We don’t want to gloat, but… With all due respect to my colleagues from the East, for those of us who, in the past, have been accused of the so-called Western bias in college hockey, this weekend is going to remain in memory for quite a while. Minnesota knocks off No. 1 Boston College, despite … Read more
A New Number One Hockey East lost one number-one ranking over the weekend, but picked up another. Boston College’s split with Minnesota — more on that later — not only knocked the Eagles from the ranks of the undefeated, it also toppled them from the top spot in the rankings for the first time this … Read more
In an ideal world, the ceremony would have been to commemorate Travis Roy’s All-America plaque joining the pantheon of BU greats at the entrance to Walter Brown Arena. In an ideal world, the extended ovation and chants of “Travis! Travis! Travis!” would have brought only smiles and not a pungent mixture of smiles and salty … Read more
Sertich day-to-day And we all thought the health concerns at Minnesota-Duluth were for goaltender Brant Nicklin and forward Jeff Scissons. Those pale in comparison to what coach Mike Sertich has been going through. Sertich missed both games at Wisconsin last weekend with pneumonia. Sertich made the trip to Madison for the series but got very … Read more
The New Crimson Era When he got the call from Harvard in late July, Mark Mazzoleni knew that the immediate road ahead would be difficult. Not only did the five-year Miami coach pack a bag and move hundreds of miles away from his family, but he also adopted a young Crimson team that was struggling … Read more
Reversal of Fortune Western Michigan’s in second place, and Alaska-Fairbanks is tied for fifth with #10 Northern Michigan. Ohio State has one win to its credit, and shares ninth place with Lake Superior. Notre Dame–with no league wins in four games–anchors the basement along with Nebraska-Omaha. A hole in the space-time continuum? A witch’s curse? … Read more
Travis Roy Jersey Retirement The latest chapter in the Travis Roy story will be played out at Walter Brown Arena this Saturday when Boston University retires his number. The unprecedented tribute will take place during pregame ceremonies that will also include the hoisting of another Beanpot championship banner. "We’ve never retired a number here," says … Read more
And Now For Something Completely Different… Welcome, Metro Atlantic hockey fans, to this installment of This Week In The MAAC. As you might have noticed from the byline up above, I’m not Jim Connelly, but rather an astonishing likeness. I’ll be your host for this weekend’s tour of the MAAC, before Jim returns Monday with … Read more
The ECAC And In-Season Tournaments To say that last weekend’s ECAC/Crowne Plaza Faceoff Classic in Albany was a success would be true. There were four spectacular games and the hockey was riveting. To say that it was a failure would also be true, since the Classic wasn’t the best-attended showcase in college hockey history. A … Read more
Coaches trying to fit in Little things always make the biggest difference. For some, it’s a different practice time. For others, it’s a difference in scheduling. And then there’s getting used to the team on the ice. A coach coming into a new situation has a lot to learn. Quickly. And in the Western Collegiate … Read more
The NCAA and major juniors Hey kid–you wanna play hockey? You already play major junior? Not a problem. Just come south of the border and sign this letter of intent… The NCAA is considering passing legislation that will allow professional athletes to pursue careers at U.S. colleges. The sport this would affect most in Canada … Read more
Hockey East’s Pedro vs. Clemens Matchups Last Saturday, major league baseball featured one of the most exciting pitching clashes in a long, long time when Pedro Martinez faced Roger Clemens in Fenway Park. (A partisan note: Pedro is our hero while Clemens is a Benedict Arnold who nearly flattened the tires on the New York … Read more
So we’re only one week into the 1999-2000 season, and already it’s time to play "who beat who." Our first contestant is defending MAAC champion Holy Cross. Last week, the Crusaders battled hard against the preseason favorite for cellar-dweller in the nation’s strongest conference, Hockey East: Merrimack College. The Crusaders eventually dropped the game, 5-2, … Read more
Wednesday the ECAC named assistant commissioner of public relations Steve Hagwell as the new head of ECAC ice hockey. Hagwell, hired this past summer from the NCAA to oversee the public-relations arm of the ECAC, takes over for Jeff Fanter, who resigned Oct. 4. In his new position, Hagwell becomes assistant ECAC commissioner, and will … Read more
The ECAC will name a new person to head up the league’s ice hockey operations sometime within the next few days, conference officials say. “With respect to the position, we’ll probably have an announcement on Monday or Tuesday of this week,” confirmed ECAC Commissioner Phil Buttafuoco. “We needed to make a decision quickly and we … Read more
Showtime! Since the first announcement of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s existence, people around the college hockey circles have questioned, "Can this league compete?" By the end of last year’s inaugural season, folks bellowed that question even louder as four teams, Quinnipiac, Holy Cross, UConn and Canisius, were all under consideration for the NCAA tournament. … Read more
Denver’s Dream Home Opens You can tell the athletics department at the University of Denver has been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time. On the cover of last season’s hockey media guide, where the school most often showcases its premier player or group of players, Denver had a picture of construction workers … Read more
Fanter Leaves The ECAC The ECAC has been a whirlwind of activity over the last week and a half, preparing for the first-ever ECAC Faceoff Classic to be held this weekend at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., and also looking to fill the shoes of an ice hockey Director of Operations. ECAC ice hockey’s … Read more
Calling Dr. Kildare… Stop the presses! Hold all tickets! With one week of official play on the books, the CCHA looks a bit different than it did just ten days ago. When Josh Blackburn slipped on a Buckeye–at least according to the Michigan daily student paper–and tore ligaments in his left foot, Michigan’s defense took … Read more
A No-Win Situation Do you pitch to Nomar Garciaparra and let him hit a first-inning home run, or do you walk him intentionally in the third and seventh innings and let Troy O’Leary follow him with a grand slam and then a three-run homer? Cleveland Indians manager Mike Hargrove faced just such a no-win situation … Read more