All in the Family

From the Sutters, Howes and Patricks, to the Stastnys, Ferraros and Kariyas, hockey seems to have more family ties than any other sport, with ubiquitous father-son and brother combinations. For plenty of evidence, look no further than North Dakota, home of the Fighting Sioux and five prominent pairs.

Finalists Named for Humanitarian Award

The field for the 2001 Hockey Humanitarian Award has been whittled to a diverse list of five finalists. The award has been handed out annually since 1996 by the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation. It goes to the college hockey player — men’s or women’s, Division I or III — who has “exhibited a strong commitment … Read more

Walsh Jersey Auction Raises $11G

The on-line auction of special North Dakota jerseys bearing the name “Walsh,” in honor of Maine coach Shawn Walsh, has raised $11,055. The Fighting Sioux wore the jerseys for their Oct. 13 game with the Black Bears and donated them to raise money for the Coaches Foundation. The charitable organization, set up to serve as … Read more

Cullen, St. Cloud Blossoming Together

St. Cloud has surprised some people, challenging for the WCHA lead and surging to No. 4 in the USCHO.com poll. The Huskies and coach Craig Dahl have been getting contributions from a lot of sources. One of those is Jon Cullen, who has blossomed into a dependable force, following in the footsteps of current NHL forward Matt Cullen, his cousin.

Sertich Removes ‘Interim’ from Coaching Title

Mike Sertich, the former Minnesota-Duluth coach who took over the Michigan Tech program on an interim basis in November, has been named the permanant replacement. Sertich replaced Tim Watters earlier this season. Watters, a Michigan Tech alumnus, was in his fifth year as head coach before being replaced after a 1-7 start to this season.

Rebuilding From Tradition

Western Michigan’s Jim Culhane has brought the Broncos back from the depths of the CCHA, thanks in large part to lessons he learned as a player at the school.

Catching Up With … Tom Kurvers

He was a Hobey Baker winner and a Stanley Cup champion, now Tom Kurvers is trying his hand at scouting. The Duluth product remembers fondly his part in the Bulldogs’ rise to prominance in the ’80s.

WCHA Suspends Assistant Referee

WCHA assistant referee Jay Kleven has been suspended indefinitely by the league for two calls made during the Minnesota-North Dakota games last weekend in Grand Forks.

Watters Out, Sertich In at MTU

After four losing seasons at Michigan Tech, and a 1-7-1 start, Tim Watters resigned as head coach. He will be replaced by Mike Sertich, who spent 18 years as head coach at Minnesota-Duluth before resigning at the end of last season.

Season Preview: Miami RedHawks

Miami head coach Enrico Blasi is a man of few words. “We return 19 letterwinners from a year ago, including offensively our leading scorer Pat Leahy, and two gentlemen who missed the bulk of the season due to injury, Jason Deskins and Gregor Krajnc. “Defensively we return six starters. We add three freshmen to that … Read more

Season Preview: Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks

You’ll pardon Mike Kemp if he seems effusive. In their first year of league play, the Mavericks–then a program just three years old–defeated or tied every team in the CCHA at least once, and finished second to Michigan State in the tourney’s Championship game. “Our experience at this point in time in the CCHA has … Read more

Season Preview: Western Michigan Broncos

Another second-year coach, Jim Culhane, is pleased with the progress his Broncos made last season. “Last year was a very exciting year for us in that we finally made it back to the CCHA tournament with a young team and a young staff. It was the first time in three years that we made it … Read more

Season Preview: North Dakota Fighting Sioux

Yes, North Dakota lost a few important players, and the Sioux are somewhat smaller this year, but Dean Blais may be looking at his team’s situation a little drastically: “We’re rebuilding this year.” Blais has a great poker face, but that’s line’s easy enough to see through. Offensively, Lee Goren, Jason Ulmer and Peter Armbrust … Read more

Season Preview: Colorado College Tigers

Scott Owens maintains this year is no more important than any other for his Colorado College program. But after so much success under Don Lucia, there are now certain expectations of the Tigers. And two consecutive years of missing the NCAA tournament might be more than the Colorado College brass can take. No pressure or … Read more

Season Preview: Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs

In a sense, former Minnesota-Duluth coach Mike Sertich picked a good time to retire and look out for the future of the program simultaneously. Scott Sandelin was looking for a head coaching job. With Sertich’s retirement after 18 years with the Bulldogs, Duluth was looking for a coach. And the rest is history. Duluth grabbed … Read more

Poll: NCAA Champion Sioux Top Pick In WCHA

The defending NCAA champion North Dakota Fighting Sioux have been tabbed by the coaches of the WCHA as the conference’s preseason favorite. The Fighting Sioux received six first place votes and a total of 77 points in the annual polling.

Season Preview: St. Cloud State Huskies

After finishing third in the WCHA, the expectations were set high for St. Cloud State: Do better. And if there ever was a Huskies team that could be up to that challenge, it may be this year’s. With plenty of scorers back, with the top goaltender back, with a team eager to prove last season … Read more