George Gwozdecky looked into the eyes of his players and saw shock and disbelief. Looking back six months later, he’s glad he did. The Denver players never suspected their 2002-03 season would end the way it did — with them falling short of their goals. So when the Pioneers were ousted from the first round … Read more
The refrain is familiar: How is Minnesota State going to deal with losing two big-name scorers? A year ago, it was Tim Jackman and Jerry Cunningham. The Mavericks got along just fine, thank you. Went 17 games without a loss. Tied for second in the WCHA. Made the school’s first trip to the NCAA Division … Read more
The risk a team runs after a successful season is the misguided notion that the next season’s success will be easy to come by. Offseason conditioning and preseason training usually are fueled more by bad memories than good ones. So Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin, fresh off the Bulldogs’ first trip to the WCHA Final Five … Read more
Amid the ruin that was the 2002-03 season for Alaska-Anchorage, John Hill offered a bit of perspective. The second-year coach mentioned last year that he thinks the 2004-05 season is when the Seawolves finally will be able to pull it all together. It might have been hard to see that through the destruction of a … Read more
The cyclical nature of mid-major college hockey programs might be coming around to disrupt St. Cloud State’s standing as one of the recent fixtures in the NCAA tournament. Only Michigan and Maine have longer current streaks in the NCAA field, but the Huskies’ four-year run is in danger unless they can: Reverse the downward trend … Read more
Two-time defending national champion Minnesota might come from the WCHA, but winning the league title is a whole different matter, it seems. Todd D. Milewski previews the conference’s 52nd session.
Mercyhurst was named the overwhelming favorite in the inaugural Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches’ poll, receiving eight of a possible nine first-place votes. Atlantic Hockey begins play this season under a new banner, as the conference was formed after its nine schools decided to leave the MAAC in June. The league has a new commissioner, former … Read more
WCHA coaches have made Minnesota an overwhelming favorite to win the league’s regular-season title. The two-time defending national champions received a maximum nine votes (coaches cannot rank their own team) and head the WCHA coaches poll conducted by the Grand Forks Herald. North Dakota was second with one first-place vote. Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth tied … Read more
You don’t enter college expecting to play for three different coaches in your four years. The NHL, maybe, but not college, where coaches get the time they need to try to rebuild a program that has lost its way. This season’s seniors at Michigan Tech, however, will be playing for head coach No. 3 as … Read more
The Division I men’s ice hockey committee has again tweaked its process for NCAA tournament selection, allowing for the alteration of the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), a component of the comparison process used to determine the field. According to the committee, “if the points awarded in the RPI for a win in a postseason conference … Read more
The Division I Championships and Competition Cabinet has recommended the approval of the expansion of the NCAA Division I women’s tournament to eight teams from its current four, beginning with the 2004-05 season. The decision was made at its regular meeting last week in Indianapolis. It still faces approval from the Budget Committee and Management … Read more
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. If the coaches of College Hockey America’s Women’s League are right, that’s how things will shape up this season in the four-team Division I conference. Mercyhurst, the defending CHA regular season and postseason champion, was picked to set the pace once again this season by league … Read more
Bemidji State was named as the men’s favorite this season in College Hockey America’s annual preseason coaches’ poll. The Beavers, who tied for third last season and finished 14-14-8 overall, were the tournament runners-up after falling to Wayne State in the CHA Championship. They return eight of their top ten scorers from a year ago … Read more
College Sports Television (CSTV), the first 24-hour college sports network, has announced the first-ever national college hockey game of the week package. The package, which will debut Oct. 3, features 11 of the 16 teams that competed in last season’s NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey championships, including champion Minnesota and semifinalists New Hampshire, Cornell … Read more
College Sports Television (CSTV), the first 24-hour college sports network, will premiere its original series Coach on Friday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. (ET) with a special presentation dedicated to Herb Brooks, the Hall of Fame coach of the 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. men’s ice hockey team who died in an automobile accident Aug. 11. … Read more
Ohio State all-American forward R.J. Umberger will not return to the school for his senior season. The one-time NHL First Round Draft choice spent the entire summer negotiating with the Vancouver Canucks, but still has not come to terms. In the mean time, classes have started at Ohio State and Umberger is not in them. … Read more
Over the last two seasons the Big Red of Cornell and the Crimson of Harvard have been on top of the ECAC. The two teams have played for the ECAC Championship in each of the last two seasons. This season, both the coaches and the media expect it to be the same way. The Crimson … Read more
Speaking to an audience at Rensselaer’s Russell Sage Laboratory building last week, NCAA president Myles Brand, a graduate of RPI, sounded a hopeful tone that the scholarship issue hanging over some Division I hockey schools could be worked out. A January vote is pending that would strip Division III schools that “play up” into a … Read more
The defending ECAC Champion Big Green of Dartmouth garnered five of the nine first-place votes in the ECAC Preseason Women’s Coaches’ Poll. The Big Green defeated the Crimson of Harvard for the title last season and will try to repeat under new head coach Mark Hudak. The Crimson, who were the eventual runners-up in the … Read more
June 21-22 NASHVILLE — The following list shows U.S. college players who made the Central Scouting Service’s end of season North American rankings. (I) = Incoming Recruit (*) = No Longer With Team Forwards/Defensemen *NHL Draft Selection* Rank Name Team Pos. Rd. Overall By 3 Thomas Vanek Minnesota LW 1 5 Buffalo 7 Ryan Suter … Read more