This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Ohio State made the Frozen Four last season. Though returning to the NCAA tournament is a tough task for the Buckeyes at this point, they do see a path forward, and led by goaltender Andrea Brändli, the Buckeyes are feeling confident about their chances.
Miami is in an unenviable spot entering the final two weekends of the regular season, sitting in seventh place in the NCHC standings and knowing the RedHawks won’t play at home in the postseason (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Sitting 23rd in the PairWise rankings, Michigan knows that its route to the NCAA tournament relies on its performance in the conference playoffs (photo: Michigan Athletics).
It’s come down to this: the final week of the 2018-19 Atlantic Hockey regular season. What began 219 days ago ends on Saturday night (photo: Omar Phillips).
Adam Fox has been getting a lot of praise this year and over the course of his three years at Harvard (photo: Melissa Wade).
St. Anselm needed triple OT to defeat Assumption, Hamilton defeated Williams in OT, and Utica needed a mini-game to get past Nazareth. Elsewhere, Salve Regina edged Endicott and Hobart upset top-seed Massachusetts-Boston.
Minnesota captured the WCHA as Wisconsin lost two shootout-decisions to Ohio State, ending the Badgers’ streak of three straight conference championships. Cornell won twice to pass Princeton and capture the ECAC crown.
Both Middlebury and Norwich avoided upsets in their conference tournaments, while Hamline beat Augsburg to set up a huge MIAC showdown with St. Thomas.
St. Norbert and Adrian won to advance to their fifth straight NCHA championship game matchup. Wisconsin-Stevens Point remained unbeaten while sweeping Wisconsin-River Falls to advance to face Wisconsin-Eau Claire. St. John’s beat St. Thomas to set up a MIAC championship game match against Augsburg.
With Gianluca Baggetta leading the way with his .944 save percentage and 1.65 goals-against average, Utica has lost just once since Nov. 24, and is looking to clinch the first UCHC autobid to the NCAA tournament.
The NCHC is down to its final three weeks, but because each series is worth a potential six points, almost everything is still in flux (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Army learned it had to have patience in order to find the right formula for victory. That formula ultimately came to the team, though, when its back was against the proverbial wall this past weekend against Mercyhurst (photo: Melissa Wade).
Five of the top 10 teams in the country are in conference tournament action this weekend, including No. 1 Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which is seeking to remain unbeaten on the year, and defending champion St. Norbert, which has won 11 straight. Brian Lester previews the action.
The conference tournaments start this weekend. Olivia Spellmire previews who she thinks will win the tournaments and the resulting pool A bids to the NCAA tournament, as well as the pool B and C winners.
No team in Hockey East has more than five regular-season games left. Thus, it seems like the perfect time to examine where your favorite team can (and most likely will) finish in the standings (photo: Melissa Wade).
Last week, Ohio State was this close to the Big Ten regular-season title, in what would be the second conference title in program history (photo: Rachel Lewis).
Maybe the hottest team in college hockey right now is Lake Superior State, which finds itself in a two-way tie with Bowling Green for second place in the WCHA standings with just two weeks left in the regular season (photo: LSSU Athletics).
After getting swept on the road two weeks ago by a cumulative score of 8-1, Yale beat Colgate and Cornell at home last weekend to take sole possession of third place in ECAC Hockey (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
Hamline handed St. Thomas its first loss of the year. Williams defeated Middlebury twice, and St. Scholastica defeated Lake Forest.
Salve Regina, Plymouth State, Saint Anselm, Trinity, and Utica all clinched their league crowns. In the first round of the NEHC playoffs, the top four seeds advanced to the semifinals.