Wisconsin forward T.R. Moreau was taken off the ice on a stretcher at the Dane County Coliseum on Friday night after a Minnesota-Duluth forward checked him into the boards during a WCHA hockey game. At 15:02 of the first period, Moreau, a sophomore from Rockford, Ill., skated into a corner behind his own net, and … Read more
If you take a casual glance at the WCHA standings, you might feel the urge to turn the page upside down. No, it’s not that old eyeglass prescription, and it’s not too much coffee. The Huskies of St. Cloud State are really in first place, and the Golden Gophers of Minnesota indeed seventh. St. Cloud’s … Read more
Colorado College is proving itself to be a hard charger in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, having climbed all the way up to No. 2 in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll this week after a pair of victories at surprising Michigan Tech. CC is now 3-0-1 on the season, one of only two undefeated … Read more
Minnesota sophomore defenseman Ben Clymer will miss the remainder of the 1997-98 season after reinjuring his shoulder Wednesday afternoon in practice. Clymer, the top collegiate player taken in the 1997 NHL draft, will be scheduled for surgery in the near future. “Ben has an anterior instability in the shoulder which has not responded to protection … Read more
St. Cloud State, which dropped a pair at home to CCHA opponent Notre Dame two weekends ago, came back to earn three points against Mankato State, which had just split a pair in Duluth against the Bulldogs. Those selfsame ‘Dogs then turned around and put a whipping on big brother Minnesota Friday, before losing the … Read more
St. Cloud State, bereft of much of last year’s good-for-third-place talent, was swept by lightly-regarded CCHA opponent Notre Dame, and Minnesota-Duluth lost to upstart Mankato State on Friday before clawing back for a 7-6 goalies-optional victory the next day. In the same vein, Minnesota’s early-season showdown with Maine started out disastrously with a 6-1 thrashing, … Read more
For the rest, it’s game time once again as the first (near-)full weekend of play is finally upon us. Four of the eight — North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth — hit the ice for the first time this season (though UND, CC and DU’s games are exhibitions against Canadian schools). The rest — … Read more
According to Wednesday’s Anchorage Daily Times, left winger Neil Schell, who led all Seawolf freshmen with 20 points in 35 games last season, will not return to UAA this year. Seawolf head coach Dean Talafous said Schell’s decision was based on health concerns — Schell is missing one kidney due to a junior-hockey injury — … Read more
On Saturday, Gophers captain Mike Crowley became the second Minnesota player in a one-week span to turn pro, announcing his signing with the NHL’s Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Forward Erik Rasmussen announced his agreement to terms with the Buffalo Sabres last Wednesday. Crowley, a defenseman who would have been a senior this season, had nine … Read more
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota winger Erik Rasmussen will announce today that he has signed with the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres. Rasmussen was the first American-born player taken in the 1996 draft, when the Sabres made him the seventh overall pick. His salary of $875,000 per year for three seasons is fixed by … 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
As reported by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota head coach Doug Woog has been placed on notice by athletic director Mark Dienhart for letting several hockey players — none underage — have access to beer at his expense after some games. “Under different athletic directors I’ve served [with], we’ve had different policies and no policies on … 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
Junior defenseman Mike Crowley of Minnesota was named the 1996-97 WCHA Player of the Year in balloting conducted among league coaches, media, sports information directors and team captains. Crowley, who was also named to the All-WCHA First Team for the second year, is the first defenseman honored with the Player of the Year award since … Read more
WCHA Playoffs: Final Five by Steve Page When the Western Collegiate Hockey Association expanded from nine to 10 teams in 1992-93, league officials decided to invite everybody to their tournament. Nice gesture, but now five teams reach the conference’s Final Four (which is, consequently, the Final Five instead). To solve the dilemma of having an … Read more
College Hockey U.S.A. named its WCHA Players’ All-Star team for the 1996-97 season this week. Each WCHA school was sent 20 ballots for players to pick the best in the league. Players are not allowed to vote for their teammates. This is the 24th year of the poll, which was formerly run by WDAZ-TV in … Read more
Mankato State announced its schedule for the 1997-98 hockey season this week, including 14 games against members of the WCHA, as the school looks to fully upgrade to Division I. All 34 games on the Mankato State schedule are against Division I opponents. This season, Mankato’s schedule featured 17 games against Division I programs and … Read more
WCHA Playoffs: First Round by Steve Page Every coach in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is in agreement on this: gaining home-ice advantage for the first round of the conference playoffs was their primary goal all season. So this weekend, it’s the have-nots traveling to the haves. Final WCHA Standings The victors in the best-of-three … Read more
WCHA Preview: Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 1997 by Steve Page North Dakota has come all the way back. A weekend sweep of visiting Alaska-Anchorage gave the Fighting Sioux a share of the WCHA regular-season title, their first since 1987. UND also gained the number-one seed for the WCHA playoffs by virtue of the tiebreaker it holds … Read more