Season previews for teams
The pieces are in place for Minnesota-Duluth to meet expectations and finish near the top of the WCHA standings in 2010-11. The Bulldogs return three 40-plus-point scorers — Jack Connolly, Mike Connolly and Justin Fontaine — that anchored a UMD power play that ranked third in Division I at the end of last season. The … Read more
The seniors on the Minnesota State roster have fallen one score short of their goal twice in the past three years. It’s the Mavericks’ goal to reach the WCHA Final Five each year, and the past two seasons, MSU was a goal away from a trip to St. Paul. The Mavericks couldn’t get a goal … Read more
The resume Dean Blais has put together would make one think it would be an easy transition when he takes his Nebraska-Omaha team from the CCHA to the WCHA. The former North Dakota coach won five MacNaughton Cups and a pair of Broadmoor Trophies in his 10 years at North Dakota, but Blais — now … Read more
After being shut out of the NCAA tournament in 2008-09, last year Wisconsin team was determined to get back on to the national scene. The Badgers accomplished that in fine form by not only making the tournament, but by going all the way to Detroit and the Frozen Four as the league’s sole representative. This … Read more
Denver was the unanimous preseason pick to win the league last season. The Pioneers succeeded in this feat by being consistently good throughout the early part of the year before going on an 11-1 tear (9-1 in conference) to finish out the season. However, it may have been too much, as the team ran out … Read more
Just by looking at their results from last season, one might think that North Dakota did its same old song and dance — start slow-ish, surge late and end up in the mix at the end of the season. Results, though, don’t tell the whole story. The Fighting Sioux started off well, but then lost … Read more
The story of Michigan Tech’s 2009-10 season was the much of the same as it has been the past few years: Enter the season with low external expectations. Live up to them, finishing dead last (and with fewer points than the year before). Get a few wins here and there, keep a few games close … Read more
It happens all over college sports. Players leave before their senior seasons to try an make it as a professional. Perhaps no college hockey coach knows this better than Don Lucia. Since Phil Kessel left Minnesota in 2006 after his freshman season, six other Gophers taken in the NHL entry draft have also signed pro … Read more
The looming Thanksgiving holiday and resultant short work week means that the standard weekly columns are on hiatus this week. Just because that’s the case, however, doesn’t mean the hockey is going to stop as there will be a bountiful horn of on-ice action this weekend — all of the non-conference variety. Within the MCHA … Read more
The interlocking schedule between the ECAC East and NESCAC conferences takes on a different look this year with the departure of the Salem State Vikings and long-time head coach Bill O’Neill to the newly formed Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Replacing the Vikings are the Nor’easters from the University of New England, who under … Read more
We are still more than a month away from Christmas and all of the good New England hockey fans have been patiently waiting for their conference season to begin after enduring daily looks at the box scores from every other league in the Northeast, including the newly formed MASCAC conference. The wait is over: Friday … Read more
Every season across Division III hockey it seems that parity becomes more and more prevalent. As one coach put it, “it used to be that you could look at your schedule and pencil in six to seven games as ones that you’d win; now you look at it and it’s maybe one to two.†This … Read more
It wasn’t too long ago when the SUNYAC was stacked with talented goaltenders. Netminders like Brett Walker, Rick Scott, Craig Neilson, Sean Sheehan, Matt Meacham, Ryan Venturelli, Tyson Gajda, Greg Van’t Hof, and Ben Binga. Now, there are a plethora of questions concerning goaltending for many teams. Plattsburgh lost Bryan Hince to the pros. Oswego … Read more
It is most definitely a cliché, but Neumann stunned the college hockey world when they walked away with the 2009 national championship last March. After stumbling through most of the season, the Knights got hot in the playoffs and ran the table all the way to the final buzzer in Lake Placid. That team was … Read more
After a trip to the NCAA semifinal game last season, where Hobart lost to eventual champion Neumann, the Statesmen are hungry to get back to the Promised Land this year. Hobart has played in the NCAA tournament three of the last four years, but the team knows it needs to take care of all of … Read more
The last couple of seasons have not been friendly to the Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen. Two seasons ago, Lebanon Valley went 1-23-1 and barely survived an effort to kill the program. Last year, with 17 freshmen on the roster, the Flying Dutchmen continued to struggle going winless during the season. Needless to say, the challenges … Read more
Manhattanville stumbled early last season, going 0-2-1 against Neumann within the first five games of the year, despite having what appeared to be a more talented team. The Valiants got rolling, though, losing only once in its next 19 contests and finished second in the regular season standings. Looking at the Manhattanville roster before this … Read more
Despite starting out last season with all sorts of promise, the Utica Pioneers struggled during much of the year. The Pioneers were strong out of conference, going 6-2-2 in 10 non-conference games, and amassed a 4-1-1 record by the middle of November. But the defense faltered when league play began in earnest and Utica dropped … Read more
The 2008-2009 season was remarkable for the ECAC West. The Neumann Knights ran the playoff table in stunning fashion and captured the national championship. As if that wasn’t enough, other teams in the ECAC West also had extended seasons. Hobart made it to the NCAA semifinal round, riding the coat tails of senior All-American goaltender … Read more
After eight seasons at the helm of the Elmira Soaring Eagles, Tim Ceglarski retired last April. The college immediately started a search for a new coach and landed former player and former assistant coach Aaron Saul, who had been the head coach of Potsdam State the past two seasons. Transitions are always a disruptive time, … Read more