“LET’S GO RED! LET’S GO RED!” The crowd, a sea of Wisconsin red with only tiny islands of Boston College gold, was determined to be the potentially decisive seventh man. “LET’S GO BADGERS!” The Wisconsin band blared. The students jumped up and down in unison. The electric atmosphere pulsed with excitement and throbbing decibel levels. … Read more
Tonight’s win gave Wisconsin its sixth NCAA title, the fourth-most of any program. Only Michigan’s nine, and North Dakota and Denver with seven, top the Badgers. Wisconsin finishes with its seventh 30-win season and the first since 1999-2000. Title IX: Two Titles Wisconsin is the first team to have men’s and women’s national championships in … Read more
Going into its NCAA semifinal contest against Wisconsin, Maine’s last worry was special teams. Many factors may have conspired to keep Black Bears coach Tim Whitehead awake at night, but neither the power play nor the penalty kill was among them. The penalty kill ranked first in the nation with an 89.1 percent success rate; … Read more
The Boston College Eagles, just four weeks ago, were talking more about bubbles than rings. After a near-deadly skid that ended the regular season, BC knew not only did it need to advance to the Hockey East final four, but in doing so needed to sweep its best two-of-three quarterfinal series with Vermont in order … Read more
Chess matches happen all the time in hockey. Bench bosses Jerry York of Boston College and Dave Hakstol of North Dakota waged one during their NCAA semifinal on Thursday at the Bradley Center. In the end, BC won 6-5. Two pawns in this match were 6′-5″, 220-pound defenseman Matt Smaby of NoDak, and 6′-7″ 240-pound … Read more
Although the Hobey Baker Memorial Award voting is already a done deal, Boston College’s Chris Collins staked himself to the “Hat Trick” with a semifinal hat trick of his own. Chris Collins shakes hands with Jordan Parise after Thursday’s semifinal. (photo: Melissa Wade) The announcement of the three final contestants for the Hobey raised eyebrows … Read more
All year long, the refrain about Boston College has been its ability to survive its four freshman defensemen. Conventional hockey wisdom says that blueliners have the toughest time making the transition to the next level; an abundance of rookies at the position is a recipe for disaster. For Boston College, its youth on the blue … Read more
Hockey is alive and well in the state of Maine. Despite the loss by the Black Bears to Wisconsin, the state of Maine is on the upswing. You can thank Derek Damon and Greg Moore for that. These two Maine natives have raised the bar for hockey in the state by their play in Orono. … Read more
Jordan Parise would probably like to forget the 2006 Frozen Four. After a stellar season, Parise had one of those games straight out of a goaltender’s nightmare on the largest stage in the sport. It wasn’t Jordan Parise’s day Thursday against Boston College (photo: Melissa Wade). The numbers spell disaster pretty quickly: three goals on … Read more
No one in the Maine camp is unaware of the task that lies ahead as the Black Bears face off against Wisconsin on what will feel like enemy ice. Maine, though, is no stranger to playing big games as a “road” team on allegedly “neutral” ice. In fact, this is the fifth year in a … Read more
On the eve of their NCAA semifinal contest with North Dakota, the Boston College Eagles are looking to the time-honored trio of goaltending, special teams and intangibles to get them past North Dakota and into the championship game. Key Factor No. 1: Goaltending “You’re never here unless you have a hot goaltender,” BC coach Jerry … Read more
Sophomore forward Pete MacArthur and a few of his Boston University men’s ice hockey teammates were skating Monday. But they weren’t thinking about the three championships they’d won this past season — the Beanpot, Hockey East regular-season and Hockey East Tournament titles. They weren’t thinking about their 11-game win streak that spanned most of January … Read more
Wisconsin vs. Maine Thursday, 7 p.m. CT, Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wis. For one team in the second semifinal Thursday in Milwaukee, it’s a chance to reclaim past glories. For the other, it’s a familiar experience. Wisconsin’s season can be parsed neatly into three pieces: an incredible run to the top of the polls, followed by … Read more
Boston College vs. North Dakota Thursday, 2 p.m. CT, Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wis. If the participants in the first semifinal Thursday in Milwaukee seem familiar, there’s a good reason. Boston College and North Dakota face off for the fifth time in eight years at the Bradley Center, and their contest will be a rematch of … Read more
The roster for the 2006 NCAA Skills Challenge is now finalized. Below is the list of student-athletes that will be participating in the Challenge. The Challenge takes place at 8:00ET at the Bradley Center on Friday, April 7. It will be preceded by the Hobey Baker and Humanitarian Award ceremonies. Tickets to the event can … Read more
Daniel Winnik, a junior at New Hampshire, has decided to forgo his senior season and sign with the Phoenix Coyotes. Winnik was a ninth-round draft pick of the Coyotes in 2004, the 265th overall pick. “Daniel has developed into one of the top power forwards in the league,” said UNH coach Dick Umile. “We all … Read more
Denver junior defenseman Matt Carle, Boston College senior forward Chris Collins and Wisconsin junior goaltender Brian Elliott make up the 2006 Hobey “Hat Trick,” announced Wednesday by the Hobey Baker Foundation. Carle, Collins and Elliott were selected from among the original list of 10 finalists announced two weeks ago; one will win the 2006 Hobey … Read more
The historic 2005 Frozen Four saw the WCHA dominate the postseason. This time around, Jim Connelly says Maine helped show Hockey East’s not half-bad either.
A rare NCAA matchup between Boston’s perennial archrivals — and their sixth meeting this season — was a dream matchup … but not for long, as Dave Hendrickson reflects.
Maine senior forward Derek Damon has been suspended for Saturday’s East Regional Semifinal game against Harvard for an unspecified team violation. Damon is Maine’s fourth-leading scorer with 33 points (14-19–33). Should Maine defeat Harvard, Damon will be eligible for Sunday’s East Regional Final.