Ending lengthy speculation which intensified after the NHL Draft, Minnesota recruit Erik Johnson is set to enroll in college and play for the Golden Gophers this fall. In a release by the St. Louis Blues, who took Johnson first overall, team president John Davidson announced the decision. “We feel this is a win-win situation for … Read more
Last season the Wisconsin Badgers took on a mountain-climb theme en route to their first national championship since 1990. After another big announcement, the team may need to begin digging itself out of an offensive hole heading into next year. Forward Joe Pavelski announced Friday that he would forgo his final two seasons of eligibility … Read more
Jordan Parise, North Dakota’s “go to” goalie the past three seasons, is now gone. Parise, a junior, became the fifth Fighting Sioux player from last season’s team to turn pro. According to the Grand Forks Herald, Parise has signed a contract with the New Jersey Devils where his younger brother Zach, also a former UND … Read more
Every year the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee meets to determine how the past season went and to look forward to future seasons. This past meeting is summarized by Ty Halpin, the NCAA’s liaision to the Rules Committee. The Committee reports on rules changes, points of emphasis and future discussions.
Alaska-Anchorage head coach Dave Shyiak announced today that Damon Whitten has been hired as an assistant coach. A native of Brighton, Mich., Whitten comes to UAA after a two-year assistant stint at Wayne State, and one year at his alma mater, Michigan State. At both schools he assisted with all facets of practices and games, … Read more
Phil Kessel was indisputable college hockey’s hottest incoming commodity a year ago. Saturday, the Minnesota sophomore-to-be saw his stock drop a bit, Jim Connelly reports.
University of North Dakota president Charles Kupchella has emerged as one of the NCAA’s staunchest critics of a policy that punishes some of the association’s member institutions for using American Indian nicknames, mascots and imagery in athletic competition. Back in early August of last year, when the NCAA Executive Committee announced its plans to implement … Read more
As the battle over the “Fighting Sioux” continues, Patrick C. Miller sat down with University of North Dakota President Charles Kupchella for a chat.
The lengthy and heated battle between the University of North Dakota and the NCAA could be headed to the next level. After a decision by the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, UND has been granted the authority to sue the NCAA over the association’s policies on “hostile and abusive” Native American nicknames and … Read more
The outflow of players from Grand Forks, N.D., continued as Rastislav Spirko became the fourth North Dakota player to leave school after the end of the 2005-06 season. Spirko, a 5-9, 175-pound native of Slovakia, confirmed that he will play professionally in Europe next season, joining Travis Zajac, Matt Smaby and Drew Stafford as Sioux … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage assistant coaches Jack Kowal and Keith Morris resigned this week after UAA head coach Dave Shyiak called them into his office this past week and told them that their contracts were not going to be renewed per a report in the Anchorage Daily News. Shyiak just completed his first season as the head coach … Read more
The late Ralph “Cooney” Weiland, the coach of the Harvard men’s hockey team for 21 seasons, has been announced as the 2006 recipient of the Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award and will be honored Thursday, May 11, at the Hobey Baker Award Banquet in St. Paul, Minn. A 1971 inductee to the Hockey … Read more
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier today announced that the team has signed North Dakota junior Drew Stafford to a three-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Stafford is currently on the United States roster and playing in the World Hockey Championships in Riga, Latvia. “I’m looking forward to starting my professional career,” … Read more
According to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, six former or current Minnesota State Mavericks are currently under investigation for sexual assault after an incident that happened in late February. A young woman stated in a search warrant affadavit that on the night of February 21, she said that a hockey player and another … Read more
The battle between the University of North Dakota and the NCAA over UND’s “Fighting Sioux” nickname and imagery continued Friday with the NCAA’s decision to deny North Dakota’s final appeal, keeping the school on the list of institutions subject to restrictions from NCAA championship events. The NCAA’s Friday release said, in part: In denying the … Read more
First it was Ryan Potulny, then Danny Irmen. Now it’s Kris Chucko who will depart Minnesota’s men’s hockey team early. Chucko said he signed a three year, $900,000 contract with the Calgary Flames. He also said he will stay and finish the semester at Minnesota before going to Calgary in September to try out for … Read more
The annual exodus of underclassmen to the professional ranks continued to hit Minnesota hard over the weekend, as sophomore Kris Chucko became the latest Golden Gopher to hang up his college jersey for an NHL contract. Chucko, a first-round draft pick (24th overall) by Calgary in 2004, signed a contract with the NHL’s Flames and … Read more
One week ago, he was the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Friday, Wisconsin junior Robbie Earl became the latest high-profile underclassman to leave school early for the pro ranks. Earl, a native of Los Angeles, announced at a news conference at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., that he has signed a contract with the … Read more
Though the celebration is still continuing for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, it is never too early to look into the future. And gazing into that crystal ball, the future of UW hockey looks good. When questioned whether or not he thought that the Badgers could repeat as champions without him during Sunday’s Championship Rally … Read more
Wisconsin bench boss Mike Eaves has been named head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, USA Hockey announced. “Mike is one of the outstanding young coaches in our game today,” said Paul Holmgren, general manager of Team USA and assistant general manager of the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers. “He’s an excellent teacher of … Read more