The Union Skating Dutchmen were in great shape as February started. They were sitting pretty for home ice for the ECAC playoffs and on — sort of — a roll. Five weekends later, the Dutchmen had broken hearts, one point shy of making the playoffs at all. Part of the irony is that in the … Read more
The Saints went into last season as the two-time defending ECAC champions, but with heavy graduation losses few expected the Saints to repeat. Indeed, St. Lawrence went through a tough year and finished in a tie for ninth. Key differences from the previous year: a scoring dropoff of just about a goal per game, a … Read more
Judging from preseason media releases, the Catamounts are focusing on the future. There is no rehash of the past two seasons, nor an analysis of why the former ECAC regular-season champions won only three games last year. Instead, there is talk of a strong nonconference schedule, a solid returning crew and a promising group of … Read more
It was a tale of two seasons for the Rensselaer Engineers in 2001-2002. Towards the end of January, the Engineers were in last place in the ECAC, sparking questions about the state of the program. But at the end of the season, the Engineers had reached 20 wins, finished third in the ECAC tournament, and … Read more
The Golden Knights of Clarkson are where they usually are at the beginning of the season — among the league’s best in the polls. This season the Knights are ranked third by both the coaches and the media. With 19 lettermen returning to a team that finished second last season, at full health and strength, … Read more
Everything old is new again — not least in the ECAC, where a new playoff system and some new scheduling issues mesh with the same old down-to-the-wire mentality in Division I’s most unpredictable league. Jayson Moy and Becky Blaeser preview the season.
Head coach Don Vaughan prepared himself last season. He had 10 freshmen and six sophomores, and the year didn’t start very well. The Raiders went 3-11 before gaining an overtime win at Iona the first weekend of January. Then, things started to turn around. After losing twice to Cornell, the Raiders went on a 6-0-2 … Read more
The Big Red came oh-so-close to advancing to the Frozen Four last season. A furious comeback against New Hampshire fell just short, but this season brings the same determination. The team that went to the quarterfinals returns 14 players, including its top five scorers. That brings expectations to Mike Schafer’s squad this season. “We had … Read more
Though sporting a new mascot, the Quinnipiac Bobcats are likely to worry about an old-time sports problem: the sophomore slump. It was just a year ago that Quinnipiac entered the season with a rookie-filled lineup but shocked the league and the nation when the young class gelled late and carried the club to the MAAC … Read more
Yale and the ECAC would still like to host the 2004 Women’s Frozen Four, but now must find another practical venue that’s also up to NCAA standards. The NCAA has given them until Oct. 10 to report back.
Cornell, the defending regular season champion, and Harvard, the defending ECAC tournament champion, finished 1-2 in both the preseason coach’s and media polls. In the coach’s poll, the Big Red edged out the Crimson by one point, garnering seven of the 12 first place votes and a total of 116 points. The Crimson received the … Read more
Former Minnesota coach Doug Woog, former Hobey Baker Award winners Mark and Scott Fusco, Joe Riley have been inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, located in Eveleth, Minn. The formal induction ceremony will take place Wednesday, Dec. 4. In his 14-year coaching career with the Golden Gophers, Woog guided Minnesota to an … Read more
As part of the ECAC Hockey Media Day Monday, Sept. 23 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, the ECAC will conduct live Web chats with two men’s and two women’s head coaches from 10-11 a.m. on hockey.ecac.org. A link to the chat will be available Monday morning so that fans and interested individuals can discuss … Read more
The fate of the 2004 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, scheduled for April 9-11 in New Haven, Conn., remains in limbo, three weeks after the original site closed its doors.
Is there life after hockey? Now, it appears, there is hope for a meaningful second career for the aged professional player. Quinnipiac University is joining with the National Hockey League to help retiring players pursue education and careers, the NHL announced Thursday. The Life After Hockey Program was launched during a news conference at the … Read more
Clarkson is expected to announce at a Thursday news conference that it will be introducing a Division I women’s program to begin play for the 2003-2004 season, USCHO has learned.
Quinnipiac alumnus Michael Barrett was named as the school’s new women’s coach. “The return of Mike Barrett to Quinnipiac is welcome by our student-athletes, staff and alumni,” said athletic director Jack McDonald. “Mike returns with outstanding credentials as an intercollegiate women’s head coach. This experience, along with his successful tenure as a University administrator, make … Read more
Melody Davidson, an assistant coach for the gold medal winning 2002 Canadian Olympic women’s team, has been named as the new women’s head coach at Cornell. “We are thrilled to have Melody join our coaching staff,” said Cornell athletic director Andy Noel. “She has a wealth of experience from coaching at the highest level of … Read more
Colgate has named Scott Wiley its new women’s coach. Wiley replaces Ted Wisner, who served as head coach of the Raiders for three seasons, including their first in Division I last season. Wiley served as an assistant coach under Wisner for three seasons. “I’m very excited about the future of the program under Scott,” Colgate … Read more
In what was dubbed a weak year in prospects for the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, college hockey took advantage, sending four of its players to the top 14 picks on the draft board, and a total of 14 college or college-bound players in the first two rounds. At the top of the list, in no … Read more