TMQ: After chaotic offseason, new season brings fresh start for some
Colgate is 2-0 to open the season after winning just seven games all of last regular season. That’s among the topics in this week’s edition of Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Men’s D-I: ECAC
After slump-riddled season, Brown has a lot to prove
For a while there, they may as well have been the Brown Bear-skins, with which the rest of the ECAC warmed its feet and decorated its basement. But since the school welcomed native son Brendan Whittet back to the Meehan bench, the school has elevated its hockey program to something resembling the un-Bear-ables: unbearably physical, … Read more
High-end talent gone, but Rensselaer still has high hopes
Rensselaer may be the toughest team in ECAC Hockey to pin down this year. The coaches and the media like them enough to place them fourth and fifth, respectively, in the preseason polls. However, Rensselaer has lost some mighty talent in the last 12 months, including two-time ECAC player of the year Chase Polacek and … Read more
New coach Bennett won’t let Union take success for granted
Rick Bennett doesn’t have to look too far back to remember when the Union Dutchmen were not among the ECAC Hockey elite. “I came in [before the 2005-06 season]. We went .500 that year and it felt like we won the Stanley Cup,” said Bennett, the head coach in his first season at Union after … Read more
Cornell has questions to answer to again earn first-round bye
The most consistently successful team in ECAC Hockey finished the regular season in the top four for the 11th consecutive time, and despite losing top-flight talent year in and year out, Cornell played in the league’s final four for the fourth year in a row. Coach Mike Schafer’s boys had a tough go of it … Read more
Young Quinnipiac hopes to rise from the middle
The “Kid Corps” at Quinnipiac avoided a total disaster in 2010-11. Considering only one senior (defenseman Zach Hanson) played more than four games, a 6-9-7 record in ECAC play is not so bad. Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold believes in his young team, which will have four seniors who saw significant time last year. A junior … Read more
Playoff run could give Harvard push into new season
When you have two seven-game losing streaks separated only by a win over Army, you’re probably having a bad year. That was the case for Harvard as last January came to a close: losers of 14 of 15, ultimately to become 17 of 19 following yet another first-round Beanpot defeat. The Crimson had mustered fewer … Read more
Yale fields roster deep in talent, but goaltending in spotlight
Go ahead and try to find a reason why Yale shouldn’t have swept the ECAC preseason coaches and media polls. Astounding freshmen coming in? Check. Scoring depth? Got it. Goaltending? Wait, what was the last one? Oh, goaltending. Yeah, that could be a reason. After all, with the departure of Ryan Rondeau to graduation, that … Read more
Unheralded Dartmouth has talent at each position
Dartmouth is like the Nashville Predators of ECAC Hockey: it doesn’t generate a whole lot of attention most of the time, yet every time you turn around, there it is, hanging around the top of the hill. It’s a credit to veteran coach Bob Gaudet and his staff that he can regularly draw the talent … Read more
Numerous personnel losses have Jones, Clarkson filling big shoes
It appears that the Joneses may be the ones trying to keep up this year. With the commencement of the Casey Jones era in Clarkson hockey comes a season of long odds and immediate challenges. The Golden Knights lost more than just their seniors last spring, as top-tandem blueliner Mark Borowiecki also bid adieu to … Read more
St. Lawrence moves forward with minds on Marsh
There will be different voices calling the shots on the bench for St. Lawrence, though Joe Marsh’s influence will be felt on each line change, goal and win for the Saints. Due to a medical leave, this is the first time since 1985 that the Saints will start a regular season without Marsh on the … Read more
Offseason of change means new faces around ECAC Hockey in 2011-12
In the wake of the most tumultuous summer in college hockey history, even insular ECAC Hockey has a few changes to adjust to. Gone is George Roll, fired by Clarkson and now coaching at new Division III program Nazareth in Rochester, N.Y. Gone is Guy Gadowsky, who hopes to replicate his Princeton successes with Penn … Read more
Will late-season surge fuel Colgate in new campaign?
What’s to be said about the 2011-12 Colgate Raiders? How about that there’s nowhere to go but up? That backhanded compliment is all but literal, as the last iteration of Raiders hockey set program records for futility with eight- and 14-game winless slides, no league wins until the first week of February, and no wins … Read more
Prier’s first-year outlook at Princeton ‘extremely positive’
No one has to tell coach Bob Prier how much is riding on the Princeton name every hockey season. After all, the name on the university’s home ice says everything about the history, honor and privilege involved in pulling on the Tigers colors: Hobey Baker Rink. Prier, who was an assistant coach and associate head … Read more
Yale atop ECAC coaches and media polls
Yale was voted the top team in the ECAC by both the league’s coaches and media for the third consecutive season. In the coaches poll, defending regular season champion Union finished second in the poll. Cornell is slotted to finish third, Rensselaer ranks fourth, Dartmouth occupies the fifth slot followed by Quinnipiac. Harvard sits in … Read more
Ten to watch: Picking college hockey’s top defensemen for 2011-12
Who will be the standout defenseman in college hockey in 2011-12? Jason Karnosky has a list of potential stars.
Souza named new assistant at Brown
Mike Souza has been named an assistant coach at Brown, getting his first coaching job after playing the last five seasons in Italy. “He’s someone that our guys will lean on because he’s played at such a high level,” said Brown head coach Brendan Whittet in a press release. “From my side of it, he’s … Read more
Quinnipiac’s Cashman wants to prove naysayers wrong again
He turned heads as a player and now looks to do the same as the Bobcats’ new assistant coach. Brian Farrell reports.
Cataruzolo steps down from Trinity post; ex-coach Dunham back on interim basis
Trinity College has announced the resignation of men’s hockey head coach David Cataruzolo and the hiring of John Dunham, the school’s only other coach in its history, on an interim basis. Cataruzolo, who coached at Trinity the last 14 years, has also been named the director of operations for Harvard’s men’s and women’s programs. “We … Read more
Quinnipiac extends Pecknold through 2015-16 season
Quinnipiac has signed head coach Rand Pecknold to a contract extension through the 2015-2016 season. “I’m very excited with my new contract extension,” said Pecknold in a statement. “I look forward to another five years at Quinnipiac, and hopefully beyond.” This past season, his 17th at Quinnipiac, Pecknold led the Bobcats to their 15th straight … Read more