Ironically, North Dakota probably has Michigan to thank for it all. Yes, the No. 1 Fighting Sioux have been tearing up the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 1998-99, taking a 27-3-2 overall record into the last weekend of the regular season. But the team’s motivation may actually stem back to last year. The Sioux had … Read more
When Ernie Hartlieb arrived at Miami University as a freshman in the fall of 1997, the campus he’d visited just once seemed eerily too familiar. When nearly every classroom, dining hall, or dorm the RedHawk forward entered gave him a peculiar sense of deja vu, he realized he had seen all of these places before. … Read more
Western Michigan head coach Bill Wilkinson, whose last-place team had been the focus of an internal investigation earlier this season, has been relieved of his duties effective immediately, the university announced today. Wilkinson will be replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Jim Culhane while the search for his successor gets underway. Culhane is … Read more
Attention, college hockey coaches: if you want to make Brian Swanson, Colorado College’s senior captain and bona fide Hobey Baker candidate uncomfortable, just ask him to talk about himself. If modesty were the sole criterion for hockey’s Heisman, the senior from Eagle River, Alaska, would have to be the odds-on favorite. In an age where … 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
In the aftermath of a team party which resulted in the arrests and suspensions of sophomores Mark Wilkinson and Steven Rymsha, Western Michigan has suspended its entire hockey team for one game for secondary NCAA violations. The suspensions will be served by all team members in staggered fashion over six games, preventing the need for … Read more
In the wake of their arrests at a house party Saturday night, Western Michigan hockey players Mark Wilkinson and Steven Rymsha have been placed on indefinite suspension, WMU athletic director Kathy Beauregard announced today. Additionally, head coach Bill Wilkinson, Mark Wilkinson’s father, has been temporarily suspended while the matter is under investigation. The arrests took … Read more
Bill Watson, for the last three seasons an assistant hockey coach at Western Michigan, is departing his position, the school announced. “At this time, I feel it’s best to explore other options around hockey and outside the sport. The time I’ve spent here at Western has been invaluable and I look forward to putting the … Read more
The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reported Friday that goaltender Aaron Schweitzer, who anchored North Dakota’s 1997 NCAA championship run, will not return for his junior season this year, opting instead to try out for the Canadian national team. “We’ve heard rumblings in the past regarding Aaron moving on,” North Dakota assistant Jeff Bowen told the … Read more
St. Cloud State has named Kerry Brodt the Huskies’ first-ever women’s ice hockey coach. Brodt, a 1995 graduate of St. Cloud State, has coached girls’ ice hockey since 1994, currently with North St. Paul (Minn.) High School. She is also a coach for the U.S. Community Olympic Development Program for girls’ hockey, and is the … Read more
The CCHA has admitted Nebraska-Omaha as its 12th member, starting with the 1999-2000 season. The decision ended months of speculation about the affiliation of the program, which also was considering membership in the WCHA before that conference admitted Mankato State University last month. “We are delighted to welcome [Nebraska-Omaha] into the CCHA family,” said Anastos. … Read more
Curtis Doell, who led Minnesota-Duluth defensemen in scoring last season, has decided to forego his final two years of college eligibility, signing a three-year deal with the Florida Panthers of the NHL. The 21-year old Doell, a 6-1, 220-pounder from Saskatoon, Sask., skated in 39 games last year and racked up nine goals and 23 … Read more
Colorado College head coach Don Lucia has decided not to renew the scholarship of last season’s No. 1 goaltender, Jason Cugnet, ending the sophomore’s hockey career at CC. “We felt that Jason didn’t have the commitment to this team,” Lucia told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “We laid out certain expectations for our players and our … Read more
Shannon Miller, former head coach of the Canadian Olympic women’s ice hockey team, has agreed to become the first coach of the nascent women’s varsity team at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The UMD squad will compete on a club level next season, then move into an independent varsity schedule in 1999-2000. Miller, 34, led Canada … Read more
The Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald reported recently that the University of Nebraska at Omaha, whose hockey team just completed its first season in Division I, is discussing possible affiliation with the CCHA. On Mar. 20, Nebraska-Omaha representatives met with CCHA officials to examine such an arrangement, at which time the school was invited to make a … Read more
The University of Minnesota-Duluth’s athletic program has had to endure a lot of negative publicity in recent years, from turmoil surrounding former athletic director and current WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod right on through to the success — or lack thereof — of the Bulldog hockey program. Although UMD won the MacNaughton Cup as the WCHA’s … Read more
Denver junior Paul Comrie has decided to return to school this year, passing up an offer from Red Deer of the Western Hockey League, according to an article in the Denver Post. The Post had earlier reported that Comrie would renounce his final two years of collegiate eligibility to play Canadian major junior hockey for … Read more
Denver junior Paul Comrie will forego his final two years of eligibility, according to an article in the Denver Post today, and will join Red Deer of the major junior Western Hockey League. Comrie, who led Denver with 21 goals and 28 assists in 40 games during his sophomore year, was expected to tell Pioneer … Read more
When you feel you’ve wasted two years of your life, what tack do you take? If you’re ever going to be the Most Outstanding Player of a national championship tournament, you have to change course and make up for lost time. That’s the exact approach taken by North Dakota junior forward Matt Henderson. In the … Read more
Randy Robitaille, sophomore center for the Miami Redskins, signed a contract with the Boston Bruins on Monday. Robitaille will play for the Bruins on Thursday night; financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. “It’s better than first-round money,” says Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni. “This is a great situation for me, not only because … Read more