This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Every year when CHA coaches are asked about their nonconference schedules, they all usually say something along the lines of “in college hockey, anyone can win on any given night.” Last Friday night, Robert Morris opened its home schedule against No. 18 Quinnipiac and was soundly defeated, 5-0. Sure, on paper, that looked about right. … Read more
Boy, oh boy, it’s that time again … every team’s in the game, and every game’s a big one! Harvard kicked off the 2009-10 ECAC Hockey season with a statement win in Hanover, N.H., but there were plenty of other ECAC domestic disputes this weekend as well. Lots to look at, so let’s get down … Read more
Buzzing AIC is looking for a sea change this season, and so far, so good. The Yellow Jackets are currently 1-1-1 in league play, coming off a three-point weekend against Holy Cross. It’s ridiculously early, but this is the best start in conference play for AIC since 2002. Freshmen are leading the way, with rookies … Read more
He Shoots! He Scores! He Shouldn’t Have! There’s only one thing more exciting than a shootout, and that’s a shootout that helps to illustrate the idiocy of the shootout. When the game between Bowling Green and Nebraska-Omaha remained tied at the end of a five-minute overtime Friday, Oct. 30, a shootout ensued — as is … Read more
More Tightly Packed Than Ever? Hockey East has gotten off to a sluggish (at best) start against the other conferences. A 16-14-1 record doesn’t appear all that bad at first glance, but once you get past the 5-0 record against upstart Atlantic Hockey, the results are decidedly underwhelming: 3-3 against the ECACHL, 6-5-1 versus the … Read more
Well, we’re three weeks in and the two Colorado schools are leading the pack, with CC being the relative surprise. Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week: Tony Lucia, UM. Why: Scored five points (3g, 2a) including two shorthanded goals, to help his Gophers sweep Alaska-Anchorage. Also … Read more
The league’s half-dozen non-Ivy programs have been stamping their timecards for a few weeks now, so let’s check in on a few percolating trends. Wild Knights Up in Potsdam, coach George Roll predicted growing pains for his young defensive unit, but also foresaw significant offensive depth that would allow for a rolling Green and Gold … Read more
Terriers Make Much Needed Rebound Could everyone hear that collective sigh of relief coming from Commonwealth Avenue on Saturday evening? That was the Boston University Terrier faithful breathing once again after the defending national champions earned their first win of the season, 3-2, over Michigan. After opening the season with losses at Massachusetts two weekends … Read more
It’s Halloween week here and although that really means nothing in the world of college hockey, it happens to be one of my personal favorite holidays. So, please excuse the Halloween-y touches and the probably excessive use of Halloween hyperbole sprinkled throughout. Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of … Read more
Pop quiz: Who’s the hottest college hockey team in Minnesota right now? Sorry, Gophers, but you need to score goals to even be considered. Duluth? Nah. Minnesota State? Try again. St. Cloud State? Nupe. Ladies and gentlemen, Bemidji State is the hottest college hockey team in Minnesota right now after getting a hard-fought tie and … Read more
Scary Good The start of every new season is nothing but sweet potential, a potent elixir of hope and talent that has yet to sour into a reality as cold and hard — and sometimes as lingering — as an Alaskan winter. The first month of hockey is perfect, no matter what your team’s record. … Read more
Righting the Ship Pardon the mixed metaphor, but Air Force righted its ship last weekend, getting the better of RIT 5-4 and 3-2. The two wins in front of sellout crowds at Cadet Ice Arena were the Falcons’ first and second of the season after an 0-4 start. “If you would have told me that … Read more
Goal-goal-goal-goal-hanchuk The week past sure gave us some eye-popping performances, n’est ce pas? Lets begin with BU sophomore Jenelle Kohanchuk’s enormous four-goal eruption against Wayne State on Saturday. Such four-spots don’t occur every day … certainly not at BU, where it had never happened, and where only three Terriers had ever registered hat tricks. None … Read more
Youth in a Young Season This season is a scant two full weeks old, and already some interesting tidbits — too early to call them patterns — have emerged. Last season, the CCHA seemed to have had a particularly promising freshman class. Notre Dame’s Billy Maday, Michigan’s David Wohlberg, Ohio State’s Ian Boots and Zac … Read more
Undefeated UMass There’s only one Hockey East team still standing with an unblemished record — the Massachusetts Minutemen. UMass followed up a season-opening, non-league win over Rensselaer with its first points in Hockey East, a 3-2 win over defending national champion Boston University. There isn’t a coach in the universe who wouldn’t choose to be … Read more
Annual “Fear the North Country” Warning This is your official public service announcement: The North Country trip will never be “just another road game.” Clarkson and St. Lawrence swept last weekend against fellow upstaters Niagara and RIT, and now sit at a combined 5-3-0 despite widespread preseason dismissals from the ECAC Hockey community. But before … Read more
It Could Be Worse… What could be worse than a 1-9 opening weekend for Atlantic Hockey? How about an 0-14 record last weekend to plunge the league to 1-23 in nonconference games to date. “I’m sure the coaches aren’t any happier than I am,” said league commissioner Bob DiGregorio. “(Atlantic Hockey) teams are just not … Read more
We’ve entered the early part of the season, where everything still feels new, on both the spectators’ side and that of the coaches and teams, who are still feeling everything out. This weekend, we get all ten teams in action against each other for the first of five total times this year, an early way … Read more
How ’bout them Alabama-Huntsville Chargers? Paying attention, CCHA? UAH is off to a 3-1 start. Yes, you read that correctly. Three wins and just one loss. Granted, we’re only two weeks into the season, but to put this into perspective, the Chargers won just five games all of last year. What makes the CCHA cringe … Read more
Slow Start It wasn’t the start that Atlantic Hockey teams wanted. AHA squads went 1-9 to open the season: • Canisius got the conference’s only win on Saturday, a 1-0 victory over Ferris State thanks to a sterling performance by goaltender Dan Morrison (48 saves). The Golden Griffins lost to the Bulldogs 5-1 the night … Read more