2003-2004 Division III Preview

Not that anyone would bet on Division III hockey, but if they did, then the USCHO.com Preseason Poll has been more accurate than many of those 800-number betting lines. The first edition of the poll has correctly picked the national champion in three of the past five seasons. It was incorrect in 1999 (RIT was … Read more

2003-04 Rules Changes Finalized

The NCAA has released the final set of approved rules changes for Division I men and women, with the aforementioned chang to the fast faceoff rule prominently mentioned. That change will now increase the total time between faceoffs to 18 seconds instead of 15. The points of emphasis include a new rule that automatically grants … Read more

The Journey From MAAC to Atlantic

This past year’s MAAC Hockey championship tournament at West Point, N.Y., was the league’s most successful. If your ear was to the ground, though, that tournament weekend, you might have left with a strong impression that it would be the league’s last. In confirmation of the rumblings that existed three months earlier, the league’s nine … Read more

Analysis: Sneddon In at UVM

Assuming the reports are true, Kevin Sneddon will become the new coach at Vermont on Wednesday, coming in with a new athletic director, a new president, and a new commitment to hockey in Burlington. It was a highly-coveted job, and it could turn out to be great for Sneddon, Vermont and the ECAC as a … Read more

Commentary: Handicapping the Field

You can look through every Central Scouting Service (CSS) ranking. You can study for weeks, even months. But the reality in hockey is that the NHL Entry Draft could be one of the toughest events in sports to handicap. The NHL is absent of names like LeBron James. The league takes players before and during … Read more

Handicapping the Field

It all comes down this week. Where will 15,000-plus college hockey fans be trekking to at the beginning of April in the years of 2007 and 2008? It’s down to five cities: Denver (Pepsi Center) Detroit (Joe Louis Arena) Philadelphia (First Union Center) St. Louis (Savvis Center) St. Paul (Xcel Energy Center) (Make sure to … Read more

Noack Replaces Izzi at J&W

Johnson and Wales has named Erik Noack its new coach. He replaces Lou Izzi, who resigned to devote himself further to his full-time job as the school’s compliance officer. A member of three NCAA Division III finalists while playing at RIT, Noack played in 200 professional games in the East Coast Hockey League and the … Read more

The Last Change

We’ve mentioned the problems with the NCAA tournament selection system, now here are the solutions, in an open proposal to the hockey committee.