Men’s D-I in general
Who’s Going in Goal? Miami coach Enrico Blasi was non-committal about his starting goaltender for Thursday’s semifinal against Bemidji State, saying he would meet with his staff later Wednesday to discuss the plan. That’s what comes with a goaltending rotation. Cody Reichard won both games at the West Regional, but he and fellow freshman Connor … Read more
Miami vs. Bemidji State Thursday, 5 p.m. ET, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Miami RedHawks Record: 22-12-5, 17-7-4-2 CCHA (t-second) Seed: No. 13 overall, No. 4 West Road to Frozen Four: Beat Denver 4-2, beat Minnesota Duluth 2-1 2008 NCAA tournament: Lost in Northeast Regional final A month ago, the Miami RedHawks were reluctant spectators. Having … Read more
Boston University vs. Vermont Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Boston University Terriers Record: 33-6-4, 18-5-4 Hockey East (first) Seed: No. 1 overall, No. 1 Northeast Road to Frozen Four: Beat Ohio State 8-3, beat New Hampshire 2-1 2008 NCAA tournament: none Boston University’s resume reads like a number one overall seed and … Read more
Northeastern University goalie Brad Thiessen has signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced on Friday. Thiessen is a Hobey Hat Trick finalist and led Northeastern to one of its greatest seasons in 2008-09, with his 25-12-4 record, 2.12 goals against average and .931 save percentage. He will forgo his senior season with the Huskies … Read more
Every year features wonderful hockey in the postseason. It seems that when the NCAA tournament rolls around, teams naturally ratchet up the intensity, the drama, and the excitement. Whether it is a multiple-overtime game or a goal the likes of which no one has ever seen, incredible efforts seem to arrive at the end of … Read more
Call it a Hockey East-ern bias. Thursday, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation announced the three Hobey Hat Trick finalists for the 2009 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, honoring college hockey’s top player. For the first time in the Hat Trick format’s nine seasons, all three players hail from one conference, in this case the Hockey … Read more
New Hampshire sophomore forward James van Riemsdyk has decided to forego his last two seasons as a Wildcat to sign a contact with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. van Riemsdyk, the number two overall draft choice of the Flyers in 2007 and the highest UNH draft pick in school history, is expected … Read more
Boston College defenseman Nick Petrecki will forego his final two seasons of eligibility at Boston College to pursue a professional career in the San Jose Sharks organization. Petrecki registered 19 points (five goals and 14 assists) in 77 career games at BC. He recorded 12 points (five goals and seven assists) in 42 games during … Read more
Nine coaches who have enjoyed on-ice success in 2008-09 have been named finalists for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey coach of the year. Finalists were those either voted Coach of the Year in their conferences or who guided their teams to the NCAA Frozen Four. Noteworthy … Read more
The end of the line came for Ohio State Saturday night. However, for the Buckeyes, it is just the beginning. The Buckeyes are loaded with young talent and a year like this one is exactly what the young Bucks needed to take the next step as a hockey program. Look at BU. The Terriers didn’t … Read more
More Than a Win Despite what had to be a crushing defeat, being so close to a Frozen Four berth and coming up empty-handed, Cornell head coach Mike Schafer saw more significance to Bemidji State’s triumph than just a ticket to Washington, D.C. “A big congratulations to Bemidji and Tom Serratore and their whole team,” … Read more
When Terrier senior Jason Lawrence tells his grandchildren about the goal he scored to send Boston University to its first Frozen Four since 1997, he agreed that he “absolutely” would report it to be a pinpoint snipe of a top corner. The reality was that the goal wasn’t as pretty as one might have hoped … Read more
When Bemidji State opened its 5-1 win over Notre Dame with a goal just 1:42 in, the Beavers may have taken the Fighting Irish and many college hockey fans by surprise, but nobody who has seen the Beavers play in the second half would have thought it out of the ordinary. That’s because a strong … Read more
When New Hampshire scored with 0.1 seconds remaining to send its Northeast Regional opening game into overtime and then won it less than a minute into extra time, UNH eyes were all a-smiling. A sense of euphoria flooded over the Granite State. The flow of cosmic sadism that had tormented the Wildcats in recent NCAA … Read more
Setting the Alarm Timing is everything, especially in the playoff stretch, and teams — and for that matter, individual players — can’t always bring their A-games. Before Saturday, BU rookie Corey Trivino only had four goals, but in the NCAAs he’s potted two goals in two games, which includes one of two for the Terriers … Read more
Don’t Mess with the CHA The Beavers came into this NCAA tournament as the CHA playoff champions in the league’s second-to-last season, and Bemidji head coach Tom Serratore wants the conference to get respect come tourney time next year. “I’m hoping that we get our automatic bid next year,” said Serratore. “I think it would … Read more
When Nick Bonino scored Boston University’s first goal Saturday at 8:49 of the first period, no one in the building believed the game was over. Yet recent history might have suggested otherwise. After Saturday’s dominating 8-3 win over Ohio State, the Terriers have an astonishing 22-0-3 record in games in which the sophomore has scored … Read more
Some general observations and thoughts from the early games on opening day of the regionals that will make you angry, indifferent, or just provoke some thoughts. To start with, most exciting game I saw Friday was at the Junior B National Tourney, being hosted by the Eastern Junior Hockey League in Marlborough, MA. The New … Read more
Perhaps it’s fitting that in the wildest, most unpredictable NCAA tournament in recent memory, one of the steadiest programs of the last several years reached its first Frozen Four. Under head coach Enrico Blasi, the Miami RedHawks have been transformed from an afterthought in the CCHA to a conference and national contender. Until Blasi took … Read more
Faceoff Artist When asked how they can improve their faceoff draws in Sunday’s Midwest Regional final, Cornell head coach Mike Schafer didn’t hesitate. “It’s really easy. We’re not going to have to play against Joe Vitale. We heard he was good coming into the game. He was unbelievable. He must have been near 90 percent … Read more