WIAC schools to leave NCHA after 2012-13 season

The NCHA and WIAC announced Tuesday that the two conferences have reached an agreement that will see the WIAC members leave the NCHA following the upcoming 2012-13 season – a year earlier than originally planned. According to a news release, the conferences elected to expedite the departure of the WIAC members due primarily to the … Read more

Marian names Aitken new men’s coach

A.J. Aitken, who helped St. Norbert to the last two Division III men’s national championships as associate head coach, has been named head coach at Marian, the school announced Wednesday. A former Michigan Tech player, Aitken has been with St. Norbert since 2003 and was a part of three national championship teams there. “We are … Read more

Playoff preview: MCHA/MIAC/NCHA

Gustavus Adolphus Gusties League: MIAC Conference record: 8-5-3 (second) Overall record: 16-6-5 NCAA history: Sixth appearance Scoring offense: 3.11 g/gm Scoring defense: 2.30 g/gm Scoring margin: plus-22 (0.81 g/gm) Power play: 19.8 percent Penalty kill: 80.2 percent Penalties: 12.81 pim/gm Team Leaders Goals: Adam Smyth (14) Assists: Ross Ring-Jarvi (19) Points: Ross Ring-Jarvi (29) Power-play … Read more

MCHA/MIAC/NCHA finals preview

MIAC The MIAC Preseason Coach’s poll was spot on when it picked No. 8 St. Thomas and No. 11 Gustavus Adolphus to finish first and second in the conference, but thanks to St. Olaf’s upset win at St. Thomas last week, Gustavus will now host St. Olaf in the MIAC tournament title game Saturday. St. … Read more

Hrkac out as head coach at Concordia (Wis.)

Concordia (Wis.) announced Thursday that head coach Tony Hrkac, the program’s only coach since starting the program in 2007, will not return next season. “I have a great deal of respect for Tony Hrkac and the time he invested in accepting the incredibly difficult task of starting our men’s hockey program,” Concordia director of athletics … Read more

WIAC ripple effect

Last week’s announcement by Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) commissioner Gary Karner that the five University of Wisconsin schools would leave the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) and form a WIAC conference starting the 2014-2015 season made waves in the West Region, as well as the rest of Division III hockey. The initial announcement caught … Read more

Analyzing the MCHA

As the MCHA concludes its 14th regular season this weekend, the league can no longer be considered an upstart in Division III hockey.  Two teams have been ranked for most of the season, and there are many players who will finish the season near the top of the Division III stat columns. Since joining the … Read more

WIAC schools to withdraw from the NCHA, effective 2014-15 season

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced Wednesday that its men’s and women’s hockey teams will be leaving the NCHA and will compete solely under the WIAC banner, effective with the 2014-15 school year. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-River Falls and Wisconsin-Superior are charter members of the men’s NCHA which was formed in 1980, while Wisconsin-Stevens Point and … Read more

St. Thomas dominates opponents, MIAC

It would be an understatement to say that St. Thomas has been on a bit of a roll lately. For example, the team jumped two more spots in the USCHO.com poll this week. Previously ranked No. 7, St. Thomas is now No. 5, the highest-ranked team in the West Region. St. Thomas is 11-0-1 in … Read more

St. Scholastica finds its groove again

After a down season last year, St. Scholastica has bounced back in a big way. Currently ranked No. 13 in the USCHO.com poll, St. Scholastica is in second place in the NCHA, just one point behind No. 6 St. Norbert. St. Scholastica went 9-17-1 in the 2010-2011 campaign, after five seasons of double digit wins … Read more

NCHA teams figure in Hockey Day Minnesota celebration

Hockey has been celebrated as the state sport in Minnesota for many years. Recently, a tradition has been started by setting aside a day to illustrate the importance of hockey to the culture of the state. Hockey Day Minnesota is an annual statewide festival of the game. Saturday, January 21 will be this year’s day. … Read more

Breaking down the MIAC and NCHA

Last week, I examined the top four MCHA contenders and their January schedule as they go head-to-head against each other in the next few weeks. This week, I will take a look at both the MIAC and NCHA conferences games in January. The matchups in the conferences are not as clear cut as the MCHA … Read more