There’s an intriguing backstory accompanying each of the teams in this season’s historic Frozen Four. One team certainly wasn’t expected to get here. North Dakota, a team coming off extensive losses on offense, had to fight its way past Boston University and top overall seed Boston College in games played just a couple of hours … Read more
When the chips were down in the regional final, Mark Stuart led Colorado College out of the wilderness.
The Fighting Sioux are in the Frozen Four thanks in large part to their goaltending. Patrick C. Miller takes a look at the goaltending team that has led North Dakota to Columbus.
Barry Tallackson has shouldered the weight of expectations for four years at Minnesota. Will he repeat his regional heroics at the Frozen Four?
Are you as tired as I am hearing about how great this past weekend’s college basketball regional finals were? Yeah, three games went to overtime; yeah, maybe it was the best weekend ever of college basketball. But you know what? This was also the best weekend of college hockey ever. Yes, you heard that right. … Read more
Minnesota’s season began auspiciously. Despite the loss of several of its top players, including the early departures of Thomas Vanek and Keith Ballard to the pro ranks, the Gophers cruised through the first half of the season, racking up a 15-4-0 record and the nation’s No. 1 ranking at the Christmas break. Not bad for … Read more
There wasn’t much doubt that at least one of them would be going to Columbus, Ohio. The only questions were how many and which ones? Several Hockey East coaches expressed the hope that the four league teams selected to the NCAA tournament — Boston College, New Hampshire, Boston University and Maine — would be placed … Read more
When North Dakota forwards Brandon Bochenski and Zach Parise went pro early after last season, fans of the Sioux had to wonder if the team’s offensive punch would leave town with them. After all, the two scored 50 of the team’s 182 goals last season. Throw in graduating senior David Lundbohm, who added 15 lamplighters, … Read more
Moving Up The Ladder With Gabe Gauthier’s hat trick Sunday, he moved up to 111 points in his career, good for No. 59 in the Denver scoring list, leaving behind Anders Bjork, Paul Josephson, Marc Rousseau, Njorn Engstrom, Kelly Popadynetz, Cliff Koroll, Rich Preston, Mike Busniuk, Ken Williamson and Brian Konowalchuk at 109. Gauthier now … Read more
It’s a coach’s worst nightmare. You execute your game plan perfectly. You dominate your opponent at the game’s opening. And what do you have to show for it? Nada. Zilch. Zip. After a sluggish start Saturday for defending national champion Denver that resulted in the Pioneers needing overtime to get past underdog Bemidji State, the … Read more
Legend has it that longtime Maine head coach Shawn Walsh pointed to a 16-2 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota as the turning point in the Black Bears program. It was January 4, 1986, and Minnesota had already thumped Maine 8-3 the night before. It was Walsh’s second year at the helm of the Black … Read more
Streak Buster When Denver rookie defenseman Andrew Thomas scored the Pioneers’ first goal of the game at 5:35 of the first period it snapped Bemidji netminder Matt Climie’s shutout streak. The rookie goaltender had not allowed a tally in 177 minutes, 41 seconds, dating back to March 5 when Air Force’s Brian Gineo scored in … Read more
The first loss for a goaltender is one of those rites of passage anyone who gets between the pipes has to endure. For a position that demands as much mentally as it does physically, how a goalie responds to defeat is as a big a test as his puck-stopping acumen. For Boston College would-be freshman … Read more
A Bit of History Saturday’s meeting was the 95th matchup between Colorado College and Michigan, with the Wolverines owning a 57-35-3 edge against the Tigers. The two teams have now met seven times in the NCAA tournament. For the Tigers, Saturday’s victory was its first win in the NCAA tournament against Michigan since 1957. A … Read more
The distance between Rochester, Minn., and Colorado Springs, Colo., is 729 miles as the crow flies, but to get from the one city to the other, ice is a more convenient medium than air. Colorado College’s captain, junior Mark Stuart, and sophomores John Brunkhorst and Scott Thauwald are all Rochester natives, and are among seven … Read more
At the end of last season, Hobey Baker finalist Zach Parise decided that his goal-scorer’s touch better matched a New Jersey Devils uniform than North Dakota green. Immediately, Parise left his brother, goaltender Jordan, with a huge question — who would provide the offensive support that he needed? The Fighting Sioux had plenty of answers. … Read more
Looking For The Power Gophers head coach Don Lucia looked all game Saturday for the right combination to spark the power play, which went 0-for-9. After a couple of fruitless efforts, Lucia began changing up the power-play groups, then mix-and-matched players in an attempt to locate a combination that clicked. As a result, a number … Read more
They were the longest shot in the tournament. The 16th seed in a 16-team draw. As a candidate for an at-large berth, the Mercyhurst Lakers wouldn’t have made the Top 25. They got into the nationals in completely legitimate fashion, by winning the Atlantic Hockey tournament, but their season was supposed to end in the … Read more
Too Much Power Boston College finished the game 3-for-11 with the man advantage, while Mercyhurst went 2-for-8. The teams at one point in the second period had scored five straight goals on the power play. Each team exhibited at least one highlight-reel goal, perhaps none better than Brian Boyle’s goal at 12:18 of the first … Read more
In the wake of the Miracle on Ice’s 25th anniversary last month, fans of the Mercyhurst Lakers are hoping for something like a repeat. The Atlantic Hockey champion Lakers take on the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, Boston College, in the first game of the East Regional — and the national tournament as … Read more