No Surprise
It may be a much different squad than last year’s Sioux, but Paula C. Weston finds that it’s not a surprise for North Dakota to be back in the Frozen Four.
Other Meta: Men's D-I
Notre Dame’s Brown Leads All-USCHO Honors
Notre Dame goaltender David Brown leads the 2006-07 Division I men’s All-USCHO awards, announced Wednesday. The senior from Stoney Creek, Ont., was named the USCHO.com national Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year to head up this season’s list of honors. In his senior season for the Fighting Irish, Brown led the … Read more
Duel
With two top goaltenders in net, it’s no surprise that it took extra time for even a single goal to be scored in the East Regional Semifinal. Chris Lerch takes a look at UMass’ Jon Quick and Clarkson’s David Leggio.
Notebook: Massachusetts Vs. Clarkson
One Is All It Takes Today’s win by Massachusetts was the ninth 1-0 final in NCAA tournament history but the seventh since 2003. Two others were overtime games: last year’s epic three-OT win by Wisconsin over Cornell in the Midwest Regional Final and Minnesota’s 2005 West Regional Semifinal win over Maine. “There’s a thin line … Read more
Notebook: Maine Vs. St. Cloud
Ending The Drought Maine came into the NCAA tournament having lost four straight, all of them to Massachusetts: two to end the season and a sweep at the hands of UMass in the Hockey East tournament, the team the Black Bears face on Saturday. “How could you not respect a team that beat you four … Read more
Maine Man
Maine goaltender Ben Bishop missed four games after a groin injury against Merrimack. He came back strong — and stood tall — for Maine in the East Regional Semifinal as Russell Jaslow reports from Rochester.
Four Guys You’re Going To Miss
At the end of every season, college hockey fans across the country say goodbye to seniors they’ve known for four years, young men whose careers and lives they’ve followed into the early stages of adulthood. Among college hockey fans, there is a certain snobbery regarding “our” players, the arguable assertion that guys who play hockey … Read more
Mike Eaves: A Matter Of Trust
It was Oct. 11, 2002, and Rensselaer had just beaten Wisconsin, 5-1, in the opening game of that year’s Ice Breaker Invitational, hosted by the Badgers in Madison. “They capitalized on every opportunity,” UW head coach Mike Eaves told USCHO’s Jayson Moy after the game. “Every chance they had, they took advantage.” That was what … Read more
Robbie Earl: Most Outstanding Player
With three goals and an assist on the weekend, everybody in the state of Wisconsin knew that junior forward Robbie Earl would be the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Everyone, it seems, except Earl. “I didn’t even know until we got the locker room when coach told me. It’s a great honor. But there’s so … Read more
Anatomy Of An Opening Goal
On the road, scoring the first goal can often make or break the evening’s performance. Home teams usually have an adrenaline surge off the opening face-off with the crowd buoying their efforts. Getting that initial tally accomplishes the dual purposes of taking the lead and deflating those energies. Since 1999, the team that has scored … Read more
A Few Of My Favorite Things
This marks USCHO’s tenth year at Frozen Fours, beginning in Milwaukee and coming back full circle. Since yours truly has been part of all of them, here are some favorite memories with a few notable downers mixed in. Bear in mind that it comes from a point of view in which the other five leagues … Read more
The Last Worry
Going into its NCAA semifinal contest against Wisconsin, Maine’s last worry was special teams. Many factors may have conspired to keep Black Bears coach Tim Whitehead awake at night, but neither the power play nor the penalty kill was among them. The penalty kill ranked first in the nation with an 89.1 percent success rate; … Read more
The Survivors
The Boston College Eagles, just four weeks ago, were talking more about bubbles than rings. After a near-deadly skid that ended the regular season, BC knew not only did it need to advance to the Hockey East final four, but in doing so needed to sweep its best two-of-three quarterfinal series with Vermont in order … Read more
Role With It
Most everyone in the WCHA may know Ryan MacMurchy and Jack Skille, but if you’re a college hockey fan who lives east of Milwaukee, chances are that when you think “Badger hockey,” you think “Brian Elliott.” If you’re a diehard college hockey fan, you may even know the play of sophomore Joe Pavelski, junior Robbie … Read more
The Long Road
When the Wisconsin Badgers walked into their locker room for the first time at the start of the 2005-06 season, they were greeted with an assortment of hardware. There was the Pettit Cup from the 2002 Badger Hockey Showdown, representing the last time Wisconsin took its own home tournament, as well as a WCHA playoff … Read more
Coach’s Chalkboard: BC-North Dakota
Chess matches happen all the time in hockey. Bench bosses Jerry York of Boston College and Dave Hakstol of North Dakota waged one during their NCAA semifinal on Thursday at the Bradley Center. In the end, BC won 6-5. Two pawns in this match were 6′-5″, 220-pound defenseman Matt Smaby of NoDak, and 6′-7″ 240-pound … Read more
Learning Experience
It was a question for the Fighting Sioux all year: Could a team with such a young defense survive the season? Everyone in Milwaukee knew the answer to that question by the 18:08 mark of the first period in the first semifinal between Boston College and North Dakota. It was at that point that the … Read more
Hat Trick, Indeed
Although the Hobey Baker Memorial Award voting is already a done deal, Boston College’s Chris Collins staked himself to the “Hat Trick” with a semifinal hat trick of his own. Chris Collins shakes hands with Jordan Parise after Thursday’s semifinal. (photo: Melissa Wade) The announcement of the three final contestants for the Hobey raised eyebrows … Read more
From Achilles’ Heel To Sparkplugs
All year long, the refrain about Boston College has been its ability to survive its four freshman defensemen. Conventional hockey wisdom says that blueliners have the toughest time making the transition to the next level; an abundance of rookies at the position is a recipe for disaster. For Boston College, its youth on the blue … Read more
Damon and Moore: Maine Men
Hockey is alive and well in the state of Maine. Despite the loss by the Black Bears to Wisconsin, the state of Maine is on the upswing. You can thank Derek Damon and Greg Moore for that. These two Maine natives have raised the bar for hockey in the state by their play in Orono. … Read more