Life as an independent – always moving forward

For SUNY-Canton coach Alex Boak, life is really focused on one thing: getting better as a program and building the culture for his team to be able to compete hard against all competitors every time his team takes the ice. The second-year coach is building the foundation for what he hopes and expects will be … Read more

Alabama Huntsville looks to build momentum after split at Michigan Tech

Alabama Huntsville has one of the most difficult travel schedules in college hockey. Starting with a season-opening series against Notre Dame, a top-10 ranked team, the Chargers travel to Indiana, Michigan’s upper peninsula, upstate New York and Arizona before they play their first home game on Nov. 10. After returning home, the Chargers get a … Read more

Ohio State back on track, two road wins at UMass help strengthen Buckeyes’ confidence

A week after two home ties against Rensselaer, Ohio State got things back on track with two road victories at Massachusetts. Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik said he was happy with the team’s road effort. “If you win a game, you’ve done something right,” he said. “To go on the road and win two, it certainly … Read more

Wisconsin starts strong despite losses

Mark Johnson has been coaching the Wisconsin women’s hockey team for 14 years. The team that takes the ice each week for the Badgers this season is by far the youngest squad he’s ever had. Eight freshman and a transfer goaltender dressed for the Badgers in their exhibition again South Korea to open the season. … Read more

St. Cloud State aspiring to stay on even keel, Huskies ‘don’t want to look too far into anything’

Bye weeks can come in handy for teams on the mend, but being idle is less helpful for a healthy team that’s rolling. Second-ranked St. Cloud State is off this weekend after opening the season with five consecutive wins, three of them against top-20 teams. The two most recent games came at home last week … Read more

UMass Lowell off to streaky .500 start; Bazin says team still ‘a work in progress’

In the early 20th century, legendary author Mark Twain once said, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Now more than 100 years later, we might be able to use a similar quote to sum up the first month of UMass Lowell’s hockey season. The River Hawks began the season ranked fifth in … Read more

Union gains steam with two wins, including one that gives Bennett school record

Union got the monkey of its back this past weekend with two victories over RIT and Niagara. The Dutchmen enter conference play this coming weekend. “Our coaching staff was pretty happy for the players,” Union coach Rick Bennett said. “They got a chance to get a couple of wins under their belt, especially going into … Read more

Army West Point grad Pomarico drawing inspiration from late Black Knights standout Derek Hines

Christian Pomarico never met Derek Hines. They never skated together and never dressed together in the same hockey locker room. They both attended and graduated from the United States Military Academy, but neither man met the other. But to Pomarico, “Hinesy” is still a part of his family. A 2016 West Point graduate, Pomarico hung … Read more

Massachusetts looking revitalized, in large part due to NHL-caliber recruiting class

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: UMass finishes last in Hockey East. The Minutemen finished in the Hockey East cellar the last three years, and in the previous four seasons managed no better than next-to-last or third-to-last. This year, more of the same was projected: Hockey East coaches picked them to share the … Read more

Michigan State starts out on right foot at home, gives new coach Cole first victory

There was something familiar about Michigan State’s 3-2 home win over Bowling Green last Saturday. It couldn’t have been the win itself, as it was the first time the Spartans had registered a home win since Nov. 4, 2016 and the first time Michigan State won its home opener since the start of the 2014-2015 … Read more

Despite mixed bag of results to kick off season, ECAC teams facing challenges head on

Several ECAC teams have faced intimidating early-season schedules, with mixed results. St. Lawrence and Union are both looking for their first wins of the season, checking it at 0-4 and 0-5, respectively. SLU hosted Penn State and then traveled to North Dakota last weekend for a two-game series. The Dutchmen opened on the road against … Read more

Colgate looking for next step

It’s been something of a transformation the past few season for Colgate. In 2014-15, they won just seven games, but in each of the past two seasons they’ve amassed 22 wins and berths in the ECAC tournament. But the dream has stalled there. Despite the brilliant season last year that including an overtime win against … Read more

In gaining weekend split, Canisius gets Large win for first-year head coach

Trevor Large has coached just two games so far, but he and his Canisius Golden Griffins have been through the gamut already. Last Friday, Canisius fell behind visiting Robert Morris 3-0 midway through the second period, but came storming back with three third-period goals to even the score. But RMU’s Spencer Dorowicz got the game-winner … Read more