Speaking of which, BU has advanced to its 14th championship game in 15 years in the annual battle for Boston bragging rights. Only a dramatic Harvard comeback over BC avoided another Battle for Comm Ave. The league pecking order is starting to take form now. It’s always dangerous to try handicapping such a race, but … Read more
Michigan Tech announced Friday its intention to remain a member of the WCHA, ending several months of speculation following the departure of in-state rival Northern Michigan to the neighboring CCHA. The decision to remain in the WCHA came along with an endorsement of the proposed Hockey Educational Center, which athletic director Rick Yeo said would … Read more
All this to promote the Columbus Blue Necks, or Blue Flacks or Blue Bugs — or whatever they’re calling the NHL franchise that will ride the millennium into town. Scattered among the hockey faithful and the nouveau riche are several Ohio State hockey fans, wearing — what else? — Blue Somethings gear. "Is Michigan State … Read more
So much for lunges out of the cellar. So much for challenging the supremacy of this season’s Big Three. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is now essentially three mini-conferences, comprised of teams fighting for the McNaughton Cup, teams fighting for home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and teams fighting to stay … Read more
Squelching rumors surrounding the program, officials at the United States Military Academy stated that they have no desire to return to the ECAC or to ask for admission into Hockey East. The Cadet football team’s recent jump from independent status to Conference USA membership had sparked discussion that a similar move could be underway for … Read more
Bowling Green junior forward Dan Price will return to the Falcon lineup for the first time since being suspended on Dec. 23, the school announced. Price was suspended after he pleaded “no contest” on Dec. 16 to charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, a third-degree felony stemming from his involvement in a late-summer automobile accident in … Read more
One of the hallmarks of success for any forward line is the moment it acquires a nickname. Princeton University has had a few such units, including the trio dubbed the “Suburban Snipers” (Boston-area products John Messuri, Greg Polaski and Bart Blaeser, from 1985-1988) and the “Money Line” (Terry Morris, Brian Bigelow and Matt Zilinskas, who … Read more
If you ask CCHA Commissioner Bill Beagan what he plans to do once he retires at the end of this season, you may get a straight answer. And you may not. “I’m going to lie down a lot,” he says. No one who knows the CCHA’s top man of 13 years believes for a second … Read more
Ha. This week, No. 1 Michigan State hosts two games against No. 5 Miami. With the two points gained from their 4-3 win over Lake Superior, the Spartans now have 28 points, just one behind No. 7 Michigan and two ahead of No. 5 Miami in the CCHA standings. The Spartans also have a game … Read more
Wait, did I say five weeks? Whoops, I meant six. A quick glance at the top of the conference shows the casual observer that league-leading North Dakota has played 18 games, leaving a mere 10 games on the Sioux schedule. Do a little simple division, and you find Dean Blais’ squad active for five more … Read more
Had a bad day? I can top it. For starters, a tape recorder malfunction destroyed three interviews. After that came all the trivial little disasters that by themselves don’t amount to a hill of beans, but put together make you afraid to go near sharp objects. And the piece de resistance to top it all … Read more
"Games in hand." It’s a phrase you hear all the time when it comes to standings the race for a title. It’s something that you have heard since November about the ECAC. "So and so has the lead in the ECAC, but right behind them is a team with ‘X’ number of games in hand." … Read more
A live turkey tied to a goalpost … the famous “zip code” speech and the infamous money on the table … a geyser in the visitors’ locker room during a national championship game … If you look at the nondescript exterior of UMass-Lowell’s Tully Forum, you’d never guess the oft-bizarre history that lurks within. On … Read more
Severely undermanned Villanova announced Tuesday evening that it would not participate in the second annual Quinnipiac Cup, dropping out of the tournament the night before the Wildcats’ scheduled game with host Quinnipiac. The tournament, held at the New Haven Coliseum, will feature Fairfield and Holy Cross in the opener at 4:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, Jan. … Read more
For a guy who was just named the WCHA’s Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, Wisconsin forward Steve Reinprecht was quite humble. “It feels good, though the times I’ve won it, it’s been unexpected,” the sophomore center said. “It’s good that you get the honor of being Offensive Player of … Read more
Although some separation is starting to take place after the first-place to seventh-place logjam of recent weeks, the race is still a wide-open affair. Boston College is in first, but New Hampshire and Boston University hold the advantage of two games in hand. Next Tuesday, BC travels to UNH for the week’s top matchup, and … Read more
Things are getting closer and closer in the ECAC, as the gap between first and the rest of the teams closes ever so slightly. There won’t be much closing going on this weekend, though, with only one ECAC game on the schedule. That lone matchup is the back end of the annual North Country rivalry … Read more
There, in the middle of the scuffle, was the familiar number eight with “HOWATT” stretching between the shoulders. But the jersey was not the orange, blue and white of the New York Islanders; it was the black, gold and gray of the United States Military Academy. In the stands of Tate Rink on the West … Read more
Well, this weekend Dean Blais’ North Dakota squad is Train A, and Grand Forks, N.D., is location X, while St. Cloud State assumes the role of Train B, and conductor Craig Dahl is happy to keep his team in the station. Western Conference Hockey Association power hangs in the balance this weekend as top-ranked North … Read more
Five college hockey players have been named finalists for the 1998 Humanitarian Award, presented annually to college hockey’s finest citizen. The finalists are Casey Hankinson, senior forward and two-year captain at Minnesota; Tyler Harlton, senior defenseman and captain of the nation’s second-ranked Michigan State Spartans; Steve Noble, senior forward and the first three-year captain in … Read more