For Jason Krog, the road to the Hobey Baker Award and an appearance in the NCAA title game was a long one, literally as well as figuratively. Born in Fernie, British Columbia, the senior co-captain for the New Hampshire Wildcats and this year’s recipient of college hockey’s highest honor, was cut twice from junior teams … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage goaltender Gregg Naumenko will renounce his remaining three years of collegiate eligibility to sign a two-year guaranteed contract with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Times and the Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday. Naumenko, the 1999 WCHA Rookie of the Year, led the conference in both goals-against average and save percentage, setting … Read more
Ever drive 80 miles an hour on dangerously icy roads because you were worried that you’d miss the first drop of the puck in the Great Lakes Invitational? Ever risk losing your job to attend an NCAA Regional? How about attending the Beanpot on the same day as your wife’s grandmother’s funeral? Did you propose … Read more
As usual, interesting stories abound at the NCAA championship. First off, at the regionals, Hockey East backed up its claim as the nation’s toughest conference this year, placing three teams at the newly-nicknamed Frozen Four. Tourney champion Boston College, regular-season champion New Hampshire and returning power Maine make up the HEA contingent, joined by CCHA … Read more
It’s impossible to think of Mike York as someone who would intentionally hurt another person. The Michigan State senior forward — the CCHA’s Player of the Year and Best Defensive Forward, and a Hobey Baker finalist — is really just a soft-spoken guy from Waterford, Mich. “He’s kind of quiet and shy,” says Bob York, … Read more
Fourteen different Division I schools are represented, including all four Frozen Four participants, on the 1999 Titan University Division All-American teams, as announced today by The American Hockey Coaches Association. Nine All-Americans are playing this weekend: Brian Gionta and Mike Mottau of Boston College; Steve Kariya and David Cullen of Maine; New Hampshire’s Jason Krog … Read more
Not that anyone asked, but here are a few things that put a smile on my face, along with some random ruminations. • For starters, how about Jill Martin singing the national anthem? The seventh-grader took her knock-’em-dead renditions from Merrimack to the FleetCenter for the Hockey East championships and won over the crowd in … Read more
At a news conference held today here, award foundation officials announced the 10 finalists for the 1999 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, presented annually to college hockey’s most outstanding player. The finalists were determined by a vote of head hockey coaches from all Division I NCAA schools, and are listed below in alphabetical order: Name Yr … Read more
St. Lawrence’s magical run to the NCAAs crumbled in a span of 42 seconds in Madison on Saturday. But when the smoke cleared, Joe Marsh knew he could speak of a year in which a reinvigorated program could look ahead to making its appearance a more regular occurrence. One that relies not upon magic, but … Read more
If you asked coaches what it takes to win a championship, many would tell you good goaltending, great special teams, and plenty of experience. For the University of Maine Black Bears, goaltending and special teams are part of their year-in and year-out plan. But this year’s club possesses only one player with NCAA tournament experience … Read more
One is older, more experienced; the other could be called the young pup. One plays the role of leader for his team; the other is brand-new to college hockey. But the brothers Comrie — Paul, the senior captain of the University of Denver, and Mike, the rookie sensation for the University of Michigan, have plenty … Read more
Eric Hoffberg, the winningest coach in RIT history, resigned today to pursue a position at the Division I or professional level. Hoffberg was 188-82-22 in his ten-year career at RIT, including 47-7-7 the last two seasons. The Tigers made the Division III NCAA Tournament five times during his tenure, including a fourth-place finish this season. … Read more
If this year’s East Regional is the place for streaking teams — Clarkson, Denver, Michigan et al. — the West Regional might be deemed the home of the recently-disappointed. The top two seeds, North Dakota and Michigan State, won their conference regular seasons but lost playoff tournaments. Michigan State bowed out in the CCHA semifinals, … Read more
Did you know that when the Spartans beat the Wildcats last weekend, they made a little bit of NCAA history? Wait a minute, you say — wasn’t it the Wildcats who beat the Spartans 5-3 in the CCHA semifinals? Yes, but there were two sets of Spartans and Wildcats playing that weekend: one on ice, … Read more
The NCAA championship tournament opens up in Worcester, Mass., this year. The Centrum Centre hosts the East Regional, which features several intriguing matchups — as well as the intriguing nonappearance of one Eastern power. Boston College fans made their discontentment known on the Internet and elsewhere last weekend, as the Eagles were shipped West despite … Read more
Teams that reach the NCAA tournament almost always have their game-breaking stars: the top scorers, the all-league selections, perhaps even All-Americans. But sometimes in the march to a national title, the game-breakers get stymied and the unsung players get their chances to be heroes. While Maine’s stars were hardly stymied in its 4-2 win over … Read more
The NCAA Wednesday placed the University of Wisconsin’s athletic programs on two years’ probation, mostly for violations in the use of booster club money by various staff members. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 77 UW staffers received reimbursements from booster club accounts without proper authorization from the chancellor’s office. The payments themselves were for legitimate … Read more
The four qualifiers for the second-ever American Women’s College Hockey Alliance national championship have been announced, as defending champion New Hampshire, ECAC champion and top-ranked Harvard, host Minnesota and Brown will battle Friday and Saturday at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. Harvard (31-1-0), the top seed, faces No. 4-seeded Brown (20-5-4) at 5 p.m. CT Friday … Read more
This weekend, three CCHA teams lived life on the bubble–and one was hoping that its hadn’t burst. The only team heading into the CCHA semifinals with a guaranteed NCAA berth was the Michigan State University Spartans, winner of the regular-season CCHA championship. Michigan, Ohio State, and Northern Michigan were the undecided cusp teams. Northern Michigan … Read more
U.S. College Hockey Online is pleased to announce the finalists for the first annual USCHO Division II/III Player of the Year. Nominations were solicited from coaches and media, and ten finalists selected. A panel of coaches and media will select this year’s winner and a runner-up, to be announced at the conclusion of the NCAA … Read more