This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Well how about Hockey East’s Deadbeat President, Merrimack College’s Richard Santagati? Smilin’ Santagati flashes his pearly whites at the front of every Merrimack media guide, but flashes nothing but a stiletto into the underbelly of the hockey program all year long. In case you missed it, Smilin’ Santagati chose not to look in the mirror … Read more
BC and Northeastern were the week’s runners-up, and not just because they faced each other in the Beanpot consolation. The Eagles’ win in the early game on Monday positioned them nicely for an NCAA at-large bid, moving them up to eighth in the Pairwise Rankings. The Huskies, despite their loss in the consolation game, went … Read more
Yet perhaps the biggest news in the conference this week occurred off the ice, as Michigan Tech decided not to follow archrival Northern Michigan into the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. After four long months of self-evaluation, Husky coach Tim Watters, in conjunction with athletic director Rick Yeo, the school’s senior administration, local community, fans and … Read more
ECAC Standings It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but what can you say when it’s true? So what stayed the same after this past weekend’s action? Yale is still in first place, Union is still in last place, and the middle is still clogged up. Someone please help me. Last week’s predictions: 5-8 … Read more
No, it’s not what you’re thinking. With four weeks left in regular-season CCHA play, it’s understandable that your mind would jump to the home stretch of the season. But, come on, CCHA fan. What does mid-February mean to most folks? It may be hard to imagine, given how involved we all are with college hockey … Read more
Pearl Jam. A perfect score. The number of fingers and toes most people have. Bo Derek. The number of ECAC games left. Now we get down to the root of the number ten. There are ten ECAC games left, ten games to decide who plays on the road the weekend of Mar. 13-15, who plays … Read more
Speaking of which, BU has advanced to its 14th championship game in 15 years in the annual battle for Boston bragging rights. Only a dramatic Harvard comeback over BC avoided another Battle for Comm Ave. The league pecking order is starting to take form now. It’s always dangerous to try handicapping such a race, but … Read more
All this to promote the Columbus Blue Necks, or Blue Flacks or Blue Bugs — or whatever they’re calling the NHL franchise that will ride the millennium into town. Scattered among the hockey faithful and the nouveau riche are several Ohio State hockey fans, wearing — what else? — Blue Somethings gear. "Is Michigan State … Read more
So much for lunges out of the cellar. So much for challenging the supremacy of this season’s Big Three. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is now essentially three mini-conferences, comprised of teams fighting for the McNaughton Cup, teams fighting for home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and teams fighting to stay … Read more
Ha. This week, No. 1 Michigan State hosts two games against No. 5 Miami. With the two points gained from their 4-3 win over Lake Superior, the Spartans now have 28 points, just one behind No. 7 Michigan and two ahead of No. 5 Miami in the CCHA standings. The Spartans also have a game … Read more
Wait, did I say five weeks? Whoops, I meant six. A quick glance at the top of the conference shows the casual observer that league-leading North Dakota has played 18 games, leaving a mere 10 games on the Sioux schedule. Do a little simple division, and you find Dean Blais’ squad active for five more … Read more
Had a bad day? I can top it. For starters, a tape recorder malfunction destroyed three interviews. After that came all the trivial little disasters that by themselves don’t amount to a hill of beans, but put together make you afraid to go near sharp objects. And the piece de resistance to top it all … Read more
"Games in hand." It’s a phrase you hear all the time when it comes to standings the race for a title. It’s something that you have heard since November about the ECAC. "So and so has the lead in the ECAC, but right behind them is a team with ‘X’ number of games in hand." … Read more
Although some separation is starting to take place after the first-place to seventh-place logjam of recent weeks, the race is still a wide-open affair. Boston College is in first, but New Hampshire and Boston University hold the advantage of two games in hand. Next Tuesday, BC travels to UNH for the week’s top matchup, and … Read more
Things are getting closer and closer in the ECAC, as the gap between first and the rest of the teams closes ever so slightly. There won’t be much closing going on this weekend, though, with only one ECAC game on the schedule. That lone matchup is the back end of the annual North Country rivalry … Read more
Well, this weekend Dean Blais’ North Dakota squad is Train A, and Grand Forks, N.D., is location X, while St. Cloud State assumes the role of Train B, and conductor Craig Dahl is happy to keep his team in the station. Western Conference Hockey Association power hangs in the balance this weekend as top-ranked North … Read more
The mouth-watering main course begins with the first two of three games between No. 4 Michigan and No. 7 Miami. With 29 points, No. 4 Michigan tenaciously holds on to first place, winning at home over Alaska-Fairbanks last weekend, 5-1. The RedHawks, at number four in the CCHA standings, split the weekend, losing to Northern … Read more
But if you take a closer look, you find a league that’s tight and cozy, and no team’s position seems guaranteed. While Michigan has 27 points in first place, Michigan State has 25 points in second place, and Miami has 20 in third. Big deal, you say? Yup, when you consider that the difference between … Read more
Only two points separate the first-place and seventh-place teams. Boston University, New Hampshire and Providence have the edge with either two or three games in hand against the rest, but who knows how this league is going to shake out? Boston College had the best week of them all, taking three of four points from … Read more
Only Yale seems to be distancing itself from anybody. The Bulldogs, despite only gaining one point this weekend, are now five points ahead of Harvard, six points ahead of Colgate, seven points ahead of Princeton, eight points ahead of Rensselaer, and nine points ahead of Clarkson and Cornell. Huh? But remember, the Bulldogs have played … Read more