Feature stories
If points were awarded for locker-room speeches, Alaska-Anchorage coach Dean Talafous would be near the top of the country. And it’s not because of screaming or throwing things. It’s due to his message. Recently, Talafous revealed a bit of what he would say to his Seawolves as they prepared to face Colorado College in their … Read more
Ready for the post-season? It’s here! The NCHA and SUNYAC playoffs begin this weekend, and the other conferences will follow shortly thereafter. To help fans follow the action, here’s a bit of background on the various Division II/Division III conferences, and the NCAA selection process. The Conferences Let’s begin out west, where things are a … Read more
When Ernie Hartlieb arrived at Miami University as a freshman in the fall of 1997, the campus he’d visited just once seemed eerily too familiar. When nearly every classroom, dining hall, or dorm the RedHawk forward entered gave him a peculiar sense of deja vu, he realized he had seen all of these places before. … Read more
This year, Hockey East instituted a Defensive Player of the Week Award to complement its other awards, which forwards and goaltenders traditionally dominate. After Maine’s first weekend of action, the league selected David Cullen. After Maine’s second weekend of action, the league again selected David Cullen. Two years ago, the Black Bears boasted the best … Read more
Attention, college hockey coaches: if you want to make Brian Swanson, Colorado College’s senior captain and bona fide Hobey Baker candidate uncomfortable, just ask him to talk about himself. If modesty were the sole criterion for hockey’s Heisman, the senior from Eagle River, Alaska, would have to be the odds-on favorite. In an age where … Read more
“Hurry up, mom!” cries the impatient child. “C’mon, turn on the radio! Turn it on! Grady’s gonna be on and we’re playing Harvard!” “Is it on yet?” asks the student studying for a test on Monday. “It’s a big one tonight. We’ve got to win on the road, and they’re ahead of us in the … Read more
On Christmas night, the Ohio State men’s ice hockey team got a gift from Santa they’ll never forget: their first skate in the $106.5 million Jerome “Schottenstein Center’s Value City Arena. Of course, it was Christmas, and the players were grumbling about the shortness of the break; the road conditions on the way home through … Read more
ECAC Hockey Commissioner Jeff Fanter is aware of the difficulties in promoting off-campus tournaments. But, despite an announced attendance of just 3,250 for the ECAC-Hockey East Holiday Doubleheader last week at the Hartford Civic Center, Fanter is optimistic these types of tournaments can work — as both a competitive event and opportunity to promote the … Read more
Reprinted by permission of the Duluth News-Tribune. DULUTH, Minn. — The Bulldogs aren’t winning, and there’s one person to blame. Mike Sertich. “That’s fine. It’s part of the deal, and I accept that,” the Minnesota-Duluth hockey coach says. It has to be tempting to spread the blame around a little, but Sertich has learned over … Read more
Sophomore forward Kirk Lamb first made a significant impression on Princeton head coach Don Cahoon following a big home win over Harvard in 1996. Shortly after the final buzzer, Cahoon headed to the locker room to congratulate his players on a fine effort. A cacophony of celebration greeted Cahoon and assistant coach Len Quesnelle as … Read more
With just under nine minutes left in Boston University’s spirited 4-2 victory over hated arch-rival Boston College, the superfan known as Sasquatch is getting restless. The whistle blows, and he jumps up, gesturing to the BU band across Walter Brown Arena. They miss the cue and break into “Louie, Louie”; Sasquatch whips off his hat … Read more
The object of the two games is the same — to score goals. One is played on a sheet of ice, the other on a pitch. Canisius College junior Ryan Puntiri excels at both. On the soccer field, the midfielder is one of the leading playmakers in the nation. Puntiri was named second-team All-Metro Atlantic … Read more
There’s a new man in charge in Schenectady, New York, these days. Well, “new” if you consider that it is his first head coaching position in college hockey — not so new if you know that he had been the top assistant at Union for the last five years. Kevin Sneddon, named Union head coach … Read more
When he was a little boy, he watched hockey on TV and dreamed the dreams of so many kids his age. Could that be me? Could I do that? For Michael Filardo, though, the challenges of seeing those dreams reach fulfillment extended beyond the usual ones of size, skill, quickness and agility. He faced the … Read more
There he was, sitting in the stands of the Kiel Center in St. Louis with his family. Marty Reasoner, Jr., had just finished his freshman campaign at Boston College. He was the Hockey East Rookie of the Year, joining the likes of Brian Leetch, Ken Hodge and Ian Moran as the only Eagles to do … Read more
Growing up, my family was always more interested in baseball than hockey. My dad got turned off to hockey during the 1970s era of the Big, Bad Bruins when Wayne Cashman, Terry O’Reilly and Pie McKenzie seemed more interested in throwing punches than scoring goals. And since my dad wasn’t much of a hockey follower, … Read more
“I think we can win it.” Win what? Hockey East? Further than that? “Further than that.” — Brian Gionta, Oct. 17, 1997 On the face of it, Gionta’s prediction, made with a grin and a sparkle in the eye after the first game of the season, appeared so outlandish as to be laughable. Win it? … Read more
After losing to Michigan in their NCAA semifinal game, New Hampshire’s Mark Mowers said that Michigan had one of the toughest defensive teams his team had faced this season. He also mentioned Miami as a tough, grinding hockey club. But he and coach Dick Umile were quick to say that there’s little difference between East … Read more
Steward Raygor’s eyes welled with tears. Raygor, with four family members at his side, had just watched his son Erik accept the 1998 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented to college hockey’s finest citizen, and the emotions hit him like a tidal wave. “This is, I believe, every father’s goal,” said Raygor, whose son recently finished his … Read more
At the midpoint of this season, space on this web site detailed a statistically significant drop in college hockey scoring over the last dozen years. The decline lessened somewhat in the second half of the season, but not by much — certainly not enough to stop asking the question, “What’s happening and why?” The decline … Read more