Top-rated College Prospects

A list of the top college prospects in this weekend’s NHL Draft in Toronto, and the Central Scouting Service’s report for each player. RYAN WHITNEY CSS Mid-season ranking: 4th CSS Final ranking: 3rd BOSTON UNIVERSITY 6-3 1/2, 202 lbs. Defense, Shoots Left Born: February 19, 1983 Ryan is a very strong skater with a long, … Read more

Whitney Set to Be High Pick at NHL Draft

Though it may not receive the attention and the 24-hour media coverage of counterparts in football and basketball, the NHL Entry Draft is still a sports spectacle. Though broadcast in the U.S. as only a minor aside, it surprises no one that across the border in Canada, draft day is a major sports happening. So … Read more

A Tale of One City

There’s a brand new big arena in town, and one school is building a new facility of its own. That has created all sorts of speculation about whether Southern New Hampshire and/or St. Anselm has a future in Division I.

Championship Notebook

Heartstoppers With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Minnesota goalie Adam Hauser was pulled for an extra skater and Minnesota got the game-tying goal from Matt Koalska. That marked the second straight year that a goal was scored with an extra man on the ice in the championship. Last year, North Dakota scored two … Read more

Showdown In St. Paul: Minnesota

A few hours before they played in their first Frozen Four, members of the 2002 Minnesota team watched a video that tied their purpose this weekend at the Xcel Energy Center to another, larger one. As much as the Golden Gophers are playing for those that skate on the ice now, they’re also playing Saturday … Read more

No Storybook Ending

If you have a grandson who is very dear to you and he’s an athlete, there are few thrills greater than watching him compete for a national championship. So when Chris Heisten’s grandfather settled into his seat at the Xcel Energy Center to watch Maine take on top-seeded New Hampshire on Thursday, it was with … Read more

Frozen ‘4’

It was a Frozen ‘4’ indeed for Minnesota, for which numerology just might have played a part in an NCAA title win.

Commentary: It’s Their Time

Most of them come from a land with 10,000 lakes, 10,000 rinks and hundreds of thousands of young players who dream of a golden moment like the one Saturday night for someone who isn’t even a Minnesotan, but is as close now as any foreigner. Pulling the M-emblazoned sweater over their heads, then pushing an … Read more

Showdown In St. Paul: Maine

Dreams simply don’t come true enough in real life. The movies write great scripts, but everyone knows fantasy, storybook endings are reserved for Hollywood. Certainly St. Paul, Minn., is not the stage where one would expect one of these Hollywood-like segments to be filmed. But if I were a producer, I might want to hop … Read more

Favorite Son

Grant Potulny is Minnesota’s first out-of-state player in over a decade. That didn’t seem to mean much Saturday night.

The Leap

Johnny Pohl knows a thing or two about jumping after a big goal. He paid tribute to his brother Mark’s signature move last season by duplicating the “Pohl Vault,” a jump and turn into the Plexiglas. Matt Koalska’s last-minute goal sent the title game into overtime (photo: Pedro Cancel) So Pohl was pumped when he … Read more

Leo Leads The Way

After a disappointing overtime loss to Maine in last year’s NCAA East Regional, then-junior Minnesota defenseman Jordan Leopold had a difficult decision to make. The WCHA’s top defensive player of 2000-2001, whose NHL rights are held by the Calgary Flames, could have left school early for a pro career. Minnesota’s Jordan Leopold, the 2002 Hobey … Read more

Come Together

Head coach Don Lucia has instilled a sense of unity in Minnesota, one reason the Gophers play for the championship Saturday.