How strange is this season of Big Ten hockey? If the season were to end today, five of the conference’s seven teams would play in the NCAA tournament. Minnesota would be the overall No. 1 seed and Penn State would likely be the top seed in its regional. How strange? Of the five Big Ten … Read more
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced a watch list of 41 goalies who will compete for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey since 2014. The 41 goalies come from the United States (18), Canada (13), and Sweden (6), along with one each from the Czech … Read more
With all eyes on the IIHF World Junior Championship tournament last week and the young Big Ten talent that was on display there, it’s easy to see why Minnesota is the top team in the conference and why Michigan looks very much like it will be in the NCAA tournament mix yet again. Both the … Read more
March Madness for men’s Division I college hockey could look a little bit like college basketball in the very near future. The Gazelle Group, a sports marketing and events company in New Jersey, has distributed memorandums to each of the men’s college hockey coaches to gauge interest in the establishment of a second postseason national … Read more
The Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off returns to Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee with Air Force, Minnesota Duluth, Northeastern, and Wisconsin comprising the third annual event from Dec. 28-29. Wisconsin won the inaugural event in 2021 and advanced to the title game of the 2022 tournament last week. An on-sale date for tickets to the event as … Read more
As Jimmy Connelly and I lamented in the last TMQ of the first half of the season, once upon a time in the college hockey world, there were many significant and highly anticipated holiday tournaments. While the number of these tourneys has dwindled, the impact that any interleague play has on those who participate remains … Read more
With the first half of the season behind us, it’s a good time to reflect on how things have gone so far in the Big Ten. The B1G picture For the Big Ten, the first half was productive in several ways. With a record of 44-13-3, B1G Hockey has the best inter-conference win percentage (.758) … Read more
Sometimes when you’re down, every setback seems to add another rung to the ladder you’re climbing. In situations like these, even the littlest things get amplified. Sometimes when you’re down, though, something that looks small to outsiders really is bigger than it appears. It’s only diminished to others because you appear diminished to others. The … Read more
As the first half of the season begins to wind down, the Fighting Irish aren’t where they’d like to be. With a record of 7-7-2, Notre Dame is 15 points out of first place in the Big Ten standings and is lowish – for Notre Dame, anyway – in the very early PairWise Rankings. None … Read more
Raise your hand if you knew at the start of the season that Minnesota and Michigan State would be battling early for the top spot in Big Ten conference hockey. Come on, now. Don’t lie. This weekend, the “original six” of the Big Ten take the ice – everyone but Notre Dame – in three … Read more
The Ice Breaker Tournament, the traditional start to the NCAA Division I men’s hockey season, will be co-hosted by Bemidji State and North Dakota in 2023-24, it was announced jointly this week by the host schools and College Hockey Inc. Army West Point and Wisconsin will also participate in the event, scheduled for Oct. 13-14 … Read more
By every possible measure, the past seven days have been extraordinary for Big Ten hockey. Minnesota swept Michigan at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan State – the team picked by coaches’ preseason to finish last – split a pair of road games against Penn State, and the Spartans sit in second place, one point behind the … Read more
After Michigan State’s Jagger Joshua tweeted about being called a racial slur in a Nov. 11 game against Ohio State, both MSU and the Big Ten released statements. Tuesday night, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith released a statement of his own on behalf of the school. https://twitter.com/OSU_AD/status/1595260479278030849
Michigan State senior forward Jagger Joshua posted Monday on Twitter that he was the target of a racial slur in the Spartans’ Nov. 11 game against Ohio State. Acts of racism do not belong in hockey.. pic.twitter.com/nm9AnIjSgV — Jagger Joshua (@jaggerjoshua8) November 21, 2022 Monday, the Big Ten issued a statement: “The Big Ten Conference … Read more
Minnesota’s Bob Motzko has an idea about the 2022-23 Big Ten hockey season: “We’re just going to beat the snot out of each other this year.” Motzko’s Golden Gophers are in third place in B1G conference standings after splitting a home series against Penn State last weekend, losing 4-2 and winning 3-2. The three road … Read more
When fans think of Big Ten rivalries, the classic that comes to mind is Michigan vs. Ohio State. It’s easy to forget that the mutual disdain between these two bordering states extends well beyond the Wolverines and Buckeyes. While it may not be as well known, the Michigan State-Ohio State rivalry is intense, especially when … Read more
With 32 first-place votes, Minnesota rises two spots to sit No. 1 in this week’s DCU/USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. Denver stays No. 2 and picked up five first-place votes this week. Michigan drops two spots to No. 3, getting three first-place votes, while St. Cloud State remains No. 4 with five first-place votes. Quinnipiac … Read more
Michigan’s Adam Fantilli and St. Cloud State’s Dominic Basse have been named the first men’s Hockey Commissioners Association players of the month for the 2022-23 season. Fantilli, the player and rookie of the month, leads the nation in scoring as he begins his freshman campaign at Michigan. In eight games, he has eight goals and … Read more
Michigan interim head coach Brandon Naurato is a teacher by nature, and that teaching approach to coaching is already bearing fruit for a Michigan team with a 12-member rookie class. “I feel like I’m so blessed to have really good people from the freshmen to the other kids around that they want to be the … Read more
With 22 first-place votes this week, Michigan is the new No. 1 team in the DCU/USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, moving up three spots from last week’s rankings. Denver garnered 15 first-place nods and is No. 2 this week, up from No. 3 a week ago. Former No. 1 Minnesota (five first-place votes) sits third … Read more