For Quinnipiac’s Chris Cerrella, all of the trials and tribulations of joining an emerging D-I program, come down to one game. After the disappointment of the past two seasons, a win Saturday against Mercyhurst can make up for it, and then some.
Rick Gotkin has built the Mercyhurst program from scratch, through transitions from D-III to D-II to D-I. Now, the Lakers are a step away from the NCAA tournament, a dream so amazing, Gotkin is trying not to think about it.
An unforgettable weekend of playoff action ended Sunday with four overtime finishes, every one with NCAA tournament implications. Adam Wodon relives one of the most nail-biting days in college hockey history.
It was potentially the final game of his collegiate career. In his four years, he’d never been a marquee name. In fact, he’d scored only four goals at Providence, none in the last two years.
When Paula C. Weston headed out to Omaha, Neb., for the Mavericks-Buckeyes CCHA series, she got more than she bargained for. Follow USCHO.com’s CCHA correspondent through one of the Midwest’s hidden jewels.
The formula is simple — two teams enter, one team leaves. That’s how a game three works, and that’s how it went down Saturday night in Durham, N.H., between UMass-Lowell and New Hampshire. Dave Hendrickson reports.
UMass-Lowell’s victory over New Hampshire was a quick look at the River Hawks’ season. They’re still alive, thanks to a late comeback.
A few weeks ago, when told associate coach Scott Sandelin was going to be leaving at the end of the season to take the coaching job at Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota players said they’d just have to win the national title to give Sandelin a proper sendoff. How prophetic. Sandelin joined head coach Dean Blais behind … Read more
On March 19, 1949, Boston College won its first national championship in only the second NCAA hockey tournament. Fifty-one years later, the Eagles entered their title game against North Dakota still looking for number two. When they lost, 4-2, it added one more brick in a wall of agonizing frustrations. "It’s been a long time … Read more
Was there any chance anyone could pry the national championship trophy out of Peter Armbrust’s grasp? “No, not a chance in hell,” Armbrust said. “This thing is staying right here.” The University of North Dakota senior is one of a select few players who can say his last collegiate memory will be piling on the … Read more
It’s 35 minutes to game time, and the area around the Providence Civic Center resembles a commodities trading floor. Buyers and sellers barter, and, in most cases, wait each other out. The clock is ticking. The commodity, is, of course, tickets for the finals of the 2000 NCAA hockey championships. “I’m willing to go $100 … Read more
Like most youngsters with any hockey ability, Lee Goren had dreams of the National Hockey League. And, for a Winnipeg native, the standard route to the NHL is normally thought to be through the Canadian major junior system. So Goren, like so many of his friends, went off to the WHL and the Saskatoon Blades. … Read more
It was March 1998, and St. Lawrence was staring at elimination from the ECAC tournament, a dubious distinction when 10 of 12 teams make it. After being a national contender for years, the Saints spent most of the ’90s in the lower tier of the ECAC standings. They thought they were close to turning things … Read more
The opportunity remains for the Eagles to remove the “1949” title — referring to the school’s last national championship — thanks to a dramatic third-period comeback on the way to a 4-2 victory over St. Lawrence on Thursday night. That’s the good news for the Eagles. The bad news for the Eagles is their next … Read more
Jeff Panzer is not a picky man. He’ll take another 2-0 final in the national championship game Saturday night. Just as long as North Dakota has the 2. Panzer and the Fighting Sioux could only find the back of the net twice in their national semifinal against Maine on Thursday, though that was enough to … Read more
Boston College had just defeated St. Lawrence in dramatic fashion to advance to a national championship game against North Dakota. The Eagles were celebrating in the locker room. BC coach Jerry York got everyone’s attention and told them to make sure the door was closed. “This doesn’t leave the locker room,” he said. “You can’t … Read more
North Dakota coach Dean Blais didn’t have to say much to sum up his team’s 2-0 national semifinal victory over Maine Thursday. His goaltender, Karl Goehring, did most of the talking with his play on the ice. Goehring, who missed the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five and the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament … Read more
Welcome back, old friend! Haven’t seen you in five years. For the first time since 1995 and the seventh time overall, Providence, R.I., is the host for the NCAA Hockey Championships — the Frozen Four. And with all due respect to Colorado Springs, Detroit, Milwaukee and Albany, to name a few, there is no better … Read more
Another year, another champion. While college hockey’s fraternity of teams is a select few compared to many other NCAA sports, the task of repeating as champion is among the most difficult. With Maine’s semifinal loss to North Dakota, another chance for it to happen — for the first time in 28 years — went by … Read more
Sometimes games come down to Xs and Os. A brilliantly designed faceoff play. A game plan that strikes at an opponent’s Achilles’ heel. A power play that breaks down a penalty kill with the precision of a Swiss watch. Blake Bellefeuille rose to the occasion in the semifinal against St. Lawrence, sending the Eagles to … Read more