Men’s D-I in general
So I’m playing a pickup game and I decide to try that backhanded between-the-legs pass that Brian Gionta dished off to Blake Bellefeuille last Saturday for the Fox Sports New England cameras. Next thing you know, the guys in the other jerseys are breaking up ice in the other direction, my teammates are hollering at … Read more
With only eight ECAC games on the schedule this past weekend, one didn’t expect much action in the league, but several stories unfolded. The ECAC kicked off its Destination: Lake Placid television package on NESN and Empire last Friday evening with a 3-2 victory by Yale over Vermont. Syl Apps and the Tigers of Princeton … Read more
“Hurry up, mom!” cries the impatient child. “C’mon, turn on the radio! Turn it on! Grady’s gonna be on and we’re playing Harvard!” “Is it on yet?” asks the student studying for a test on Monday. “It’s a big one tonight. We’ve got to win on the road, and they’re ahead of us in the … Read more
With four teams in the U.S. College Hockey Online top ten poll, the CCHA has begun 1999 and the second half of the season with panache. This weekend’s games give some teams an opportunity to pull ahead from the pack, some teams an opportunity to make a statement, and some teams an opportunity to keep … Read more
It certainly was a Happy New Year for a few teams this past weekend. The ECAC got back to league action with all 12 teams playing two-game sets. The big winners for the first weekend of 1999 were the Harvard Crimson and the Rensselaer Engineers. The Crimson got their first two ECAC wins, over Dartmouth … Read more
Well, folks, I’ve been kidded about writing a novel in this space every week, but there’ll be no novel this time. In all probability, I’ll be on the road without computer access as you read this. As a result, this preview has been compiled one week early, will have no results or comments from the … Read more
Am I the only one to whom it has seemed like a few months since the last Western Collegiate Hockey Association action? Well, on Friday, it will have been 27 days since the teams last took the ice in conference action. While there haven’t been any changes in the conference standings since then, teams have … Read more
Martin Kariya, the 17-year old younger brother of Hobey Baker winner Paul, and current Maine forward Steve, has verbally committed to play hockey for the Black Bears, the Bangor Daily News reported Tuesday. The 5-foot-7, 157-pound Kariya, currently with the Victoria Salsa of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, selected Maine over Harvard and Denver. … Read more
So there I was at the Tsongas Arena back before the holidays, the clock was ticking down and then the buzzer sounded. I’d picked UMass-Lowell to beat Boston University, in part because of BU injuries, but the Terriers had proven me wrong with a 5-3 win. I was trying to type in one more paragraph … Read more
Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? As 1998 ends and the second half of the season begins, each CCHA team has at least one resolution it can make — and keep — to become more competitive from now through March. No. 3 Michigan: With a league-leading 21 points, the Wolverines are doing many … Read more
A story printed in the Denver Post this week tabbed Colorado College senior forward Brian Swanson as the leading candidate for the Hobey Baker Award. So what else is new? But Hobey doesn’t get awarded until April. It’s December. The temperature is -1 outside and it’s time for the unveiling of the first (and probably … Read more
On Christmas night, the Ohio State men’s ice hockey team got a gift from Santa they’ll never forget: their first skate in the $106.5 million Jerome “Schottenstein Center’s Value City Arena. Of course, it was Christmas, and the players were grumbling about the shortness of the break; the road conditions on the way home through … Read more
Brown forward Kevin Pope died Thursday in his home town of Stittsville, Ont., by an apparent suicide. With school on break and the Bears not playing again until the new year, Pope, 19, returned home from Providence. According to people close to the freshman, Pope was seen skating with his old junior team, the Kanata … Read more
Now that all the presents have been opened and all the yuletide cheer has been exchanged, it’s time to get back to that bone-crunching, fast-paced ride known as college hockey. It is holiday tournament time, and this year seven tourneys follow the entree that was the first half of the season with a rich dessert. … Read more
ECAC Hockey Commissioner Jeff Fanter is aware of the difficulties in promoting off-campus tournaments. But, despite an announced attendance of just 3,250 for the ECAC-Hockey East Holiday Doubleheader last week at the Hartford Civic Center, Fanter is optimistic these types of tournaments can work — as both a competitive event and opportunity to promote the … Read more
Reprinted by permission of the Duluth News-Tribune. DULUTH, Minn. — The Bulldogs aren’t winning, and there’s one person to blame. Mike Sertich. “That’s fine. It’s part of the deal, and I accept that,” the Minnesota-Duluth hockey coach says. It has to be tempting to spread the blame around a little, but Sertich has learned over … Read more
Sophomore forward Kirk Lamb first made a significant impression on Princeton head coach Don Cahoon following a big home win over Harvard in 1996. Shortly after the final buzzer, Cahoon headed to the locker room to congratulate his players on a fine effort. A cacophony of celebration greeted Cahoon and assistant coach Len Quesnelle as … Read more
Empire Sports has announced an 11-date Game of the Week package of ECAC hockey telecasts for the second half of the 1998-99 season. “Destination Lake Placid” will feature eight regular-season games as well as coverage of the ECAC semifinals and championship. The package will kick off with defending regular-season champion Yale playing host to Vermont … Read more
Senior Princeton forward Jason Given, 23, was injured early Friday morning after falling from a 10- to 15-foot ledge while fleeing police, the Daily Princetonian reported Friday. According to the article, Given was fleeing after an altercation at Triumph Brewery, a local bar, during Senior Pub Night. The article states that Given was asked by … Read more
With only two conference matchups remaining in the 1998 calendar year, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association still features the two top teams in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online Division I Poll. The Fighting Sioux of North Dakota claimed all 30 first-place votes after sweeping Denver on the road last weekend. Despite only splitting at … Read more