCAC, ECAC East and St. John’s from the MIAC finally … Read more
Is It February Already? It just seems that way. One of the major grudge matches in Division III hockey, traditionally reserved for the final showdown of the regular season, happens Friday night when Elmira invades RIT’s Ritter Arena for the 65th meeting between the two schools. The Tigers lead the series 31-29-4. Elmira is coming … Read more
The highs and lows from this weekend: Ayers, Minnesota, the Sioux and more.