This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
The Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets continue to turn heads in NCAA Division III. In the past month, Wis.-Superior (8-2-1) has made a steady rise up the USCHO.com D-III Poll. In this week’s rankings, the Yellowjackets jumped from 12 to 10, and seem to be building momentum every week. Playing in the rigid Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, the … Read more
The headline would have read something like this: “Plattsburgh hands Lakers first loss of the season”. The sub-head? “With one hand tied behind its back”. Well, sort of. The No. 7 Cardinals, who had been struggling just a bit in recent weeks (2-2-1 in their last five outings) were a little short-handed on the blue … Read more
Going into a season, at any level, and in almost any league, there always seems to be that one consistent team that will contend for a championship, that no matter what is always a force in the league and sits atop the standings each year. In the MASCAC, that team is the Massachusetts-Dartmouth Corsairs. Since … Read more
What? Really? With all due respect to The Beatles, what is a hockey submarine? Having written for USCHO for awhile now, you really almost become immune to certain clichés and “coach-speak” that you hear routinely around the rink and in the locker room. So when a term comes out that I can honestly say I … Read more
Even as Concordia prepared to play nationally-ranked St. Thomas for the second consecutive night, a 4-2 loss still on its mind, coach Chris Howe told his team it had reason to believe it could salvage a split in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series over the weekend. It’s worth noting that the Cobbers have fared … Read more
For some new head coaches, the road to working with their team is a bumpy ride that is full of twists and turns that are not the regular ups and downs of a season. For St. Michael’s coach Damian DiGiulian, the pedigree of his years at the prep and college level with hall of fame … Read more
It’s common for a senior to be leading a college team in scoring. Senior defensemen pacing their club in points, though, are rare, and those leading their schools in goals scored rarer still. Not so, at least so far this season, at Neumann University. Fourth-year blueliner Scott Farrell leads the Knights with four goals and … Read more
A year ago, Quinnipiac finished sixth out of 12 teams in ECAC Hockey, and that is where the league’s coaches predicted that the Bobcats will appear once February winds down. They are slightly ahead of that pace, standing fourth in conference points, but fifth in winning percentage. Signs indicate the field will be bunched to … Read more
Joey Sides took the ice as a Colorado Eagle this season hoping to carve out an identity for himself, but not just one that would carry him in the ECHL. He had already done that. The forward wanted to show some other leagues what he might be able to do at the next level. He’s … Read more
Army senior defenseman Cheyne Rocha had to skip the Black Knights’ games on Nov. 16 and 17. While it’s unusual to excuse your captain from games, coach Brian Riley knew Rocha had a good reason. The Rye, N.H., native was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship, and had his final interviews in New York City … Read more
Senior captain Andrew MacWilliam may not get the headlines of his better-known teammates like Danny Kristo or Rocco Grimaldi, but his contribution to North Dakota’s success is no less important. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound defenseman from Calgary, Alberta, brings a lot of grit and will to win that rubs off on his teammates, as you would … Read more
I’ve once again intercepted mail from Hockey East arenas to the North Pole and am sharing it with you. On Boston College stationary: Well, hello, Santa, this is Jerry York. There really isn’t much for me to ask for. I’ve become the guy no one wants to get in the Christmas draw because, well … … Read more
At the start of December 2011, Bowling Green was sitting in last place in the CCHA standings with one win to the Falcons’ credit and five points to show for 12 league games played. In conference play, the Falcons had scored 14 goals and were nine points behind 10th-place Alaska. It’s one year later and … Read more
After noting the dearth of draftees atop ECAC Hockey’s leaderboards earlier this week, I took to calling some of the conference’s coaches to find out what they thought of the discrepancy. Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said, “in my opinion, the NHL draft is probably a little young. “You look at [goalie Eric] Hartzell and [forward … Read more
After two stellar performances, Wisconsin-Stout goaltender Nick Hopper may have solidified himself as the Blue Devils’ starting netminder. Hopper, a senior, was named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 19. With a remarkable 59 saves, Hopper propelled the Blue Devils to back-to-back wins over nationally-ranked teams in … Read more
The Marian Sabres are one of two teams in the MCHA conference that received a new head coach this season; Concordia is the other, which nabbed the previous head coach of the Sabres, Jasen Wise. Last spring, A.J. Aitken took the reins behind the bench at Marian after spending nine seasons as associate head coach … Read more
When a team has a history of playing its best at the right time of the year and putting itself in a position to win conference championships, it’s really difficult to get too worried about slow starts or placement in the standings after just a few weekends of play. For the Babson College Beavers and … Read more
In a conference that was dominated in many ways by goaltending last season, there are mighty big skates, or should I say creases, to fill for many teams in the conference this season. Last year’s Sid Watson Award winner, Jonathan La Rose, has departed from defending champion Amherst, as too have record setters in goal … Read more
Mike Dolman is back to playing competitive hockey, which is something that scads of those locked-out NHLers — Sidney Crosby for starters — wish they could be doing. Yet it wasn’t always thus for the Morrisville junior and the team’s leading scorer. In fact Dolman can feel some empathy for Sir Sidney et al, having … Read more
St. Olaf stepped out of conference play last week and lost both games on its trip to the East Coast. The Oles were blanked in games against Williams (4-0) and Babson (3-0), but while defeat is never easy to digest, coach Sean Goldsworthy said his team will benefit from the experience in the long run. … Read more