Feature stories
Here’s a statistic that Hockey East loyalists are hearing for the umpteenth time, but Western fans should make note of: in Hockey East games, the Wildcats ranked first in team offense, team defense, power-play percentage and penalty-kill percentage. This led to finishing first in the league, winning the Hockey East tournament and gaining the top … Read more
Although it may not seem like it this weekend, the city of St. Paul and the surrounding areas have a lot to offer visitors besides men on skates. The planners of this year’s Frozen Four have plenty of activities to keep fans busy, but I thought I’d offer a few others — just in case. … Read more
In some ways, Maine had the toughest road to the Frozen Four of the semifinalist schools. New Hampshire and Minnesota were bye teams while Michigan got to play on home ice in front of its raucous fans. The Wolverines did face tougher opponents, at least on paper, but had the proverbial seventh player from the … Read more
Don Lucia has trouble coming up with high points from a season in which his Minnesota Golden Gophers are 30-8-4, got a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament and have advanced to the Frozen Four. But that’s just fine to the Minnesota coach. He hasn’t found any low points, either. One of the things Lucia … Read more
In a not-too-common occurrence, Tim Horst left Minnesota to play hockey. Now, Jim Connelly reports on the UNH sophomore’s return.
Minnesota’s seniors have come a long way since a sub-.500 freshman season, as Todd D. Milewski notes.
Michigan State’s loss at the West Regional sent Ron Mason out a loser in his last game. But Paula C. Weston says the new MSU AD is able to focus elsewhere — and there’s plenty to see.
Lucas Lawson entered the year with high expectations. Meeting them was neither easy nor quick, but the junior forward helped get Maine to the Frozen Four, Jim Connelly notes.
Rick Comley’s life, he says, has intermingled with Ron Mason’s for 35 years — no surprise, then, when Mason tapped Comley to succeed him at MSU. Frequent contributor Steve Klein gives his thoughts.
Denver’s magical season came to a sudden end, but there were no second-guesses.
St. Cloud State went from a season of huge promise, to one of lingering questions.
Shawn Walsh died six months ago, but his spirit lives in his charges at Maine, which reached the Frozen Four on Sunday.
His more famous teammate attracts most of the attention on and off the ice, but Colin Hemingway is a critical piece of the UNH puzzle.
Quinnipiac lost big in its first NCAA tournament game, but odds are it will be back and better for the experience.
If Michael Schutte isn’t Maine’s most valuable player, he’s certainly its most versatile.
Northeastern’s Brooke Whitney won’t leave college with an NCAA championship, or a Beanpot title, for that matter. She will, however, have the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award to show for her efforts. David De Remer reports on the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, all at once.
One year ago, WCHA correspondent Todd D. Milewski claimed victory in USCHO.com’s first-ever NCAA picks competition. This year, the rest of USCHO’s Division I conference correspondents are out for revenge. The rules are simple: pick a winner for every game in each NCAA regional, straight up. One point per game picked correctly, with total goals … Read more
Colorado College has two classes recruited by Don Lucia, who it now faces with a Frozen Four berth on the line.
The 2002 NCAA championship was limited to 12 teams, and colored by the tragedies of Sept. 11. But with a 16-team tournament coming perhaps as soon as next year, see how the field could have shaken out this year.
Rankings, schmankings. Though some may cry foul about the seedings and the placements, one thing is for sure: in the East Regional most of the bids were earned the old-fashioned way. In this era of objective criteria — of coaches and administrators huddled about a computer, or deciphering rows of text to decide the field … Read more