Men’s D-I in general
College hockey will once again make a major impact on the NHL stage, according to the NHL Central Scouting Service’s Midterm Rankings of 2006 Entry Draft prospects. The top three ranked North American skaters all have college ties, with Minnesota freshman-to-be Erik Johnson leading the way. Johnson, a strapping 6-foot-4 defenseman, has scored 20 points … Read more
Surefire NHL Hall of Famer and former Minnesota-Duluth forward Brett Hull will have his No. 29 jersey retired by UMD in a ceremony Feb. 3 between the first and second periods of the Bulldogs’ WCHA contest against Wisconsin at the DECC. “Retiring Brett’s jersey is a fitting and lasting tribute for the tremendous impact he … Read more
Like that Book by Dostoevsky Two days off since Dec. 28 and 60 student drafts later, and suddenly I find myself on the other side of a mid-January Thursday, installing XP updates to a borrowed computer, brewing tea, and missing Aaron Voros. Voros, as you may remember, was the fiery forward from Alaska-Fairbanks who compiled … Read more
Mercyhurst Goaltending: No Small Problem I’ve written a good bit about Mercyhurst’s goaltending situation this season, mostly because it’s unique to see a school put itself in the situation the Lakers currently are in. Mercyhurst began the season with four — yes, four — goaltenders, all of whom the coaching staff believed could play at … Read more
Timely goaltending and strong special-teams play enabled Princeton and St. Lawrence — two teams at opposite ends of the ECACHL standings — to sweep their opponents last weekend. The wins elevated the Saints ahead of Colgate and Harvard and into first place in the ECACHL standings, while the Tigers moved from the bottom of the … Read more
Fess Up If we’re gonna thump our chests when we’re the toughest guy on the block, then we have to fess up when we’re having a pocket protector season. This week’s release of the PairWise says it’s fess-up time for Hockey East apologists. Only one team from the league is in the top 10, that … Read more
Better late than never for Bruce Mulherin. The senior forward with Alabama-Huntsville scored 24 goals a year ago, playing on the dominant line with Jared Ross and Craig Bushey. But Ross and Bushey graduated to the pro ranks this year, leaving Mulherin in a foggy haze for the first semester. And it showed. Through UAH’s … Read more
It’s time once again to do what we like to call Bracketology — College Hockey Style, a weekly look at how the NCAA tournament would shake out if the season ended today, a look into the thought process behind selecting and seeding the NCAA tournament teams. This is the first installment of Bracketology, and we’ll … Read more
Wisconsin goaltender Brian Elliott will be out for three to four weeks after being injured during the team’s practice Wednesday. Elliott, the nation’s winningest goaltender this season at 18-2-2, appeared to injure his left leg when a teammate slid into him during a drill. He was helped to the team’s training room and later left … Read more
The 2005-06 PairWise Rankings (PWR) are out, and as usual, they’re sure to provoke debate. Not every team with a strong record has performed well in the PairWise, and some teams flying under the radar in the media are getting plenty of respect from the computers. That’s why we’re here. Remember that the PairWise works … Read more
Wisconsin and Miami have established themselves atop the WCHA and CCHA standings, but Scott Brown says the Badgers have the better position.
With its sweep at Colorado College last weekend, Wisconsin left no doubt which team would be No. 1 in Monday’s USCHO.com/CSTV Networks Division I men’s poll. The Badgers were the unanimous choice of voters for the second straight week, getting all 40 first-place votes after moving their season record to 18-2-2. Boston College, which won … Read more
Sophomore defenseman Joe Grimaldi has left the UNO Mavericks in order to play major junior hockey for the Ottawa 67s in the Ontario Hockey League, UNO coach Mike Kemp announced today. Grimaldi, a native of Long Island, N.Y., had no goals and four assists and 51 penalty minutes in 19 games this season for the … Read more
Friday’s Boston University-Maine game was a sight for all — but it was particularly special for one eight-year-old, Scott Weighart discovers.
Ever wonder what a college hockey team goes through on a road trip? Vince McConeghy lifts the curtain on Niagara’s visit to Minnesota, in an USCHO Extra feature currently available to everyone.
Eric Ehn bounced around the Michigan minor hockey ranks and then through two junior leagues before landing in Colorado Springs with the Air Force Academy. It’s a journey Ehn laughs about. “I pretty much played for every AAA team in Michigan growing up,” said Ehn, a native of Dexter, Mich., just five miles north of … Read more
College hockey’s growth has brought new recognition, new talent — and a new temptation for top players, Nicholas Jon Wood says.
Good Vibrations This is my favorite quote of the season. “I’ll tell you what. It feels really darn good.” That was head coach Scott Paluch’s reaction, with a little prodding, after Bowling Green edged Ohio State, 3-2, last Friday night. Paluch, one of the nicest guys in college hockey, began his postgame summary with, “I … Read more
The battle is far from over, but the University of North Dakota has won a small victory against the NCAA in its effort to retain the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo used by the university’s athletic teams. The NCAA put off until April 27 the enforcement of its policy penalizing UND and 12 other college … Read more
There were two rivalry games on the schedule last weekend, one nearly ancient and the other in its infancy, but both were highly anticipated. And while both games were entertaining, only one was a tight and tense affair. Surprisingly to some — including myself — the nailbiter came from New Haven, while the North Country … Read more