This Week in NCHC Hockey: After sluggish start, Denver answering challenge to ‘turn the page’ by winning three of last four

The NCHC pod is entering its final weekend of play, and even a skeptic would have to admit it’s been a success, with some incredible games so far. For No. 8 Denver, the pod has presented a particularly brutal schedule, with two games each against No. 3 Minnesota Duluth and No. 4 North Dakota, plus … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Conference continues to navigate 2020-21 season with ‘maximum flexibility’

While over the last two weekends, more Hockey East games have been played on the ice than in the previous two, the biggest news across the league continues to come from decisions of the league’s commissioner and the athletic directors. Such was the case on Tuesday when Hockey East announced that any and all games … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: ‘You make your adjustments and plan accordingly,’ says Air Force coach Serratore, on ‘different’ 2020-21 season

College hockey season is supposed to be formulaic. There’s a comforting structure to the way games are played and the way the season flows naturally through stages. The early season non-conference games offer first looks at potential contenders, and initial league games offer critical points at a time when teams are mostly unknown. The initial … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Notre Dame captain Clurman says Irish has ‘a little more to give’ up front from its ‘forward firepower’

Like many other teams across the country, Notre Dame’s first half has had its ups and downs. The Irish have a 4-4-0 record and will get a chance to add to their Big Ten wins column when they host Michigan State this weekend. The season started with a sweep at the hands of Wisconsin before … Read more

TMQ: Never too early to think about how we would choose the field for the 2021 NCAA hockey tournament

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. Paula: Well, Jimmy, there’s a new No. 1 in this week’s poll, and that seems like a good place to start. Minnesota improved to 8-0-0 this week after sweeping Michigan on … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Midway through pod play in Omaha, positives aplenty, according to UNO’s Kemp

When former Omaha coach Mike Kemp became the school’s associate athletic director for events and facilities in March of 2019, he couldn’t have anticipated the kinds of hours he’s working these days. Under normal circumstances — remember those? — Kemp would keep regular weekday hours at his Baxter Arena office and show up a couple … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Inconsistent Michigan squad will ‘be more than fine’ as season moves forward

As Michigan was preparing to host Minnesota in a marquee Big Ten match early this week, Wolverines coach Mel Pearson had a thought or two about his young, talented, and inconsistent team. “We’ll be fine,” said Pearson. “We’ll be more than fine. Just give us another month together as a team, and we’ll be alright.” … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Robert Morris beats Cadet Ice Arena mystique with sweep at Air Force

The Air Force home-ice advantage is a mythical piece of Atlantic Hockey lore. The geographical outlier in the conference is nestled more than 7,000 feet above sea level, and the very real impact of Cadet Ice Arena and its legendary altitude enabled six consecutive seasons with nine regular seasons in league play. That changed three … Read more

This Week in WCHA Hockey: Michigan Tech falls victim to time off as teams adjust to pandemic rules

As Michigan Tech and No. 6 Minnesota State took the ice Sunday, neither team had played a game in at least two weeks, which appears to be part of a new normal during the coronavirus pandemic. The Mavericks lost the chance to play the second game of their season-opening series with Bemidji State due to … Read more

TMQ: New college hockey season starting to come into focus as games are played, impact players emerging

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. Jim: Each week, Paula, as more teams get underway, we are learning a lot more. This week, as the NCHC pod kicked off and each of the teams (expect for Colorado … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Games slowly, but surely, getting underway as commish says ‘we can pick up some momentum’

To say that the start of the Hockey East men’s season has had some bumps in the road may be an understatement. But you might not know that by talking to first-year Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf, who is still upbeat and very positive that the season is close to getting back on track. “It’s … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: As Penn State looking for first win, Gadowsky blames himself, saying, ‘We have to coach better’

When Penn State hosts Michigan this week, the Nittany Lions will be looking for their first win of the season. With sweeps at the hands of Minnesota and Wisconsin to start this current campaign, Penn State appears to be very different from the team it was last March, when the Nittany Lions ended 2019-20 as … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: American International off to fast start, handling adversity well, on and off ice

Eric Lang woke up last Friday morning with butterflies singing a familiar tune on his nerves. It felt distant from the last time he heard them, but the traditional rite played music he instantly recognized. The anxiety cranked up the volume as he got closer to the MassMutual Center, and they peaked right before the … Read more

TMQ: Getting a feel for how the 2020-21 college hockey season will go – or how it won’t go

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. Paula: Jimmy, it seems ironic that there is so much hockey to talk about this week given how many teams haven’t begun playing yet, how many games have been postponed and … Read more

WCHA 2020-21 Season Preview: Teams still prepping for league’s final hockey season, despite ongoing pandemic

Even without a global pandemic, the 2020-21 WCHA season was already destined to be a weird one. Seven of the league’s ten members had already announced way back in June of 2019 that they would be leaving the conference to reform the CCHA after the conclusion of this year. It was already going to be … Read more