And Now For Something Completely Different… Welcome, Metro Atlantic hockey fans, to this installment of This Week In The MAAC. As you might have noticed from the byline up above, I’m not Jim Connelly, but rather an astonishing likeness. I’ll be your host for this weekend’s tour of the MAAC, before Jim returns Monday with … Read more
So we’re only one week into the 1999-2000 season, and already it’s time to play "who beat who." Our first contestant is defending MAAC champion Holy Cross. Last week, the Crusaders battled hard against the preseason favorite for cellar-dweller in the nation’s strongest conference, Hockey East: Merrimack College. The Crusaders eventually dropped the game, 5-2, … Read more
Showtime! Since the first announcement of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s existence, people around the college hockey circles have questioned, "Can this league compete?" By the end of last year’s inaugural season, folks bellowed that question even louder as four teams, Quinnipiac, Holy Cross, UConn and Canisius, were all under consideration for the NCAA tournament. … Read more
The top four seeds — Quinnipiac, Holy Cross, Connecticut and Canisius — have all advanced to the MAAC Final Four, to be played this weekend at the Hart Center on the campus of Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Each of the four seeds advanced in their own unique ways. There were blowout and nail-biters, hard-fought … Read more
The MAAC announced its end-of-year awards at its banquet Thursday night here. Iona freshman forward Ryan Carter was named Offensive Player of the Year, as well as Offensive Rookie of the Year. Carter finished the season with 62 points (32 goals, 30 assists) and leads all Division I players in goals per game (1.0). Quinnipiac … Read more
Their schedule has been called “insular.” They get about as much respect as Rodney Dangerfield, if that much. And in the general college hockey community, they’re given as much of a chance as the tortoise was against the hare. But the Quinnipiac Braves are currently in a position to cause not only some rumblings in … Read more
What do you call a team that, in the midst of a good year, learns it has lost its number-one goalie for the rest of the season? A team whose senior backup can count his career games played on one hand? If that team is Holy Cross, you’d call it a contender. That’s the exact … Read more
Whoever said the MAAC isn’t exciting Division I hockey, they’re crazy. As we end February, no other league in the country still has three teams battling for the top spot. To add to that, the MAAC has three other teams tied for the final home-ice bid in the playoffs. If that’s not exciting, I don’t … Read more
Simply put, the MAAC season has come down to three weeks. Six games for each team to position themselves for the playoffs. And last weekend’s action is what set up the whole ball of wax. With first-place Quinnipiac taking the weekend off from conference play, the two teams sitting on the doorstep had the privilege … Read more
Okay, so my first shot at picking games didn’t turn out too good. I did pick the split between UConn and Quinnipiac (though not the fact that the visiting team would win both games). And how about those Ice Griffs? They walked right into Iona and took two games from the Gaels. Okay, enough about … Read more
Well, here I am — sitting in front of my computer, realizing that I’ve got the crystal ball now. And it’s time for me to gaze into it for the first time as the new MAAC correspondent here at USCHO. And what a week to do it! This week we have the two best teams … Read more
Ever notice how much Metro Atlantic hockey resembles the TV series The Simpsons? First, The Simpsons is set in the mythic town of Springfield…and there’s a town called Springfield in New England, where most of the MAAC schools are located. Coincidence? I think not. Next, how often does The Simpsons come on? Every week. And … Read more
Ever notice how much Metro Atlantic hockey resembles the TV series The Simpsons? First, The Simpsons is set in the mythic town of Springfield…and there’s a town called Springfield in New England, where most of the MAAC schools are located. Coincidence? I think not. Next, how often does The Simpsons come on? Every week. And … Read more
It’s been an upward climb this year for Metro Atlantic hockey. When the league was formed, its founders knew it would take time to establish respectability for the nation’s fifth Division I league, but coming into last week they had probably hoped for a little better than a 1-8-1 nonconference record against fellow Division I … Read more
On Friday, Quinnipiac president John L. Lahey and athletic director Jack McDonald announced extensive plans to upgrade the Braves’ hockey program. Quinnipiac’s commitment comes in the form of a new hockey arena, implementation of women’s ice hockey at the varsity level, promotion of part-time men’s coach Rand Pecknold to full-time status, the addition of U.S. … Read more
The email came first in a trickle, then in waves. “What do you have against UConn?” demanded angry Huskies fans. “Why do you keep picking them to lose?” Several pointed out that I had picked UConn to be swept three weekends in a row. And for the record, the stretch in which I predicted UConn … Read more
The object of the two games is the same — to score goals. One is played on a sheet of ice, the other on a pitch. Canisius College junior Ryan Puntiri excels at both. On the soccer field, the midfielder is one of the leading playmakers in the nation. Puntiri was named second-team All-Metro Atlantic … Read more
After three weekends of Metro Atlantic play, it’s clear there are two major surprises in the conference. The first is Canisius, predicted to finish second in the MAAC preseason poll. Despite the hype, the Ice Griffins are on an 0-7-1 skid and find themselves in sixth place. The second is Iona. The freshman-laden Gaels, a … Read more
Well, the MAAC made headlines last weekend, but probably not the type the conference’s head honchos envisioned when this venture was founded. Saturday’s tilt between Quinnipiac and Fairfield was suspended after the second period when 14 players were sent to Bridgeport Hospital complaining of dizziness and nausea. The culprit? Carbon monoxide from the Zamboni at … Read more
No need to dance around it — this week’s themes in the MAAC are pretty straightforward. Canisius, a preseason pick to contend for the MAAC title, is on a four-game slide after dropping two games to Quinnipiac last weekend. It doesn’t get any easier this week as the Ice Griffs head out to Holy Cross. … Read more