Season previews for teams
It’s not hard to see why so many people are picking Minnesota-Duluth to win the WCHA this season, even after losing a Hobey Baker Award winner. Junior Lessard fits into the equation because he and three other players are the only ones from the lineup at the end of last season not returning to the … Read more
Where did things go wrong last season for Minnesota State? You could trace it back to before the season even started, before the Mavericks opened 1-4-1 or played the first half at 4-11-3. Before the games even started, the Mavericks lost defensemen Matt Paluczak and Jon Dubel for the season because of shoulder injuries. That … Read more
Craig Dahl addressed his team in preseason meetings with this question: If you’re in a race from St. Cloud, Minn., to somewhere in South Carolina, what’s the first thing you’re going to do? The St. Cloud State coach got a variety of answers, including get a map, make a plan, get gas, find someone to … Read more
Don Lucia and the Minnesota coaching staff knew this season was going to be different from an offensive standpoint. You don’t lose Thomas Vanek, Troy Riddle, Matt Koalska and Grant Potulny and just pick up where you left off. Still, the Golden Gophers coaches got together for a preseason meeting to discuss personnel and how … Read more
Head coach Bill Wilkinson and the Wayne State Warriors saw more than their fair share of success during the team’s first four seasons in the CHA, capturing three consecutive conference championships and earning a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2003. But the loss of a dozen seniors following the most successful season in the … Read more
Head coach Frank Serratore didn’t expect his Air Force Falcons to set any records for victories last year. After all, his 2003-04 squad saw the turnover of nearly half of its roster from the previous season, and that club recorded just 10 wins. “Last year we came back and we were kind of dreading the … Read more
Derek Schooley knows exactly what Tom Petty meant when he sang “the waiting is the hardest part.” The Robert Morris head coach has been counting the days until the first-year Division I program finally takes to the rink. “Our players are excited about being here. The community’s excited, the campus is excited about us being … Read more
These are trying times for College Hockey America. In the past 10 months, one club has folded, three others have explored leaving the conference, and one of the league’s top offensive threats has been suspended indefinitely. Gone from the CHA ranks this season are the Findlay Oilers, a program which fell victim to budgetary constraints … Read more
Like Deja Vu All Over Again Press the rewind button back to April 8. Two wins away from a national championship, Boston College and Maine battled tooth and nail as Hockey East’s finest in the FleetCenter. Matti Kaltiainen and his BC teammates are the pick again in Hockey East (photo: Kelly McGinnis). Look for more … Read more
In Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald’s three years at the helm, the River Hawks might well have been called the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas. In year one, they’d have earned an NCAA tournament berth had not three top players missed the entire stretch run competing for the French Olympic team. In year two, they posted a 10-2-4 record in … Read more
The 2004-05 season for Providence may have blown up in May when goaltender Bobby Goepfert was dismissed from the school because of academic violations. The Friars were already losing All-American defenseman Stephen Wood, fellow blueliner Jason Platt, and three of their five forwards who had totaled at least 20 points. With no graduations from the … Read more
Is it great momentum or horrendous momentum? If you’re a glass-half-full Husky fan you can point to the seven-of-eight points your team earned over the final two weekends to come oh-so-close to a playoff berth. Only BU’s overtime goal at New Hampshire denied that quest. You can also point to the 11-7-5 record from December … Read more
After two straight seasons atop Hockey East, New Hampshire fell to fourth place last year. Although that hardly ranks as a catastrophe, the surprise was not in the result but in the details. The Wildcats, consistently among the league leaders in team defense, fell to fifth overall, eighth in league games. Eighth? Next to last … Read more
After season upon season of seeming youth, Connecticut returns a lineup where veterans outweigh the inexperienced. Still, for this year’s edition of UConn, that’s not enough to earn complete respect. UConn returns the top player in Atlantic Hockey, last year’s leading scorer and MVP Tim Olsen, and graduated only one significant player in Eric Nelson. … Read more
“I think we were happy with our team last year.” That may sound crazy coming from a coach whose team finished in seventh place despite the feeling the club could compete for a top-four spot, but Ryan Soderquist means it. Okay, so maybe “happy” wasn’t the right term. There was plenty for Soderquist to pick … Read more
“We’d like to be a pleasant surprise,” were the words from Canisius head coach Brian Cavanaugh. Now in his 24th season behind the Griffs’ bench, Cavanaugh has learned that it’s better to be cautiously optimistic than to set expectations that are hard to meet. “I think the players have their expectations,” said Cavanaugh, the dean … Read more
Brian Riley, who took the head coaching reins from his brother Rob at Army this summer, is not the only new thing at West Point this year. No, half the locker room is brand new to the U.S. Military Academy — all freshmen — after Riley cleaned house upon arrival this summer. Talk about the … Read more
Depending on where you’ve been for the past five or six months, a lot has changed in Atlantic Hockey. In essence, it became known that the league was somewhat a home for the “wannabes” of the college hockey world, though those who know the league well won’t find that a strange discovery. The summer brought … Read more
Just score more goals. That’s what American International coach Gary Wright wants his team to accomplish this season. A year ago, the AIC offense scored what Wright called an “anemic” 2.04 goals per game in league play, which easily ranked dead last. Combine that with a league-worst 4.04 goals against per game and there’s no … Read more
In the North Country, St. Lawrence will look to rebound from an inconsistent season to try and regain a slice of its former identity. “The big thing for this team over the last couple of years,” explained Saints coach Joe Marsh, “has been trying to get back into it. It is not done overnight. Often … Read more