This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
At 6-2-0, Canisius is currently in second place in the Atlantic Hockey standings, which are kept this season based on points percentage. The Griffs have captured 18 out of a possible 24 points so far.
The magic formula has been special teams and goaltending.
With Wisconsin coming into town, Michigan didn’t exactly get to ease back into things after a COVID-19-related pause forced it to take 22 days off.
It took a while for St. Lawrence to get started its season underway, but the Saints have shown a marked improvement from last year as ECAC Hockey enters its final two weekends of the regular season.
Minnesota State made a big statement last weekend against Bowling Green. In the first (and only) regular-season series between the consensus two top teams in the conference, the Mavericks swept the Falcons in fairly convincing fashion. They won 4-1 and 5-0, showing off their depth and their defensive prowess in the process.
Connecticut junior Carter Turnbull doesn’t think there was ever a dramatic shift.
Instead, Turnbull, one of 10 upperclassmen with the Huskies, thinks there was a culture shift from the moment he began at UConn, a process that’s led them to where they are now, being ranked for the first time in program history.
It’s hard to keep a good hockey referee down, especially one who has been calling games since he was nine years old.
If ever there was a sport that finds ways to take people out of action for a while, though, Scott Fitzpatrick had found it.
There’s a new No. 1 in the Big Ten, and there can be no doubt about the validity of this top contender.
“Since coming off of our pause, I’m really so proud of these guys. They’ve been really focused, and we’re just trying to get a little better every day to work towards the playoffs.” – Sacred Heart coach CJ Marottolo
Among the few teams with a schedule at the D-III level in the East, Anna Maria College has had their patience and resolve tested by game postponements on successive weekends.
When you play in a league as competitively brutal as the NCHC, a rest weekend during the season can be a godsend.
St. Cloud State was off last weekend, coming off a sweep of Miami that had restored some of their swagger, swagger that had been tarnished when the Huskies were swept in Western Michigan three weeks ago.
Notre Dame recently learned that it will be skating on home ice for the Big Ten tournament at the end of the season.
Now, the Fighting Irish have 10 games to put themselves in the best possible position for said tournament, starting with this weekend on the road against Ohio State.
Massachusetts coach Greg Carvel comes across to the average person as somewhat soft spoken, very transparent, and most certainly mild mannered.
And whether he is being somewhat sarcastic, when he tells you that he is sick of people asking about which goaltender is going to start his next game, there’s probably a small amount of truth.
In a season that’s been extraordinary for a number of reasons, Robert Morris has looked to keep things as “normal” as possible.
The Colonials have managed to play 17 games so far this season, the most of any Atlantic Hockey team.
Ask Northern Michigan coach Grant Potulny what is the one thing his team needs, and he will give you a simple, one-word answer: consistency.
Reid Cashman had plenty of success in the professional coaching ranks, but he always knew he wanted to return to coaching college hockey.
Nothing has come easy for Boston University this season.
With postponements delaying the start of the season until January, the Terriers have responded well. A young squad with just four seniors, they’ve had to adjust to life in college hockey while trying to find any consistency.
There’s no getting around the fact that this is not a normal college hockey season, but a small slice of normality returned to Minnesota Duluth’s Amsoil Arena home last weekend when the sixth-ranked Bulldogs hosted Western Michigan.
The build-up to Bentley’s Tuesday night game against Holy Cross hit differently in the Falcons’ locker room.
It was a rivalry game, but the opponent didn’t matter to Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist, his assistant coaches, or his players.
With the addition of guest Arizona State, B1G Hockey has at least a one-team measurement for nonconference play, but it’s still nearly impossible to gauge where a team really stands in the national picture. Because of that uncertainty, this admission from Wisconsin coach Tony Granato is no surprise.
“I kind of peek at the rankings,” said Granato. “Everybody does.”
Despite how strange their schedule has been this season, you won’t catch anyone from Bemidji State complaining about their scheduling woes.