John Hynes has been named U.S. National Development Coach with the organization’s National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Ann Arbor, Mich. Hynes will oversee the NTDP along with fellow U.S. National Development Coach David Quinn (Ann Arbor, Mich.) while serving as head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team for the remainder of this season. … Read more
Former Wisconsin forward Alex Leavitt has sued Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves and three others over the fallout of his dismissal from the team last season. Leavitt claims that his hockey career has been derailed by the situation, and is asking for $250,000 in damages each from four defendents, including Eaves, Wisconsin athletic director Pat Richter, … Read more
Once again, Michigan tops the preseason coaches and media CCHA polls, and the Wolverines are right behind the defending national champion Minnesota Golden Gophers in the USCHO Men’s Division I preseason poll. Michigan’s 2003-04 senior class has never seen a season end prior to the Frozen Four, and even though Ferris State sneaked up the … Read more
Ohio State is one of two teams — Alaska-Fairbanks being the other — that returns this year loaded with upperclassmen. Nine seniors will return, and eight of them will play in nearly every game. It’s a position that head coach John Markell relishes. “You want them to lead both on and off the ice. I … Read more
“It’s a huge, huge part of our game, probably a bigger part of hockey than any other sport, that chemistry in the locker room. This is a sport that if you have the right mix of people, you can compete at any level.” Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin knows this as well as any … Read more
It’s impossible to think of Rick Comley as a sophomore coach. After 26 years behind the bench as Northern Michigan’s first head coach, Comley is seventh on the NCAA’s all-time win list. As he follows in the footsteps of his mentor, the legendary Ron Mason, Comley is poised to add to his own legend at … Read more
In the moments before each game, Don Lucia is “scared to death” wondering whether his team will win. But the Minnesota coach will counter claims that his team has to be feeling extraordinary pressure as the first two-time defending national champion in 31 years. “I think winning it doesn’t put any extra pressure on our … Read more
Did Mike Eaves and the rest of the Wisconsin coaching staff know what they were getting themselves into last season? No, Eaves said. “In so many different ways.” It may not have been a reflection of the coaching staff, but the Badgers proved they were in over their heads most nights, winding up with the … Read more
Ohio State all-American forward R.J. Umberger will not return to the school for his senior season. The one-time NHL First Round Draft choice spent the entire summer negotiating with the Vancouver Canucks, but still has not come to terms. In the mean time, classes have started at Ohio State and Umberger is not in them. … Read more
Michigan, the reigning conference tournament champion, was tabbed as the preseason league favorite in both polls at the CCHA’s 2003-04 Media Day.
Travis Weber, the Frozen Four all-tournament goaltender last season, is leaving Minnesota for personal reasons, taking another chip off the Gophers’ back-to-back national championship teams. Weber, who stopped 57 of 60 shots in last year’s Frozen Four as a sophomore, made no indication as to the precise reason why he was leaving in a statement … Read more
In the latest of the growing list of college hockey defections to major junior, Michigan sophomore-to-be Danny Richmond, the 31st overally selection in last June’s NHL Draft, has left the Wolverines and will play for the OHL’s London Knights this fall. (List of Player and Coaching Moves) richmond The 6-foot-1, 185-pound defenseman was named to … Read more
Two stars of the CCHA have decided to forgoe their remaining years of eligibility to sign contracts with NHL teams. Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Dan Ellis has decided to forego his senior year of eligibility with the Mavericks to sign a professional contract with the Dallas Stars while Ohio State forward Ryan Kesler has decided to forgoe … Read more
A service for Herb Brooks, the legendary coach at Minnesota, the U.S. Olympic team and the NHL, who died Monday in an auto accident, will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. CT at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Minn. In advance of that service, a wake will be held Friday from 3-8 p.m. CT, and … Read more
Paul Martin signed a contract with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils on Friday, leaving two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota without its most experienced defenseman two months before the season starts. Martin, a second-team All-American for the Gophers last season whose departure had been rumored since he was named to the Frozen Four all-tournament team in … Read more
Minnesota forward Thomas Vanek, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Frozen Four, will return for his sophomore season. The Buffalo Sabres, who drafted Vanek in the first round of this year’s NHL Draft, said they believed it was best for Vanek to return to school. (Offseason coaching and player moves) “Our view is another … Read more
It was a good news-bad news kind of week for Wisconsin. The good news: Ryan Suter, drafted with the seventh overall pick in last month’s NHL entry draft, chose to hold off on signing with the Nashville Predators and told Badgers coach Mike Eaves he’ll play at Wisconsin next season. The bad news: Incoming freshman … Read more
Ohio State men’s head coach John Markell has signed a new three-year contract to coach the Buckeyes through the 2005-06 season. Markell “I’m excited to have the chance to continue on here at Ohio State,” Markell said. “Since I’ve started, our goal has been to compete for national championships while our players get quality educations. … Read more
Like many others, Mike Eaves is waiting to hear a decision from Ryan Suter on whether the prized recruit will play for Wisconsin next season or jump to the pros. But that’s not the only pressing issue for the Badgers coach this offseason. Mike Brodeur, slated to figure into the team’s goaltending scene as a … Read more
Former Boston College star John Cunniff and the entire 1980 U.S. Olympic team are among the latest inductees to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn. They will be joined by Richard Dougherty, a former standout at Minnesota, and long-time NHL stars Pat LaFontaine and Mark Howe. The 1980 squad, a team filled … Read more