This Week

This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division

This Week in NCHC Hockey: After nearly a year away, Fighting Hawks ‘grateful to be back’ at Ralph Engelstad Arena

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The venue seats 11,634 fans, and it’s known widely among college hockey circles as one of the toughest places for a visiting team to play.

A year ago, North Dakota was atop college hockey and one of the favorites to succeed in the postseason tournament. The Fighting Hawks were readying to host an NCHC first-round series when the college hockey season was abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This weekend will mark North Dakota’s first home series this season at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

This Week in WCHA Hockey: Ferris State staying upbeat, working to grow through difficult 2020-21 season

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It is tough to remain competitive through all of the adversity the 2020-21 season has thrown at teams.

Yet, Bob Daniels’ Ferris State squad is trying to do just that. The Bulldogs are 1-8-0 on the season after earning a win on Saturday over Trine.

Right now, his team’s record is the least of what Daniels is trying to focus on.

This Week in Hockey East: Rapidly-improving Connecticut team making waves with added experience, talent

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Building and continuously rebuilding a college sports program is easily the greatest challenge that every coaching staff faces.

Success, particularly in college hockey, often leads to NHL teams taking notice and players being snatched prior to the conclusion of their four-year college career, often leaving significant holes in a lineup.

Three years ago, Connecticut coach Mike Cavanaugh faced exactly that.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: RIT enduring ’emotional roller coaster’ as 2020-21 season moves forward, but ‘grateful to be playing’

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Rochester Institute of Technology has had seven of its scheduled 17 games postposed so far this season, about average for teams in Atlantic Hockey.

The Tigers, who came close to not having a season at all, have had zero players and staff test positive for the coronavirus so far.

This Week in Hockey East: Inconsistent schedule ‘can be weird at times,’ freshman players ‘ready for anything’

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This hockey season is likely the weirdest time ever for a freshman to begin their collegiate hockey career.

With tons of regulations, inconsistency on the schedule, and some teams having 10 more games than others, it’s a lot to sort through. For anyone entirely new to college hockey, they have the luxury of not knowing how normal things felt in the before times to compare to.

This Week in WCHA Hockey: Alabama Huntsville establishing identity by ‘willing to change and do things a different way’

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College hockey didn’t start back up again until November, and even then, Alabama Huntsville was on the road for its first six games.

So last Friday and Saturday’s games were a cathartic experience for the Chargers: a sweep of Ferris State in their first home games in almost 11 months.

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Miami earns first conference road sweep in five years as RedHawks ‘trying to learn how to win’

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Ever since Miami’s last NCAA tournament appearance in the NCHC’s second season, the RedHawks have struggled to have success.

Since the 2014-15 season, when Miami finished second in the regular season and then won the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, Miami has yet to post a winning record, and in the last four seasons Miami has finished seventh twice and eighth twice in the eight-team league.

This Week in WCHA Hockey: Calder’s ‘big impact’ continuing to help Lake Superior State stay effective

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By this point last season, Lake Superior State was coming off a split with Alaska Anchorage that included its seventh win of the season in their 26th game of the season.

However, that win was part of a second-half turnaround of their fortunes that saw them win seven more times, including a win to force a third and deciding game in the WCHA quarterfinals.

A big reason for that turnaround, then-sophomore Ashton Calder scored a goal and added an assist in the 5-3 win over the Seawolves. The 6-foot-1 forward added seven more goals over the Lakers’ run, helping propel them into the playoffs and force that third and deciding game.

This Week in Hockey East: Heavy conference representation at World Juniors, with U.S. coming away with gold

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Tuesday night was a night for the ages in the United States as the U.S. Under-20 team upset its rival to the north, Canada, for World Junior gold.

Certainly there was impact from Hockey East in the game as Northeastern’s Devon Levi entered riding an historic streak in goal for Team Canada and former Boston University forward Trevor Zegras skated through the tournament at a wild clip, eventually finishing with a point total that matched the largest ever for a U.S. player.

But there was one team that was loaded with great storylines on both sides of the puck: Boston College.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Canisius navigating new season, new-look schedule with focus on new strategy

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The frenetic pace in college hockey is, in some ways, building one of the strangest and most enthralling years for fans, analysts and observers.

The chaotic nature and arbitrary scheduling drop pucks virtually every night, and those willing to embrace the unknown are losing themselves in moments that likely won’t happen ever again. The lack of structure is creating new narratives, and the discussion is as interesting as anything in any sport.

Canisius was one of those teams taking part in the chaos.

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Nebraska product, Western Michigan senior Frank takes in pod on native turf

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The city of Ethen Frank’s birth and the metro area in which he spent much of his youth both have NCHC teams, but the Western Michigan senior forward plays for neither of them. More and more, Denver and Omaha’s loss has been the Broncos’ gain. Frank just finished a nearly month-long stay between Omaha, Neb., … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: With slow start in past, Providence improving as ‘players know the standard’

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The start of a COVID-delayed, delay-riddled season for Providence was far from ideal. The Friars lost their first two contests by a combined 12-0 against Spencer Knight’s Boston College, and it would have been easy to assume the Friars were in trouble, especially as head coach Nate Leaman headed to Edmonton to coach the U.S. … Read more

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Long Island making impact against AHA squads, gaining confidence by the day

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Obtaining the first benchmarks are of incredible importance for new teams. New coaches and players are able to obtain special occupancy by reaching the first of anything, and memorable moments can occur when there are no preceding files. The initial occurrences start tradition and inspire hope for something greater, and the souvenirs line trophy cases … Read more