Feature stories
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
When reporters were allowed to enter the North Dakota locker room after Thursday’s national semifinal, many headed straight to Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. The senior goaltender, still in his uniform and pads, stood up from his chair and faced over six minutes of direct questioning about what had to be one of the more painful nights of … Read more
Michigan vs. Notre Dame Thursday, 7 p.m. MT, Pepsi Center, Denver Michigan Wolverines Record: 33-5-4, 20-4-4 CCHA (first) Seed: No. 1 overall, No. 1 East Road to Frozen Four: Beat Niagara 5-1; beat Clarkson 2-0 2007 NCAA tournament: Lost in regional semifinal It’s hard to think of the Wolverines as anybody’s Cinderella, but given the … Read more
Ryan Duncan’s numbers may be down when compared with his Hobey Baker-winning campaign a year ago, but the forward is more concerned with team success. Patrick C. Miller conducts a Q&A with the Fighting Sioux junior.
It’s extremely difficult to predict much in the game of college hockey, but as we head into Thursday’s opening semifinal game between Boston College and North Dakota, you almost get the feeling that people saw this game coming. Ignore the fact that this is the third time the two teams have faced one another in … Read more
Possibly the story of the weekend at the Frozen Four will be Notre Dame making its first appearance in school history on college hockey’s ultimate stage. No team has made its Frozen Four debut since 1998, which Ohio State reach the pinnacle for the first time. One thing that will help the Fighting Irish, though, … Read more
Possibly the story of the weekend at the Frozen Four will be Notre Dame making its first appearance in school history on college hockey’s ultimate stage. No team has made its Frozen Four debut since 1998, which Ohio State reach the pinnacle for the first time. One thing that will help the Fighting Irish, though, … Read more