Here’s what Hockey East coaches are putting in their letters to Santa
David H. Hendrickson has once again intercepted mail from Hockey East arenas to the North Pole and is sharing it with you.
This Week
This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
St. Scholastica off to fast start, looking to keep points coming
Last season, St. Scholastica had a rocky start to say the least, going 4-9-0 in the first half. The Saints then exploded to a 9-5-1 second half. Their season ended with a loss to St. Norbert in the NCHA semifinals. So far this season, St. Scholastica has been able to take that second-half momentum and … Read more
Massachusetts-Dartmouth taking steps in team’s rebuilding process
Massachusetts-Dartmouth is taking positive steps in the Corsairs’ rebuild. Last year’s MASCAC champions are sitting 2-6-1 overall, but the record doesn’t indicate how they have been playing. “We have four losses with less than a minute left,” said UMass-Dartmouth coach John Rolli after the game against Bowdoin on Sunday. “We lost a game with 30 … Read more
Top-ranked Plattsburgh wants to keep momentum rolling
Four years and a shade more besides. That’s how long since it’s been since Plattsburgh had occupied the top spot in USCHO’s Division III Men’s Poll. Not that the Cardinals, perennial national championship contenders, hadn’t come close a few times since their last top ranking, the Oct. 26, 2009 preseason poll. But it wasn’t until … Read more
RIT hopes to ride recent upswing after forgettable start
The Tigers started 0-6-2 but have won four of their last six and three in a row.
Wisconsin, Ohio State, Penn State look for motivation from close losses
The Badgers, Buckeyes and Nittany Lions combined to go 0-6 last weekend, losing those six games by a combined eight goals.
Amherst finding ways to stay atop NESCAC standings
The names are a bit different on the roster, experience may be not as deep in years past and the goaltender, until now has gone under the radar screen, but a quick look at the NESCAC standings finds Amherst sitting atop the league at 4-0-0 coming into their final weekend of play before finals, the … Read more
Southern Maine creeping into upper echelon of ECAC East
For years, this writer and coach Jeff Beaney at Southern Maine have had a running joke come season preview time. Beaney, tongue-in-cheek, always looks for the lowest predicted standing possible so he can build his team for success and over-achievement versus whatever the bottom end number looks like. This year, I had picked the Huskies … Read more
Veterans leading the way for struggling Suffolk
Suffolk coach Chris Glionna is relying on his veterans through the first half of the season. And that situation is paying dividends for the Rams. “I like our leadership, we have had some kids that have been with us for three or four years,” stated Clionna. “They understand the price to pay to win and … Read more
Princeton and Rensselaer collide as they try to ascend a crowded ECAC ladder
There wasn’t much separating Rensselaer from Princeton in the 2012-13 season. The Engineers were two games and four points better in the standings for ECAC Hockey, but overall, the Tigers won more games and had the better winning percentage. Yet as in most sports, a season is judged by a team’s postseason, and Princeton didn’t … Read more
Palkowski, Riedel, near milestones at St. Thomas
Coaches are constantly seeking to bring their athletes to the next step, the next level. For St. Thomas coach Tom Palowski, most of the energy directed into his work has already paid handsome dividends, as it is a resume that would be envied by most neophyte coaches. As such, Palowski is about to reach the … Read more
Overtime goal continues key production from freshmen for Yale
Chris Izmirlian scored in OT to lift the Bulldogs past Merrimack last Saturday.
Manhattanville’s Mooney putting in ‘Valiant’ effort
The box score from Sunday’s contest could have read, “Jake Mooney 3, Tufts 0,” but of course, it didn’t. Hockey wins are never the product of a one-man effort and Mooney would be the first to say so, the first guy to tell you that the pucks are going in for him mostly because of … Read more
Nebraska-Omaha hopes week off doesn’t disrupt momentum
The Mavericks were 6-2 in November and head to Colorado College to deal with the Olympic-sized rink
All Ferris State goalie Motte does is win, win, win no matter what
The Bulldogs netminder leads the nation with an 11-0-2 record.
St. Thomas playing well, but still has ‘a long way to go to be a good team’
Although St. Thomas has certainly played good hockey through the first month of the season, winnning six of its first eight games and losing just once, coach Jeff Boeser will tell you the Tommies are not a finished product. “We have a long way to go to be a good team,” Boeser said. “We have … Read more
Northeastern producing a lot for Madigan to like
The Huskies are 9-5-1 and ranked 19th in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll after winning Notre Dame’s tournament.
Wisconsin-Superior progressing thanks to goalie star power
Dan Stauber knew it would be a challenge for his Wisconsin-Superior team to travel to New York and play a pair of games against nationally-ranked opponents. Not to mention the toll a long trip can take on a team. But while the Yellow Jackets had been up and down in the weeks prior to the … Read more
Undefeated St. Norbert still looking at ways to keep improving
St. Norbert is currently the top-ranked team in the nation, toting a 9-0-0 overall record and a 6-0-0 slate in the NCHA. Many teams in Division III hockey would find them as the team to beat. However, it’s the Green Knights that see room for improvement. “I think we have a pretty average group so … Read more
After uninspiring start, Ohio State prospers in the face of adversity
The Buckeyes enter Big Ten play having won eight of their last nine games.