Season previews for teams
This time a year ago, Bemidji State was at the top of College Hockey America. One year later, the Beavers are still perched at the peak of the conference. Yet, changes abound in the now five-team conference. Air Force left for Atlantic Hockey, but the NCAA ruled the CHA’s automatic bid will still be intact. … Read more
What does the Robert Morris hockey team have in common with Jordan Knight, Joe McIntyre and the rest of that long since forgotten 1980’s boy band? (Yes, a corny answer is ahead.) None of them are the new kids on the block any more. Now in their third season in the CHA, the Colonials finally … Read more
When asked about the CHA, one coach noted the talent and the young players coming into the league, then mentioned Alabama-Huntsville and said, “Huntsville, they’re downright scary.” Yet, year in and year out, the Chargers can’t seem to get over the hump and notch the CHA’s automatic bid by winning the postseason tournament. In years … Read more
As RIT enters its first season in Division I, more things have remained the same than have changed. For example, the roster includes 17 players from last season’s team. “We did bring in what I think are a lot of players — nine,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “I didn’t want to get on a … Read more
The last two seasons have resulted in two Hockey East regular season championships for New Hampshire, but never the elusive postseason championship or NCAA berth. Why would this year be any different? Well, a roster of 23 players instead of the 16 UNH dressed for its season finale a year ago will go a long … Read more
History teaches everything, including the future. — Lamartine The UAF Nanooks will look to their most recent history, namely last year, to learn what’s necessary to take them to their immediate future. “We got older in age marginally, but by class and experience we’re younger,” says head coach Tavis MacMillan. Just how young is this … Read more
History is full of delightful reversals, where the opposite of what one predicts comes true. — Edmund Carpenter. For the first time in the history of such things — preseason polls, Ohio State hockey — the Buckeyes are expected to finish first in the CCHA this season. All but one CCHA coach picked OSU to … Read more
The 2005-2006 CCHA: Tiers or Tears? “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” So said Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana, a Pulitzer Prize nominee whose early-20th century output rivaled only Emerson in volume and insight. “On paper, I think our league is really going to be improved.” So said Canadian-born American … Read more
History isn’t really about the past, settling old scores. It’s about defining the present and who we are. — Ken Burns Three summers ago, the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks were rocked by a number of departures. Both players and coaches left unexpectedly, some just before the beginning of the new season. Last year, after spending the 2003-04 … Read more
History is the great propagator of doubt. — A.J.P. Taylor Miami deserves a better fate than that of sixth in the CCHA preseason coaches’ poll, seventh in the media poll. Yes, the RedHawks struggled last season — to put a team on the ice. Once they got there, however, they really knew how to play. … Read more
In history, there are no real beginnings. — Warren Sylvester Smith Out with the old, in with the new. Or should we say that everything old is new again? Not to imply that Jeff Jackson is old, by any means. There’s a certain symmetry to Notre Dame hiring Jackson after firing Dave Poulin. Jackson is … Read more
You must always know the past, for there is no real Was, there is only Is. — William Faulkner You’re only as good as your last game. Every coach, every player knows this. To end last season, the Ferris State took Ohio State to three games in first-round CCHA playoff action in Columbus, shutting out … Read more
Nothing capable of being memorized is history. — R.G. Collingwood If there is one thing to learn from Bowling Green’s 2004-05 season it’s this: humility. “I didn’t want to keep on saying it was the ‘flu.” That’s the simple explanation that Jordan Sigalet, BGSU’s senior goaltender last season, gave for making public his struggle with … Read more
It takes three facts to make a truth. — Eugene Manlove Rhodes. One. The Northern Michigan Wildcats return one of the toughest defenses in college hockey. Two. The Wildcats were collectively born under a star lucky enough to award Andrew Contois, their 2004-05 leading goal scorer, a fifth year of NCAA eligibility. Three. NMU’s cluster … Read more
The only true knowledge of things is the knowledge of their causes. — Archbishop Leighton All those who think that Michigan State will emerge a top-tier CCHA team this season, say, “Aye!” Come on. A little enthusiasm here. “I feel good about our hockey team,” says head coach Rick Comley. That’s a big statement from … Read more
History repeats itself because no one was listening the first time. — Anonymous Have you heard the one about the team that can score from nearly anywhere on the ice but allows goals from nearly anywhere as well? Of course you have. It’s the recent history of the Western Michigan Broncos. Anyone following Bronco hockey … Read more
History is not melodrama, even if it usually reads like that. — Robert Penn Warren Ah, Frank. Why did you have to go? We hardly knew ye. So it took a few years for CCHA fans to adjust to the unique coaching and public speaking style of Frank Anzalone. It certainly took this writer more … Read more
We cannot escape history. — Abraham Lincoln Talk about a change in the wind. Michigan captured just one first-place vote in this year’s CCHA preseason coaches’ poll, presumably only because Ohio State head coach John Markell couldn’t vote for his own team to give the Buckeyes the unanimous nod. Sure, OSU returns a killer team … Read more
It’s a whole new world for Vermont as it joins Hockey East as the league’s 10th team. As players and fans will soon find out, the Catamounts have a loyal following and Gutterson Fieldhouse is a tough barn to play in. “I describe [our reaction] as being excited and as a program that certainly is … Read more
Last year could not have been any worse for the Merrimack program. For starters, the Warriors fell to the depths of a 1-22-1 record within Hockey East. The team lost all 14 games after the first of the year. The players then banded together and unanimously called for then head coach Chris Serino to resign. … Read more