The first collegiate all-star team ever to participate in an overseas tournament finished with a modicum of success Sunday, as the WCHA All-Stars tied Germany’s Krefeld Penguins 3-3 at the Kolin Cup in Zug, Switzerland. The draw was reached on the strength of two goals by Minnesota forward Wyatt Smith — whose five tallies overall … Read more
Minnesota’s defense sustained a major loss this week, as the Minnesota Daily reported Wednesday that Gopher defenseman Ben Clymer is set to sign with the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins, forgoing his final three years of eligibility. Clymer, a WCHA All-Rookie pick two years ago when he scored seven goals and 20 points 29 games, … Read more
The University of Findlay plans to elevate its three-year-old men’s hockey team to Division I, and to add a D-I women’s program for the 1999-2000 season, the school announced Wednesday. The men’s team could be eligible for D-I play in the 2001-02 season, prior to which a scheduling alliance with Army, Air Force, Niagara, Bemidji … Read more
U.S. College Hockey Online has learned that Union assistant coach Kevin Sneddon will be elevated to head coach. He replaces Stan Moore, who resigned earlier in the week to join the Colgate coaching staff. Sneddon, 28, becomes the youngest head coach at the ECAC Division I level after serving as an assistant at Union for … Read more
In a surprising move on Monday, Stan Moore resigned as head coach of Union to return to the position of top assistant to Don Vaughan at Colgate, a post he held for four seasons from 1992-1996. No specific reason was given for the decision. “There’s more to it than meets the eye: my wife, myself, … Read more
New Hampshire’s Winny Brodt has been admitted to the University of Minnesota for fall quarter, 1998 and will play for the Gopher women’s team this season, Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson announced Friday. Brodt, the Most Valuable Player in the inaugural American Women’s College Hockey Alliance national championship, scored 11 goals and added 23 assists for … Read more
Notre Dame defenseman Mark Eaton has signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility. According to Flyers president and general manager Bob Clarke, the 19-year-old, who was named the 1997-98 CCHA Rookie of the Year, signed a three-year deal with the Flyers as a free agent on July 28. Eaton … Read more
Boston College senior-to-be Marty Reasoner has decided to forego his final year of college eligibility to sign with the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues. Reasoner was the the Blues’ first round (14th overall) selection in the 1996 NHL entry draft. A source at Boston College told the Boston Globe, “Marty had to sign. What … Read more
New Hampshire forward Derek Bekar has signed with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, foregoing his final year of college eligibility. Bekar, who turns 23 in September, ranked fourth in NCAA Division I scoring last season with 60 points in 35 games and was named second-team All-Hockey East. He was also fourth in the nation in … Read more
Carol Mullins, for six years Cornell’s assistant coach, has been named the women’s program’s new head coach. Mullins succeeds Julie Andeberhan, who left Cornell to become head women’s coach at Wisconsin. “Carol Mullins has done a tremendous job as our assistant women’s ice hockey coach over the last six years and I’m sure she will … Read more
Julie Sasner (formerly Andeberhan), the head women’s coach at Cornell, has been hired as the first varsity women’s coach at Wisconsin. Sasner, 32, will receive a three-year contract with a base salary of $65,000 beginning Aug.1; her new team is expected to start play in the 1999-2000 season. Sasner compiled a 15-8-3 record last year … Read more
John Markell, who guided Ohio State to its first NCAA tournament berth and then into the Final Four last April, has been granted a four-year contract extension through the 2002 season, the school announced Thursday. “John is one of the rising stars in coaching today,” said OSU athletic director Andy Geiger. “We’re proud he’s a … Read more
Boston University defenseman Tom Poti, a first-team All-America pick last season as a sophomore, renounced his final two years of collegiate eligibility Friday to sign with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. An Oiler press release touted Poti as the top defenseman currently outside of the NHL; the 6-foot-3, 205-pound native of Worcester, … Read more
Twenty-seven current U.S. college players, representing 16 Division I institutions, were selected during the 1998 National Hockey League Entry Draft. A complete rundown by round is as follows: First Round 26. New Jersey — Mike Van Ryn, d, Michigan (CCHA) Second Round 52. Boston — Bobby Allen, d, Boston College (HEA) 53. Colorado — Steve … Read more
National champion Alabama-Huntsville became the latest school to depart the vanishing ranks of Division II hockey Monday, announcing its intention to move the program to Division I. UAH could be eligible for D-I postseason play as early as the 2000-2001 season. “Membership in Division II has gone down,” said athletic director Jim Harris in the … Read more
Fourteen current college players and at least 18 college recruits make up the majority of the invited roster for the 1998 USA Hockey Summer Challenge, an under-20 tournament which will be held August 7-15 at Lake Placid, N.Y. The U.S. roster of 55 will be divided into East and West teams and compete against national … Read more
The CCHA has admitted Nebraska-Omaha as its 12th member, starting with the 1999-2000 season. The decision ended months of speculation about the affiliation of the program, which also was considering membership in the WCHA before that conference admitted Mankato State University last month. “We are delighted to welcome [Nebraska-Omaha] into the CCHA family,” said Anastos. … Read more
Lee Saunders, who played hockey at the University of Maine from 1991-94, was killed June 13 in the Netherlands when he fell from a train platform outside Amsterdam and was hit by an oncoming train. Saunders, 28, is best remembered by hockey fans for scoring the overtime game-winner for Maine against the University of Michigan … Read more
After a one-year absence, Brian McCloskey will return to New Hampshire as associate head coach, the school announced Tuesday. McCloskey replaces Chris Serino, who left to become head coach at Merrimack after last season. Prior to last year, which he spent as associate head coach at Dartmouth, McCloskey had been an assistant for five years … Read more
Despite a sixth-place finish in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the University of Minnesota again led college hockey in attendance in 1997-98, topping the nation in overall (201,126) and per-game (10,056) home totals. All told, West teams occupied the top seven, and eight of the top ten spots in the Division I per-game rankings. Nascent … Read more