Look for special teams to decide WCHA semifinals
The four remaining teams also have the WCHA’s best power plays from this season.
Men’s D-I: WCHA
NHL’s Capitals sign Lake Superior State freshman Bindulis to three-year contract
The Washington Capitals announced Tuesday the signing of Lake Superior State freshman defenseman Kristofers Bindulis to a three-year entry-level contract beginning in 2017-18. Bindulis will forgo three seasons of NCAA eligibility in signing the professional contract with the Capitals and will report immediately to the American Hockey League affiliate of the Capitals, the Hersey Bears, … Read more
Mitchell forgoes last two seasons at Alaska Anchorage, signs with Washington
Alaska Anchorage sophomore forward Mason Mitchell has given up his final two seasons of eligibility and signed a two-year, free-agent contract with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Mitchell will join the Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ AHL affiliate, on an amateur tryout agreement for the rest of the 2016-17 season. “When we first recruited Mason Mitchell, I … Read more
WCHA quarterfinals on tap, but how important is home-ice advantage?
This year, more than ever, order of finish actually, truly mattered in the WCHA. Of course, winning the MacNaughton Cup was always important in seasons past. And teams always wanted to finish in the top four of the standings in order to earn home ice for the first round of the playoffs. But beyond that, … Read more
Celebration of life for Jeff Sauer to take place March 9 at Kohl Center
A celebration of Jeff Sauer’s life will be held Thursday, March 9 at 6 p.m. CDT at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Sauer passed away Feb. 2 in Madison at the age of 73 after courageously battling a brief illness. The Sauer family will greet visitors from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. preceding the … Read more
WCHA teams still playing for milestones with final regular-season weekend on tap
The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves could lift a trophy this weekend and still miss the playoffs. Odd? Of course. But Alaska is known as the Last Frontier, and it’s a fitting theme for Alaska-Anchorage heading into the final weekend of the WCHA regular season. While several WCHA teams are battling for playoff positioning, the Seawolves have … Read more
WCHA suspends Alaska’s Erickson, LSSU equipment manager Prucha for separate incidents
The WCHA announced Tuesday a pair of suspensions, stemming from separate incidents this past weekend. Alaska senior forward Josh Erickson has been suspended one game, while Lake Superior State equipment manager Paul Prucha has been suspended for two games. Both suspensions will be in effect for their respective institution’s next Division I games. Erickson’s suspension … Read more
Bemidji State captures first-ever MacNaughton Cup on strength of strong first half
The first thing that Nate Arentz noticed about the MacNaughton Cup was the weight. “I was having an argument with someone else and they were saying that the Stanley Cup was heavier,” the Bemidji State senior forward and captain said. “I said, ‘No way.’ And I was right, because it’s definitely heavy.” Arentz and the … Read more
Emrick to broadcast Bowling Green game Saturday, wants ‘throwback to old times’
For one night only, the second period of a Bowling Green hockey game will once again belong to Mike “Doc” Emrick. More than four decades ago, Emrick got his start as a broadcaster calling the second period play-by-play for Bowling Green hockey team as a graduate student. “I got in 18 periods of experience the … Read more
Northern Michigan finding win column, wants to ‘keep going and rolling’
February is going to define the season for Northern Michigan. After a bye in the final weekend of January, the Wildcats are looking at their final eight regular season games from the bottom of the WCHA standings and they need instant results. Northern Michigan is tied for last with Alaska Anchorage in the WCHA with … Read more
Four years after dissolving, CCHA memories stay fresh through ECHL’s Toledo Walleye
The CCHA may have dissolved four years ago, but memories live on via the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.
First phase of Hobey Baker Award fan balloting now open
It’s time for the annual fan ballot contribution to determine the winner of the 2017 Hobey Baker Award. Awarded annually to college hockey’s top player, the Hobey Baker’s highly popular fan-voting opened on Monday, Jan. 30. College hockey fans can cast their vote by going to the Hobey Baker website. Follow the prompts to make … Read more
Shine, Tolvanen the catalysts in Northern Michigan’s recent resurgence
Dominik Shine and Atte Tolvanen might well have saved Northern Michigan’s season. The Wildcats, who came into last weekend’s series with Alaska-Anchorage in the WCHA cellar, were close to seeing their league playoff hopes disappear. UAA held a six-point lead on NMU and could have made things very difficult on the Wildcats with a sweep. … Read more
Lake Superior State blueliner Headrick bolts program for OHL’s Otters
Lake Superior State announced Thursday that sophomore defenseman Owen Headrick has left the program, forgoing this season and his final two years of eligibility with the program. Headrick, who was selected by the Erie Otters in the 14th round (261st overall) of the 2013 OHL draft, gave his formal commitment to the Otters and agreed … Read more
With seven overtime games last weekend, WCHA proving to be tight league
This is why the WCHA took a progressive look at the overtime format. When the season comes to a close and NCAA officials review the how the WCHA handled overtime this season, this past weekend could be a key piece of evidence that convinces other leagues to adopt a 3-on-3 format after traditional overtime. Let’s … Read more
WCHA suspends Alaska-Anchorage’s Mitchell, Alaska’s Vieth one game each for illegal hits
The WCHA announced Tuesday one-game suspensions for Alaska-Anchorage sophomore forward Mason Mitchell and Alaska junior forward Austin Vieth. The suspensions will be effective for the next games for the Seawolves and Nanooks, respectively. Mitchell’s suspension is a result of a blindside hit at the 4:58 mark of the first overtime period of Alaska-Anchorage’s game of … Read more
Michigan Tech skating into second half firing on all cylinders
With the new 2017 calendars ripped open and on display, Michigan Tech finds itself in an enviable position — second place in the WCHA with 36 points. Plus, they have four games in-hand over first-place Bemidji State. Still, if given a hypothetical choice to switch bodies with the Beavers, Tech coach Mel Pearson knows which … Read more
Rankings roundup: How the top 20 fared, Jan. 5-8
Here is a rundown of how the top 20 teams in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of Jan. 2 fared over the Jan. 5-8 weekend. No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth – tied, lost to Colorado College No. 2 Denver – swept Arizona State No. 3 Penn State – split with No. 11 Ohio State No. 4 … Read more
Princeton’s Véronneau, Minnesota State’s Michaelis tabbed monthly HCA award winners
Princeton sophomore forward Max Véronneau, who led the Tigers to a 5-2-0 record last month, which included the program’s first five-game win streak since the 2010-11 season, was named the Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Division I Player of the Month for December. The HCA National Rookie of the Month for December is Minnesota State forward … Read more
Scoring touch becoming commonplace for Minnesota State freshman Michaelis
Marc Michaelis finished 2016 with a bang. The Minnesota State freshman forward had 12 points in six December games. Was named the WCHA rookie of the month and grabbed national honors when he was named the Hockey Commissioners Association Division I College Hockey Rookie of the Month. In 2016’s final month the freshman from Mannheim, … Read more