Feature stories
For a Bemidji State fan in the nation’s capital, the sights and sounds must have been awe-inspiring. Said to a fan wearing an Alaska Anchorage jersey and a North Dakota hat: “Hey WCHA! Root for the Beavers!” A sign near the Bemidji State student section: “SIOUX FOR BEAVERS” The George Mason pep band adopted Bemidji … Read more
Boston’s National Team Crosstown rival Northeastern’s head coach, Greg Cronin, recently called BU “the best professional team playing college hockey.” Professional? Try national. The Terriers boast seven players who were recruited out of the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., including standouts Colin Wilson, Jason Lawrence and Brian Strait. Strait captained the … Read more
There is always a lot of noise about “experience” every postseason. No matter the sport, fans, coaches and players alike can’t get enough of it. Who’s got it, who needs it, where it came from. What it means, what it’s worth, what it fosters on the ice. Cody Reichard proves that pundits can posit what … Read more
Colors Both games, for all intents and purposes, feature teams with the same color schemes (green for Bemidji and Vermont, red for Miami and Boston University. Fours This game marked the first time two number four seeds met in the Frozen Four. The only other four seed to make the Frozen Four was Notre Dame. … Read more
Vermont’s Drew MacKenzie went from the heights to the depths during the third period of their game against BU in the Frozen Four.
In the growing tale of how Bemidji State got here to be the darlings of the Frozen Four, don’t forget how close the Beavers got to having their season end. In the CHA tournament’s championship game, Robert Morris took the Beavers to overtime before succumbing on Matt Read’s second goal of the night. One bad … Read more
A 22-win season and a trip to the Frozen Four are a long way from where the Vermont Catamounts’ program was when Kevin Sneddon arrived. In his first season, Vermont posted a dismal 9-22-4 mark in the ECAC. Adding strife was the fact that the club was just four years removed from a hazing scandal … Read more
They’re loose as a goose. Or more properly said, as geese. The Boston University Terriers looked by far like the loosest, most relaxed team at practice on Wednesday. Things were going so well that head coach Jack Parker decided to cut short practice and let his team relax. “We liked what we saw out there,” … Read more
Who’s Going in Goal? Miami coach Enrico Blasi was non-committal about his starting goaltender for Thursday’s semifinal against Bemidji State, saying he would meet with his staff later Wednesday to discuss the plan. That’s what comes with a goaltending rotation. Cody Reichard won both games at the West Regional, but he and fellow freshman Connor … Read more
Miami vs. Bemidji State Thursday, 5 p.m. ET, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Miami RedHawks Record: 22-12-5, 17-7-4-2 CCHA (t-second) Seed: No. 13 overall, No. 4 West Road to Frozen Four: Beat Denver 4-2, beat Minnesota Duluth 2-1 2008 NCAA tournament: Lost in Northeast Regional final A month ago, the Miami RedHawks were reluctant spectators. Having … Read more
Boston University vs. Vermont Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Boston University Terriers Record: 33-6-4, 18-5-4 Hockey East (first) Seed: No. 1 overall, No. 1 Northeast Road to Frozen Four: Beat Ohio State 8-3, beat New Hampshire 2-1 2008 NCAA tournament: none Boston University’s resume reads like a number one overall seed and … Read more
The end of the line came for Ohio State Saturday night. However, for the Buckeyes, it is just the beginning. The Buckeyes are loaded with young talent and a year like this one is exactly what the young Bucks needed to take the next step as a hockey program. Look at BU. The Terriers didn’t … Read more
More Than a Win Despite what had to be a crushing defeat, being so close to a Frozen Four berth and coming up empty-handed, Cornell head coach Mike Schafer saw more significance to Bemidji State’s triumph than just a ticket to Washington, D.C. “A big congratulations to Bemidji and Tom Serratore and their whole team,” … Read more
When Terrier senior Jason Lawrence tells his grandchildren about the goal he scored to send Boston University to its first Frozen Four since 1997, he agreed that he “absolutely” would report it to be a pinpoint snipe of a top corner. The reality was that the goal wasn’t as pretty as one might have hoped … Read more
When Bemidji State opened its 5-1 win over Notre Dame with a goal just 1:42 in, the Beavers may have taken the Fighting Irish and many college hockey fans by surprise, but nobody who has seen the Beavers play in the second half would have thought it out of the ordinary. That’s because a strong … Read more
When New Hampshire scored with 0.1 seconds remaining to send its Northeast Regional opening game into overtime and then won it less than a minute into extra time, UNH eyes were all a-smiling. A sense of euphoria flooded over the Granite State. The flow of cosmic sadism that had tormented the Wildcats in recent NCAA … Read more
Setting the Alarm Timing is everything, especially in the playoff stretch, and teams — and for that matter, individual players — can’t always bring their A-games. Before Saturday, BU rookie Corey Trivino only had four goals, but in the NCAAs he’s potted two goals in two games, which includes one of two for the Terriers … Read more
Don’t Mess with the CHA The Beavers came into this NCAA tournament as the CHA playoff champions in the league’s second-to-last season, and Bemidji head coach Tom Serratore wants the conference to get respect come tourney time next year. “I’m hoping that we get our automatic bid next year,” said Serratore. “I think it would … Read more
Even Steven One of the main strengths of BU’s team is the even scoring across the four forward lines, and this game showed that as all four lines had at least one goal, including two from the fourth line. 11 players on the team had points in tonight’s game. “I like to say I have … Read more
When Nick Bonino scored Boston University’s first goal Saturday at 8:49 of the first period, no one in the building believed the game was over. Yet recent history might have suggested otherwise. After Saturday’s dominating 8-3 win over Ohio State, the Terriers have an astonishing 22-0-3 record in games in which the sophomore has scored … Read more