Feature stories
Shayne Baylis knew that playing college hockey came with its perks, most notably a chance to complete a four-year degree that he could parlay into a career down the road. Baylis entered Niagara University as a freshman defenseman in 2001 and played 83 games, amassing 16 points and 42 penalty minutes over his career. He … Read more
Last time it took four tries. This time, three. Boston College had to pound on the door in 1998, 1999, and 2000 — suffering a succession of gut-wrenching losses — before finally knocking the thing down in 2001. On this night, history came close to repeating itself as the Eagles shook off disappointments in the … Read more
For the Fighting Irish, a one-goal performance was a familiar narrative that they would have preferred to tell in past tense. At the end of the first half of the season, Notre Dame was averaging 3.50 goals per game; going into their 4-1 title game loss to Boston College, the Irish were averaging 2.93. “We’ve … Read more
Goal or No? About five minutes into the third, it appeared that the Irish made it a one-goal game, scoring to make it 3-2 as the puck went off the skate of Kyle Lawson and dribbled past BC goaltender John Muse. However, the goal was disallowed, due to a supposed kicking motion. According to video … Read more
National scoring leader. National champion. Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. Boston College winger Nathan Gerbe did it all this season. Well, almost. Anyone want a re-vote for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award? “As much respect as I have for Kevin Porter,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said, “if they name the Hobey Baker after this … Read more
Coming into this season, Boston College had a big question mark facing them. The Eagles had lost two consecutive national championship games, and junior goaltender Cory Schneider decided to forgo his senior season and sign with the Vancouver Canucks. If Jerry York’s Eagles hoped to contend for the championship again, they would have to rely … Read more
They went through five competitions, and then the fun started. The West won the Frozen Four Skills Challenge 13-6 Friday night at the Pepsi Center, beating the East in the third annual lighthearted event on the eve of the NCAA championship game for seniors who have completed their eligibility. It finished up with penalty shots, … Read more
Three is Nice When Boston College beat North Dakota to advance to their third consecutive national championship game, it set up an interesting symmetry with the second game. The last team to advance to three consecutive national championships was Lake Superior, when Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson was at the helm. Shootouts This is the … Read more
The best teams with the best athletes converge each year at the Frozen Four. Among those top athletes, goaltenders rank as the most important. Teams live and die with their guy between the pipes. In these Frozen Four semifinals, however, it was mostly die. With the notable exception of Boston College freshman Johnny Muse, the … Read more
Not Your Local Hero Swedish native, freshman Calle Ridderwall, had two goals in Notre Dame’s 5-4 win over Michigan in the semifinal, the opening goal for the Irish and the game-winner in overtime. In 37 previous games, Ridderall had netted just two and was playing on the fourth line in Thursday’s game. After the win, … Read more
Can you blame them for not wanting to leave? The scoreboard overhead shows Irish 5, Wolverines 4. There they are, the fans in Section 120 of the Pepsi Center — the Notre Dame cheering section — the last ones in the seating bowl until the ushers come to shoo them out into the hallway. “They’re … Read more
When Jeff Jackson joined the Fighting Irish staff three years ago, he had hopes of someday getting the hockey tradition at Notre Dame mentioned in the same breath as the football program. “I just love the storied tradition. I’ve always been a huge Knute Rockne fan and obviously some of the great football coaches,” he … Read more
When Boston College’s 2006-07 campaign ended with a disappointing loss against Michigan State in the national title game, BC head coach Jerry York still had a silver lining. At that time, the prospects for the 2007-08 team were extremely high. Standout goaltender Cory Schneider was returning for his senior year. Forwards Brock Bradford and Nathan … Read more
This season’s Michigan squad took a different path to success, courtesy of the blending of young and old. Paula C. Weston reports.
Lately, it has seemed if the North Dakota Fighting Sioux want to get to the Frozen Four championship game, they’ll want to avoid Boston College. Unless, of course, they see the Eagles in the NCAA regionals — then they’ve got a shot. For the third time in as many years, Dave Hakstol’s squad fell to … Read more
Mike Brennan realized he wasn’t going to morph into the second coming of Bobby Orr or Ray Bourque when he accepted a scholarship to Boston College four years ago. A senior defenseman and the Eagles’ captain this season, Brennan has played in all 166 games in his career but has scored only seven goals and … Read more
Midway through the first period of the first semifinal game Thursday night in Denver, Boston College held a one-goal lead over North Dakota, but the Sioux were going on a power play. For an offensively-explosive team like North Dakota, it presented a perfect opportunity to get back into the game. Boston College’s Nathan Gerbe had … Read more
One Last Time This is the third straight Frozen Four appearance for Boston College, and the fourth for North Dakota. Every senior on the ice tonight has had his season ended, at some point in his career, by the seniors on the other side of the puck. This is the third year in a row … Read more
One of the most difficult things to have in sports is regrets. When you’re on the national stage such as Michigan was at the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, that statement is magnified. The Wolverines’ regret came in the form of the opening 20 minutes of its national semifinal game against Notre Dame. Michigan started … Read more
Another Frozen Four. Ho hum. Another national championship game. Big deal. The Orpik family might be forgiven if its members reacted with yawns to Boston College’s 6-1 shellacking of North Dakota. So what if the Eagles advanced to a third straight NCAA title contest? Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen? The Orpiks are now six-for-six … Read more