Men’s D-I in general
It takes six and a half hours to fly from Anchorage, Alaska, to Grand Forks, N.D. If you add in connections, plus the time it takes to get to the airport and home again, you’re looking at a 12-hour trip. On February 20, those 12 hours must have felt like an eternity for the North … Read more
Denver has crafted a 3-0 record against North Dakota this season, with a key reason being that the Pioneers have been able to stay a step or two ahead of the Sioux. Translating that to Saturday’s national championship game, the start will be critical to both. The Pioneers have scored first in all three games … Read more
In the first half of the season, Minnesota was flying, piling up goals, getting great goaltending, and ripping through the schedule. North Dakota, a big, strong team, was seeing its senior leaders play undisciplined, and its goaltending situation up in the air. A team built for the NCAAs was unlikely to get there. But by … Read more
Erik Fabian’s second two-goal effort of the playoffs may not have been expected, but it has put North Dakota just one period away from a date with Denver in the national championship game. Fabian, a fourth-line winger, has both goals as North Dakota leads Minnesota 2-0 after two periods of a Frozen Four semifinal at … Read more
As a hockey coach, you hope to rely on what is expected: that your top scorers will create offense, and that your goaltender can play steady, if not pace your club’s defense. Thursday night, North Dakota got those things in beating Minnesota, 4-2, to advance to the national championship game. The Sioux got solid goaltending … Read more
Though this year’s Frozen Four is a rare oddity, with all participating teams from one conference, the WCHA, that didn’t stop the participating players from leaving their mark on the annual All-American teams, announced by the American Hockey Coaches Association on Thursday. Seven of the 12 members of the first and second team West All-Americans … Read more
If the decision backfired, the negative headline was already written: It Wasn’t Broke. All season long, Denver coach George Gwozdecky had employed as pure of a goaltending rotation as possible. Sophomore Glenn Fisher would take the opening game of a weekend and freshman Peter Mannino would follow the next night. Heading into the Frozen Four, … Read more
During the regionals, ESPN analyst Barry Melrose likened Denver’s power play to taking a pretty girl on a date. It looks good, he said, but in the end, you still didn’t score. After Thursday’s NCAA semifinal, you can call Denver’s power play Don Juan. The six power-play goals it scored was an all-time single-game NCAA … Read more
Sometimes, someone just has your number. For the 2004-2005 Colorado College Tigers, the team that held all the right numbers at the right times was the Denver Pioneers. Thursday’s 6-2 Pioneers win was the third straight decision in Denver’s favor against CC, and that streak represented three of the biggest games of the season for … Read more
Special teams are ruling the day in the first Frozen Four semifinal, and Denver is taking a three-goal lead into the third period. Luke Fulghum scored a pair of power-play goals in the first period and Matt Carle added one on the man advantage in the second to give Denver a 3-0 lead over Colorado … Read more
Canisius will finish interviewing candidates for its head coaching vacancy next week. With Colorado College’s season finally over, Tigers assistant Joe Bonnett will join a group of five finalists, according to sources. The other names include current RPI assistant and former Iona head coach Frank Bretti; two-time ECAC Coach of the Year Stan Moore, now … Read more
It was surprising to most that Denver and Colorado College combined for eight goals in Thursday’s first semifinal, as Denver came out on top, 6-2. More surprising, stunning even, was the fact that all eight goals came on the power play. Denver finished the game 6-for-12 with the man advantage, while CC was 2-for-8. For … Read more
Chris Bourque, who last week announced his intention to leave Boston University to play for Moncton of the Quebec Major Junior League, has instead signed a contract to play with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League. Portland is the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, the team that drafted Bourque in the second … Read more
What happened? Colorado College imploded. The Tigers took too many penalties, their team defense was shoddy at times, and their goaltender, who should be the best player on the penalty-kill unit, wasn’t. Because of that, Colorado College went home empty-handed from Columbus after a great season in 2004-2005. “We shot ourselves in the foot,” said … Read more
20 years ago a group of young men from Troy, N.Y. engineered the longest winning streak in all of college hockey. Built from a loss in the NCAA Tournament in 1984, the 1985 Rensselaer Engineers took the game to another level and a place that would stand in NCAA history.
For the fifth consecutive year, USCHO.com is sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting to entertain and inform college hockey fans during the festivities at the NCAA Frozen Four on Frozen Friday. This year’s USCHO.com Town Hall Meeting topic is “The Ice Hockey Rules Committee — A Review and Preview.” The panel this year will include members … Read more
Rensselaer forward Kirk MacDonald has been diagnosed with testicular cancer, it was announced Wednesday in a statement by MacDonald and the school. “I was informed yesterday that I have been diagnosed with testicular cancer,” said MacDonald in a statement. “Obviously, this is a tremendous shock for my family and me. However, I will begin treatment … Read more
Minnesota will get leading scorer Tyler Hirsch back in the lineup for Thursday’s NCAA semifinal against North Dakota. Tyler Hirsch practiced with the Gophers on Wednesday as he prepared to return to the lineup. (photo: Melissa Wade) Hirsch has missed the last three games, including last weekend’s two NCAA regional games, for “personal reasons.” Hirsch … Read more
Ohio State men’s hockey head coach John Markell has received a new five-year contract, effective immediately. The contract replaces Markell’s current deal, which had one season remaining. Markell, in 10 seasons, has led the Buckeyes to five NCAA tournament appearances, including in each of the last three seasons, and a NCAA Frozen Four berth in … Read more
Merrimack players have voted unanimously to request Chris Serino step down as head coach of the team, according to sources. Serino also serves as the school’s athletic director. Merrimack suffered through a poor season, going 8-26-2 (1-22-1 Hockey East) and not winning a game after December. Following the season, longtime assistant coach Stu Irving was … Read more