Season previews for teams
Last year Just when coach Guy Gadowsky’s Princeton machine appeared poised to declare its dynasty, the gears began to grind. Defending Dryden Award-winner Zane Kalemba was never himself in net, the relentless offense finished a mere sixth in the league in scoring, the defense finished ninth in goals-against, and injuries were the culprit. From the … Read more
When St. Cloud State beat Northern Michigan in the first round of the West Regional in March, the Huskies accomplished a feat that had eluded them since their birth as a Division I program in 1989. SCSU won its first national tournament game in eight tries. But Huskies coach Bob Motzko makes a simple point: … Read more
Last season, things were starting to look up for Alaska-Anchorage. The Seawolves had seven seniors, the most in six years, and it appeared as if they might have the necessary tools to get over the hump to finally get out of the league basement and join up with the middle of the pack. They got … Read more
Colorado College was in an underdog role last season, and it stuck. The Tigers finished in the bottom half of the league for the first time in six years. It didn’t appear as if they would end up that way, however, getting off to a good start thanks to some surprising play from freshman goaltender … Read more
A new arena and the migration to one of the nation’s most prestigious college hockey conferences is enough to create a buzz surrounding Bemidji State. Not to mention that the Beavers are coming off back-to-back national tournament appearances, including a run to the Frozen Four in 2009, and that’s enough to get Tom Serratore excited … Read more
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