Season previews for teams
Last Year The Dutchmen had a fairly successful campaign last season, in no small part because they finally ditched their postseason albatross. On the way to vanquishing Clarkson in the first round, Union also came across some young point-producers and didn’t stumble through many prolonged ruts. The team endured only four losing streaks, the worst … Read more
What can one say about College Hockey America that hasn’t already been said? This is the final year of the conference? Check. Niagara and Robert Morris are off to Atlantic Hockey next season? Check. Bemidji State finally got into the WCHA starting with next year? Check. Alabama-Huntsville doesn’t have a home yet for 2010-11? Check. … Read more
Last Year Yale was simply magical last season. The Bulldogs wrested their first-ever league championship in the same year that they claimed the regular-season crown. The Elis featured four 30-point scorers despite the abbreviated 34-game Ivy schedule, and three players who averaged better than a point per game. The Blue and White dropped consecutive games … Read more
Last Year The Bears struggled mightily in what was to be Roger Grillo’s 12th and final year behind the bench. A shocking first-round sweep at fifth-place Harvard did little to ease the pain of a three-win regular season, a campaign in which the team scored fewer than two goals a game and featured only one … Read more
Last Year Despite formulating a single set of back-to-back wins through the entire regular season, the Engineers whipped up three straight W’s to open the playoffs to off Dartmouth and agitate Cornell. The Big Red finally ditched the pesky ‘Tute, but not before RPI had finally reached the 10-win mark on the season. The offense … Read more
Last Year A 4-1 record after five games had folks hopeful in Hamilton, but that was just about all she wrote for the Raiders in 2008-09. Colgate’s 3-0 start wound up being the only winning streak of the Raiders’ whole season, as the team bellyflopped into an 8-17-7 tumble following the early five-game burst. The … Read more
Last Year Cornell was just about as good as you could hope for, dropping consecutive games only once all year during a single three-game losing streak in early February. The only problem was, Yale was just slightly better. The Big Red played classic Big Red hockey, scoring modestly but defending with ferocious efficiency en route … Read more
Last Year The Golden Knights were positively wracked by injuries last season, and found themselves at 3-13-4 before cobbling together their only consecutive victories of the season in a false-hope-feeding four-game win streak. The season had effectively ended long before its formal termination, a defenseless double-drubbing by Union in the Dutchmen’s first-ever playoff series triumph. … Read more
This is Robert Morris’ last chance to win a CHA championship. And with a 1-in-4 chance, those are pretty good odds. RMU made the CHA finals last spring after upsetting defending champion Niagara in the semifinals. The Colonials hope to go farther next spring. “Everyone wants to look toward the end and hope to be … Read more
Last Year The young team that everyone had pegged for a first-round road series would settle for no such nonsense. Dartmouth shrugged off two season-opening losses to reel off five straight wins, and were 8-4-0 entering 2009. The Big Green struggled a bit down the stretch, culiminating in a disappointing home sweep at the hands … Read more
Last Year The Saints finished one goal away from an NCAA at-large bid, but instead settled for a season-ending tie in the ECAC Hockey consolation game against Princeton. The team finished fourth in the league on the strength of an 8-1-2 finish to league play, and derived much of its success from its dynamic transition … Read more
After showing steady signs of improvement the past few years in their quest to escape the Atlantic Hockey basement, the American International Yellow Jackets took a step backward last season, racking up just five victories. “We were ascending for a couple of years, and our hope is that we are still making progress,” said AIC … Read more
Coming off a regular season title in 2008, the Army Black Knights knew they were in for a challenge to repeat with 12 freshmen in the lineup. All-American Josh Kassel struggled in net, and the young Army squad had to settle for a sixth-place finish last season. Coach Brian Riley’s team is ready to turn … Read more
For the Holy Cross Crusaders, it’s all about looking forward. Paul Pearl’s team will try to put last season behind it, and focus on what on paper looks to be the makings of a successful 2009-10 season. Coming off a seventh-place finish, the Crusaders are picked to finish fourth in this year’s preseason poll. It’s … Read more
When Air Force coach Frank Serratore took the podium at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena for this year’s Atlantic Hockey media day, he expressed his love for the rink that’s hosted the last three AHA championships: “I’m glad to be back in the greatest hockey arena in the world,” he said. One can understand why Serratore … Read more
Former Canisius hockey coach Brian Cavanaugh once said that the Jesuit way is to gradually but continually improve. Current Golden Griffins coach Dave Smith has his team along that path. For a few years, his better players have been his younger ones, and as those classes have matured, the wins have started to come — … Read more
Success for the Bentley Falcons has come in cycles. In 2006, Bentley reached the Atlantic Hockey championship game, but then fell out of contention the next two years. Last season saw a resurgence that resulted in the team recording its best record in school history and reaching the league semifinals. But the Falcons might be … Read more
This season was already looking like a challenging one for the Sacred Heart Pioneers. After posting consecutive 21-win seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07, Sacred Heart’s win totals dropped to 16 the following year and then just 11 last season. After claiming the top seed in the 2007 playoffs, the Pioneers are picked to finish eighth … Read more
Last season was a roller coaster ride for the Mercyhurst Lakers. Things started off with high expectations thanks to the return of a healthy Matt Lundin in net. Lundin had was one of the top goalies in the league in 2007-08 despite playing through a serious shoulder injury most of the season. “He literally played … Read more
Two seasons ago, RIT was outclassed by Air Force 5-0 in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals, in the school’s first Division I postseason experience. Wayne Wilson’s team used that game as motivation all last season as the team went on to win 23 games, the best ever as a D-I program. But the Tigers season ended … Read more