Up Is Down And Down Is Up It’s enough to make you cue up Diana Ross singing “Upside Down.” (I’m not going to infringe on the copyright of songwriters Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards by adding anything more than, “inside out and round and round.” Got the tune in your head now? OK, let’s roll.) … Read more
An excerpt from USCHO Senior Writer Scott Weighart’s book about Boston University’s run to the 2009 national championship.
More Tightly Packed Than Ever? Hockey East has gotten off to a sluggish (at best) start against the other conferences. A 16-14-1 record doesn’t appear all that bad at first glance, but once you get past the 5-0 record against upstart Atlantic Hockey, the results are decidedly underwhelming: 3-3 against the ECACHL, 6-5-1 versus the … Read more
Two teams that were recently down on their luck, Merrimack and Massachusetts-Lowell, have put together good starts to the 2009-10 season, senior writer Jim Connelly reports.
Terriers Make Much Needed Rebound Could everyone hear that collective sigh of relief coming from Commonwealth Avenue on Saturday evening? That was the Boston University Terrier faithful breathing once again after the defending national champions earned their first win of the season, 3-2, over Michigan. After opening the season with losses at Massachusetts two weekends … Read more
Massachusetts-Lowell vaulted into the top 10 of the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men’s Poll on Monday, checking in at No. 9 after home wins last weekend over Colgate and Northeastern. That moved the River Hawks up four spots. Related: The full poll Miami kept the top spot in the poll despite a Saturday night … Read more
Sure, local and national broadcasts of college hockey may not be everything to everyone, but the exposure the game gets is the important part, USCHO national columnist Dave Starman writes.
Providence freshman Tim Schaller defies the concept of a me-focused society. Mike Scandura reports.
Freshman winger Kenny Ryan has left Boston College, coach Jerry York said Thursday. Kenny Ryan played in two exhibition games for Boston College before leaving school (photo: Melissa Wade). Ryan is expected to join the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. The move comes after Ryan played in two exhibition games with BC. The … Read more
One Last Satisfying Look For a while there, I was fielding the same question following one national championship game after another. “Why can’t your guys win it all? You guys always finish second.” The words invariably came from the mouth of a smug WCHA fan (pardon the redundancy), a drink in one hand and a … Read more
In coach Mark Dennehy’s four years at Merrimack, the one thing that has been certain and consistent for his team has been its improvement. After a six-win season in 2005-06 and a three-win campaign a year later, the Warriors posted 12 wins two seasons ago and another nine last year. The nine may not have … Read more
An aberration. That’s what Maine hockey fans hope that the past two seasons have been. After nine straight 20-plus win campaigns, nine straight trips to the NCAA tournament, six visits to the Frozen Four and, of course, a national championship, the Black Bears have posted two straight 13-win seasons. To say that the natives are … Read more
Hockey East has officially returned to its glory days. Back-to-back national championships by Boston College in 2008 and Boston University in 2009 coupled with all three of last season’s Hobey Baker “Hat Trick” finalists hailing from Hockey East certainly give the conference a reason to pound its collective chest. Not since the mid-to-late 1990s and … Read more
Last year’s New Hampshire Wildcats dipped a bit after back-to-back regular season titles, having graduated too much talent to pull off a three-peat. They finished tied for third — not too shabby — and then came close to erasing any shred of disappointment with a near trip to the Frozen Four. Following an electrifying win … Read more
Last year, Vermont finished in third place for the second straight season, this time tied with New Hampshire. Although Massachusetts-Lowell swept the Catamounts in the opening round of the Hockey East playoffs, they still qualified for the NCAA tournament and bounced back to make the most of that opportunity. Vermont advanced to its first Frozen … Read more
Boston University enjoyed a magical season last year, winning everything but the Stanley Cup. Whether dominating teams or needing a miracle in the closing minutes, such as in the national championship game, the Terriers came through every time. Repeating may be another story. In addition to graduating a ton of talent, they also lost Colin … Read more
After Boston College’s national championship in 2001, the Eagles struggled through the 2001-02 campaign and missed the NCAA tournament. Last year, coming off another NCAA title, coach Jerry York’s team followed in the footsteps of the 01-02 club, much to his dismay, and struggle to find consistency, ultimately missing the NCAA tournament. Though York likely … Read more
The ending for the 2008-09 season for the Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks was, to say the least, bittersweet. After advancing to the Hockey East Championship game for the first time since 1994 and only the second time in school history, Blaise MacDonald’s club dropped a heartbreaking — if not controversial — 1-0 decision to the ultimate … Read more
Last year, Northeastern came within one game of its first Hockey East regular season title. Although the Huskies fell short of that goal, their second-place finish matched the school’s best, a mark they hadn’t achieved since 1987-88. If Hockey East player of the year Brad Thiessen had returned for his senior year, the Huskies would … Read more
Possibly the biggest question mark in Hockey East this season is the Providence Friars. Last season, to say the team struggled would be an understatement. An early-season injury to top goaltender Ryan Simpson left the club in the lurch early. That translated to a 3-12-1 record at the break and a hill that seemingly could … Read more