Mercyhurst was named the overwhelming favorite in the inaugural Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches’ poll, receiving eight of a possible nine first-place votes. Atlantic Hockey begins play this season under a new banner, as the conference was formed after its nine schools decided to leave the MAAC in June. The league has a new commissioner, former … Read more
WCHA coaches have made Minnesota an overwhelming favorite to win the league’s regular-season title. The two-time defending national champions received a maximum nine votes (coaches cannot rank their own team) and head the WCHA coaches poll conducted by the Grand Forks Herald. North Dakota was second with one first-place vote. Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth tied … Read more
The Division I men’s ice hockey committee has again tweaked its process for NCAA tournament selection, allowing for the alteration of the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), a component of the comparison process used to determine the field. According to the committee, “if the points awarded in the RPI for a win in a postseason conference … Read more
The Division I Championships and Competition Cabinet has recommended the approval of the expansion of the NCAA Division I women’s tournament to eight teams from its current four, beginning with the 2004-05 season. The decision was made at its regular meeting last week in Indianapolis. It still faces approval from the Budget Committee and Management … Read more
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. If the coaches of College Hockey America’s Women’s League are right, that’s how things will shape up this season in the four-team Division I conference. Mercyhurst, the defending CHA regular season and postseason champion, was picked to set the pace once again this season by league … Read more
Bemidji State was named as the men’s favorite this season in College Hockey America’s annual preseason coaches’ poll. The Beavers, who tied for third last season and finished 14-14-8 overall, were the tournament runners-up after falling to Wayne State in the CHA Championship. They return eight of their top ten scorers from a year ago … Read more
College Sports Television (CSTV), the first 24-hour college sports network, has announced the first-ever national college hockey game of the week package. The package, which will debut Oct. 3, features 11 of the 16 teams that competed in last season’s NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey championships, including champion Minnesota and semifinalists New Hampshire, Cornell … Read more
College Sports Television (CSTV), the first 24-hour college sports network, will premiere its original series Coach on Friday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. (ET) with a special presentation dedicated to Herb Brooks, the Hall of Fame coach of the 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. men’s ice hockey team who died in an automobile accident Aug. 11. … Read more
Ohio State all-American forward R.J. Umberger will not return to the school for his senior season. The one-time NHL First Round Draft choice spent the entire summer negotiating with the Vancouver Canucks, but still has not come to terms. In the mean time, classes have started at Ohio State and Umberger is not in them. … Read more
Over the last two seasons the Big Red of Cornell and the Crimson of Harvard have been on top of the ECAC. The two teams have played for the ECAC Championship in each of the last two seasons. This season, both the coaches and the media expect it to be the same way. The Crimson … Read more
Speaking to an audience at Rensselaer’s Russell Sage Laboratory building last week, NCAA president Myles Brand, a graduate of RPI, sounded a hopeful tone that the scholarship issue hanging over some Division I hockey schools could be worked out. A January vote is pending that would strip Division III schools that “play up” into a … Read more
The defending ECAC Champion Big Green of Dartmouth garnered five of the nine first-place votes in the ECAC Preseason Women’s Coaches’ Poll. The Big Green defeated the Crimson of Harvard for the title last season and will try to repeat under new head coach Mark Hudak. The Crimson, who were the eventual runners-up in the … Read more
June 21-22 NASHVILLE — 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 3 Thomas Vanek Minnesota LW 1 5 Buffalo 7 Ryan Suter … Read more
June 21-22 NASHVILLE — The following college players or recruits were chosen in the National Hockey League’s 2003 entry draft: (I) = Incoming Recruit Round One Pick NHL Team Name, Pos School (Conference) 5 Buffalo Sabres Thomas Vanek, LW Minnesota (WCHA) 7 Nashville Predators Ryan Suter, D (I) Wisconsin (WCHA) 12 New York Rangers Hugh … Read more
Skidmore has decided to eliminate men’s ice hockey following this season after a two-year, comprehensive study of its offerings in sports and recreation. It is the fourth school in six months to announce the dropping of men’s hockey. “Athletics in the broadest sense is a core aspect of a liberal arts education,” said Skidmore President … Read more
Colgate head coach Don Vaughan will serve as the school’s interim athletic director for the 2003-04 school year, while associate head coach Stan Moore will take the reins of the men’s hockey program as interim head coach. The announcement was made by Jack Dovidio, the school’s Dean of Faculty and Provost. In a related decision, … Read more
Michigan, the reigning conference tournament champion, was tabbed as the preseason league favorite in both polls at the CCHA’s 2003-04 Media Day.
Eddie Caron, who transferred from New Hampshire to Yale and then back to New Hampshire, has been cleared by the NCAA to play immediately. Caron played for New Hampshire as a freshman in 2001-02, then left for Yale where NCAA transfer rules required him to sit out a year before becoming eligible to play for … Read more
Massachusetts athletic director Ian McCaw has accepted the same position at Baylor. McCaw was AD at two Hockey East schools and assistant SID at a third. McCaw, the outgoing chair of the NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Committee, also served as athletic director at Northeastern prior to joining UMass in the summer of 2002. … Read more
Athletic directors from seven of the eight schools affected by the Division III proposal to eliminate athletic scholarships for members playing a Division I sport, met to plan their opposition to the proposal on the campus of Rensselaer. Those attending were Sean Frazier (Clarkson), Joel Nielsen (Colorado College), Betty Powell (Hartwick), Tom Calder (Johns Hopkins), … Read more