This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
There were two rivalry games on the schedule last weekend, one nearly ancient and the other in its infancy, but both were highly anticipated. And while both games were entertaining, only one was a tight and tense affair. Surprisingly to some — including myself — the nailbiter came from New Haven, while the North Country … Read more
Coming Up Sixes They’re simultaneously sixth in the country and sixth in the Hockey East standings. Go figure. Admittedly, the Vermont Catamounts have games in hand against every other league opponent except for Maine, but even so there’s quite the dichotomy between their 8-1 nonconference record (with two tournament wins) and their 5-4-2 mark within … Read more
The Ultimate Upset “All year we’ve been playing really well and haven’t had a lot to show for it.” The words of Army head coach Brian Riley show the frustration the second-year coach has had to this point in the season. To win any game is big at this point. So how do you classify … Read more
First things first: • Wisconsin’s Adam Burish likely will get a rude welcome this weekend in Colorado Springs, after his hit on Scott Thauwald at the end of the last series the Badgers played with Colorado College ended the Tigers forward’s season. But these two teams are too good and playing for too much for … Read more
Still Rolling Neumann continued its roll from the first half of the season into the second, posting its first-ever tournament championship at the Saint Michael’s Tournament over New Year’s weekend. The Knights started out on Friday putting a hurt on host St. Michael’s right from the opening faceoff. Neumann tallied six goals in the first … Read more
Dave Hendrickson is unavailable to write this week’s column. He was last seen in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, unwisely taunting a horde of New York Ranger fans by telling that Wesleyan would “kick butt” against their beloved team. Tune in next week for a complete report on his subsequent medical condition. Designated Goalie … Read more
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2006, dear CCHA fans, and the second half of the season, when things get more interesting on tangible levels and the first half of the season becomes infinitely more interesting in retrospect. It is the time of year when many of us become reflective and some of us bravely take … Read more
First things first: • The embarrassment of finishing fourth in your own tournament fades fairly quickly. But for Denver, the problem is the losses to Princeton and Ferris State don’t disappear from their PairWise Rankings figures. The Pioneers finished the nonconference part of their schedule 3-5. • Michigan Tech really deserved better than a fourth-place … Read more
Midseason Awards Most USCHO writers provide their midseason reports, reviews, and rewards in their last column before the holidays. Me? I’m doing it in my first column back from the holidays. Why? No reason except I sat down in front of the computer realizing I have no idea what I was going to write about. … Read more
Ten of the league’s 12 teams were in action over the weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s, and while Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence may have been resting comfortably over their break, the holidays weren’t so kind to many other members of the league. Every team will be in action this weekend, most beginning the second … Read more
Happy New Year! 2006 is starting out with a flourish as teams get back to the ice and look to work off some indulgences taken over the holiday break. For some squads, the holiday season represented a chance to flex some muscle in some classic seasonal tournaments. While for other teams, the break represented a … Read more
Center Stage Atlantic Hockey takes center stage this weekend as defending tournament champion Mercyhurst travels to Army for a pair of games, the first of which will be broadcast nationally on CSTV. Friday’s game marks the first time that an Atlantic Hockey league game will be broadcast on CSTV. Army has, in the past, had … Read more
In the short two-year span Robert Morris has had a Division I team, the Colonials have recorded just 12 wins. But one thing all those dozen wins have in common is goaltender Christian Boucher. Boucher, a 22-year-old sophomore from Orleans, Ont., has been in net for each win in RMU’s history. He came in as … Read more
Letters To Santa It has happened again. Two years ago, I gained some weight and got the letters. Same thing this year. Once again snow on the envelopes has smeared the writing and letters intended for “The Fat Guy On The North Pole” got redirected to me, “The Fat Guy On The North Shore.” And … Read more
First things first: • Thank you, Michigan Tech, for reminding us why the games still have to be played. • North Dakota’s home losing streak has reached a program-high five games after last weekend’s sweep by Minnesota. With the way that Bemidji State has handled the WCHA this season, there’s no guarantee it’ll end Saturday. … Read more
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” Really, it is! The holidays are upon us (reminder to self–only 9 shopping days left out there) and for many teams there is a lot to be celebratory about in the first half of the season. For others the stockings are a bit mixed on the present … Read more
Midterm Exams While college kids may be taking finals, it’s time to look at how each Atlantic Hockey team is doing on the ice and hand out our midterm report cards. The first half of the season has definitely been exciting. We’ve seen some stellar performances both by teams and by individuals. Mercyhurst, Holy Cross, … Read more
Call The Labor Department Someone should file unfair overtime labor practices for the sake of the Potsdam players. The Bears have played five consecutive overtime games, and in their 14 games this year, 50 percent of them have gone to the extra period. Potsdam is 1-2-4 in those seven games. Three of those overtimes came … Read more
With the varying exam and winter-break schedules of the ECACHL’s 12 teams, the coming weekend promises to be the quietest of the season, with only one league matchup and one nonconference game on the docket. That said, both games look to be entertaining ones and should tide fans over until the holiday hockey tournaments start … Read more
Turnaround As the saying goes, “Who’d of thunk it?” If Las Vegas took bets on college hockey, how many people would have plunked down their hard-earned money to wager that Neumann would be 8-4 at the mid-season break? Or have conference wins over Utica at home and Elmira on the road? Or have non-conference sweeps of … Read more