Men’s D-I in general
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
Most everyone in the WCHA may know Ryan MacMurchy and Jack Skille, but if you’re a college hockey fan who lives east of Milwaukee, chances are that when you think “Badger hockey,” you think “Brian Elliott.” If you’re a diehard college hockey fan, you may even know the play of sophomore Joe Pavelski, junior Robbie … Read more
Princeton senior goaltender Eric Leroux was named Friday as the recipient of the 2006 Hockey Humanitarian award, given annually to “college hockey’s finest citizen.” Leroux, who was chosen for his community service efforts both in the Princeton and Baltimore areas as well as the countries of Kenya and Ecuador, is the 11th recipient of the … Read more
Denver defenseman Matt Carle, the 2006 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner, and Colorado College forward Brett Sterling repeated as First-Team selections on the RBK Division I All-American teams, announced Friday by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Boston College, which faces Wisconsin for the NCAA title Saturday, led all schools with three representatives on the East … Read more
When the Wisconsin Badgers walked into their locker room for the first time at the start of the 2005-06 season, they were greeted with an assortment of hardware. There was the Pettit Cup from the 2002 Badger Hockey Showdown, representing the last time Wisconsin took its own home tournament, as well as a WCHA playoff … Read more
It’s not quite a three-peat, but Denver defenseman Matt Carle finished his college hockey career a champion once again. Carle was named the 26th recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Friday evening at the Bradley Center. He won two national championships in his first two seasons with the Denver Pioneers and took home the … Read more
The command from Boston College coach Jerry York echoed throughout the building Friday morning: “Slow down.” A trio of Eagle forwards had just completed a classic rush down the ice. They were celebrating their finesse in the corner when York blew the drill dead. “Save your energy for Saturday night.” The off day at the … Read more
East Coast bias struck again and Milwaukee botched yet another All-Star event. Everything was working out perfectly in the inaugural Frozen Four Skills Challenge at the Bradley Center. A tie after the five main events forced a sudden-death overtime shootout round that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. After nine straight players … Read more
Once Wisconsin qualified for the Frozen Four, the home-ice advantage was obvious. The Badgers would play for their fourth national championship in their home state. But some things have to be heard to be believed. Thursday evening, the crowd reverberated every time a Wisconsin player touched the puck. The compact Bradley Center shook when Brian … 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
It was a question for the Fighting Sioux all year: Could a team with such a young defense survive the season? Everyone in Milwaukee knew the answer to that question by the 18:08 mark of the first period in the first semifinal between Boston College and North Dakota. It was at that point that the … 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
Wisconsin’s instant-classic win over Cornell was the culmination of a long road for the Badgers — and for Nicholas Jon Wood.
Another Wednesday, another early departure for Minnesota’s men’s hockey team.
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
The Bradley Center is a long way from the red carpet. Joan Rivers might faint attempting to comment on the apparel of the Milwaukee faithful. Imagine it, “This Badgers fan is in some fabulous vintage Levi’s. 1957 was a great year for denim.” Still, the Frozen Four is a chance for people to don their … Read more
The postseason is a time for stars to shine, heroes to emerge and, unfortunately for some, careers to come to a close. When Wisconsin squares off against Maine Thursday in the Frozen Four, each team will boast a special senior class, one of which will see their collegiate careers stopped short of a national championship … Read more