TMQ: Too early for panic for slow-starting teams?
Tuesday Morning Quarterback makes its 2012-13 season debut with Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski looking into early results and an NCAA suspension.
Men’s D-I: Hockey East
NHL goalie Roloson named Massachusetts-Lowell volunteer assistant
Dwayne Roloson has returned to Massachusetts-Lowell as a volunteer assistant coach. Roloson, who graduated from UML in 1994, has played the past two seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and also helped lead the Edmonton Oilers to the 2006 Stanley Cup final and Tampa Bay to the Eastern Conference finals in 2011. He is expected … Read more
Quick starts to games, season have Northeastern capturing attention
I wasn’t even able to write my first column of the season before the league proved once again parity will be its middle name. Whether it be Northeastern’s upset of No. 1 Boston College, last-year’s cellar dweller Vermont’s ability to grab a road tie with No. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell or New Hampshire’s early season sweep of … Read more
Former Merrimack head coach, New Hampshire assistant Serino dies at 63
Chris Serino, who was Merrimack’s head coach from 1998-2005 and also an assistant coach at New Hampshire from 1991-98, passed away Monday after a bout with throat cancer. Serino was 63. He had been diagnosed with cancer just prior to the 2001-02 season when he was at Merrimack. At UNH, Serino was also the head … Read more
Boston University’s Oksanen out two games on NCAA punishment
Boston University freshman defenseman Ahti Oksanen will miss the first two regular season games because his junior team played two games with what the NCAA considers a professional player, a school spokesperson confirmed. The NCAA punishment for such an infraction is one game for each instance, thus the two-game penalty. Oksanen played for the Espoo … Read more
Boston College leads the way as Hockey East enters season of transition
A year ago, Boston boasted itself as the City of Champions. With titles in all four major professional sports in a mere 10-year span — an unprecedented achievement — the proverbial shoe fit. Hockey East partisans may similarly be ready to call themselves part of the League of Champions. Over the past five years, Hockey … Read more
New Hampshire puts emphasis on a good start to the season
Last year, New Hampshire failed to secure playoff home ice for the first time since 1996, a span during which the Wildcats finished first six times. That sustained excellence went by the wayside when they got off to a bad start fueled by poor goaltending and continued with an uncharacteristic inability to finish scoring chances. … Read more
Providence builds around pillars in Leaman’s second year
Providence coach Nate Leaman inherited a team last year that had missed the playoffs the previous two seasons. However, he turned things around much faster than anyone expected, guiding the Friars not only to the playoffs but to a semifinal appearance at the Garden. Whether the Friars take another step forward rides to a significant … Read more
Merrimack needs goaltender development to stay in top half
Merrimack will be hard pressed to match its success of the last two years when it posted 16-8-3 and 13-9-5 league records. The Warriors flourished last season despite losing Stephane Da Costa, but the attrition strikes hard this time at all three positions. The loss of All-Hockey East goaltender Joe Cannata hurts most of all. … Read more
Maine hoping to replace stars with a collective effort
Last season, Maine ranked seventh in the country in team offense and featured since-departed stars Spencer Abbott, Bryan Flynn, Matt Mangene and, on the blue line, Will O’Neill. It’s not as though the cupboard has been left bare, but don’t expect another top-10 offense. “Like coaches often say, we have to replace those elite players … Read more
Freshman goaltenders put in the spotlight at Boston University
It isn’t possible to discuss Boston University hockey without first addressing the elephant in the room, namely the sexual assault charges against two Terriers players last year and the resulting task force report that found a celebrity culture among players. “Every kid on every campus who’s an athlete should have the idea that they’re looked … Read more
Sneddon points to strong nucleus after tumultuous year for Vermont
The movie “Hoosiers” gave us one of the best lines in sports movie history when the crotchety old Hickory fan Opal Fleener said to coach Norman Dale, “Sun don’t shine on the same dog’s [behind] every day, but mister, you ain’t seen a ray of light since you got here.” For Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon, … Read more
Northeastern will rely on talented returning forwards to produce
A year ago at this time, Northeastern bench boss Jim Madigan had barely unpacked his office when he was forced to be thinking about serving as head coach for the first time in his career. Hired in August, Madigan had just two weeks before players arrived on campus and a short six-week window before the … Read more
After breakthrough season, Massachusetts-Lowell faces new expectations
Few Massachusetts-Lowell fans will forget the season of 2011-12. Entering with low expectations and a new head coach in Norm Bazin, many fans would’ve been satisfied just making the playoffs. Bazin and his team, though, took things a major step further. The River Hawks finished second in Hockey East, tying the best finish in program … Read more
New coach Micheletto wants Massachusetts to focus on consistency
Possibly the most shocking news in Hockey East this offseason came from Amherst, Mass., when coach Don “Toot” Cahoon tendered his resignation early in the summer. Many felt that the Minutemen were on a positive-looking path, so Cahoon’s sudden decision to leave sent shock waves through the league. After an exhaustive coaching search wherein reports … Read more
Boston College’s title defense dependent on growth of its defense
There is a lot of buzz as the 2012-13 campaign kicks off for the defending national champion Boston College Eagles. BC returns a solid piece of its core group from a season ago led by goaltender Parker Milner. But as often happens with a national champ, the Eagles were hit hard with players leaving early … Read more
Boston College names Bates new AD
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.
Connecticut points to large freshman class as way to climb standings
The Connecticut Huskies are lame ducks for the next two seasons in Atlantic Hockey, having been accepted by Hockey East to join that conference beginning with the 2014-15 season. But before they go, the Huskies could make some noise in the AHA. The school has started to offer athletic scholarships as it ramps up to … Read more
Details drive Lane as freshman season at Boston University awaits
The left wing was among the 40 U.S.-born players in the inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game. Dan Hickling reports.
For six first-time college head coaches, year two can be make or break
With systems in place and a recruiting class under their belt, these coaches see the pressure to produce increase. Jason Karnosky reports.