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
Northeastern goaltender Marc Robitaille has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, forgoing his final two years of eligibility. Robitaille earned First-Team All-Hockey East and All-America honors this past year while backstopping the Huskies to a surprising 21-15-3 record and fourth-place league finish. As a freshman, Robitaille stopped 1027 shots, a school record, on a 8-25-3 … Read more
Bentley College will move its hockey program to Division I and join the newly-formed Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, effective with the 1999-2000 season, director of athletics Bob DeFelice announced today. Bentley, formerly a member of the ECAC Central, will compete as a Division II independent this season before beginning play in the MAAC. The MAAC … Read more
Bemidji State University announced Tuesday that its men’s ice hockey team will play the 1998-99 season as a Division I independent, ending the school’s run as a Division II powerhouse. Official notification, expected to be filed with the NCAA shortly, will confirm that the Beaver men’s team will play a mixed independent schedule next season … Read more
Women’s hockey will be a championship sport in the 1998-99 season, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has decided. A vote was taken on the issue at a meeting of the conference’s faculty athletic representatives May 22 at Macalester College. “I am pleased and excited about the conference decision to expand opportunities for women in collegiate … Read more
St. Olaf College has announced that more than 75 donors have pledged $250,000 to help preserve varsity hockey and wrestling at the institution. The pledges were made only weeks after an announcement by the college that the two sports would be dropped to club status as part of a budgeting move. “We are delighted and … Read more
Merrimack’s Darrel Scoville has opted to pass up his final year of college eligibility to sign a two-year contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Scoville, 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, ranks among Merrimack’s all-time leading defensemen in scoring with 17 goals and 61 assists for 78 points in 107 career games. In 1995-96, Scoville was named … Read more
Curtis Doell, who led Minnesota-Duluth defensemen in scoring last season, has decided to forego his final two years of college eligibility, signing a three-year deal with the Florida Panthers of the NHL. The 21-year old Doell, a 6-1, 220-pounder from Saskatoon, Sask., skated in 39 games last year and racked up nine goals and 23 … Read more
Beginning next season, the University of Vermont has lifted women’s hockey to varsity status. The team will continue to play in the ECAC Women’s Alliance, where it has been a member since the team’s inception in 1995. “This university has a strong history of promoting the personal development of its student-athletes by providing a comprehensive … Read more
After hearing a final presentation from representatives of Mankato State University, WCHA members voted unanimously today to admit Mankato as a full member of the conference, beginning in the 1999-2000 season. Mankato’s admission has been viewed as likely for several months, especially considering the school participated in the WCHA playoffs last season — and will … Read more
The University of St. Thomas announced Tuesday that it will upgrade women’s hockey, which has been played as a club sport the past two seasons, to varsity status beginning in 1998-99. The Tommies’ first head coach will be Tom Osiecki, who coached the Burnsville High School girls’ team to state runner-up honors in 1996 and … Read more
Rensselaer junior right wing Matt Garver has withdrawn from the Institute and is expected to enroll at Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall. “It’s an unfortunate situation,” said head coach Dan Fridgen in a prepared statement. “But we’re certainly appreciative of what Matt has contributed to the program over his three years and we … Read more
The Schottenstein Center, the new multisport facility which will house Ohio State University’s basketball and hockey teams, is not expected to be ready for hockey until the middle of the 1998-99 season, according to recent reports. OSU athletic director Andy Geiger told the Columbus (Oh.) Dispatch that although the arena may be ready in time … Read more
Merrimack has named New Hampshire assistant Chris Serino as its new men’s ice hockey head coach. “What we want is respect and for the players to be treated like Division I players,” Serino told Foster’s Daily Democrat. “That’s my main goal right now, to go in there and help earn the respect that they deserve.” … Read more
Colorado College head coach Don Lucia has decided not to renew the scholarship of last season’s No. 1 goaltender, Jason Cugnet, ending the sophomore’s hockey career at CC. “We felt that Jason didn’t have the commitment to this team,” Lucia told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “We laid out certain expectations for our players and our … Read more
Shannon Miller, former head coach of the Canadian Olympic women’s ice hockey team, has agreed to become the first coach of the nascent women’s varsity team at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The UMD squad will compete on a club level next season, then move into an independent varsity schedule in 1999-2000. Miller, 34, led Canada … Read more
Following a unanimous recommendation from its planning committee, the University of Wisconsin athletic board voted to add women’s ice hockey as a varsity sport beginning in 1999-2000, athletic director Pat Richter announced Friday. “Ice hockey was a preeminent thought even before the success of the United States women’s ice hockey team at the Olympics,” Richter … Read more
Thursday, the New England Hockey Writers honored the region’s top Division I, II and III men’s and women’s hockey players and coaches at their annual banquet, led by Hobey Baker Award winner Chris Drury. Drury took the Leonard Fowle Award for New England’s Most Valuable Player, the Herb Gallagher Award for top forward and the … Read more
United States Military Academy assistant coach Paul Haggerty, 29, passed away Monday while running the steps of Michie Stadium, on the West Point campus. The exact cause of death has not been determined. Haggerty, a 1991 alumnus of the Academy, served two seasons as assistant to head coach Rob Riley. He was a three-time hockey … Read more
St. Olaf College, a Division III institution and a member of the MIAC, has announced its intention to drop men’s hockey from varsity status as part of an overall cost-cutting measure effective after the 1998-99 season. Said head coach Sean Goldsworthy in Tuesday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune, “My first obligation is to the kids on the … Read more