The New York Islanders announced Friday that they have signed Denver sophomore defenseman Scott Mayfield to a three-year entry-level deal. Mayfield will join the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. “The Pioneer program is proud and happy for Scott and family,” said DU associate head coach Steve Miller in a statement. “He is … Read more
Minnesota junior defenseman Nate Schmidt has signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals, forgoing his senior season with the Gophers. “I wouldn’t trade my experience at the University of Minnesota for anything and I am incredibly grateful to the team and staff for three great seasons at the ‘U,’ Schmidt said in a … Read more
According to the Huntsville Times, Alabama-Huntsville junior defenseman Lasse Uusivirta was arrested Monday and charged with raping an 18-year-old woman back on Jan. 13. “Information about an incident on campus came to the attention of university officials,” UAH spokesman Ray Garner said in a statement. “The facts of the incident were immediately submitted to the … Read more
First, it was Jack Parker leaving Boston University. Then Dave Shyiak was fired from Alaska-Anchorage. On Monday, Denver announced head coach George Gwozdecky was released from the position he has held for 19 seasons. “We certainly wish George the best in his future endeavors and we are thankful for his 19 years at the helm … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage will have a new head coach for the 2013-14 season as Dave Shyiak was fired Friday. A school-issued news release did not divulge details or even mention Shyiak was fired, but according to the Anchorage Daily News, Shyiak met with the team Friday afternoon and gave them the news. “He came in and told … Read more
The Boston Bruins announced Tuesday that they have signed Minnesota-Duluth sophomore defenseman Chris Casto to a free-agent, entry-level contract. Casto recorded three goals and six assists for nine points in 36 games this past season with the Bulldogs. Over his two seasons at UMD, Casto skated in 77 games and tallied five goals among 22 … Read more
After a week out of the top spot, Quinnipiac is once again the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll after getting 26 first-place votes just one day after being named the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Last weekend, QU lost to Brown in the ECAC semifinals before beating … Read more
The WCHA announced Saturday that the WCHA Final Five will be played at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., for the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons and will return to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., for the 2014-15 and 2016-17 postseasons. In addition, the conference also outlined its revised playoff format. … Read more
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia will coach the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team in an announcement made Saturday at the WCHA Final Five at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. “We’re extremely pleased to have Don as the head coach of our National Junior Team,” said national team GM Jim Johannson in a … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha junior defenseman Andrej Sustr has signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, forgoing his senior season with the Mavericks Sustr tallied nine goals and 25 points in 39 games with Nebraska-Omaha in 2012-13 to go along with 53 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound defender participated in the Lightning’s summer development camp … Read more
One of the only events North Dakota’s seniors haven’t experienced is defeat at the Final Five. UND has won eight straight games at the Final Five and three championships going back to 2009, the year it fell to eventual champion Minnesota-Duluth in the semifinals. That was a season before any of the current players joined … Read more
Despite getting just 22 first-place votes, Minnesota has unseated Quinnipiac at the top of the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. Minnesota, ranked No. 2 last week, advanced to the WCHA Final Five with a series win over Bemidji State last weekend, while Quinnipiac, now at No. 2 after getting 27 first-place votes, heads to the … Read more
The University of Nebraska board of regents on Friday unanimously approved the program statement for the new arena at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The vote will now allow the project to move forward with fundraising and completing finalized designs for the arena. “The arena is a game-changer for UNO – enhancing not only Maverick athletics … Read more
St. Cloud State senior forward Drew LeBlanc was named WCHA player and student-athlete of the year on Thursday on the eve of the conference postseason getting underway. Defensive player of the year went to St. Cloud State junior Nick Jensen, while Minnesota State freshman goalie Stephon Williams was named rookie of the year and goaltending … Read more
Each of the five Division I men’s conferences is in playoff mode this week, and national columnist Dave Starman takes a look at a key series in each.
The apparent nosedive Nebraska-Omaha experienced at the end of the regular season is nothing new to Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings. He experienced something very similar with UNO last season. UNO lost each of its last four regular season games last season before crashing out of the first round of the playoffs at St. Cloud … Read more
According to the Grand Forks Herald, a misdemeanor charge against North Dakota forward Corban Knight for “unlawful delivery to certain persons” was dropped this week in Grand Forks. Knight was charged with providing alcohol to underage individuals at a team party in September. Also, it was reported that North Dakota teammates Danny Kristo, Carter Rowney, … Read more
Ben Hanowski knows that one win this weekend for him and St. Cloud State would mean a historical breakthrough for the program. The Huskies haven’t won a MacNaughton Cup in 23 seasons as a member of the WCHA, but one win against Wisconsin would clinch a share of their first regular season title. Three points … Read more
Coaching veteran Jeff Sauer has been named by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation as its 2013 Legend of Hockey recipient. A veteran of 31 years coaching in the WCHA where he is also the conference’s winningest coach, Sauer is the only person in league history to coach 30 seasons. After his playing career at … Read more
Odds are pretty good that Nebraska-Omaha and Wisconsin won’t both make the NCAA tournament, but one of those teams could strengthen its chances with a sweep when they meet in Omaha this weekend. Both teams are outside of the tournament field and a sweep in either direction this weekend could move that team closer. The … Read more