This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
The return to a complete schedule comes after a pivotal group of games a week ago, during which the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota showed why they are the defending national champions. UND took two clear-cut decisions from then-No. 8 Colorado College, 4-1 and 6-1, narrowing St. Cloud’s lead to just two points in the … Read more
The past weekend saw Vermont achieve its first conference victory of the season; in fact, the Catamounts garnered their first two ECAC wins. Yale took sole possession of first place with a sweep of Rensselaer and Union. Brown, Harvard and Princeton each picked up victories, and Rensselaer gathered one point. Union and Dartmouth were the … Read more
And it’s pouring media this week, as Sports Channel New England (soon to be Fox New England) begins its Hockey East Game of the Week on Saturday with a Boston College-Maine clash. Look for an upcoming interview with play-by-play announcer Sean Grande and color analyst Cap Raeder. Adding to the exposure will be a new … Read more
And the most interesting place this weekend is once again the middle of the CCHA pack, where just six points, ambition and a little luck separate the ninth-place team from the fifth-place team. No. 6 Michigan is a team with little to prove. After losing the GLI to Michigan State, the Wolverines swept the weekend … Read more
Since Michigan State received a gift from Santa in the form of more offense for the Great Lakes Invitational, the Spartans should resolve to keep that offense. They’ll need offense if they want to make a run for the national title. All the Miami RedHawks need to resolve to do is to continue playing the … Read more
Marc Robitaille earned Koho/Hockey East Player of the Week honors as well as Mariucci Classic MVP for his role in the tourney win, especially his 40 saves in the championship game. Robitaille was also named the Heaton/Hockey East Goalie of the Month. In December, he posted a 4-0-1 record, a 1.97 goals against average and … Read more
Yale and Rensselaer just came out of the same tournament, Yale finishing third and Rensselaer second in the Rensselaer Marine Midland Holiday Hockey Tournament. "It’ll definitely give us a chance to get a real close look at each other," joked Yale head coach Tim Taylor. "But we each have to get by our teams first, … Read more
At many schools, players are either taking finals this week or preparing to take them next week. The two teams that travel farthest this week by bus, Northern Michigan and Ohio State, warm up the bus only after players have finished finals. Finals. Christmas. Family. Mom’s cooking. Who wouldn’t be distracted? One coach confided, "I … Read more
If ever there was a need to prove that axiom, one look at the league standings says it all. Four of the top five teams — Northeastern, Boston University, New Hampshire and Providence — arguably have the top five goaltenders in the league. Marc Robitaille, Michel Larocque, Tom Noble, Sean Matile and freshman Boyd Ballard … Read more
The standings are frozen in time for the next 23 days as the ECAC takes its annual holiday/finals break, and at that break there are two surprising leaders atop the standings — Yale and Colgate. The Bulldogs are 6-1-0 in the league and the Red Raiders 6-2-0. During the preseason, few thought that these teams … Read more
The American poet laureate Robert Penn Warren put it this way: "You’ll have to rethink the whole question." What question will you ask, fan of the CCHA, and do you know how to ask it? Does any CCHA question have an answer now? Well, perhaps. The Michigan State Spartans demonstrated why they are the top … Read more
While it’s true that every team in the league holds games in hand on the Huntington Hounds — led by BU’s five — you still have to admire the way that last year’s cellar-dwellers, who were predicted to finish there once again, have rebounded. Their own Billy Newson took Koho Player of the Week honors … Read more
After only one league game last week, this week there are 10 league contests on tap which could very well set the tone for what happens when 1998 rolls around. Last week’s predictions: 8-7 Year to date: 51-34, .600, 3rd place Colgate (7-3-0, 4-2-0 ECAC, 3rd) and Cornell (6-1-1, 4-1-1 ECAC, 2nd) at Rensselaer (6-4-0, … Read more
If you take a casual glance at the WCHA standings, you might feel the urge to turn the page upside down. No, it’s not that old eyeglass prescription, and it’s not too much coffee. The Huskies of St. Cloud State are really in first place, and the Golden Gophers of Minnesota indeed seventh. St. Cloud’s … Read more
Man, I thought, I can’t wait for tonight’s game. Minutes later, I was padding over to the computer. Although the UNH-Merrimack rematch that night proved to be a dud, this still is an exceptional year to be a Hockey East fan. The league is posting an unprecedented 25-7-1 record against non-league foes, four teams are … Read more
Well, no–and no. Two of the top teams in the CCHA play in The College Hockey Showcase this weekend, and six other teams are engaged in conference play that will definitely have some bearing on the CCHA playoffs. No. 1 Michigan State sits on top of the CCHA as well as the college hockey world … Read more
Clarkson gained three points this past weekend, with a tie against Union and a shellacking of Rensselaer. Rensselaer and Princeton were the big losers on the weekend, both getting swept on the road. Union, Vermont, and Dartmouth each gained one point on the weekend. Most teams will take Thanksgiving and play outside the ECAC, but … Read more
Appearances can be deceptive. While Michigan State is at the top of the USCHO poll, Northern Michigan is actually on top of the CCHA. At 6-1-1 in league play, the Wildcats have two more points than Michigan State. They’ve also played one more game. Last week the ‘Cats beat Alaska-Fairbanks, 5-4 and 7-3. This week, … Read more
Okay, maybe only dinosaurs from the sixties can remember that phrase while wearing day-glow bellbottoms and saying, "Groovy!" But it sure fit last week’s action in Hockey East. Until the irresistible force met the immovable object last Sunday — in the form of Providence and UMass-Lowell facing each other after both teams won on Friday … Read more
Roger Grillo won his first game on Friday night when Brent Hoiness scored in overtime to give the Brown Bears a victory over Yale. The next evening, overtime bit Grillo and the Bears as Princeton took the sudden-death victory. Harvard tied Princeton and lost to Yale, while Princeton took three points on the weekend with … Read more