Last year’s champion Augsburg won the regular season and conference tournament titles last year. The Auggies topped St. John’s 5-4 in a triple-overtime thriller in the MIAC title game and went on to play in the NCAA tournament, where they fell to St. Norbert 6-1 in the quarterfinal round. Favorites Augsburg, St. John’s, and St. … Read more
Last Year’s Champion: St. Thomas won the regular-season crown but Hamline prevailed in the conference tournament and earned the league’s automatic NCAA tournament bid. Favorites: St. Thomas, Hamline and St. Mary’s are the favorites in the conference this year. Dark Horse: St. John’s should be a much-improved team and has a great chance of returning … Read more
St. Thomas head coach Jeff Boeser wanted his top assistant, Parker Burgess, to do the inteview about the season ahead. As far as the Tommies are concerned, it really doesn’t matter who does the talking. The resutls speak for themselves. St. Thomas enters the year as the favorite to win the MIAC. The Tommies have … Read more
Bethel announced recently three new assistants for the Royals’ men’s team. Nick Klaren, Tim Fisher and Thomas Stumpf will join Bethel for the 2014-15 season. Klaren, who will focus primarily on the Royals’ defenseman, played one year in the United States Hockey League, two in the North American Hockey League and then after playing at … Read more
It’s time for another season in the MIAC and don’t be surprised if the league race is as tight as it was a season ago. A total of three points was all that separated co-champions St. Thomas and St. John’s (21 points) from fifth-place St. Olaf (18 points). Gustavus and Concordia were just one point … Read more
It was a tale of two seasons in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last year. St. Thomas was the most dominant team in the league during the regular season, winning the title, but it fell short in its bid to win the conference tournament. The Tommies lost, 4-3, to St. Olaf in the semifinal round, … Read more
Columnist Neal Jensen goes against the grain and picks Concordia to win the MIAC.
Along with a new coach, the rebuilding Bethel Royals have embarked on a journey this season that will likely to be filled with many highs and lows. After losing their first four games, the Royals already endured the depths often experienced by an upstart team. Then there are turning points, like Thursday’s 4-3 triumph at … Read more
Bethel has elevated Brian Carlson to its head women’s coach. Carlson, who was the Royals’ assistant coach for the last four seasons, replaces Charlie Burggraf, who became Bethel’s men’s coach. “Brian Carlson is a gifted leader who has a thorough understanding of all aspects associated with coaching college women’s hockey,” Bethel athletic director Bob Bjorklund … Read more
Bethel didn’t have to look far for its next men’s hockey coach. Charlie Burggraf, the Royals’ women’s hockey coach, is moving over to lead the men’s program. He replaces Joel Johnson, who became an assistant coach with the Minnesota women’s program. Burggraf led the Bethel women’s team to a 37-51-9 record in four seasons. He … Read more
Cammi Granato, three-time ECAC Player of the Year, two-time Olympian and 15-year member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, was today announced as one of the first two female members in the 65-year history of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Granato will be formally inducted into the Hall on Nov. 8 as part of the … Read more
The NCAA men’s and women’s ice hockey rules committee gets this chance only once every two years, so there’s a little more emphasis to get it right. In the next month, leading up to and through the committee’s meeting June 8-11 in Indianapolis, the dialogue about potential rules changes will lead to debate and then … Read more
Bethel coach Peter Aus announced his retirement Thursday after 13 seasons as head coach. Athletic director Bob Bjorklund has named assistant coach Joel Johnson to replace Aus. “Pete Aus has made an impact on Bethel athletics in deeply meaningful ways. He has been a respected leader who has demonstrated what it means to serve others,” … Read more
Many were expecting UW-River Falls to be traveling to St. Norbert this weekend for a NCAA Quarterfinal matchup. Instead, it will be Bethel making the trip to the Cornerstone after a strong performance carried the Royals to a 2-1 opening round victory over the Falcons on Wednesday night. The Royals are making their first every … Read more
Once again it will be the MIAC and NCHA squaring off in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament as MIAC champion Bethel (17-9-1) will travel to at-large bid recipient UW-River Falls (21-5-2) for a 7:05 p.m. CT Wednesday faceoff. The winner will advance to play at St. Norbert (24-3-2) in Saturday’s Quarterfinals. The Royals … Read more
Once again, Bethel will likely be a big-time offensive threat as the Royals return virtually everyone from last year’s squad. Leading the way will be the team’s leading goal-scorer/point-getter from a year ago, sophomore forward Kent Bostrom (18-15-33). He led the Bethel offense that was tops in the league last season, averaging 4.88 goals per … Read more
First Round, First Times It’s been three years since Wisconsin-Superior has played in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the first time St. Olaf has ever played in the NCAA Tournament. Fittingly, those two teams will square off in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Yellowjackets stunned St. Norbert in the NCHA Playoffs to … Read more
NCAA Tournament Bids on the Line March Madness is upon us. No, not the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament, but the MIAC and NCHA championship games. If anyone from the MIAC wants to be playing in the NCAA Tournament, they will have to win the conference tournament. It doesn’t look as if any team has played … Read more
Coming Down to the Wire After one round of the NCHA playoffs, three teams made it through as expected, but one did not. I’ll give you a preview of the semifinals and what you can expect from the four teams vying for the Peters Cup. The MIAC has one weekend of play remaining and while … Read more
It’s Go Time The postseason is upon us, at least in the NCHA. And how about that nagging question-will MSOE make the NCAA Tournament? I’ll give a quick rundown of the first round matchups in the NCHA tournament and make a case for why the Raiders are for real. NCHA Playoffs No.8 Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2-19-4 … Read more