Men’s D-I in general
April 28, 1969 — Edward Paul Donato is born. March 16, 1986 — Donato wins his first Massachusetts high school state championship at powerhouse Catholic Memorial, when his double overtime shot is tipped in by Ed McElaney for a 5-4 win over Medford. He earns Boston Globe Division I Player of the Year honors. March … Read more
Harvard, a school steeped in more tradition than perhaps any in the land, dipped into its illustrious past to announce Ted Donato as the 11th coach of the men’s hockey team. Donato, a former Boston Bruin and the MVP of the 1989 Frozen Four — Harvard’s only national championship season — took the podium at … Read more
North Dakota will stay within the family and appoint Dave Hakstol its head coach, a newspaper reports. Hakstol, currently the team’s interim head coach after the departure of Dean Blais, will be given the full title as early as next week, the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reported in a story in Thursday’s editions, quoting an … Read more
ECAC athletic directors and administrators will meet via conference call Tuesday, July 6 to discuss the final decisions on how many schools, if any, will be admitted to the league. If all goes well, an announcement could be made by the end of that week. “We’ve had some very good discussions following our site visits,” … Read more
North Dakota has decided to start its search for a new head coach within the university, giving interim head coach Dave Hakstol the inside track for the job. The school had been deciding between whether to start the search internally, or open it nation wide. The job opening has since been posted on the school’s … Read more
Ron Rolston, who recently was considered a finalist for the vacant Harvard head coaching job, has accepted the position as head coach of the U.S. National Development program and its Under-18 team. He replaces David Quinn, who recently went back to his alma mater, Boston University, as an assistant coach. “I’m very excited about the … Read more
Nate Leaman, who last week indicated he would remain at Union despite being regarded as a possible candidate for the vacant Harvard head coaching position, confirmed his position Wednesday in a release issued by the school. “I was flattered to be mentioned among several fine candidates for the open head coaching position at Harvard,” said … Read more
Ron Rolston, assistant coach at Boston College and former assistant at Harvard, is no longer a candidate for Harvard’s top job, according to sources close to the situation. That paves the way for Harvard to name former captain Ted Donato its new coach; an announcement is expected shortly. Six candidates were interviewed for the open … Read more
Scott Sandelin, who was earlier named the assistant coach of the 2004-05 U.S. World Junior Championships team, has been named to replace Dean Blais as head coach. Blais resigned from the position last week after recently leaving his job as head coach at North Dakota for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. The 2005 IIHF World … Read more
On June 16, Mark Mazzoleni returned to his hometown of Green Bay, Wis., when he resigned from his position as head coach of the Harvard Crimson to become head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League. In a close-knit community such as college hockey, any event like … Read more
Day 2 of the draft saw some more interesting names come through the draft board. Following up the selection of Chris Bourque from Day 1, two more sons of ex-NHLers were selected on Day 2. One was Providence-bound Trevor Ludwig, son of long-time NHL defenseman Craig Ludwig, by the Dallas Stars. The other was … … Read more
Niagara coach Dave Burkholder has agreed to a new multi-year contract, locking him up through the 2007-08 season. Burkholder, who begins his ninth year with the program, fourth as head coach, led the Purple Eagles to a CHA tournament title and automatic NCAA bid last season. “I’m pleased that Dave will continue to lead the … Read more
Chris Bourque has always had to look up, but he’s had some good role models to look up to. Now his career is looking up, too.
Wayne Gretzky, in town as managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes, held court with the media on Saturday, and among the things he spoke about were the state of the on-ice game itself — particularly, the dearth of scoring. But the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer didn’t seem to as alarmed by the situation as … Read more
There’s a good chance that when the New York Rangers selected Michigan goaltender Al Montoya with the sixth pick in Saturday’s NHL Entry Draft, they realized that they got more than simply a hockey player. Sure he’s a solid goaltender whose numbers have gotten better in his two seasons at Michigan. And his performance in … Read more
No one seemed too alarmed at Day 1 of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft about the departure of Dean Blais from North Dakota — not current Sioux first rounder Drew Stafford, incoming Sioux first-rounder Travis Zajac, or the general manager of the New Jersey Devils, Lou Lamoriello, who once again took a Sioux player in … Read more
If there’s anything you can say about the NHL selecting Raleigh, N.C., as the location for this year’s Entry Draft, the city has some pretty passionate fans. That was extremely obvious on day one. Beginning at 10:30 in the morning, fans were flocking into the RBC Center in its general admission sections. Around the arena … Read more
If the NHL Entry Draft were the Olympics, you might once again hear Al Michaels asking, “Do you believe in miracles?” In a shocker of a first round, a total of seven college or college-bound players were selected, punctuated by Phoenix’s fifth overall selection of Blake Wheeler, who still has another year of high school … Read more
Kris Chucko, headed to Minnesota in the fall, was one of three players taken from the British Columbia Junior League in the first 50 picks of the draft, including his Salmon Arm teammate Travis Zajac and second-round pick Ray Sawada. Chucko, the 24th overall pick by Calgary, was another player whose stock rose quickly since … Read more
When team Managing Partner Wayne Gretzky stepped to the podium to make Phoenix’s first-round selection in the 2004 NHL Draft, the crowd of mostly Carolina Hurricanes fans, draft prospects and their families, stood to salute ‘The Great One’ with a rousing, heartfelt ovation. Just moments later, the reaction changed to agape jaws when Gretzky announced … Read more