Most leagues have one or two clear-cut frontrunners and some well-defined strata before anyone even dons a sweater. Yale’s Sean Backman is back after a 20-goal campaign (photo: Melissa Wade). Not in ECAC Hockey. Four teams seem to have legitimate claims to the title of Fall Favorite, but only one squad can be tagged as … Read more
Last Year The Golden Knights were positively wracked by injuries last season, and found themselves at 3-13-4 before cobbling together their only consecutive victories of the season in a false-hope-feeding four-game win streak. The season had effectively ended long before its formal termination, a defenseless double-drubbing by Union in the Dutchmen’s first-ever playoff series triumph. … Read more
Last Year The young team that everyone had pegged for a first-round road series would settle for no such nonsense. Dartmouth shrugged off two season-opening losses to reel off five straight wins, and were 8-4-0 entering 2009. The Big Green struggled a bit down the stretch, culiminating in a disappointing home sweep at the hands … Read more
Last Year The Saints finished one goal away from an NCAA at-large bid, but instead settled for a season-ending tie in the ECAC Hockey consolation game against Princeton. The team finished fourth in the league on the strength of an 8-1-2 finish to league play, and derived much of its success from its dynamic transition … Read more
The ECAC Hockey Tournament is moving from Albany, N.Y., to Atlantic City, N.J., starting in 2011. The league has agreed to a three-year contract with the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority and SMG Management Group to hold the playoff championship at Boardwalk Hall, a 10,300-seat venue. The 2010 tournament will be the last held … Read more
The coaches and media agree: Yale is the team to beat in ECAC Hockey this season. The Bulldogs, who won the league’s regular season and playoff titles last season, picked up seven of 12 first-place votes from the coaches and 15 of 25 top spots in balloting by the ECAC Hockey Writers and Broadcasters Association. … Read more
Two incoming Clarkson freshman and a recruit face charges of sexual misconduct and child endangerment, both misdemeanors, the Watertown Daily Times reported. Jordan Ciccarello, 18, entered a not guilty plea Wednesday in Potsdam, N.Y., to the charge of having sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl without her consent during the school’s summer hockey camp in … Read more
Three-time Olympians Jenny Potter and Angela Ruggiero were announced Monday as part of the 23-player United States Women’s National Team roster. PICTORIAL: The U.S. Women’s National Team The team, based in the Minneapolis area, will take part in a 10-game, nine-city national tour ahead of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Twenty-one players will make … Read more
Former Brown defenseman Brendan Whittet has accepted his alma mater’s offer to return to Providence as the Bears’ 22nd head men’s hockey coach. Dartmouth Athletics confirmed initial reports of the move on Tuesday, as the 11-year assistant to Bob Gaudet — who himself coached Whittet at Brown in the early 1990s — moves back to … Read more
A pair of former men’s college stars are among those set to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Tony Amonte, who put up 126 points in two seasons at Boston University, and former Vermont standout John LeClair were among four individuals announced Monday as part of the Class of 2009. The 1998 … Read more
Herb Hammond, whose 20-year collegiate coaching career included stops at Division III Oswego State and Plattsburgh State and Division I Brown, died Wednesday at his home in Fort Gratiot, Mich. Hammond had been battling cancer. He coached Oswego to a 176-122-5 record in 11 seasons from 1969 to 1980, then led Plattsburgh to a 52-17-4 … Read more
Former Cornell goaltender David McKee has pleaded not guilty to two felony rape charges in Santa Ana, Calif., after being arraigned earlier this month. McKee, a Hobey Baker Award finalist in 2005, posted $100,000 bail and is due in court for a pre-trial hearing on July 10. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, … Read more
Former Rensselaer goaltender Nathan Marsters was killed Monday in an automobile accident in Smithville, Ontario, the Hamilton Spectator reported. Nathan Marsters holds the Rensselaer career records for games played, starts, saves and goals against average (file photo: David Silverman, RPI Sports Info). Marsters, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene after a deer crashed through … Read more
Brown coach Roger Grillo is leaving the school to take a position with USA Hockey as a regional manager of the program’s new American Development Model. Roger Grillo was 120-205-52 in 12 seasons at Brown. Grillo had a 120-205-52 record in 12 seasons with the Bears. He posted three straight winning seasons — 2002-03, 2003-04 … Read more
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
More Than a Win Despite what had to be a crushing defeat, being so close to a Frozen Four berth and coming up empty-handed, Cornell head coach Mike Schafer saw more significance to Bemidji State’s triumph than just a ticket to Washington, D.C. “A big congratulations to Bemidji and Tom Serratore and their whole team,” … Read more
Faceoff Artist When asked how they can improve their faceoff draws in Sunday’s Midwest Regional final, Cornell head coach Mike Schafer didn’t hesitate. “It’s really easy. We’re not going to have to play against Joe Vitale. We heard he was good coming into the game. He was unbelievable. He must have been near 90 percent … Read more
The shot totals don’t seem that high, and the goal totals weren’t really all that low. Nonetheless, Brad Thiessen of Northeastern and Ben Scrivens of Cornell both were instrumental in dictating the outcome of their first round matchup in Grand Rapids, Mich. “I thought the billing the two goaltenders lived up to it. I thought … Read more
Minnesota Duluth’s incredible 5-4 overtime win Friday against Princeton defies easy categorization. For each team, the game’s script had elements both of the familiar and the fantastic. Winning games they weren’t supposed to was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who did that three times last weekend in the WCHA Final Five. UMD, the seventh-seeded team … Read more
If there’s one thing that defines the 2009 NCAA Tournament field, it’s new faces. With tournament regulars Boston College, Michigan State, Colorado College, Minnesota and Wisconsin all staying home this year, it opens the door for several teams whose players had never been to the NCAAs; Ohio State is back for the first time since … Read more