The NCAA has placed New Hampshire’s men’s hockey team on two years’ probation as part of a punishment for major recruiting violations. The national association reported that a New Hampshire associate head coach sent 923 impermissible e-mail messages to 30 prospective student-athletes during the 2007-08 season. The associate head coach, who was not named in … Read more
North Dakota has suspended forward Matt Frattin for two games and reduced his scholarship money after he and a former Fighting Sioux player were arrested early Tuesday for disorderly conduct. The Grand Forks Herald also reported that the school is ordering Frattin to attend counseling. Frattin and former North Dakota defenseman Joe Finley were arrested, … Read more
Troy Jutting and Minnesota State have agreed to a contract extension that will keep the coach with the Mavericks through the 2012-13 season. The four-year extension is to a contract that was expiring this offseason. Troy Jutting enters his 10th season as Minnesota State’s coach in the fall. Jutting has a 142-162-44 record in nine … Read more
Defenseman John Moore, who committed to join Colorado College this season before he became a first-round NHL draft pick, instead has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. “I wish the rules were different,” Moore told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “Unfortunately, I won’t be coming to CC in the fall.” Moore was the 21st player selected … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him behind the Bulldogs’ bench through the 2011-12 season. The move comes after Sandelin led the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament with an unprecedented run through the WCHA playoffs. UMD swept at Colorado College in the first round, then became the first … Read more
Former Minnesota captain Grant Potulny, who recently returned to the team as a volunteer assistant coach, has been elevated to full-time status with the team. He replaces Mike Hastings, who joined new coach Dean Blais at Nebraska-Omaha. Potulny helped the Gophers to national championships in 2002 and 2003, scoring the overtime winner in the title … Read more
One of college hockey’s greatest rivalries will have one of the game’s best-known voices telling its story when Rival Films releases “The Battle of Comm Ave — Boston University vs. Boston College” this fall. Mike “Doc” Emrick, the well-known voice for NBC and Versus broadcasts of NHL action, will provide the narration for this one-of-a-kind … Read more
Niagara will host the final CHA tournament at Dwyer Arena on March 12 and 13, 2010, the league announced. The CHA is disbanding after the 2009-10 season. Niagara and Robert Morris are moving to Atlantic Hockey; Bemidji State is moving to the WCHA; and Alabama-Huntsville has applied for admission to the CCHA. Dwyer Arena also … Read more
Another head coach is leaving college for a new USA Hockey venture. Scott Paluch has stepped down at Bowling Green to be a regional manager of USA Hockey’s American Development Model. Assistant coach Dennis Williams will be the interim head coach for the 2009-10 season. His move comes just a month after Brown’s Roger Grillo … Read more
As anticipated, the WCHA voted Friday to admit Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha beginning with the 2010-11 season, making the conference a 12-team league. The expansion is the league’s first since Minnesota State joined in 1999-2000. The vote, which puts the Bemidji State program back on solid ground only months after it became the first No. … Read more
While the NHL Entry Draft is the first time young players are on trial for their career future, the judge and jury of that trial is the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau. The CSB and its team of 11 scouts worldwide under the direction of E.J. Maguire attempts to view and rank every potential NHL Draft … Read more
In a dimly lit ballroom, a light shines down on some very well known people who are surrounded by reporters, video cameras and photographers snapping hundreds of photos. These stylish looking people in suits are in the spotlight, both literally and figuratively, but no, it’s not a movie premier with popular actors and paparazzi, it’s … Read more
Miami defenseman Will Weber was arrested in Oxford, Ohio, and charged with theft after police said he stole a purse from a bar on June 21, the Oxford Press reported. Weber, 20, a second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, also was charged with offenses involving underage persons and … Read more
There’s no doubt that the pressure that is placed on 18-year-old kids at the NHL Entry Draft is unmatched, maybe even unfair. These kids trade skateboards and roller blades for business suits, sit through difficult job interviews with countless NHL general managers and have a media spotlight shone on them for three straight days. For … Read more
What do the Chicago Blackhawks, President Barack Obama and the Chicago Cubs have in common? Well, the obvious answer is the city, but the more important relation here is John Moore. This 18-year-old is undoubtedly going to be snatched up in the first round of the NHL entry draft, as he’s Central Scouting’s top-ranked defensemen … Read more
The debate has raged on and on in recent years between which is better: Junior A hockey or U.S. college hockey. This weekend in Montreal we may find out the answer, at least in the eyes of those most important to the game — NHL executives. As this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft kicks off, beyond … Read more
Arguably the decade’s most successful sports town recognized two of college hockey’s most successful coaches Wednesday night. Boston College’s Jerry York and Boston University’s Jack Parker were honored with the Special Achievement Award at this year’s Tradition, a fundraising who’s-who of Boston sports that benefits the New England Sports Museum. “We were up at Clarkson … Read more
Mike Hastings is moving from his position as assistant coach at Minnesota to the associate head coach position at Nebraska-Omaha. Hastings will join new Mavericks coach Dean Blais and Nick Fohr, who as an assistant coach for former UNO coach Mike Kemp, in the new staff. “Mike Hastings has a proven track record of developing … Read more
David Quinn is leaving his position as associate head coach of national champion Boston University to become the head coach of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters. David Quinn spent five seasons as an assistant to Jack Parker at Boston University (file photo: Melissa Wade). Quinn, 42, spent five seasons at his alma mater after leading … Read more
Dean Blais is back in college hockey. Will his next move be back to the WCHA? That much is uncertain, but what’s known is that Blais is the new coach at Nebraska-Omaha, a move that was announced at a news conference Friday in Omaha, Neb. Blais, a two-time national champion in 10 seasons at North … Read more