Making Hilary and Rudy Proud If we had only known that the key to ECAC prognostication heaven was geographic in nature, our overall prediction record would have been much improved. After 21 weeks, 147 days or 3,528 hours — however you choose to look at it — the league race is down to only five … Read more
Goin’ To The Joe This year’s CCHA championship tourney includes two perennials, one old friend, and one newbie. Congratulations to Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska-Omaha. Between them, Michigan and Michigan State have 20 more wins in overall play than do Notre Dame and UNO. Both Michigan and Michigan State are ranked; the Irish … Read more
Regular-season champion Wisconsin claimed three of the WCHA’s top individual awards Thursday, leading all member schools. From the Badgers, the nation’s scoring leader, forward Steve Reinprecht, was named the WCHA Player of the Year, while teammates Dany Heatley and Jeff Dessner took home the Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. … Read more
As you could imagine, we received more mail, and more passionate mail, about the Vermont column from the last BTL than any other topic. I wanted to take the time to run some of these letters, and respond a bit. Most of what I received, even from those who vehemently disagreed, were very thoughtful and … Read more
No ballot, no vote? No way Obviously due to some bureaucratic oversight, U.S. College Hockey Online did not receive a ballot for the all-Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams this season. But that won’t stop me from picking the team that I would put on the ice if the WCHA was squaring off against a similar … Read more
The MAAC presented its postseason awards on Wednesday night at a banquet signifying the start of the league championships here. Headlining the winners was forward Shawn Mansoff from regular-season champion Quinnipiac College, who was selected as the Chase Manhattan Bank Offensive Player of the Year. Joining him in receiving major awards were Sean Weaver of … Read more
Proponents of the United States junior and prep school systems can breathe easier thanks to amendments recently made to the NCAA’s Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet’s amateurism deregulation proposal. The original proposal from the sub-committee on Amateurism and Agents, completed last year after a lengthy study, would not only have opened the door for major junior players to … Read more
The Second Season If not for the home-ice dominance discussed last week, this weekend’s quarterfinal playoff series would appear rife with upset possibilities. The question, then, will be whether or not that factor will cool some hot road underdogs and put all the home teams into the FleetCenter. Here’s a look at the matchups. #1 … Read more
Getting there is half the fun (?) In the last month of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season, it’s been about positioning for the playoffs. Starting now, it’s all about survival. It’s about the opportunity to advance. It’s about the dream of winning a WCHA championship, or even further, a national championship. For some, … Read more
Playoff Preview With the second season in MAAC history in the books, it’s time to reflect a little on the season that was. And what a season it was! When you look at the standings, and see six of ten teams above .500, immediately you think of one word — parity. Now maybe that’s not … Read more
Win, Maybe Place, But Probably No Show Congratulations to the Wolverines, regular-season champions of the CCHA. That’s one team going to the NCAA tournament. Where does that leave the rest of the conference? At number 12 in the Pairwise, Michigan State is on the proverbial bubble to make the NCAA tourney. Next after the Spartans … Read more
Jenga! Well, we figured it all out. It was easy, actually. Colgate tied Princeton on Friday evening, giving St. Lawrence the regular-season title, the Saints’ first since 1983 when SLU won the West title, and its first outright ECAC regular-season championship. The Saints made it academic the next night with a 7-5 victory over Dartmouth. … Read more
Northern Michigan and league newcomer Nebraska-Omaha each placed two players on the 1999-2000 Bauer/CCHA All-Rookie team, as announced by the league Monday. The team, selected by a vote of the conference’s coaches, is led by Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller, who topped all CCHA netminders in save percentage and goals-against average, setting or tying league … Read more
The NCAA Division III selection committee has announced the teams and bracket for the 2000 men’s hockey championship tournament. ECAC East champion Norwich University, ranked No. 1 in the U.S. College Hockey Division III poll, received the number-one seed in the East, and will host fourth-seeded RIT, the ECAC West champion. Five-time defending national champion … Read more
The NCAA Division III selection committee has announced the teams and bracket for the 2000 men’s hockey championship tournament. ECAC East champion Norwich University, ranked #1 in the U.S. College Hockey Division III poll, received the number one seed in the east, and will host fourth-seeded RIT, the ECAC West champion. Five time defending national … Read more
As Easy As Chinese Arithmetic Yes it is, this ECAC race. It’s real simple, you see. If Cornell sweeps, but Princeton doesn’t get swept, and then if Rensselaer ties two, but Harvard only gets one point and along the way Dartmouth wins two, but Clarkson only gets one point, then with the alignment of Jupiter … Read more
Note To Readers: My apologies to those of you expecting to read my weekly column and find a rundown of all the action upcoming this week. Unfortunately, due to illness, this week’s column focuses on only one series. Look for an extensive MAAC playoff preview next week, including quotes from the coaches not mentioned here … Read more
There’s No Place Like Home Home ice has always held its advantages. This year, however, those advantages appear to be particularly potent. The following are the current home and away breakdowns by team. Team Home Away Boston College 11-2-1 8-7-0 Boston University 12-0-3 7-4-3 Maine 13-3-1 7-4-2 UMass-Amherst 5-6-3 5-10-1 UMass-Lowell 5-9-1 3-13-2 Merrimack 7-5-3 … Read more
Obligatory Playoff Talk Ten teams are in. Two are out. What more do you need to know? Most of the drama of the playoff race has ended. Unless Bowling Green sweeps Michigan and Northern sweeps Lake, the Wolverines have the regular-season title. Northern, Michigan State, and Lake jockey for position near the top; Miami, Western … Read more
So who’s a lock for the nationals? Who’s on the bubble? Who needs a minor miracle? A major one? The NCAA Division III selection committee will be busy on Sunday, but part of the job will already be done for them before they start their conference call. Seven of the eight slots will be determined … Read more