The fans came to see their hometown heroes, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers didn’t disappoint. Grant Potulny netted two goals to give Minnesota an early lead, Adam Hauser stopped 27 shots, and the Gophers held off a furious Michigan rally to take the second semifinal, 3-2, at the Xcel Energy Center Thursday. Jeff Taffe gave … Read more
From the same team that brought you the clinic on how not to start a Frozen Four came others on how to wrestle away control of a game in the second period and seal the deal in the third. The Maine Black Bears, they of incredible strength and fortitude in this, a trying season on … Read more
It seemed fitting that on the same day the largest crowd in history witnesses an NCAA ice hockey tournament game, NCAA President Cedric Dempsey all but guaranteed the tournament field will expand next year from 12 to 16 teams. It will be the first expansion of the tournament since 1988. “The [NCAA] Management Council will … Read more
The American Hockey Coaches Association honored three coaches for their efforts this season; two led their teams to national championships, while the third is the first woman to win the award twice. The coaches are Wisconsin-Superior men’s coach Dan Stauber, Elmira women’s coach Jamie Wood and Minnesota women’s coach Laura Halldorson. Stauber’s team finished 24-5-5 … Read more
Michigan State goalie Ryan Miller and Minnesota defenseman Jordan Leopold repeated as selections to the JOFA Division I All-America first team, the only two returnees among the 12 players honored as First-Team All-Americans by the American Hockey Coaches Association. NCAA semifinalists accounted for eight of the 25 players on the two teams. Michigan State, which … Read more
Frozen Four Schedule of Events Below is the schedule of events for the 2002 Frozen Four. All times are CST. Wednesday, April 3 10:45am – Maine Practice (Xcel Energy Center) 12:00pm – New Hampshire Practice (Xcel Energy Center) 1:15pm – Michigan Practice (Xcel Energy Center) 2:30pm – Minnesota Practice (Xcel Energy Center) 6:00pm – Championship … Read more
Coming off the best season in his regime, Brown coach Roger Grillo signed a multi-year contract extension with the school today. Grillo This past season, Grillo led Brown to a 14-15-2 record, including 10-10-2 in the ECAC, good for sixth and the team’s first playoff appearance in three years. Along the way, Brown’s season was … Read more
Two-time winner Jack Parker of Boston University is again a finalist for the 2002 Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the nation’s top coach by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). The finalists are automatically determined by selecting the top vote-getters from the conference coach of the year balloting, and the Frozen Four coaches. Other … Read more
Tim Dillon, the athletic director at Canisius, will replace Jack McDonald of Quinnipiac on the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Championship Committee in September when McDonald’s term is over. Dillon was appointed by the MAAC to take over for McDonald. McDonald was the first member of the MAAC to sit on the committee and has … Read more
Like Wisconsin’s Dany Heatley a year ago, Mark Hartigan is going straight from an NCAA loss to Atlanta. Unlike Heatley, he does so as a free agent, not as the No. 2 pick in the draft. Hartigan, a Hobey Baker Award finalist and WCHA Player of the Year, agreed to a one-year deal with the … Read more
The Hobey Baker Committee announced the top three finalists for this year’s Award: Mark Hartigan of St. Cloud, Darren Haydar of UNH and Jordan Leopold of Minnesota.
The buildup began today for the 2002 Frozen Four when coaches from the respective schools participated in a media conference call. This year’s Frozen Four takes place April 4 and 6 in St. Paul, Minn., at the XCel Energy Center, home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, a stone’s throw from the University of Minnesota, one … Read more
Rick Comley jumps from Northern Michigan, where he spent 26 years, to Michigan State, where he takes over for long-time colleague and friend, Ron Mason.
Northeastern’s Brooke Whitney won the 2002 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given annually to the outstanding women’s hockey player at the University level.
Minnesota-Duluth’s Maria Rooth leads the 2001-02 crop of women’s All-Americans, which includes four repeat selections from last year and sees six different squads represented on the First Team. Rooth, a junior forward from Angelholm, Sweden, is the only repeat First-Teamer from a year ago. She is joined on the First Team by forward Brooke Whitney … Read more
Trina Bourget, head coach for Wisconsin, has announced her resignation. Bourget has been on medical leave since Jan. 2. In her absence, assistant coach Tracey Cornell and Dan Koch have directed the Badgers. Cornell and Koch will continue with that role until a new coach is named. “We greatly appreciate Trina’s time as our women’s … Read more
Wisconsin will turn to alumnus Mike Eaves to succeed Jeff Sauer as its head coach. Eaves joins the Badgers after a stint as head coach of USA Hockey’s National Development Program.
Northeastern’s Jim Fahey was named winner of the 50th annual Walter Brown Award by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston. The award is given annually to New England’s top American-born Division I athlete. Bowdoin senior Mike Carosi is the winner of the second annual Joe Concannon Award, given to the top American-born Division II or … Read more
For the first time since the inception of the 12-team bracket in 1988, the Division I NCAA tournament has a strict regionalized arrangement. Years ago, college hockey put in a series of bracketing rules in order to get away from regionalization, mandating, for example, that the bottom two seeds in each region should flip-flop with … Read more
The CCHA honored its league award winners at the 2002 CCHA Awards presentation Thursday night in Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre. For the second straight year, Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller was named the league’s Player of the Year. Alaska-Fairbanks head coach Guy Gadowsky is the 2001-02 Coach of the Year, and Western Michigan’s Pat Dwyer … Read more