A balanced draw of six West and six East teams, led by top seeds Michigan State and Boston University, makes up the 1998 NCAA tournament field as announced today by the selection committee. For the first time ever, the field includes three teams from each of the four major Division I conferences. MSU and BU, … Read more
Players from finalist squads dominated the four all-tournament teams selected after yesterday’s championships, as 23 of the 25 all-tourney slots went to members of teams which played in the title games. All four tournament Most Valuable Players came from championship teams. Hockey East honored Boston College’s Marty Reasoner, who totaled 2-3–5 in two games and … Read more
Middlebury claimed its fourth consecutive NCAA Division III championship Saturday, beating Wisconsin-Stevens Point 2-1. The four straight titles are an NCAA record for any level of hockey. Filip Jirousek scored in the first period, and Nickolai Bobrov on the power play in the second to give Middlebury a 2-0 lead, before UWSP’s David Boehm narrowed … Read more
New Hampshire won the first-ever American Women’s College Hockey Alliance tournament final Saturday at Boston’s FleetCenter, and with it the title of unofficial Division I champion. The Wildcats topped the Brown Bears 4-1, avenging a defeat in the ECAC playoff championship. Melissa Renison scored first for Brown just over two minutes into the game, but … Read more
Ten finalists for the 1998 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, presented annually to college hockey’s top player, were announced Friday afternoon by foundation officials at the Decathlon Hotel & Athletic Club in Bloomington, Minn. The ten, selected in balloting by Division I coaches, are (in alphabetical order): Chad Alban, Sr. G Michigan StateDan Boyle, Sr. D … Read more
Thursday night at the league’s annual awards banquet, Michigan State goaltender Chad Alban was honored as the CCHA’s Player of the Year. Alban, who led the conference in league goals-against average (1.63) and save percentage (.922), played 1,622 league minutes in net for the regular-season champion Spartans en route to becoming the CCHA’s all-time leader … Read more
Yale captain Ray Giroux was named the ECAC Player of the Year today at the annual ECAC Awards banquet. Giroux, who was also voted Best Defenseman, finished 12 points ahead of the runner-up, Rensselaer’s Eric Healey, in balloting by league coaches. Giroux is the first defenseman to win the award since Daniel LaPerriere of St. … Read more
The ECAC Women’s League’s Player of the Year, Brandy Fisher, a senior forward from New Hampshire, has already set the ECAC single-season scoring record with 77 points this season, and needs just one more goal to reach the 40-goal plateau and set another ECAC mark. Providence’s Jessica Tabb, named Rookie of the Year, led the … Read more
Members of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux dominated the year-end awards announced today by the WCHA, as UND players won four major awards and occupied three spots on both of the first-team all-conference and all-rookie teams. Sioux defenseman Curtis Murphy took home Player of the Year honors after leading conference blueliners in league and overall … Read more
Boston University senior captain Chris Drury, who was named the Koho Player of the Year and Best Defensive Forward, highlighted the 1997-98 Hockey East Awards Banquet, held tonight at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. The Terrier captain led his team in scoring with 24 goals and 26 assists as he won the league’s top award for … Read more
The CCHA has named Tom Anastos the conference’s new commissioner. Anastos, currently president of the junior-hockey North American Hockey League, will officially succeed outgoing commissioner Bill Beagan on May 1. A native of Dearborn, Mich., Anastos, 34, played collegiately at Michigan State from 1981-85, and professionally in the Montreal Canadiens’ organization. Following his playing career, … Read more
Alabama-Huntsville broke open the game in the second period Saturday en route to a 5-2 victory over Bemidji State University, giving the Chargers their second NCAA Division II championship. Wingers Ryan Stewart and Colin Schmidt scored late in the middle stanza to put UAH in control, and Cedrick Billequey made 30 stops in the Charger … Read more
Sunday, four teams — New Hampshire, Brown, Northeastern and Minnesota — received invitations to the first American Women’s College Hockey Alliance tournament, which will decide an unofficial national champion for women’s NCAA Division I hockey. Three of the four invitees are ECAC members. New Hampshire (29-5-3) and Brown (21-6-4) received bids after meeting in the … Read more
Three repeat selections lead the 1997-98 CCHA All-Academic team announced by the league Wednesday, as Michigan State’s Tyler Harlton, Notre Dame’s Steve Noble and Western Michigan’s Jeff Rucinski all return to the team. Rucinski’s selection marks the 14th consecutive season that a Western Michigan student-athlete has been a member of the team, the longest active … Read more
St. Norbert forward Rob Smillie, who helped lead the Green Knights to their second straight NCHA regular-season championship, was named the league’s Player of the Year, the league announced Monday. The 5-11, 190-pound junior led the NCHA in both goals and points, with 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points. Meanwhile, St. Norbert College … Read more
The PrimeLink Great Northern Shoot-Out, a new season-opening tournament featuring four top Division III hockey programs from New York and Vermont, will debut in November on the campus of Norwich University. Slated to appear are ECAC powerhouse and host Norwich, three-time defending Division III champion Middlebury, perennial NCAA contender and 1992 national champion Plattsburgh State … Read more
Maine junior winger Steve Kariya remained hospitalized Monday with a collapsed lung suffered early in Maine’s Feb. 28 game against Nebraska-Omaha. Kariya, the nation’s 11th-leading scorer with 23-23-46 in 30 games, was hit while holding his breath, resulting in the puncture. He is expected to be out for this week’s action, but is probable for … Read more
Michigan State’s Chad Alban became just the fourth netminder in collegiate history to tally a goal Saturday night, scoring into an empty net in the Spartans’ 6-3 win over Ferris State. On the play, Alban collected the puck in the corner to the right of Michigan State’s goal and fired a 180-foot shot which bounded … Read more
The SUNYAC has announced its postseason awards, including all-conference teams. Junior Tracey Belanger of Plattsburgh and senior Brian DeFeo of Oswego were honored as co-Players of the Year. The SUNYAC Coach of the Year is Oswego’s George Roll, and the league’s Rookie of the Year is Aaron Coleman of Geneseo. First- and second-team all-conference rosters: … Read more
Michigan State head coach Ron Mason, already the winningest coach in the history of the sport, earned the 800th victory of his career Friday night as the Spartans defeated archrival Michigan, 5-1. Hundreds of enthusiastic fans stormed the ice to honor Mason after the game. “I’ve never had that happen,” Mason said of the fans’ … Read more