June 24 VANCOUVER — The following is a breakdown of college players or recruits that were chosen in the National Hockey League’s 2006 entry draft: Breakdown Conference Number of Picks WCHA 26 CCHA 17 Hockey East 14 ECACHL 11 By Class Current Players Drafted 18 2006 Recruits 32 2007 Recruits 17 2008 Recruits 1 By … Read more
June 24 VANCOUVER — The following college players or recruits were chosen in the National Hockey League’s 2006 entry draft: (I) = Incoming Recruit (*) = No Longer With Team Round One Pick NHL Team Name, Pos School (Conference) 1 St. Louis Erik Johnson, D (I) Minnesota (WCHA) 3 Chicago Jonathan Toews, F North Dakota … Read more
June 24 VANCOUVER — The following list shows U.S. college players who made the Central Scouting Service’s end of season North American rankings. (I) = Incoming Recruit (*) = No Longer With Team Forwards/Defensemen *NHL Draft Selection* Rank Name Team Pos. Rd. Overall By 1 Erik Johnson Minnesota (I) D 1 1 St. Louis 3 … Read more
Former U.S. National Team Development Program and current Minnesota freshman-to-be Erik Johnson was the number-one selection in Saturday’s NHL Entry Draft, marking the first time since Rick DiPietro in 2000 that a player with college ties was the top player taken. Johnson’s march to the draft stage began a parade of players with college connections … Read more
Laura Hurd, a former D-III women’s hockey star, was killed in a one-vehicle accident on Friday morning, according to the Elmira Star-Gazette. She was 24. Laura Hurd (2nd from left) and three Elmira seniors make sure they are the last to leave the ice following their final career game. (Photo: Angelo Lisuzzo) The paper cited … Read more
Niagara men’s hockey coach Dave Burkholder has agreed to a multi-year contract that continues his leadership of the Purple Eagle program through 2009-10, interim director of athletics Bill Agronin announced today. Burkholder, who enters his sixth season, agreed to a two-year deal after having two years remaining on his current contract, Agronin said. “I am … Read more
Rensselaer has named Shawn Kurulak assistant men’s hockey coach. A former standout defenseman at the Denver, Kurulak will aide head coach Seth Appert. The announcement was made today by RPI director of athletics Ken Ralph. “There is a lot of history and tradition at RPI and I look forward to being part of something special … Read more
The ECACHL today named Luke Galvin men’s Supervisor of Officials and Tom Di Fusco women’s Supervisor of Officials. “I am extremely pleased that Luke and Tom have agreed to assume the supervisor roles,” said ECACHL Commissioner Steve Hagwell. “They have strong leadership qualities and their knowledge of the game is an immense benefit to the … Read more
The ECAC West will be changing to a three round playoff format starting with the upcoming 2006-2007 season. The league’s athletic directors approved the change unanimously on June 15. Under the new format, five of the league’s six teams will make the playoffs, which will consist of three single-elimination rounds. The first round will be … Read more
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
St. Cloud State University Director of Athletics Dr. Morris Kurtz has announced the appointment of Jeff Giesen as the head women’s hockey coach. A native of Blaine, Minn., Giesen becomes the third head coach since the inception of the women’s program in 1998. He replaces Jason Lesteberg, who served as head coach at SCSU from … Read more
Vermont has named Tim Bothwell, an assistant on the Canadian Women’s Olympic Team that won a gold medal this past winter at the 2006 Olympics, as its new head women’s hockey coach. “We are very fortunate to have attracted a coach as accomplished as Tim Bothwell to UVM,” said UVM Athletic Director Robert Corran. “His … Read more
Former St. Norbert All-American goalie Mike Szkodzinski has been named the new head hockey coach at Lawrence University. Szkodzinski comes to Lawrence from St. Norbert, where he has been an assistant with the Green Knights for the past two seasons. SZKODZINSKI “We are pleased to secure a coach of Mike’s caliber to lead the Lawrence … Read more
Peter Belisle has been named head men’s hockey coach at Mass.-Boston. “We are very fortunate to attract a ‘young hockey lifer’ to the UMB family of coaches,” said Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Recreational Programs Charlie Titus. “His background, college hockey knowledge and overall experiences lead us to believe that Peter will be an outstanding … Read more
Mass.-Boston will have its third hockey coach in two seasons. Interim head coach John Giuliotti has withdrawn his name from consideration for the permanent position. A search for a new coach is underway. Giuliotti took over the reigns from Mike Bertoni, who resigned last December. The Beacons were 0-9-1 at the time and finished 0-23-3. … Read more
NBC has announced that 2004 Patty Kazmaier winner and Harvard graduate Angela Ruggiero will join 17 other candidates selected to compete on season six of “The Apprentice.” The season will begin in January and will be filmed entirely in Southern California. Last February, Mark Burnett, creator and executive producer, allowed viewers to choose one of … Read more
Bemidji State announced the hiring of Steve Sertich as the fourth head women’s ice hockey coach in the eight-year history of the BSU program. “Steve comes from a long line of successful hockey,” Director of Athletics Dr. Steve Goeb said. “He was an Olympian and was an enormous talent as a player. He’s reached that … Read more
Plymouth State has hired a new women’s ice hockey coach to lead the program in its first varsity season in 2006-07. The new women’s ice hockey coach at Plymouth State is Heather Hoffay, a graduate of Hamilton College who has served as assistant women’s ice hockey coach at both Trinity College and Wesleyan University. She … Read more
Danton Cole has been named assistant hockey coach at Bowling Green State University, BGSU head coach Scott Paluch has announced. Cole replaces Jamie Dumont, who was named associate head coach of the Junior Pirates’ AJHL team. “I couldn’t be more excited about joining Scott and Ron at Bowling Green,” said Cole. “It is a great … Read more
When Seth Appert coaches his first Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute men’s hockey game in October, he will have new assistant coaches helping him. Appert announced Tuesday that he won’t retain assistant coaches Frank Bretti and Jeff Matthews. Appert, who was hired by RPI April 21 to replace Dan Fridgen, cited the need for the program to … Read more