Feature stories
Okay, show of hands: Who took Western Michigan (+400) last Friday over then No. 1 Michigan? If you did, good for you. And if you hit a five-team parlay with last week’s five featured games, GREAT for you. A $100 bet on those games in a five-team parlay paid a whopping $7,075. That’s some real … Read more
After videos went viral last March detailing the inferior weight room setup provided to the women’s basketball championship, NCAA president Mark Emmert commissioned an external gender equity review across all sports. Phase one of the report came out in early August and focused specifically on men’s and women’s basketball. Monday’s report was the second phase … Read more
Vermont’s record (0-4-0) indicates a struggling men’s hockey team. The game scores tell a different story — one of a club that has been competitive in every game. Scan the Catamounts’ schedule so far and one will find a pair of one-goal losses and, perhaps more importantly, no blowouts or embarrassments. The mentality of constant … Read more
It might have been reasonable to assume at the start of the 2021-22 season that Lake Superior State might have some issues scoring goals this year. After all, the Lakers lost four of their top five scorers (Ashton Calder, Pete Veillette, Hampus Eriksson and Will Reidell) either to graduation or the NCAA transfer portal (in … Read more
Anyone taking a government course at one of the six Ivy League schools is no doubt familiar with the concept of a “blank slate.” Developed by the English philosopher John Locke, it’s the idea that humans are born with an empty mind that is filled up with knowledge and ideas as they move through life. … Read more
New Holy Cross coach Bill Riga is a rookie in a league known for coaching longevity. The average tenure for an Atlantic Hockey coach is currently 15 seasons, and the last change was the addition of Canisius’ Trevor Large and Niagara’s Jason Lammers five years ago. It’s the first collegiate head coaching stint for Riga, … Read more
When the coaches poll came out in September, the Big Ten opener between the teams predicted to finish sixth and seventh probably didn’t cause many to bust out the Sharpie. That being said, both Ohio State and Michigan State have, at least to a point, navigated their early-season nonconference schedule successfully and will be looking … Read more
For Ralph Engelstad Arena general manager Jody Hodgson, looking back three years to North Dakota’s last destination game sometimes feels like it happened a decade ago. The world has changed immensely since the COVID-19 pandemic started, let alone since UND beat Minnesota 3-1 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game three years ago this … Read more
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback. Ed: Another week, another new No. 1 in the USCHO.com men’s ice hockey poll, with St. Cloud State gaining the top spot after Michigan split with Western Michigan. The Wolverines are … Read more
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1) Another new No. 1? Friday night marked a seismic event for the national radar when No. 1 Michigan lost 5-2 to a 17th-ranked Western Michigan squad at home at Yost Ice Arena. Five different players scored … Read more
Luke Manning (l.) scored twice as St. Thomas earned its first-ever Division I win with a 5-2 victory over Ferris State on Saturday (photo: Greg Smith/St. Thomas Athletics)
Five different players scored goals as No. 17 Western Michigan upset top-ranked Michigan, 5-2, in Ann Arbor on Friday (Photo: Ashley Huss/Western Michigan Athletics
Notre Dame (+190) became the first significant underdog from this column to earn a victory last Friday, knocking off Michigan Tech on the road, 2-1 in overtime. Michigan (+120), which was a slight underdog on Friday against host Minnesota Duluth last Friday in the IceBreaker semifinal, handling the Bulldogs with ease, 5-1, before taking home … Read more
After some time away, there’s one thing Rico Blasi noticed about the familiar rinks of the CCHA. “The smell is still the same,” the first-year St. Thomas coach joked in a phone interview Tuesday, reflecting on his team’s recent road trips to Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State. Blasi, who played at Miami in the … Read more
A matchup between two top-10 teams is noteworthy enough on its own, but there’s a little extra buzz in this weekend’s matchup between No. 6 North Dakota and No. 7 Quinnipiac. For the first time in nearly 20 months, there will be fans at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena when the Bobcats host the Fighting Hawks … Read more
Don’t call it a goalie controversy. Because Merrimack coach Scott Borek doesn’t see it that way. With sophomore Zachary Borgiel and freshman Hugo Ollas sharing time between the pipes so far this season for the Warriors (2-2-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East), Borek said competition at the position can only be a positive for his club. “I … Read more
The new NCAA rule allowing transferring players a one-time exemption from having to sit out a year has had a sweeping impact on college hockey this season. When combined with an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, we saw an unprecedented number of players changing teams this past offseason. At one time, there were … Read more
Plenty of talk surrounded Michigan and St. Lawrence earlier this year, when COVID-19 cases saw those teams withdraw from the 2021 NCAA tournament before it began. Those moves soon became public information. What wasn’t public at the time of the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh, though, was that St. Cloud State briefly worried over a false … Read more
Minnesota hasn’t played an in-state rival for conference points since March of 2013, but in the middle of back-to-back series against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, it feels like we’ve been transported back a couple years. The Gophers and Bulldogs will face off in a home-and-home bout this weekend with Friday’s game being played … Read more
Even before the puck dropped on the opening weekend of the 2021-22 season, college hockey felt the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The season-opening series between Alaska and Minnesota scheduled for Oct. 2-3 in Minneapolis was postponed to mid-January because of COVID protocols that involved Tier 1 individuals associated with the Alaska program. Tier … Read more