The CCHA is changing its standings point structure to allot the same number of points for each conference game. That means regulation and overtime victories will be worth three points. If a game goes to a shootout after the NCAA-mandated five-minute overtime, the winning team will get two points in the standings and the losing … Read more
So, what’s it going to be? The Alabama-Huntsville Chargers, or the Lake Superior State Lakers? Alabama-Huntsville, or Ferris State — or St. Cloud State, or Minnesota-Duluth, or everybody’s current darling, the Bemidji State Beavers? How would you like to have to make that choice? After the CCHA rejected UAH’s application for admission to the league, … Read more
The CCHA told Alabama-Huntsville to point its charge toward respectability elsewhere. That’s interesting. More than a few former college coaches (now coaching professionally) have mentioned on many occasions that the appearance given by the college hockey world is that there is no urgency to grow Division I college hockey. Yes, there are Web sites and … Read more
It appeared to be one of the best-laid road maps. The solution that seemingly was brokered between all college hockey conferences and the 58 member institutions that would find homes for the four “homeless” members of the CHA looked almost too good to be true. Thanks to the CCHA, looks certainly aren’t meant to be … Read more
The CCHA has denied Alabama-Huntsville’s application for admission, putting the program’s future in even more jeopardy. The Chargers are members of the CHA, which is set to disband after the 2009-10 season. The three other members have found other conferences, and UAH targeted the CCHA. But the CCHA Council, a body made up of athletic … Read more
One of the elements critical to Bowling Green’s longterm survival is closer to reality. The school is committing $2.5 million in capital improvement funds toward the renovation of the BGSU Ice Arena, and the state of Ohio is kicking in an additional $1.5 million for the project. “These funds are clearly needed to keep the … Read more
Another head coach is leaving college for a new USA Hockey venture. Scott Paluch has stepped down at Bowling Green to be a regional manager of USA Hockey’s American Development Model. Assistant coach Dennis Williams will be the interim head coach for the 2009-10 season. His move comes just a month after Brown’s Roger Grillo … Read more
As anticipated, the WCHA voted Friday to admit Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha beginning with the 2010-11 season, making the conference a 12-team league. The expansion is the league’s first since Minnesota State joined in 1999-2000. The vote, which puts the Bemidji State program back on solid ground only months after it became the first No. … Read more
Miami defenseman Will Weber was arrested in Oxford, Ohio, and charged with theft after police said he stole a purse from a bar on June 21, the Oxford Press reported. Weber, 20, a second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, also was charged with offenses involving underage persons and … Read more
Mike Hastings is moving from his position as assistant coach at Minnesota to the associate head coach position at Nebraska-Omaha. Hastings will join new Mavericks coach Dean Blais and Nick Fohr, who as an assistant coach for former UNO coach Mike Kemp, in the new staff. “Mike Hastings has a proven track record of developing … Read more
Dean Blais is back in college hockey. Will his next move be back to the WCHA? That much is uncertain, but what’s known is that Blais is the new coach at Nebraska-Omaha, a move that was announced at a news conference Friday in Omaha, Neb. Blais, a two-time national champion in 10 seasons at North … Read more
One of the burning issues with the Nebraska-Omaha program this offseason has become a little clearer. Mike Kemp has stepped down as the Mavericks’ coach to join new athletic director Trev Alberts’ inner circle of administrators. Kemp, the only coach in the program’s 12-year history, will be an associate athletic director at the school, and … Read more
Dave Starman sums up the Frozen Four and looks ahead to next season in a series of letter to coaches and players.
Minnesota’s Jordan Schroeder continues to be the top choice of collegiate players eligible for this year’s NHL Entry Draft, that according to the NHL Central Scouting Service’s (CSS) final rankings. Schroeder, who ranked second on the Gophers in scoring this year with 45 points (13 goals, 32 assists) behind only Ryan Stoa, was ranked fifth … Read more
During the postseason, coaches often spout platitudes about how goaltending and special teams make the difference between winning and losing in the fierce battles of the playoffs. What is so interesting about this year’s championship game is that ultimately, neither goaltending nor the power play made as big an impact. While Boston University scored two-extra … Read more
They got so close to the Frozen Four last year that they could taste it, Miami RedHawks’ forward Justin Mercier has been telling anyone who’ll listen these last few weeks. The taste now that Miami practically had one hand on the national championship trophy, only to have it snatched away by a gritty Boston University … Read more
Secret Revealed All season long, Boston University sported t-shirts bearing the phrase “Burn the Boats.” The team swore itself to utter secrecy, only promising to divulge the meaning and origin of the slogan after the season ended. Well, the season ended, all right. “Coach (Jack Parker) read us a story at the beginning of the … Read more
Brent Brekke joined the Miami staff last offseason knowing the challenge that lay before him. He would be working with four freshman defensemen on a team that lost plenty on that side of the ice, and would be charged with keeping the RedHawks’ identity intact. That Miami will play for the national championship on Saturday … Read more
There is always a lot of noise about “experience” every postseason. No matter the sport, fans, coaches and players alike can’t get enough of it. Who’s got it, who needs it, where it came from. What it means, what it’s worth, what it fosters on the ice. Cody Reichard proves that pundits can posit what … Read more
If there was an undoing for Bemidji State this season, it was exactly what played out Thursday on the Verizon Center ice. Not being outplayed, like coach Tom Serratore and his players said they were in a 4-1 loss to Miami in the Frozen Four semifinals. Not a shortfall of scoring like the Beavers experienced … Read more