This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Getting there is half the fun (?) In the last month of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season, it’s been about positioning for the playoffs. Starting now, it’s all about survival. It’s about the opportunity to advance. It’s about the dream of winning a WCHA championship, or even further, a national championship. For some, … Read more
Playoff Preview With the second season in MAAC history in the books, it’s time to reflect a little on the season that was. And what a season it was! When you look at the standings, and see six of ten teams above .500, immediately you think of one word — parity. Now maybe that’s not … Read more
Win, Maybe Place, But Probably No Show Congratulations to the Wolverines, regular-season champions of the CCHA. That’s one team going to the NCAA tournament. Where does that leave the rest of the conference? At number 12 in the Pairwise, Michigan State is on the proverbial bubble to make the NCAA tourney. Next after the Spartans … Read more
Jenga! Well, we figured it all out. It was easy, actually. Colgate tied Princeton on Friday evening, giving St. Lawrence the regular-season title, the Saints’ first since 1983 when SLU won the West title, and its first outright ECAC regular-season championship. The Saints made it academic the next night with a 7-5 victory over Dartmouth. … Read more
As Easy As Chinese Arithmetic Yes it is, this ECAC race. It’s real simple, you see. If Cornell sweeps, but Princeton doesn’t get swept, and then if Rensselaer ties two, but Harvard only gets one point and along the way Dartmouth wins two, but Clarkson only gets one point, then with the alignment of Jupiter … Read more
Note To Readers: My apologies to those of you expecting to read my weekly column and find a rundown of all the action upcoming this week. Unfortunately, due to illness, this week’s column focuses on only one series. Look for an extensive MAAC playoff preview next week, including quotes from the coaches not mentioned here … Read more
There’s No Place Like Home Home ice has always held its advantages. This year, however, those advantages appear to be particularly potent. The following are the current home and away breakdowns by team. Team Home Away Boston College 11-2-1 8-7-0 Boston University 12-0-3 7-4-3 Maine 13-3-1 7-4-2 UMass-Amherst 5-6-3 5-10-1 UMass-Lowell 5-9-1 3-13-2 Merrimack 7-5-3 … Read more
Obligatory Playoff Talk Ten teams are in. Two are out. What more do you need to know? Most of the drama of the playoff race has ended. Unless Bowling Green sweeps Michigan and Northern sweeps Lake, the Wolverines have the regular-season title. Northern, Michigan State, and Lake jockey for position near the top; Miami, Western … Read more
The last weekend Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s come down to this. With two games to play in the WCHA regular season (for all but two teams), three home-ice spots remain, and vying for them are four Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams. It’s almost like a game of musical chairs. One of you will not … Read more
Do You Believe in Miracles? Yes! How about that…twenty years to the day after the U.S. Olympic team upset the Soviets on their way to the Gold Medal in the 1980 Olympics, the Canisius College Ice Griffs pulled off a miracle of their own, knocking off NCAA tournament contender Niagara University, 2-1, in front of … Read more
Who Loves Ya, Baby? In South Bend, they’re nuts about the Nanooks. Up in Kalamazoo, they’re crazy about the Falcons. Everyone in Columbus loves the Lakers. The RedHawks are lucky. The outpouring of love from both Ann Arbor and East Lansing is overwhelming. It’s the home stretch, and as much as each coach likes to … Read more
Losing a legend, part two How could Duluth, Minn., ever forget the joy Mike Sertich brought? If there was some way to block out the last two years of his tenure as coach at Minnesota-Duluth, there would be nothing but exemplaries to be said about the man who took the Bulldogs agonizingly close to a … Read more
On With The Show Well, enough nonsense already. There are 20 ECAC games left. 20 games until an automatic bid is decided. 20 games until five teams get to play the quarterfinals at home. 20 games until one of eleven teams left doesn’t get to move on. There are 10 this week and 10 next … Read more
Zebra Talk Even before this week’s controversy involving Jack Parker, Hockey East fans were talking about the league’s officiating and, to no one’s surprise, it often wasn’t complimentary. Referees and linesmen are the equivalent of defensive defensemen. No one notices when they do a good job, but everyone notices when they make a mistake. "If … Read more
Race for Home Ice Gets Breathing Room Just as we told you right here last week in the MAAC Games of the Week, the two games played in Storrs, Conn., between UConn and Canisius had a MAJOR impact on the MAAC standings. No one, including myself, could have predicted that the Ice Griffs would sweep … Read more
The Player Makers So, you want to be Player of the Week? Make sure your team plays Ferris State. Or Western Michigan. Or–better by far–Ohio State. After last week’s examination of the Player of the Week selection process, I thought it might be interesting to see which teams are regularly picking up awards. Turns out … Read more
Let The Others See Red The Big Red of Cornell have seen their season go many different ways this season. From up to down, to some of the Big Red being down and out. The Big Red head into this weekend against Union and Rensselaer in their quest for home ice. After an 8-3 thrashing … Read more
‘One of the most dedicated guys I’ve ever met’ One of the best things about Don Brose’s retirement, a number of college hockey coaches said this week, is that he’s going out on his terms. No one is shoving him out the door and there’s no group of fans on a certain message board calling … Read more
Tie 2K Back in December, New Hampshire used the phrase "Ty 2K" to promote the Hobey Baker Award candidacy of goaltender Ty Conklin. But ties of a different sort have also been all the rage. After finishing with 19, 24 and 21 sister-kissers the last three years, respectively, Hockey East teams have already accumulated 30 … Read more
The Pick of the Litter "It’s not an exact science," says Sherry Skalko. "Actually, I wish it was." Skalko, in her second season as Director of Communications for the CCHA, laughs as she explains the selection process for league Players of the Week. "There are a lot of factors, when you’re dealing with positions across … Read more