All four coaches of Frozen Four teams were among the eight finalists for the women’s Division I Coach of The Year. Minnesota-Duluth’s Shannon Miller, Harvard’s Katey Stone, Minnesota’s Laura Halldorson and Dartmouth’s Judy Oberting are all vying for the award, as well as the national championship. Halldorson, Oberting and Stone are all past winners of … Read more
With the expansion of the NCAA tournament to 16 teams this year, even knowledgeable people around college hockey have been thrown into confusion about the new seeding process. And since the NCAA has publicized its new guidelines for seeding, here is a peek — “bracketology”-style — at what the NCAA tournament might look like if … Read more
Bowdoin’s 500-mile bus trip back home will be a little bit easier this year. After going 0-3 in Frozen Four games, the Polar Bears turned a 3-0 lead into a 4-2 victory over Wisconsin-River Falls in the consolation game. Marissa O’Neil scored twice, Shelly Chessie added to her record single season assist mark with two, … Read more
In last Saturday’s NCAA quarterfinal game, the Norwich Cadets found themselves trailing Trinity 4-1 after two periods. Coach Mike McShane told his team, “If you come back and win this game, I guarantee that you’ll win the national championship.” “I went out on a bit of a limb,” he acknowledged. Norwich captains Marshall Lee, Toza … Read more
The American College Hockey Coaches Association has released its Division II/III (College Division) All-Amercians for the 2002-2003. Eight players named were on teams competing for the NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey Championship at Norwich this weekend. Wisconsin-River Falls defenseman Adam Kragthorpe was named a first team All-Amercian for the third time. Norwich forward Kurtis McLean … Read more
Oswego State goaltender Tyson Gajda carried a towel into his team’s news conference after Saturday night’s NCAA Division III championship game. His coach was the one who needed it to wipe away tears. George Roll faced the media with red eyes minutes after the Lakers’ 2-1 loss to Norwich. The loss likely marked the end … Read more
Call it the Grant Potulny Show. Minnesota’s captain — who this weekend made his return to the Xcel Center ice six months after breaking his leg in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game — scored two goals in the first six minutes Saturday to lead the Gophers to the WCHA championship, 4-2 over Colorado … Read more
Maris Ziedins, a senior from St. Norbert, has been chosen Player of the Year by the nation’s Division III head coaches. The native of Talsi, Latvia, scored 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points this season. He finishes his career with a total of 74 goals and 71 assists for 145 points. ZIEDINS “Maris … Read more
After two days of high-intensity hockey, the CCHA Super Six consolation game was an uninspired letdown. Interrupted repeatedly by minor penalties called against each team, Northern Michigan’s 4-1 win over Ohio State had all the intensity of an ether-filled room, but with half the excitement. In the end, though, it wasn’t the entertainment value that … Read more
Minnesota: the team WCHA fans love to hate.
Minnesota-Duluth was playing in the NCAA Tournament in front of a hometown crowd of 4,800 fans, and it was a role the Bulldogs relished. They outshot, outhit and outplayed Dartmouth to take a 5-2 decision, and landed a spot in Sunday’s championship game, where they will face Harvard. Both teams agree that the crowd was … Read more
Dartmouth senior goaltender Nick Boucher has been a leading force for the Big Green all season. It came as something of a surprise then that his team’s attempted comeback came with Boucher sitting on the bench. Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet pulled Boucher after Brendan Bernakevitch’s unassisted power-play goal at 7:59 of the second. Boucher faced … Read more
Elmira needed to depend on its defense instead of its heralded offense to squeak by Wis.-River Falls, 2-1, in the second semifinal of the NCAA Division III Women’s Frozen Four in a hard fought, physical, and defensive battle. “If our defense hadn’t played well, we wouldn’t have won,” Elmira coach Jamie Wood said. “That was … Read more
The Cinderella season came to an end for Bentley on Friday — abruptly. Sparked by a six-goal outburst by Mercyhurst in the second period, the Lakers knocked off the Falcons, 10-2, in game one of the MAAC Final Four to advance to the championship for the third straight year. Mercyhurst will take on the winner … Read more
When Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold found out earlier in the week that goaltender Jamie Holden was ready to return to the lineup after a three-week absence, it signaled good news and bad news. Holden, a playoff-tested goalie, is one of the league’s top netminders, but having both he and Justin Eddy available for Friday’s … Read more
Dwight Helminen’s natural hat trick spurred Michigan past Ohio State, 3-0, to advance to Saturday’s CCHA title game against Ferris State. Helminen scored twice in the second and added a shorthanded goal midway through the third for his first career hat trick. Al Montoya made 31 saves in his fourth career shutout. And that was, … Read more
Overtime was not on Manhattanville’s agenda this year. After the Valiants played a nail biting game one year ago against Bowdoin that Manhattanville pulled out in overtime, this year’s semifinal repeat was barely in question. Manhattanville came out strong right from the opening faceoff, outshooting Bowdoin in the first period, 19-9, opened up a 3-0 … Read more
He may be a rookie, but sometimes he looks like a polished veteran. The night after being named WCHA Rookie of the Year, Thomas Vanek netted the game-winner in overtime for Minnesota. The goal gave the Gophers a 3-2 victory over Minnesota State in a WCHA semifinal game. With the puck on the right side … Read more
This time, Harvard left nothing to chance. A flurry of goals by freshman Julie Chu and junior Lauren McAuliffe gave the Crimson a 2-0 advantage over Minnesota late in the first period. Harvard (30-2-1) kept the pressure on the Gophers (27-7-1) defensively to secure the 6-1 victory in the first of the day’s NCAA Frozen … Read more
From the demeanor of the team and its coaching staff, you would never know that with a 4-2 win over Northern Michigan the Ferris State Bulldogs secured their first appearance in the CCHA title game and hit 30 wins for the first time in school history. “We feel pretty fortunate that we got a couple … Read more