Hockey East power New Hampshire lost its leading goal-scorer Wednesday, as forward Eric Nickulas announced that he will renounce his senior year to play professionally. “It was a really tough decision, but right now I think it’s the best choice I can make,” Nickulas said. Although his NHL rights are held by the Boston Bruins, … Read more
The new season-opening Ice Breaker Cup tournament has undergone a change of venue and taken on a new name and corporate sponsor. The tournament is now the Team Cheerios Ice Breaker Invitational, and will be played at Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wis., home of the host Wisconsin Badgers. Originally, the tournament was to be … Read more
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota winger Erik Rasmussen will announce today that he has signed with the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres. Rasmussen was the first American-born player taken in the 1996 draft, when the Sabres made him the seventh overall pick. His salary of $875,000 per year for three seasons is fixed by … Read more
Denver junior Paul Comrie has decided to return to school this year, passing up an offer from Red Deer of the Western Hockey League, according to an article in the Denver Post. The Post had earlier reported that Comrie would renounce his final two years of collegiate eligibility to play Canadian major junior hockey for … Read more
CCHA commissioner Bill Beagan, who is in his 13th year, has announced his retirement effective June 30, 1998. “I made my decision to retire two years ago,” said Beagan. “It was the right decision then, and it is the right decision now. I can think of no place on this planet that I would have … Read more
As reported by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota head coach Doug Woog has been placed on notice by athletic director Mark Dienhart for letting several hockey players — none underage — have access to beer at his expense after some games. “Under different athletic directors I’ve served [with], we’ve had different policies and no policies on … Read more
Like any good rumor, the one about the formation of a fifth NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey conference has taken on a life of its own. Well, the facts are in — the grist for the mill is expended. An official announcement is not expected for at least a few weeks, but eight schools … Read more
Denver junior Paul Comrie will forego his final two years of eligibility, according to an article in the Denver Post today, and will join Red Deer of the major junior Western Hockey League. Comrie, who led Denver with 21 goals and 28 assists in 40 games during his sophomore year, was expected to tell Pioneer … Read more
Forty-two current or future NCAA Division I players were chosen by National Hockey League teams at the league’s 1997 Entry Draft. Defenseman Ben Clymer of Minnesota was the first college player selected, as the Boston Bruins made him the first pick of the second round, 27th overall. Boston College and Notre Dame led the way … Read more
Forty-one players were named to the 1996-97 Hockey East All-Academic Honor Roll, headed up by its Top Scholar-Athlete, four Distinguished Scholars, and a league-high eight players from Merrimack. Boston University senior Shawn Ferullo earned the league’s Top Scholar-Athlete Award by compiling a grade point average of 3.91 in the school’s College of Arts and Sciences. … Read more
Brown’s two-month search for a new men’s ice hockey coach is finally over. Roger Grillo, a highly-regarded seven-year assistant at Vermont, was introduced Monday as the team’s next coach. He replaces Bob Gaudet, who left two months ago to take over the head coaching position at his alma mater, Dartmouth. “I’m excited to move from … Read more
Boston University head coach Jack Parker has turned down the offer from the Boston Bruins to be their next coach according to reports out of Boston. Parker was offered the job Wednesday by Bruins general manager Harry Sinden after meeting with team officials for an hour, and had until Monday to decide. Parker has compiled … Read more
The Second Annual Eastern Senior All-Star game provided a surplus of excitement and goals for the 3,203 college hockey fans in attendance Sunday Apr. 6 as the ECAC all-stars edged the Hockey East seniors, 10-8, in an up-and-down, run-and-gun offensive shootout at the University of Vermont’s Gutterson Fieldhouse. The ECAC team (comprised of players from … Read more
Chris Drury was named Most Valuable Player and Best Forward in New England by the New England Hockey Writers. Drury, an All-America center from Boston University and runner-up for the Hobey Baker Award, was voted as the recipient of the Leonard M. Fowle Award as New England’s Most Valuable Player and the Herb Gallagher Plaque … Read more
On Wednesday, Dartmouth College confirmed a story that first appeared on U.S. College Hockey Online by appointing current Brown head man Bob Gaudet as its nineteenth men’s ice hockey head coach. “When the search committee first came together, we had a good idea of what we were looking for in an ideal candidate,” said Dartmouth … Read more
The Ice Breaker Cup, a new season-opening college hockey tournament, debuts at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago next October. The tournament will feature four Division I teams, one from each of the four major conferences,in a single-elimination competition on Oct. 11-12, the first weekend of the NCAA college hockey season. “The Ice Breaker Cup is … Read more
To avoid conflicts with the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, and to improve the opportunity to sell tickets, the NCAA is moving the Division I men’s ice hockey championships a week later. As reported last fall on U.S. College Hockey Online, starting next year, the hockey semifinals and finals will be played one week after … Read more
Led by Hobey Baker Award winner Brendan Morrison, Michigan boasts four members on the 1996-97 Titan University Division I All-America teams, the most of any school in the nation. The University Division teams, selected by members of the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA), consist of 24 players divided into East and West, First and Second … Read more
Bob Gaudet, who was the goalie on Dartmouth’s last NCAA Tournament teams in 1979 and 1980, will leave his current position as head coach at Brown and fill the head coaching vacancy at his alma mater, according to sources close to both teams. Gaudet, 38, is expected to be formally introduced as the next coach … Read more
Randy Robitaille, sophomore center for the Miami Redskins, signed a contract with the Boston Bruins on Monday. Robitaille will play for the Bruins on Thursday night; financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. “It’s better than first-round money,” says Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni. “This is a great situation for me, not only because … Read more