Their own John Campbell took Player of the Week honors with two goals and two assists against the Engineers and an assist against the Minutemen. Maine Black Bear defenseman David Cullen earned the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week award for the second time in two weekends of action. He’s looking poised for the … Read more
We’ve had a little feeler for this year’s ECAC in the past three weeks; now it’s time for three more teams to get into the action with some exhibitions. Meanwhile, last week was a good week for some ECAC teams, and not for others. St. Lawrence swept a pair from Hockey East rival Merrimack, while … Read more
The true opening of the WCHA schedule is finally upon us, as all nine teams see action on the same nights, with a full complement of four conference series. It’s awful early to even look at the standings, considering three of the league’s teams have yet to take the ice in conference play. Denver, North … Read more
Ghosts? Goblins? Martha Stewart spinning hot caramel around unsuspecting apples? Things that go bump in the night? Try things that go bump in the rink. Try Notre Dame beating Ohio State 3-0, then losing for the first time this season to…Western Michigan. Try playing Michigan State and Michigan…back to back. Now that’s scary. It isn’t … Read more
So the Griffs can show where they stand with a good showing at Quinnipiac Friday and Saturday. Or can they? There have been grumblings that the Braves’ 19-3-1 record last year was a soft one. Then, in last week’s Quinnipiac Cup, they struggled to get by an allegedly weak Iona squad in the first round, … Read more
OK, the season isn’t quite kicking into full gear yet; the first complete slate of conference games comes next weekend. But when Iona and Quinnipiac face off in the first round of the third annual Quinnipiac Cup in East Haven, Conn., on Friday, Metro Atlantic hockey will finally become a reality. “We’re extremely excited about … Read more
Surprise, surprise. Western Michigan ties Michigan State. Michigan leaves a home series with two points. Ohio State is 1-3-0. Notre Dame is 5-0-0. Northern Michigan is 4-0-0. Wait a minute–is any of this surprising at all? As anyone who follows CCHA hockey knows, the Irish have been on the verge of waking up for two … Read more
Okay, enough already with the exhibition games against Canadian teams. Boston College outshooting Toronto 27-1 in one period? Methinks we’re ready for the real thing. Of course, there have been "real" games already, starting with BC winning the Icebreaker Invitational. But all such contests have been on the road. In these parts, we’ve still been … Read more
Three ECAC teams have gotten their seasons underway already, and this weekend, three more begin the march towards Lake Placid. Last weekend the conference earned a split with its Hockey East foes. Vermont’s late comeback was not enough to down New Hampshire, but Rensselaer shocked Boston University with an overtime win. In the process, the … Read more
The human skull can be shattered by an impact at 7-10 kilometers per hour. When stationary, however, it can apparently survive blows from faster-moving objects with such little consequence as a bump, loss of blood, and a couple of staples to the scalp. It’s estimated that head injuries occur with the frequency of 610 per … Read more
In most collegiate sports, teams get a couple non-conference games to get themselves acquainted with each other and get ready for the conference season. Just another reason why college hockey does not fall within the realm of "most collegiate sports." Eight of the nine WCHA teams see action this weekend, and for four of them … Read more
Boston College gave credence to its number-one national ranking by taking the Ice Breaker Cup with an overtime 4-3 win over then-fourth-ranked Ohio State, followed by a 3-2 victory over upstart St. Lawrence. Brian Gionta earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors for his hat trick and game-winner over OSU. In the four exhibition … Read more
The word of the week for the CCHA is cautious, as in cautiously optimistic. It was the first week of regular-season play for some teams, while others have yet to see league or even NCAA play. Several winning coaches are happy with what they saw–to a point. "We played well for this early in the … Read more
It’s time to get underway in the ECAC, though surprisingly there are only two games on the conference’s docket for this weekend, as two ECAC schools will host two Hockey East schools. That means there really isn’t much to say except: DROP THE PUCK! Last week: 0-0-0 Season to date: 0-0-0 Boston University (0-0-0) at … Read more
North Dakota is favored to three-peat as WCHA regular-season champion this year, according to the 28th annual Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald WCHA Coaches’ Poll, released Tuesday. The Fighting Sioux, who finished last season 30-8-1 overall and 21-6-1 in the conference, received eight of the nine first-place votes in the poll. Coaches do not rank their … Read more
Holy Cross narrowly edged out Canisius and Connecticut in the inaugural preseason poll in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s newly-formed ice hockey league. All eight of the MAAC’s head hockey coaches participated in the poll. Holy Cross returns 22 letterwinners from last year’s squad, which finished with a 16-8-2 record, its best in 15 years. … Read more
Last season’s NCAA runner-up, Boston College, was tabbed as the overwhelming favorite in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches’ Poll, announced today at Boston’s FleetCenter during the league’s annual Media Day. The Eagles, defending Hockey East tournament champions, received eight of nine possible first-place votes. League runner-up Maine was voted second and received the other first-place … Read more
In the aftermath of a team party which resulted in the arrests and suspensions of sophomores Mark Wilkinson and Steven Rymsha, Western Michigan has suspended its entire hockey team for one game for secondary NCAA violations. The suspensions will be served by all team members in staggered fashion over six games, preventing the need for … Read more
UMass-Dartmouth, RIT and Middlebury have been tabbed the preseason favorites by coaches in their ECAC leagues in polling released by the league office. UMass-Dartmouth took the inaugural coaches’ preseason poll in the revamped Northeast, earning 13 of 18 first-place votes and amassing 318 points. Rival Fitchburg State finished second, earning 306 points and four first-place … Read more
Defending NCAA champion Michigan has been anointed the favorite in the 1998-99 Central Collegiate Hockey Association race, according to preseason polls released as part of media-day activities Friday. Both the CCHA coaches’ and media polls placed the Wolverines first, followed by Ohio State and Michigan State. Northern Michigan was fourth and Notre Dame fifth in … Read more