“When I look at our team this year, we could have a good team.” So says the master of understatement, Michigan head coach Red Berenson. Good? Try great. Try if-we-don’t-win-a-national-title-we-haven’t-reached-our-potential great. As scary-good as they are on paper, the Wolverines backed into the CCHA regular-season title last year, relying on — children, cover your ears … Read more
Something interesting happened in Detroit in March of this year. Someone, somehow, lit a fire in the collective bellies of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and they played up to their potential — finally. Given that OSU graduated the guys responsible for six of the 14 goals the Bucks scored in the Super Six en route … Read more
The Fighting Irish ended the 2003-04 season with a 5-2 loss to Minnesota in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal, marking Notre Dame’s first NCAA tournament appearance and the last game for six sensational Irish players. “Five of them you know very well,” says Poulin. “One of them you don’t know very well.” T.J. Mathieson was … Read more
Finally, this team belongs to Rick Comley. With the departure of Brock Radunske (7-6-13) and Lee Falardeau (2-4-6) and the return of the league’s genuine superstar, Jim Slater (10-21-31), Comley can feel pretty confident that the Spartans are all on the same page. “Our hockey team will be a pretty good team,” says Comley, a … Read more
Defending NCAA champion Minnesota is No. 1 for the second straight year in the WCHA Women’s Preseason Coaches poll. Minnesota received seven first place votes to claim the top spot. Wisconsin was picked second, receiving 64 points and one first place vote. Minnesota Duluth ranked third with 58 points while Ohio State was fourth with … Read more
Don Lucia and the Minnesota coaching staff knew this season was going to be different from an offensive standpoint. You don’t lose Thomas Vanek, Troy Riddle, Matt Koalska and Grant Potulny and just pick up where you left off. Still, the Golden Gophers coaches got together for a preseason meeting to discuss personnel and how … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth is the coaches’ preseason pick to win the WCHA, while Wisconsin goaltender Bernd Brückler topped voting for preseason player of the year honors. The coaches poll, conducted by the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald, put the Bulldogs atop the rankings for the first time. UMD, which returns 73.5 percent of its scoring from last year’s … Read more
Everything didn’t go perfectly for Wisconsin last season, but it’s hard to ignore how close it got to an unexpected breakthrough under coach Mike Eaves. The Badgers had trouble finding consistent offensive production and had subpar special teams. But the reason they were just an overtime goal away from the Frozen Four is the same … Read more
Wisconsin’s Ryan MacMurchy had a suspension for his alleged involvement in a fight cut to one regular-season game Monday by an appeals committee. MacMurchy was suspended from practices and games under Wisconsin’s Student-Athlete Discipline Policy, which levies punishments for violations involving drugs, gambling or violence. The junior forward was cited by Madison police for misdemeanor … Read more
Wisconsin junior forward Ryan MacMurchy said Wednesday he will appeal an indefinite suspension handed down earlier in the day under the school’s discipline code for athletes. MacMurchy, a 21-year-old winger from Regina, Saskatchewan, was cited for misdemeanor battery after a fight outside a Madison bar early Sunday morning. That triggered the UW’s year-old Student-Athlete Discipline … Read more
Defenseman Ryan Suter will sign a contract with the Nashville Predators and forgo his final three years of eligibility at Wisconsin, The Capital Times of Madison reported Wednesday. Suter, a WCHA third-team and all-rookie selection last season, was Nashville’s first-round pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft, selected seventh overall. It was believed that the … Read more
Forward Thomas Vanek has signed a contract with the Buffalo Sabres and will forgo his final two seasons at Minnesota, the school announced Friday. Vanek, an All-American last season who was selected by the Sabres with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 draft, is the third Gophers player to leave school early for the … Read more
Michigan State defenseman A.J. Thelen put to rest any speculation that he might leave school for the pros, telling reporters in Minnesota that he would return to East Lansing for his sophomore season. Thelen was the 12th overall pick in this past June’s NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. Thelen is a native of Minnesota, … Read more
The New York Rangers didn’t get Michigan goalie Al Montoya to leave school early, but they did get one of his teammates. According to the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, senior forward Dwight Helminen will be leaving Michigan to sign a deal with the NHL team. The Rangers acquired the rights of the former 8th Round … Read more
If Al Montoya had taken any longer to decide whether or not to return to Michigan, the Maize ‘N Blue Deli would have named a sandwich after him. While it’s not quite the same as New York City’s Carnegie Deli, the place the “Al Cubano” calls home, it’s the best Ann Arbor can do. Fortunately … Read more
Despite becoming a mini-N.Y. celebrity in one month, Al Montoya decided after all to return for his junior season at Michigan.
The United States Hockey Hall of Fame announced today four new inductees: Paul Coppo (Hancock, Mich.); Phil Housley (South St. Paul, Minn.); Mike Ilitch (Detroit); and Mark Johnson (Minneapolis). The Hall will formally induct all four men into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn., on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2004 at RiverCentre … Read more
Michigan goalie Al Montoya has decided to return to school for his junior season. The No. 6 overall pick by the New York Rangers in June’s NHL Entry Draft labored over his options since then. “It comes down to it, I’ve got some unfinished business at school I want to take care of,” Montoya told … Read more
Michigan and college hockey await the decision of the junior-to-be goaltender — the 6th overall pick in the recent NHL draft.
Al Montoya, according to published reports, says he’s close to announcing a decision about whether he’ll sign with the New York Rangers and give up his final two years of eligibility at Michigan. But the 19-year-old goaltender has yet make that decision, and the official word out of Ann Arbor today is that the coaching … Read more