Men’s D-I in general
There are any number of ways to measure progress, but the most readily accessible is wins and losses. In coach Jamie Russell’s first season at Michigan Tech, 2003-04, the Huskies were 8-25-5 overall and 6-19-3 in the WCHA. Last season, Tech was 8-25-4 and 7-19-2 in the league — virtually unchanged. That lack of a … Read more
One could make a case that Minnesota State didn’t have many things going in its favor in an eighth-place campaign a year ago. It did have David Backes and Travis Morin, and one of the best things going into this season is they’re both back to help the Mavericks in their drive to get back … Read more
Numbers can be powerful, but not all-telling. Colorado College returns 91 percent of its goal-scoring from a year ago, most of it in the forms of Hobey Baker Award winner Marty Sertich and award finalist Brett Sterling. It has 21 players returning from the team that tied Denver for the WCHA regular-season championship and made … Read more
Over a span of just five short seasons, St. Cloud State went from its highest highs to its lowest lows. From the viewpoint of the Huskies’ ninth-place WCHA finish of a year ago, memories of the 31-win season of 2001 are awfully fuzzy. That’s about the same view Bob Motzko has about his first team … Read more
Four years ago, Dave Shyiak and John Hill were the finalists for the open head coaching position at Alaska-Anchorage. Hill got the job then, with his tight connections to the city and the school — his alma mater — the big reasons why. The Hill era was tumultuous, with off-ice issues and a one-win season … Read more
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The WCHA is going to be so tough this year … Yep, right before the start of every season it seems anyone connected to the WCHA is putting forth the opinion that the six months that lie ahead will provide some of the best competition the league … Read more
There are differing opinions on what to expect out of North Dakota this season, but history suggests that discounting the Sioux because they lost a few players is a bad idea. A year ago, the UND offense was supposed to be in peril because it lost stars Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski to the pros. … Read more
The 80 goals of production lost will be hard to replace. So will the experience of the four departed defensemen out of the regular lineup. But the way the Denver Pioneers have taken care of things in the last two seasons, those might turn out to be merely minor inconveniences. En route to back-to-back NCAA … Read more
The next Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner won’t likely come from the U.S. Air Force Academy. But in listening to the Falcons’ coach and key players talk, this year has the potential to be an all-out “ultimate team” on the ice in Colorado Springs, with no single player taking the spotlight. After a first-round overtime … Read more
As you look back at last year’s Holy Cross team, you have to think that the 2004-05 edition of the Crusaders was one of the better teams to play in either the MAAC or Atlantic Hockey and not take home any hardware. It would seem like last year’s ‘Cross club had everything — two solid … Read more
When Tim Olsen arrived on the UConn campus four years ago, no one knew the impact he could have. Having transferred from Division III Augsburg, head coach Bruce Marshall knew he had a talented player but didn’t know he’d watch Olsen net 100 points in his three seasons in Storrs. Now for the first time … Read more
Bentley joins a handful of bottom-half preseason picks in wondering what things between the pipes will look like this season. With the graduation of Simon St. Pierre, who recorded all but six decisions last season, the Falcons will hope to answer the goaltending question immediately with the addition of Ray Jean, a transfer from Maine. … Read more
Wayne State’s senior class was its freshmen class back in 2002-03, when the Warriors earned their third straight College Hockey America title and their first NCAA tournament automatic bid. The past two years have yielded little as far as postseason play, but the class of 2006 has aspirations of returning to the winner’s circle this … Read more
And then there were eight. In a year of transition, Atlantic Hockey still has hopes for growth. After losing Quinnipiac at the end of last season to the ECACHL, the fledgling league will play with eight member clubs for the first time since most of the remaining members established themselves as a Division I conference … Read more
As a rookie head coach, Brian Riley found out what it’s like to be challenged. Besides the fact that Riley’s brother Rob, his predecessor, had left him one of the youngest lineups in the country last year, an early-season injury to goaltender Brad Roberts really put Riley behind the eight-ball in season one. One year … Read more
Not a single regular-season game has been played in College Hockey America, but already teams are being hyped, promoted and readied for the opening of conference play. Bemidji State won the regular-season title and tournament championship last year and nearly advanced in the NCAA tournament only to go down in overtime to eventual champion Denver. … Read more
Last year was supposed to be “the year” for Sacred Heart. Everything had fallen into place for the Pioneers and, without any doubt, everyone in the Sacred Heart locker room felt poised to finally take the next step and make it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Sometimes, though, even … Read more
Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale have moved on and left Niagara with gaping holes up front. But coach Dave Burkholder isn’t one to panic, and in fact has high optimism as his Purple Eagles start their 10th season of college hockey. Ehgoetz, NU’s all-time leading scorer, was Mr. Everything for Niagara a year ago, including … Read more
The colors of Robert Morris are red, white and blue — and after last season’s surprising inaugural season with a cast of freshmen, the Colonials are hoping for an all-American turnaround in 2005-06. Last year, RMU featured a lineup of 18 freshmen, a sophomore and a junior and though the Colonials finished in the CHA … Read more
If there’s any theme to the 2005-06 hockey campaign for Canisius, it would be new beginnings. A year ago, despite having wonderful on-ice success, the Griffs took a major black eye when head coach Brian Cavanaugh was fired after a player revolt. With Cavanaugh out, multiple disciplinary problems ensued that led to the resignation of … Read more