This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
The Upset of the Year race has a candidate in the WCHA, the officials interject themselves into the action, Denver refuses to be satisfied, and — oh yeah — number-one Wisconsin takes on number-two Boston College Friday. Todd D. Milewski reports.
Milestones achieved, a coach breaks the Blue Wall of Silence, an unlikely foe tearing up the CCHA … Paula C. Weston draws aside the curtain on the CCHA this week.
They’re off and running in the SUNYAC. Russell Jaslow scopes out last weekend’s action, and forecast’s the next.
It’s not just a two-team race in the WCHA, it seems, as upstarts Ohio State and Wisconsin lifted eyebrows last weekend with upsets of powerhouses Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth. Zevi Gutfreund lifts some more.
The MAAC had an interesting summer: Gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, getting into a flap with Findlay, dealing with the potential departure of Canisius. Now it’s time to get serious on the ice as its looks for another measure of respect by playing some tough non-conference foes.
Hockey East is off and running again this season, with big games dotting the schedule. Boston College is coming off a pair of nice wins at the Maverick Stampede, while Maine contends with the loss of two players and its coach to give defending-champion North Dakota a run for its money in two games. Meanwhile, Merrimack, UMass-Amherst and Northeastern are once-struggling teams vowing to make some noise this year. Dave Hendrickson looks at the week ahead.
The WCHA conference schedule ramps up with some coaches on the proverbial hot seat.
CCHA teams have seen their share of early struggle. Will that continue, or can they bounce back? Paula C. Weston checks in with her weekly preview.
Vermont is back on the ice, and coming off a heartbreaking OT loss to New Hampshire. St. Lawrence and Clarkson stumbled out of the gate, and look to rebound. And RPI hopes to prove their 5-4 win over BU wasn’t a fluke. It’s all part of another weekend in the ECAC, as the league teams gear up for the start of conference play in two weeks, while still awaiting for its Ivy League bretheren to begin their seasons.
How far is far enough? Several CCHA teams may find out this weekend as the league builds up frequent-flier miles. Paula C. Weston solves the traveling salesman problem, and tackles games and grudges to boot.
MAAC hockey is back, and not a moment too soon. A thankful Jim Connelly runs down the week that was and profiles the ones to come, including Quinnipiac vs. Iona in the rematch of the week.
With the season ready to get underway in a big way, one question stands above all else in the minds of ECAC fans — is St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh nuts? Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy explain.
After two games, NCAA champion North Dakota is — gasp — winless, while Minnesota starts out hot. New coaches, line changes and odds and ends: Todd D. Milewski previews the WCHA.
UNH reigns out West, mathematics turned on its ear, predictions … and poetry? Dave Hendrickson rounds up Hockey East.
Things are heating up in the WCHA playoff race.
And The Envelope, Please The official Hockey East Awards will be announced Thursday evening. Then it’ll be the real experts — the coaches — who will have done the voting. But here’s one writer’s opinion about how the honors should be dispensed. Some of these choices ignore the statistics. Ask any coach and he’ll tell … Read more
Making Hilary and Rudy Proud If we had only known that the key to ECAC prognostication heaven was geographic in nature, our overall prediction record would have been much improved. After 21 weeks, 147 days or 3,528 hours — however you choose to look at it — the league race is down to only five … Read more
Goin’ To The Joe This year’s CCHA championship tourney includes two perennials, one old friend, and one newbie. Congratulations to Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska-Omaha. Between them, Michigan and Michigan State have 20 more wins in overall play than do Notre Dame and UNO. Both Michigan and Michigan State are ranked; the Irish … Read more
No ballot, no vote? No way Obviously due to some bureaucratic oversight, U.S. College Hockey Online did not receive a ballot for the all-Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams this season. But that won’t stop me from picking the team that I would put on the ice if the WCHA was squaring off against a similar … Read more
The Second Season If not for the home-ice dominance discussed last week, this weekend’s quarterfinal playoff series would appear rife with upset possibilities. The question, then, will be whether or not that factor will cool some hot road underdogs and put all the home teams into the FleetCenter. Here’s a look at the matchups. #1 … Read more