Feature stories
When Colorado College completed a comeback from a three-goal deficit to win the Midwest Regional Saturday evening, a WCHA representative remarked that at least the league was guaranteed of having one team in the Frozen Four. Twenty-four hours later, the WCHA had taken the other three spots, too. Denver, North Dakota and Minnesota will join … Read more
In a game such as this, where it’s a one and done, a hot goaltender could make the difference. Bemidji State netminder Matt Clime had a great start in his team’s first-round NCAA tournament game against Denver last Saturday, the program’s first in Division I. Climie made several point-blank saves against the vaunted Denver arsenal. … Read more
Minnesota’s season began auspiciously. Despite the loss of several of its top players, including the early departures of Thomas Vanek and Keith Ballard to the pro ranks, the Gophers cruised through the first half of the season, racking up a 15-4-0 record and the nation’s No. 1 ranking at the Christmas break. Not bad for … Read more
There wasn’t much doubt that at least one of them would be going to Columbus, Ohio. The only questions were how many and which ones? Several Hockey East coaches expressed the hope that the four league teams selected to the NCAA tournament — Boston College, New Hampshire, Boston University and Maine — would be placed … Read more
Colorado College players wanted to celebrate early. Scott Owens waited until he heard the horn. After the Tigers sent the puck out of the zone one last time to seal a 4-3 victory over Michigan Saturday and a trip to the Frozen Four, the CC players started jumping up and down on the bench. Some … Read more
When North Dakota forwards Brandon Bochenski and Zach Parise went pro early after last season, fans of the Sioux had to wonder if the team’s offensive punch would leave town with them. After all, the two scored 50 of the team’s 182 goals last season. Throw in graduating senior David Lundbohm, who added 15 lamplighters, … Read more
Settling It On The Ice, Part II When Minnesota was awarded the fourth No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament last Sunday, it didn’t sit well with some, including Cornell supporters who questioned why the 14-loss Gophers should have that spot ahead of the Big Red, who lost just four games all season entering the … Read more
Moving Up The Ladder With Gabe Gauthier’s hat trick Sunday, he moved up to 111 points in his career, good for No. 59 in the Denver scoring list, leaving behind Anders Bjork, Paul Josephson, Marc Rousseau, Njorn Engstrom, Kelly Popadynetz, Cliff Koroll, Rich Preston, Mike Busniuk, Ken Williamson and Brian Konowalchuk at 109. Gauthier now … Read more
It’s a coach’s worst nightmare. You execute your game plan perfectly. You dominate your opponent at the game’s opening. And what do you have to show for it? Nada. Zilch. Zip. After a sluggish start Saturday for defending national champion Denver that resulted in the Pioneers needing overtime to get past underdog Bemidji State, the … Read more
If it’s your first day at a new job, you don’t want the boss walking into your office while you’re playing video games. If it’s your first night out with a dream date, you don’t want a sudden attack of gastric distress. And if you’re Boston College in the NCAA tournament, you don’t want to … Read more
The 2005 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the year’s most outstanding women’s college ice hockey player by the USA Hockey Foundation, is junior forward Krissy Wendell from the University of Minnesota. Wendell, who beat out linemate Natalie Darwitz and rival forward Caroline Ouellette from Minnesota-Duluth in the award’s final tally, finished … Read more
Legend has it that longtime Maine head coach Shawn Walsh pointed to a 16-2 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota as the turning point in the Black Bears program. It was January 4, 1986, and Minnesota had already thumped Maine 8-3 the night before. It was Walsh’s second year at the helm of the Black … Read more
Minnesota topped Harvard 6-2 in the 2004 NCAA final, but in this year’s title rematch, Harvard hopes its top line can match up against the Gophers’.
Streak Buster When Denver rookie defenseman Andrew Thomas scored the Pioneers’ first goal of the game at 5:35 of the first period it snapped Bemidji netminder Matt Climie’s shutout streak. The rookie goaltender had not allowed a tally in 177 minutes, 41 seconds, dating back to March 5 when Air Force’s Brian Gineo scored in … Read more
The first loss for a goaltender is one of those rites of passage anyone who gets between the pipes has to endure. For a position that demands as much mentally as it does physically, how a goalie responds to defeat is as a big a test as his puck-stopping acumen. For Boston College would-be freshman … Read more
A Bit of History Saturday’s meeting was the 95th matchup between Colorado College and Michigan, with the Wolverines owning a 57-35-3 edge against the Tigers. The two teams have now met seven times in the NCAA tournament. For the Tigers, Saturday’s victory was its first win in the NCAA tournament against Michigan since 1957. A … Read more
For some fans, the Bemidji State broadcast would be viewed later on tape. For others, the thought would never arise to record a hockey game, even one as important as the school’s first Division I NCAA tournament appearance. There were funerals to attend. There was grief to express, comfort to provide, horrors to exorcise. Five … Read more
The distance between Rochester, Minn., and Colorado Springs, Colo., is 729 miles as the crow flies, but to get from the one city to the other, ice is a more convenient medium than air. Colorado College’s captain, junior Mark Stuart, and sophomores John Brunkhorst and Scott Thauwald are all Rochester natives, and are among seven … Read more
At the end of last season, Hobey Baker finalist Zach Parise decided that his goal-scorer’s touch better matched a New Jersey Devils uniform than North Dakota green. Immediately, Parise left his brother, goaltender Jordan, with a huge question — who would provide the offensive support that he needed? The Fighting Sioux had plenty of answers. … Read more
It’s tough to write about sometimes, because you feel for the kids. After all, it is just a game, but sometimes, it can be a little more. It’s life, especially for seniors. Especially for the Harvard seniors. Because for four straight years Harvard has gone to the NCAA tournament, and four times the last period … Read more