This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
When the Wolverines were picked by coaches in the preseason to finish fourth in the Big Ten, there were a number of factors that contributed to the impression that Michigan is going to be a middle-of-the-conference team. For starters, Michigan lost offense that accounted for 100 or so of its 169 total goals scored in … Read more
Sometimes, the reason a team struggles is obvious. Through his team’s first six games, all New Hampshire sophomore forward Ryan Conmy had to do was look up. “You can look at the scoreboard and think, you can’t win games without scoring,” Conmy said. “(I) think everyone kind of knows that. You want to score goals … Read more
Last June, Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler attended the 2023 NHL Draft specifically to witness Broncos recruit Zach Nehring becoming the Winnipeg Jets’ third-round pick. Nehring had been on WMU’s radar for some time, stemming from his successful prep hockey career at Minnesota’s Shattuck-St. Mary’s School. And now, there’s no surprise in the Broncos’ camp … Read more
Nobody can accuse Minnesota State of taking the easy way out to start the 2024-25 season. In their first five weeks of play, the Mavericks have skated every weekend without a bye, and their opponents have included: two top-10-ranked nonconference opponents (Michigan and North Dakota), one team that was ranked before the series (Omaha), one … Read more
Every year, the debate surrounding the Ivy League schools in college hockey ends with one of the more mind-boggling stalemates among the sport’s followers. It seldom advances beyond their unique or quirky scheduling arrangement limiting the six hockey-sponsored schools to six fewer games than the rest of college hockey, a debate that’s almost never accurately … Read more
Last season was the first for Andy Jones behind the bench at Bentley. Jones, who was appointed in late June of 2023, didn’t have a lot of time to get to know his team well and inherited a recruiting class put together by the departing Ryan Soderquist. The Falcons were picked to finish in last … Read more
After sweeping Penn State in their opening weekend of Big Ten play, Minnesota is 7-1-0, the team’s best start since beginning the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season with 10 wins in a row. The seven wins in eight games is the Golden Gophers’ best start under Bob Motzko outside of that truncated season. “A lot of guys … Read more
Don’t call it a goalie controversy. Instead, file it under a good problem to have for the Providence Friars. So far, both of the Friars’ netminders have turned in stellar performances. Returning junior Philip Svedebäck of Växjö, Sweden, is 3-1-0 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average. Graduate transfer Zachary Borgiel of … Read more
On the face of it, considering Miami hasn’t finished a season with a winning record since 2015, it would’ve been understandable for Anthony Noreen to want to make a big rebrand out of the RedHawks. New coach, new team, new us. But it quickly struck him, after being announced on April 1 as the program’s … Read more
For Northern Michigan, this season is about the process, not results. Maybe that sounds like a tired sports cliche, but considering this team had to refresh basically its entire coaching staff and roster in the span of five months, it’s a reasonable expectation. Last weekend’s series against Arizona State is a case in point: The … Read more
The average college hockey fan wouldn’t view Jean-Francois Houle’s career path for a potential return to his alma mater. The former Clarkson scoring wizard in the 1990s returned to the Golden Knights after ending his on-ice career but jumped on an arc within earshot of a bench boss job within the NHL. He spent five … Read more
Parity continues to reign in Atlantic Hockey America. Ask any coach about the league and they’ll tell you one of its strengths is that the margin between the top and bottom is small. To date, there have been six conference series, with four resulting in splits, and two more that featured one team getting four … Read more
For the Big Ten, the season is starting and fast and, well, big. With 37 games played collectively against nonconference foes, the Big Ten’s .703 win percentage in non-league play leads all conferences as November begins, with Hockey East (.628) and the NCHC (.627) not too far behind. Last weekend, six of the league’s seven … Read more
Though its roster lacks a returning senior from last year, Northeastern will nevertheless be relying on veteran leadership for success this season. While much has been made of the heralded freshman classes that highlight the rosters of crosstown rivals Boston College and Boston University, the Huskies’ top two scorers — forward Jack Williams (2-4-6) and … Read more
Josh Berlo knows more than most about how to celebrate a college hockey program’s national championship success, and he’s at a university that knows what that’s like better than anyone else. The current Denver and former Minnesota Duluth athletic director has had a hand in celebrating four men’s Frozen Four titles. Denver’s ninth in program … Read more
It’s hard to get too excited about exhibition results, but when Augustana knocked off North Dakota in one earlier this month it certainly got the college hockey world talking. “Wait, AUGUSTANA? The second-year team? Beat NORTH DAKOTA? In HOCKEY?” The Vikings’ 4-1 win over the Fighting Hawks ultimately doesn’t count for either team’s record or … Read more
For 20-plus years, Matt Dubrey’s voice provided the backdrop to Union College’s rise as a college hockey program. The mainstay of the Dutchmen and their Garnet Charger successors, he lived the team’s growth away from ECAC Hockey’s perennial bottom rung, and he’d been with the team as it pinballed through its Cinderella story over the … Read more
The biggest challenge facing Maine as it kicks off Hockey East play this weekend might be leaving the confines of the Harold Alfond Sports Arena, where it’s been virtually unstoppable since the start of last season (16-2-2), and heading into a two-game series at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, where they’ve been anything but in recent years. … Read more
Last season was version 2.0 of the Robert Morris men’s and women’s hockey teams. Both had to start from almost scratch after the programs were canceled in 2021 but revived for the 2023-24 season. Most of RMU’s players transferred out after the program was shuttered, requiring coach Derek Schooley, in his 20th season at RMU, … Read more
Two years ago, the Nittany Lions were an overtime goal away from a trip to the Frozen Four. After beating Colgate 8-0 in the first game of the 2023 Midwest Regional semifinal, Penn State fell to Michigan 52 seconds into overtime of the regional title game. Last season, Penn State finished sixth in the Big … Read more