This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
It was Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella who said in the 1989 blockbuster “Field Of Dreams” that the old-time baseball players were “guests in my corn.” This weekend, that could never be truer as all five CHA teams gather in Des Moines, Iowa, for the annual postseason tournament with an NCAA Tournament automatic bid on … Read more
Once again it will be the MIAC and NCHA squaring off in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament as MIAC champion Bethel (17-9-1) will travel to at-large bid recipient UW-River Falls (21-5-2) for a 7:05 p.m. CT Wednesday faceoff. The winner will advance to play at St. Norbert (24-3-2) in Saturday’s Quarterfinals. The Royals … Read more
The defending three-time national champions find themselves in an interesting position this season as they start the tournament with a play-in game against the SUNYAC champions — the Fredonia Blue Devils. Having won their fourth consecutive NESCAC championship with wins over Colby and Bowdoin this past weekend, coach Bill Beaney likes what he is seeing … Read more
And Then There Were Two Win or go home is the name of the game Saturday night when top-seeded Bethel takes on No. 2 seed St. Thomas in the MIAC playoff championship game. Despite being two of the hottest teams in college hockey, neither team has a shot at an at-large bid in the NCAA … Read more
One More Time For Number Seven I can’t believe it’s over. Last Saturday, my son Ryan played his final game for the Wesleyan Cardinals. It’s been a long, wonderful journey since that first time I laced up his skates and led him onto the ice where I wrapped my arms around him to hold him … Read more
Off The Top Of My Head Okay, so we know three things for sure: Alaska-Anchorage will finish last, Minnesota-Duluth will finish ninth, and those two will play Minnesota and St. Cloud in the first round of the WCHA playoffs next weekend (though we don’t know who will face who). Get ready for a wild weekend. … Read more
Awards, Part 2 Last week I had a little on-air chat with Jim Hunt, Michigan’s amiable radio color man, about this season’s year-end awards. As one would expect from Mr. Hunt, I was put on the spot — on the air — immediately. Which three forwards, he asked, would I choose for the All-CCHA First … Read more
All Rookie Team and Defensive Awards Once again, in order to bring some publicity to players who are not recognized by the traditional end of season awards, the coaches felt there was a need to name an All Rookie team as well as awards for the best Defensive Defenseman and Defensive Forward. All-Rookie Pier-Luc Belanger … Read more
There’s nothing more to say about the regular season; bygones are bygones and now it’s playoffs all the way. All the coaching cliches have come out. It’s time for the ever-popular “lower-body injuries,” that it’s anyone’s game, and goodness knows no team holds any specific advantage over another any more. Every opponent is rife with … Read more
One more weekend of conference playoff action to go. In the NCHA, St. Norbert and St. Scholastica will square off Saturday night at the Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis. Second seeded St. Norbert earned its trip to the finals by defeating third seeded UW-Stout 4-1 last weekend, while fifth seeded St. Scholastica makes its … Read more
And then there were four … Per league that is … Each league can now focus on just two more games in search of a conference champion and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. That said nobody is putting the cart before the horse and all of the coaches are only focused on one game … Read more
As Far As They Could Go RIT’s unprecedented mission was accomplished last Friday at Bentley, where the Tigers defeated the Falcons 3-0 to wrap up the Atlantic Hockey regular-season title. It was bittersweet for Wayne Wilson’s team, since RIT, two years removed from Division III, is ineligible for the postseason. “We knew the deal going … Read more
Niagara was the only team in the nation to do what this season? And no, the answer doesn’t have Ted Cook in it, though he is a big reason for the answer. The Purple Eagles went undefeated on their home ice at Dwyer Arena after beating and tying Robert Morris last weekend to end up … Read more
ECAC Northeast Championship #1 UMass Dartmouth vs. #3 Wentworth Saturday, March 3rd, 4:30 p.m., Hetland Memorial Arena, New Bedford, Mass. At the beginning of the season, Curry College and UMass Dartmouth were the two favorites to vie for the ECAC Northeast title this weekend, and for good reason. Both teams made it to the finals … Read more
Thrilling Semifinals Both of the semifinal games last weekend were thrillers. In each of the contests, the winning team built multi-goal leads only to see the losing team storm back to within a goal in the waning moments. But the two top ranked teams weathered the storms and will now meet in the championship game … Read more
Final Four Gustavus Adolphus, the top team in the MIAC for the first half of the season, continued its second-half slide right out of the playoffs Tuesday with its 3-1 loss to St. Olaf. That leaves just four teams vying for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Olies are the fourth seed, … Read more
Playoffs Nearly Set The MIAC playoffs are set — well, the five teams competing are set but not the seeds just yet. Red-hot Bethel (23 points) and St. Thomas (20 points) are sitting in the top two spots in the league. Idle Gustavus Adolphus is in third with 19 points but has no chance of … Read more
Off The Top Of My Head • Just as I suspected, the tight finish atop the WCHA didn’t pan out last weekend, and now Minnesota is a tie with St. Cloud State away from clinching the MacNaughton Cup. • That doesn’t mean the races are over. Five teams are still mathematically in contention for second … Read more
Apparently, Wayne State plays its best games against ranked teams. That trend continued last weekend as the last-place Warriors took three points from then-No. 17 Niagara with a 6-1 pounding Friday night and a 4-4 tie Saturday night, which came after rallying from down 4-2. The Warriors topped then-No. 12 Cornell back in November. With … Read more
The Playoffs Are Here!! The Playoffs Are Here!! Yes after a hard fought regular season with more twists and turns than a roller coaster at Six Flags, the playoffs have arrived and lest anyone think that the outcomes are predictable, take a listen to what the coaches think this time around. Freshman Ryan Howarth looks … Read more