Rensselaer named John Burke, currently the top assistant for the men’s hockey team, as the acting head coach of the women’s hockey team. Burke will succeed Bill Cahill, who passed away from a heart attack Oct. 5. “I am thrilled that John has accepted the position,” Rensselaer’s Athletic Director Ken Ralph said. “Bill established great … Read more
Union recorded the ECAC’s lone win in last weekend’s action, giving new head coach Nate Leaman a successful debut. This week, it’s more nonconference games, including Vermont’s continued tour of Hockey East. Juan Martinez reports.
St. Lawrence and Vermont kick off the NCAA season with mixed results; Harvard takes a new tack to keep home-ice advantage against Cornell; and sad news strikes Rensselaer and all of college hockey. Juan Martinez opens coverage of the 2003-04 ECAC season.
Bill Cahill, the head women’s ice hockey coach at Rensselaer, passed away last night after a heart attack. He was 53. CAHILL Cahill was entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Engineers. Last year, he guided his team to an 18-6-0 regular season record, a second place finish in the ECAC East … Read more
A personal reflection on the loss of two hockey friends.
As much of a surprise as Yale was last season in finishing third in the ECAC, the Bulldogs remain one of the mysteries of the upcoming 2003-04 campaign. The biggest question is: How will they make up for the loss of Chris Higgins, who left to sign with the Montreal Canadiens? Higgins’ 20 goals and … Read more
The bulk of the team that produced a 25-loss season in 2002-03 returns this season. That’s not exactly a good thing. Granted, the Engineers will look to build off the tough lessons of a year ago, but it’s hard to imagine them making much of a run in the standings. A continuation of Ben Barr’s … Read more
When the Saints decided to begin offering scholarships to recruits a few years ago, it seemed like a step that would position them for long-term success. They enjoyed back-to-back ECAC tournament titles in 2000 and 2001, but are coming off a pair of 21-loss seasons with little hope for a return to glory anytime soon. … Read more
With Brown another up-an-coming program, Roger Grillo has done a fine job assembling talent for a run deep into the postseason. First things first, of course, and that’s challenging for the top of the ECAC. It may sound far-fetched considering the strength of Harvard, Cornell and Dartmouth, but the Bears have the great equalizer … … Read more
They looked unbeatable for most of the season, having lost only five times, while winning 30. They were 19-2-1 in the ECAC and a perfect 15-0-0 at home. They captured their second consecutive ECAC Regular Season title, the Tournament championship and made it to the Frozen Four. All in all, it was very successful season … Read more
When you win only three games almost anything is an improvement. Unless, of course, you manage to win less often. That shouldn’t be an issue, however, for this Princeton squad. The Tigers are far from moving up the standings, but they should manage a few more wins and could be dangerous if taken lightly — … Read more
All signs point to this being the year the Crimson fulfill their potential. This is a loaded team full of veterans, as evidenced by the 16 juniors and seniors that will skate for the club each week. More importantly, though, is that there isn’t a glaring weakness on a team that features a whopping 12 … Read more
With Don Vaughan’s recent decision to accept the interim Athletic Director’s position, longtime assistant Stan Moore has been elevated to interim head coach. Moore, a very capable replacement, will have his work cut out for him if he plans on improving on last season’s 17-win campaign. [New coach Stan] Moore … will have his work … Read more
A new coach, another new era at Union. Nate Leaman takes over for Kevin Sneddon, who returned the program to respectability. It’ll be Leaman’s job to elevate it further — a task made more difficult because of the lack of support the college traditionally floats the way of the hockey program. The Dutchmen remain an … Read more
The structure of the ECAC is balanced. Six Ivy League programs. Six non-Ivies. Yet, last season, Cornell, Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale and Brown finished one through five. The best non-Ivy team was Union, and the Dutchmen were no better than .500 in the league. In fact, the aforementioned quintet were the only ECAC clubs to finish … Read more
With Clarkson coming off its first losing season since 1974-75, new head coach George Roll brings 14 recruits into a program desperate for new blood. Roll, an assistant during Clarkson’s dominating days in the early- and mid-1990s, may be the perfect choice to brush away the clouds of the last few years of Mark Morris’ … Read more
Picked to finish ninth in the ECAC Coaches’ Poll, there’s no time like the present for Kevin Sneddon’s new club as the Catamounts kick off the 2003-04 season with a home contest against Boston College on Oct. 4. Sneddon is a talented young coach who will help establish a much-needed new attitude and atmosphere in … Read more
Head coach Bob Gaudet continues to build a successful and consistently solid program at his alma mater, capturing 20 wins last season for the first time since 1947-48. With each campaign, Dartmouth gets one step closer to its goal of winning the ECAC championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. An impressive collection of talent, … Read more
Many in Atlantic Hockey feel that Quinnipiac suffered the least in terms of losses to graduation. Head coach Rand Pecknold disagrees. “I’m a little concerned about losing three defensemen,” said Pecknold of the departed Dan Ennis, Wade Winkler and Matt Erhart, along with forward Brian Herbert, from last season’s roster. “I thought they were three … Read more
Over the last two seasons the Big Red of Cornell and the Crimson of Harvard have been on top of the ECAC. The two teams have played for the ECAC Championship in each of the last two seasons. This season, both the coaches and the media expect it to be the same way. The Crimson … Read more