John Markell, who guided Ohio State to its first NCAA tournament berth and then into the Final Four last April, has been granted a four-year contract extension through the 2002 season, the school announced Thursday. “John is one of the rising stars in coaching today,” said OSU athletic director Andy Geiger. “We’re proud he’s a … Read more
Despite a sixth-place finish in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the University of Minnesota again led college hockey in attendance in 1997-98, topping the nation in overall (201,126) and per-game (10,056) home totals. All told, West teams occupied the top seven, and eight of the top ten spots in the Division I per-game rankings. Nascent … Read more
The Schottenstein Center, the new multisport facility which will house Ohio State University’s basketball and hockey teams, is not expected to be ready for hockey until the middle of the 1998-99 season, according to recent reports. OSU athletic director Andy Geiger told the Columbus (Oh.) Dispatch that although the arena may be ready in time … Read more
Following a unanimous recommendation from its planning committee, the University of Wisconsin athletic board voted to add women’s ice hockey as a varsity sport beginning in 1999-2000, athletic director Pat Richter announced Friday. “Ice hockey was a preeminent thought even before the success of the United States women’s ice hockey team at the Olympics,” Richter … Read more
On Saturday, the winningest goaltender in NCAA tournament history was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1998 tournament at the FleetCenter in Boston. Michigan senior Marty Turco turned in a 28-save performance in a 3-2 overtime win over Boston College in the title game after making 19 saves to earn a shutout against New … Read more
Steward Raygor’s eyes welled with tears. Raygor, with four family members at his side, had just watched his son Erik accept the 1998 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented to college hockey’s finest citizen, and the emotions hit him like a tidal wave. “This is, I believe, every father’s goal,” said Raygor, whose son recently finished his … Read more
The Wolverines are in Boston this year, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, given that Michigan has made a college hockey Final Four appearance seven of the last eight seasons. But this year, Michigan has advanced without The Michigan Nine, the phenomenal class led by 1997 Hobey Baker winner, Brendan Morrison. Gone are Morrison, Botterill, Madden, Luhning … Read more
It’s Monday, two days after Andre Signoretti’s overtime goal sent Ohio State to college hockey’s Frozen Four, and the Buckeyes are back in Columbus, where it’s 85 degrees. It’s the first day of Spring Quarter classes. After Buckeye hockey practice, the players linger a little. There are a couple of reporters, a couple fans. Everyone … Read more
He lives alone with his cat, and he’s afraid to cut his hair. And at just 166 pounds, he’s one of the toughest competitors on ice. Michigan State goaltender and Hobey Baker candidate Chad Alban answers the question that’s on everyone’s lips: “Just what is up with that hair?” “I just grew it out in … Read more
For Notre Dame captain Steve Noble, the impulse to help other people is something he learned from his own family. “My uncle has Down’s syndrome, so my grandma — his mother — actually helped co-found a school to teach mentally challenged people. It’s been in the family, and I’ve been exposed to people who are … Read more
Michigan State’s Chad Alban became just the fourth netminder in collegiate history to tally a goal Saturday night, scoring into an empty net in the Spartans’ 6-3 win over Ferris State. On the play, Alban collected the puck in the corner to the right of Michigan State’s goal and fired a 180-foot shot which bounded … Read more
Michigan State head coach Ron Mason, already the winningest coach in the history of the sport, earned the 800th victory of his career Friday night as the Spartans defeated archrival Michigan, 5-1. Hundreds of enthusiastic fans stormed the ice to honor Mason after the game. “I’ve never had that happen,” Mason said of the fans’ … Read more
To Hugo Boisvert, central Ohio is more foreign a concept than is “U.S.A.” “It’s different.” The sophomore center from St. Eustache, Quebec, makes a gesture as though he’s running his hand over the top of a table, and he makes a noise — “ppphtt.” He says, by way of summary, “Flat.” “I’ve been to the … Read more
This weekend, the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans renew one of college hockey’s greatest traditional rivalries. Students, parents and alumni of both schools, as well as fans of all stripes, will stream to the games: Friday at Munn Arena in East Lansing, and Saturday at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena. It’s an old rivalry, … Read more
T.R. Moreau doesn’t even remember it happening. Fifteen minutes, two seconds into the first period of Wisconsin’s game against Minnesota-Duluth Jan. 9, Moreau and Duluth forward Joe Rybar followed the puck into the corner. Rybar checked Moreau into the boards, and the Badger winger’s neck whiplashed into the glass. Moreau fell to the ice and … 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
It’s January in Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan Wolverine hockey team sports a 12-2-1 conference record halfway through the CCHA regular season. The Wolverines sit atop the CCHA, in front of the Michigan State University Spartans and the Miami University RedHawks. A Wolverine icer leads the nation in power-play tallies, and is second … Read more
With Michigan’s 4-2 victory Friday night over Bowling Green, Wolverine netminder Marty Turco earned his 112th career win, topping the record of 111 previously held by Steve Shields, Turco’s predecessor at Michigan. Turco, in his senior year with the Wolverines, was honored with a plaque commemorating his achievement after stopping 14 shots on the evening. … Read more
Wisconsin forward T.R. Moreau was taken off the ice on a stretcher at the Dane County Coliseum on Friday night after a Minnesota-Duluth forward checked him into the boards during a WCHA hockey game. At 15:02 of the first period, Moreau, a sophomore from Rockford, Ill., skated into a corner behind his own net, and … Read more
Michigan senior defenseman Chris Fox was arraigned on a felony assault charge Wednesday in connection with an incident last June in a recreational hockey league. According to reports from the Associated Press and the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, Fox, 21, allegedly hit a member of an opposing team in the face with his hockey stick … Read more