When all was said and done last year, the Wisconsin Badgers probably wished things had gone differently. Sure, the Badgers made the NCAA tournament and very nearly beat North Dakota in Madison, Wis., to make the Frozen Four. However, they struggled throughout much of last season, were the subject of much controversy in Denver in … Read more
The St. Cloud State Huskies were a bit of enigma last season. They did extremely well statistically, but it didn’t really translate into team success until the end of the season when they managed to end up tied for fourth in the standings, headed to St. Paul for the Final Five and made the NCAA … Read more
Once again, the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves were a team that no one wanted to play and yet everyone wanted to play. Odds were you’d get a win if you played the Seawolves, but you’d also get a tough, hard-fought game that would typically be a lot closer than the score indicated. Just ask Scott Owens … Read more
The Denver Pioneers, at first glance, seem to have a few holes. Goaltending. With Peter Mannino gone, the Pioneers return a sophomore who didn’t see any time last year, a sophomore who played in one game last year and a sophomore who hasn’t played in two years. That doesn’t look too promising. Defense. While not … Read more
Last year, the outlook for the Minnesota State Mavericks was relatively bleak, due to the lack of upperclassmen. In a sense, it seemed like the only positive was that the Mavericks returned both goaltenders. The end result, however, was sunny, with coach Troy Jutting’s squad finishing tied for fourth in the league and just on … Read more
Over the past three years, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux have pretty much been the team to beat in the WCHA, regardless of early departures or graduation. Making the NCAA tournament in 10 of the last 11 years doesn’t hurt, either. Knowing the Sioux, they’ll undoubtedly make it back to the dance again this year, … Read more
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs struggled last year, in part because of their offense. Coach Scott Sandelin knew he wouldn’t have that one go-to-guy to score, so he hoped for a sort of “offense by committee.” While scoring for the Bulldogs was extremely spread out — ten players had double-digit point totals — the issue was … Read more
Last year, the theme was early departures. This year, there were a few, but nowhere near enough to continue as this year’s theme. Instead, everyone’s concerned with special teams. Understandably so, given the new rule changes that have been instituted as well as the implementation of the four-official system which was tested last year. The … Read more
Last year was supposed to be a continuation of an upward swing for the Michigan Tech Huskies. The Huskies were set in net and defensively. The only knock against them was that they needed a bit more offense. The coaches thought this would see them finish seventh in the league; I thought perhaps higher. Instead, … Read more
After winning the MacNaughton Cup last season and featuring the league’s Player and Rookie of the Year in goaltender Richard Bachman, the Colorado College Tigers were unanimously picked to repeat as champions. And why not? Out of all the teams, the Tigers have the fewest questions. They return most of their offensive and defensive cores … Read more
Colorado College was picked as the favorite by WCHA media members, with polling conducted by The Capital Times of Madison, Wis. Twenty-five writers covering the WCHA were polled, with the Tigers the resounding winner of the balloting with 22 first-place votes and 247 overall points. North Dakota came in second place with the remaining three … Read more
University of Alaska Anchorage head hockey coach Dave Shyiak has received a four-year contract extension through the 2012-13 season, UAA Athletic Director Dr. Steve Cobb announced Tuesday. “We couldn’t be more pleased that Coach Shyiak is going to remain as UAA’s head coach,” Dr. Cobb said. “In his three years, he has improved every aspect … Read more
The NCAA Ice Hockey Committee has set the sites for the NCAA Championships all the way through 2011 with the announcement of the West and Midwest Regionals for 2010 and 2011. In 2010, Notre Dame will host the Midwest regional from March 27-28 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. and … Read more
Lately, it has seemed if the North Dakota Fighting Sioux want to get to the Frozen Four championship game, they’ll want to avoid Boston College. Unless, of course, they see the Eagles in the NCAA regionals — then they’ve got a shot. For the third time in as many years, Dave Hakstol’s squad fell to … Read more
One Last Time This is the third straight Frozen Four appearance for Boston College, and the fourth for North Dakota. Every senior on the ice tonight has had his season ended, at some point in his career, by the seniors on the other side of the puck. This is the third year in a row … Read more
When reporters were allowed to enter the North Dakota locker room after Thursday’s national semifinal, many headed straight to Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. The senior goaltender, still in his uniform and pads, stood up from his chair and faced over six minutes of direct questioning about what had to be one of the more painful nights of … Read more
Ryan Duncan’s numbers may be down when compared with his Hobey Baker-winning campaign a year ago, but the forward is more concerned with team success. Patrick C. Miller conducts a Q&A with the Fighting Sioux junior.
It’s extremely difficult to predict much in the game of college hockey, but as we head into Thursday’s opening semifinal game between Boston College and North Dakota, you almost get the feeling that people saw this game coming. Ignore the fact that this is the third time the two teams have faced one another in … Read more
The NCAA announced Friday the final rosters for the 2008 Frozen Four Skills Challenge, which will be held April 11 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. For the East team, Will Engasser, Yale, Brad Flaishans, New Hampshire and David Leaderer, Massachusetts were all added to the roster. Meanwhile, Eric Ehn, Air Force, Nino Musitelli, Miami … Read more
The usual perception may be otherwise, but local talent has been a big part of the success this year — and in past seasons — at North Dakota, Patrick C. Miller finds.