David Sayler has been named Miami’s 16th director of athletics, the school announced Dec. 13. Sayler, leader of South Dakotas’ intercollegiate athletic program for the past two-and-a-half years, will begin his duties at MU in early January 2013. He succeeds Brad Bates.
As most colleges in the U.S. wind down for the fall semester and many people are gearing up for winter holidays, I can’t help but think that in three months from Christmas Eve, we’ll be saying goodbye to the CCHA. I know that early in the season I said I’d focus on the here and … Read more
At the start of December 2011, Bowling Green was sitting in last place in the CCHA standings with one win to the Falcons’ credit and five points to show for 12 league games played. In conference play, the Falcons had scored 14 goals and were nine points behind 10th-place Alaska. It’s one year later and … Read more
It’s the end of November, and Mark Osiecki sounds relaxed. Maybe that’s because the Ohio State coach better understands the task at hand in Columbus, now that he has two seasons with the Buckeyes behind him. Or maybe it’s because OSU has won three of its last four CCHA games and has climbed into a … Read more
The CCHA announced Tuesday that Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson has been fined and been publicly reprimanded for a violation of the league’s good conduct regulations. “The CCHA offers a number of postgame means for a coach to properly express their concerns over situations and issues that may have arisen over the course of … Read more
It has been tough to sweep conference opponents this season in the CCHA, so the fact that three teams did just that last weekend is something to note. Ferris State, Notre Dame and Ohio State each took six points in league play. For the Bulldogs and Fighting Irish, six points meant a tie for second … Read more
According to a report in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the NCAA is investigating a series of infractions made by Alaska-Fairbanks regarding student-athletes’ eligibility. The infractions involved 17 students on the hockey, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, swimming, women’s Nordic skiing and rifle teams during a four-year period from the 2007-11. The article states UAF self-reported the … Read more
If that old sports cliche that claims you’re only as good as your last game is true, then Michigan State is positively golden. After losing on the road to Michigan 5-1 in the first game of a home-and-home series last Friday, the Spartans rebounded in a giant way Saturday, scoring 34 seconds into the game … Read more
How does a coach whose team was the winner of its regular season conference championship and a national runner-up in 2011-12 react to preseason polls that have his team finishing in either fourth or fifth place in the his own league? With typical Bob Daniels perspective, of course. “I still don’t know how we’ll be … Read more
The NHL on Friday announced the cancellation of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and the Sirius XM Hockeytown Winter Festival due to the ongoing lockout of the players by NHL owners. The Great Lakes Invitational, originally scheduled to be played outdoors at Comerica Park on Dec. 27-28, will now be moved indoors to its longstanding … Read more
This weekend, Western Michigan opens its CCHA season and defense of the Mason Cup against Notre Dame. Even though the Broncos are 3-1 in nonconference play, second-year coach Andy Murray isn’t sure yet of what this year’s team can do. “I really don’t know,” Murray said. “I think we need to play some games within … Read more
That sophomore slump? You’d better believe it. Last season, Notre Dame finished tied with Ohio State for eighth place in the CCHA, one year after taking a team laden with a dozen freshmen to the Frozen Four. The Fighting Irish began the first half of 2011-12 with shaky goaltending; the second half of the season … Read more
Thank you, Notre Dame. Thank you, Miami. Thank you, Northern Michigan. I know you three programs didn’t win this past weekend to make this girl reporter happy — Walt Kyle told me as much — but the sweeps of Colgate and Wisconsin along with the Icebreaker title helped to soften the blow of writing this … Read more
According to NorthJersey.com, Michigan junior defenseman Jon Merrill was injured on a hit from behind into the boards during the Wolverine’s exhibition game Tuesday against Windsor and is expected to be sidelined six weeks. New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said Merrill suffered “a little fracture” that will require a neck brace. “It’s nothing … Read more
Former Ohio State forward R.J. Umberger has joined the Buckeyes’ staff as a volunteer coach. Umberger was a three-year letter-winner with OSU from 2000-03 and has played the last seven years in the NHL with Philadelphia and Columbus. “With the NHL lockout in full force, I am looking forward to being more connected to the … Read more
Boston College has named Brad Bates, the director of athletics at Miami, to the same role at BC. Bates succeeds Gene DeFilippo, who retired on Sept. 30 after 15 years at BC.
What do you say about a league that has sent five different teams in the past six years to the NCAA championship game? What do you say about a league whose last representative in that group is a school that plays in Division II in all of its other sports? And what do you say … Read more
Bowling Green announced Monday that head coach Chris Bergeron has signed a two-year contract extension through the 2017-18 season. Named BGSU’s seventh head coach on April 12, 2010, Bergeron led Bowling Green to two CCHA tournament upsets on the road last year, defeating Northern Michigan and national runner-up Ferris State in best two-out-of-three series to … Read more
Notre Dame junior forward T.J. Tynan received the most votes among CCHA coaches for the second straight year and tops the CCHA preseason All-Conference First Team. Tynan is joined on the First Team by an Irish teammate, a Michigan defenseman and three Western Michigan Broncos. CCHA Preseason All-Conference First Team CCHA Preseason All-Conference Second Team
The CCHA preseason coaches’ poll has Notre Dame at No. 1, while the league media poll shows Michigan as the team to beat this year. For the fifth time in seven years, the coaches and media disagree on who should own the No. 1 position in the polls. The conference’s 11 head coaches ranked Notre … Read more