Draft Day Only the Beginning For Thelen, Booth

The day the [nl]Minnesota North Stars bolted his home state for Texas was the day a young A.J. Thelen stopped worrying about where he might play some day in the NHL. All he began to care about was getting there. “I have no real favorite now,” said Thelen, a standout defenseman for Michigan State. “Once … Read more

O’Neill Preps For Draft With Cautious Optimism

Notre Dame freshman defenseman Wes O’Neill has tried hard to keep in perspective this month’s NHL Entry Draft and his place in it. He’s excited, because it’s one step toward realizing a childhood dream. But he tempered that enthusiasm with the knowledge that it is, indeed, just one step. “It will be an honor to … Read more

Ihnacak Focuses On Sophomore Progress

On June 26 or 27, Brian Ihnacak will hear his name, put on a CCM hat, and smile for a picture. And his rights will belong to an NHL organization. Afterwards, he’ll likely play three more seasons at Brown. Then the American League. Maybe the NHL. At every stage, the Toronto native will have a … Read more

Green’s ‘D’ Hoping High Draft Wish Granted

Little known fact about Dartmouth defenseman ‘D,’ Grant Lewis: His first name really is ‘D.’ It’s not something uncommon like “Donovan” or “Darius.” It’s not even something run-of-the-mill like “Daniel” or “David.” Not anymore. “My dad wanted it to be ‘Dave’ before I was born,” Lewis said, “and my mom wanted it to be ‘D.’ … Read more

Birnstill, Caron Put Draft on Hold

Mike Lundin and Daniel Winnik might be sharing the spotlight as the only current Hockey East players trumpeted as NHL draft material this year, but many others with ties to the league have appeared on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s radar screen. A pair of true 18-year-old freshmen, defenseman Steve Birnstill of Northeastern (ranked 61st … Read more

Quick Picks

Drew Stafford is expected to uphold North Dakota’s recent tradition of first-round picks at the NHL Draft.

The Searchers

Despite being this late in the offseason, Harvard has options, and plenty of them, as it looks to fill its head coaching position. Dipping into someone else’s head coach would be dicey at this time of year, but that probably won’t be necessary. So much has been said and written about Harvard, the pressure is … Read more

ECAC Mulls Applicants’ Pros and Cons

The ECAC will hear formal proposals today at Yale from five schools that have applied for admittance into the hockey conference for the 2005-06 season. The ECAC opened up the process after it learned that Vermont intended to depart the ECAC for Hockey East after next season. The five schools that have applied are current … Read more

Coaches’ Q&A

We spoke in depth with two Atlantic Hockey coaches about their application for acceptance into the ECAC. Five schools — Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Niagara, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart — are making proposals today, and the ECAC will decide whether to add a school, and which one or ones, by July 1. (Also see full story: … Read more

Q&A With Princeton AD Gary Walters

Gary Walters seemed elated Friday as he introduced Guy Gadowsky as the new head coach of the Princeton men’s ice hockey team, believing he found a special personality to lead the embattled program. The Princeton athletic director spent two months searching for someone to replace Len Quesnelle, someone who had been a player, assistant and … Read more

Best Of The Best

See a great game this year? A classic nailbiter, or a slugfest for the ages? Find out if it made the cut as one of our best games of the season.

Denver Pioneers: 55 Years of Overcoming Obstacles

In the days following the University of Denver’s 2004 NCAA Championship victory over Maine, writers and pundits attributed the success of Denver’s hockey program to a variety of factors. Words like “goaltending,” “grit,” a “loosey-goosey attitude” and “senior leadership” were tossed around in abundance. Some even called it a “Cinderella story” after the lowest-seeded team … Read more