Men’s D-I in general
Hockey East has announced the hiring of Dan Schachte as the league’s first coordinator of officials. Schachte recently finished a 30-year career as an NHL linesman, working more than 2,000 regular-season games and 221 Stanley Cup playoff games, which ranks eighth all-time among NHL linesman. He worked five Stanley Cup finals, including Game 7 of … Read more
There have been a lot of tumultuous events regarding Niagara athletics in recent years, and they are well documented. But one thing that has not changed — and will not change for at least a little while — is head hockey coach Dave Burkholder’s presence at the school. Purple Eagles athletic director Ed McLaughlin announced … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha announced Tuesday that Troy Jutting has been named the team’s new assistant coach, replacing Brian Renfrew, who left after one year to take a scouting position with the Winnipeg Jets. Jutting was the head coach at Minnesota State the last 12 years before being relieved of his duties earlier this offseason. “We are fortunate … Read more
Former Minnesota-Duluth player Jim Nelson, who later went on to broadcast UMD games on the radio, passed away Aug. 2 in Duluth, according to the Duluth News Tribune. Nelson was 75. Nelson worked with play-by-play man Bob Junkert on WDSM and WEBC radio from 1968-1980 and was also part of the UMD hockey program as … Read more
The New Haven Register has reported that former Quinnipiac, Connecticut and Yale assistant coach Kyle Wallack will replace John Micheletto as an assistant coach at Vermont. Wallack was an assistant at Yale through the 2010-11 season when he left to become head coach with the USHL’s Indiana Ice. The Ice fired Wallack at the tail-end … Read more
Incoming Bowling Green freshman defenseman Ralfs Freibergs has been suspended for 33 games by the NCAA for playing in a professional league prior to coming to the United States to play junior hockey in the USHL and NAHL, according to a report in the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune. The Latvian-born Freibergs played with the Latvian World … Read more
Hockey East announced Thursday that it has extended the contract of commissioner Joe Bertagna an extra year through the 2014-15 season. Bertagna, who is starting his 16th season with the conference, is the longest serving commissioner in conference history and when the extension expires, Bertagna will have served 18 years as Hockey East commissioner, or … Read more
The 40 players that will play in the inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game were announced Wednesday by USA Hockey. The game, which will include 40 of the top American prospects eligible for the 2013 NHL draft, will take place Saturday, Sept. 29 at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The roster is represented by … Read more
Defenseman Jon Merrill will be back with Michigan for his junior season this fall and will not sign with the New Jersey Devils, the team that selected him in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft. The Detroit News reported the news Monday afternoon. “Johnny talked with me this morning and indicated he’ll be … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha assistant coach Brian Renfrew has left the Mavericks after accepting a scouting position with the Winnipeg Jets, according to the Omaha World-Herald. Renfrew’s decision was originally reported on Twitter by Chuck Schwartz. Renfrew spent the 2011-12 season at UNO after the previous eight seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan State. The story notes … Read more
According to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, an “extremely intoxicated” Erik Haula stood on a street in Stillwater, Minn., after bar closing time on July 21 and urinated for others to witness. Haula, who will be a junior this fall at Minnesota, was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and then turned over to a … Read more
Reigning Hockey East coach of the year Norm Bazin has signed a contract extension with Massachusetts-Lowell through the 2015-16 season. “I’d like to thank Chancellor [Marty] Meehan and athletic director Dana Skinner for the confidence they have in our coaching staff by presenting us with this contract extension,” said Bazin in a statement. “We are … Read more
In light of the well-documented NCAA sanctions handed down to Penn State earlier this week, much has been asked about PSU athletics and the impending Division I hockey programs for men and women. Tuesday, men’s head coach Guy Gadowsky released a statement. “As you know, yesterday the NCAA imposed unprecedented sanctions on Penn State for … Read more
St. Cloud State has announced the hiring of a familiar face as the team’s new assistant coach as Garrett Raboin will take over in that role for the 2012-13 season. Raboin, who played at SCSU from 2006-10 and ranks fourth all-time in defensemen scoring with 83 points, played pro hockey in Europe the past two … Read more
Niagara director of athletics Ed McLaughlin has accepted a similar position at Virginia Commonwealth University. McLaughlin has been the head of the NU athletic department for the last six years and during his tenure, McLaughlin has helped make Niagara men’s hockey a perennial contender in the now-defunct CHA and currently in Atlantic Hockey. The Niagara … Read more
Brian Kaufman, an assistant coach at Miami last season, has left the program to join the coaching staff of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers.
Brian Deutsch, a former Robert Morris athletics communications staffer, has been hired by Minnesota as the assistant director of athletic communications. Deutsch will be the primary men’s hockey contact.
Defenseman Pat Koudys, who decided after last season to leave Rensselaer after two seasons, will play for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL in 2012-13.
USA Hockey announced that Josh Brown (Robert Morris) and Trent Palm (Minnesota-Duluth) have been named intern coaches for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., for the 2012-13 season and Ryan Breen (Providence) has been selected as the third recipient of the Brendan Burke Internship.
Forward Jason Clark, who played just 35 games over two seasons at Wisconsin, signed a three-year entry-level contract Tuesday with the New York Islanders. Clark recorded two assists and 16 penalty minutes with the Badgers. The Islanders drafted Clark in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2010 NHL draft. In a news release late … Read more