Michael Ayers breaks a record; Massachusetts takes over atop the (really limited) Hockey East standings; Matt Radoslovich continues his rise; and resurgent Jim Howard and his Maine Black Bears pull off the win of the week, leaving Dave Hendrickson a mailbag full of irate Black Bear fans.
Most of Hockey East starts NCAA play this weekend — but BC has already started strong, and UMass is preparing for rivalry games already. Amid the anticipation, Dave Hendrickson examines the value of exhibitions, and salutes a certain other New England sports team.
Boston College senior defenseman J.D. Forrest missed his team’s opening game of the season at Vermont and is out indefinitely pending resolution of an unspecified academic eligibility issue. Forrest, a second-team All-American and Hockey East All-Star last season, is not expected back at least until the team’s fourth game of the season and possibly longer. … Read more
After losing 11 players a year ago, Massachusetts-Lowell said good-bye to another 10 heading into this season. With a roster of only three juniors and just one senior, the wild cards of freshmen and sophomores will dictate whether the River Hawks sink or swim. “Reality TV seems to be the big fad,” coach Blaise MacDonald … Read more
Beginning in 1996-97, Providence has earned home ice every other season. Flip the calendar and if the playoffs are in an odd-numbered year, then we’ll see you at Schneider Arena in March. Unfortunately for Friar fans, however, this is the 2003-04 season. Which means, for the non-math majors in the crowd, that PC is due … Read more
In recent years Boston University hasn’t possessed the dominating offense of its early- and mid-nineties predecessors. There’s been no updated version of a Chris Drury on the fourth line as a freshman nor a trio as imposing as Tony Amonte, Shawn MacEachern and Keith Tkachuk. The Terriers have instead won with stellar defense and goaltending. … Read more
It won’t be a shock if the Black Bears finish second in the league. It also won’t be a shock if they fall out of home ice. At the same time that there are major strengths there are also significant questions. The strength begins in goal where Jimmy Howard and Frank Doyle rank as the … Read more
New Hampshire lost some big-time players from the squad that advanced to the national championship game last year — All-Americans Lanny Gare and Colin Hemingway are Exhibits A and B — but still returns plenty of talent for another serious run at it. The motherlode crouches between the pipes. Michael Ayers recorded seven shutouts last … Read more
Last year Merrimack was picked in the preseason coaches’ poll to finish in the cellar for the umpteenth time, but defied those expectations with a seventh-place performance that fell only two points short of sixth. The lion’s share of the credit, however, went to All-Hockey East goaltender Joe Exter, whose graduation leaves a significant hole … Read more
“BC is clearly the team to beat in our league.” — New Hampshire coach Dick Umile “BC, on paper, is far and above everyone else in the league.” — Boston University coach Jack Parker “BC is BC. They have everything coming back.” — Merrimack coach Chris Serino “There’s no question BC is the number one … Read more
There’s a temptation to look at this loaded Boston College roster and start thinking ahead to the Frozen Four in Boston. Are all the pieces in place to make it two national championships in four years? Will the clanged crossbars and extra-skater goals go the Eagles’ way this time? Will they even need those breaks … Read more
After just missing playoff home ice the previous year, Northeastern fell to the Hockey East cellar last season. Coach Bruce Crowder minces no words in pointing to the solution. “What we really need is great years out of our juniors and seniors,” he says. “Our junior class as freshmen had okay years and I think … Read more
There’s a reason coach Don “Toot” Cahoon earned Hockey East Coach of the Year honors last season. The Minutemen roster included only five juniors and seniors combined, yet he led the team to a midseason national ranking, its highest finish in the league standings, a Hockey East quarterfinal sweep of Maine at Alfond Arena, and … Read more
In the sequel to Women’s Hockey East’s inaugural season, defending champion Providence is once again the consensus pick for the league crown. While the preseason poll might not have changed much from last year’s Media Day, plenty else has. The second Media Day for Women’s Hockey East had a more festive atmosphere than the first, … Read more
Sophomore center Matt Anderson of Massachusetts will probably miss the entire season after surgery in the wake of an injury he suffered last year. Anderson injured his shoulder in UMass’s first Hockey East quarterfinal game at Maine, a game his team won 5-3 with him scoring a goal. He did not play the next night, … Read more
Picked to finish ninth in the ECAC Coaches’ Poll, there’s no time like the present for Kevin Sneddon’s new club as the Catamounts kick off the 2003-04 season with a home contest against Boston College on Oct. 4. Sneddon is a talented young coach who will help establish a much-needed new attitude and atmosphere in … Read more
Hockey East announced today a new television agreement with New England Sports Network (NESN) beginning in January 2004. The deal, announced at the league’s annual media day, will move Hockey East coverage from rival Fox Sports Network to NESN, the home of Boston Bruins hockey. It is the second stay for Hockey East with NESN. … Read more
Boston College was the last team to make good on a first-place selection by Hockey East coaches. This year the Eagles look to break the poll jinx and repeat their championship season of 2001.
A year after posting an 8-23-3 record and missing the MAAC playoffs for the first time ever, Connecticut head coach Bruce Marshall knew it was time for a change. The Huskies mentor did what he called an “evaluation,” but what most call “housecleaning.” The result: 12 of the 24 players scheduled to return to the … Read more
Eddie Caron, who transferred from New Hampshire to Yale and then back to New Hampshire, has been cleared by the NCAA to play immediately. Caron played for New Hampshire as a freshman in 2001-02, then left for Yale where NCAA transfer rules required him to sit out a year before becoming eligible to play for … Read more