Feature stories
At the end of every season, college hockey fans across the country say goodbye to seniors they’ve known for four years, young men whose careers and lives they’ve followed into the early stages of adulthood. Among college hockey fans, there is a certain snobbery regarding “our” players, the arguable assertion that guys who play hockey … Read more
Women’s hockey should receive a big boost in the state of Wisconsin following the school’s matching NCAA titles.
It was Oct. 11, 2002, and Rensselaer had just beaten Wisconsin, 5-1, in the opening game of that year’s Ice Breaker Invitational, hosted by the Badgers in Madison. “They capitalized on every opportunity,” UW head coach Mike Eaves told USCHO’s Jayson Moy after the game. “Every chance they had, they took advantage.” That was what … Read more
With three goals and an assist on the weekend, everybody in the state of Wisconsin knew that junior forward Robbie Earl would be the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Everyone, it seems, except Earl. “I didn’t even know until we got the locker room when coach told me. It’s a great honor. But there’s so … Read more
On the road, scoring the first goal can often make or break the evening’s performance. Home teams usually have an adrenaline surge off the opening face-off with the crowd buoying their efforts. Getting that initial tally accomplishes the dual purposes of taking the lead and deflating those energies. Since 1999, the team that has scored … Read more
At times we forget about an important principle in sports: sportsmanship. Mike Volonnino tells us about the great displays this weekend at the Frozen Four.
“LET’S GO RED! LET’S GO RED!” The crowd, a sea of Wisconsin red with only tiny islands of Boston College gold, was determined to be the potentially decisive seventh man. “LET’S GO BADGERS!” The Wisconsin band blared. The students jumped up and down in unison. The electric atmosphere pulsed with excitement and throbbing decibel levels. … Read more
Tonight’s win gave Wisconsin its sixth NCAA title, the fourth-most of any program. Only Michigan’s nine, and North Dakota and Denver with seven, top the Badgers. Wisconsin finishes with its seventh 30-win season and the first since 1999-2000. Title IX: Two Titles Wisconsin is the first team to have men’s and women’s national championships in … Read more
Going into its NCAA semifinal contest against Wisconsin, Maine’s last worry was special teams. Many factors may have conspired to keep Black Bears coach Tim Whitehead awake at night, but neither the power play nor the penalty kill was among them. The penalty kill ranked first in the nation with an 89.1 percent success rate; … Read more
The Boston College Eagles, just four weeks ago, were talking more about bubbles than rings. After a near-deadly skid that ended the regular season, BC knew not only did it need to advance to the Hockey East final four, but in doing so needed to sweep its best two-of-three quarterfinal series with Vermont in order … Read more
Most everyone in the WCHA may know Ryan MacMurchy and Jack Skille, but if you’re a college hockey fan who lives east of Milwaukee, chances are that when you think “Badger hockey,” you think “Brian Elliott.” If you’re a diehard college hockey fan, you may even know the play of sophomore Joe Pavelski, junior Robbie … Read more
When the Wisconsin Badgers walked into their locker room for the first time at the start of the 2005-06 season, they were greeted with an assortment of hardware. There was the Pettit Cup from the 2002 Badger Hockey Showdown, representing the last time Wisconsin took its own home tournament, as well as a WCHA playoff … Read more
East Coast bias struck again and Milwaukee botched yet another All-Star event. Everything was working out perfectly in the inaugural Frozen Four Skills Challenge at the Bradley Center. A tie after the five main events forced a sudden-death overtime shootout round that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. After nine straight players … Read more
Once Wisconsin qualified for the Frozen Four, the home-ice advantage was obvious. The Badgers would play for their fourth national championship in their home state. But some things have to be heard to be believed. Thursday evening, the crowd reverberated every time a Wisconsin player touched the puck. The compact Bradley Center shook when Brian … Read more
Thanks to a hat trick from senior Chris Collins and a pair of tallies from rookie defensemen, Boston College holds a 5-2 lead over North Dakota through two periods of play in the opening semifinal of the 2006 Frozen Four. Boston College pulled in front, 3-0, in the opening period despite being outshot, 12-5, in … Read more
Two second period goals, one coming on the power play and one on the shorthand, currently stand as the difference as Wisconsin leads Maine, 3-1, through 40 minutes of play in Thursday’s second semifinal of the 2006 Frozen Four. The opening period saw each team feel one another out for most of the frame, with … Read more
Chess matches happen all the time in hockey. Bench bosses Jerry York of Boston College and Dave Hakstol of North Dakota waged one during their NCAA semifinal on Thursday at the Bradley Center. In the end, BC won 6-5. Two pawns in this match were 6′-5″, 220-pound defenseman Matt Smaby of NoDak, and 6′-7″ 240-pound … Read more
It was a question for the Fighting Sioux all year: Could a team with such a young defense survive the season? Everyone in Milwaukee knew the answer to that question by the 18:08 mark of the first period in the first semifinal between Boston College and North Dakota. It was at that point that the … Read more
Although the Hobey Baker Memorial Award voting is already a done deal, Boston College’s Chris Collins staked himself to the “Hat Trick” with a semifinal hat trick of his own. Chris Collins shakes hands with Jordan Parise after Thursday’s semifinal. (photo: Melissa Wade) The announcement of the three final contestants for the Hobey raised eyebrows … Read more
All year long, the refrain about Boston College has been its ability to survive its four freshman defensemen. Conventional hockey wisdom says that blueliners have the toughest time making the transition to the next level; an abundance of rookies at the position is a recipe for disaster. For Boston College, its youth on the blue … Read more