This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
On a weekend where No. 1 Minnesota Duluth was off, No. 2 Denver played a weekend series against archrival Colorado College, a team that until recently had always troubled Denver. However, the Pioneers swept the weekend series, 2-1 and 5-1, and have now won 12 straight against CC and 14 of their last 16. The … Read more
February is a strange month for Big Ten hockey. Aside from Valentine’s Day – a perilous holiday about which I’ve written much in the past – February brings the last of regular-season play for all other leagues but one, the NCHC, while B1G teams soldier on until mid-March. The WCHA has already crowned its regular-season … Read more
Coming into the game against St. Lawrence last Saturday, Clarkson had lost three straight. Clarkson coach Casey Jones was hoping the Golden Knights would get back get back to playing a full 60 minutes against their rivals. And that’s just what happened as Clarkson defeated St. Lawrence 3-1. “I thought we had a good week of … Read more
A lot can change in one year. For the Big Ten, at least in terms of the performance of its six teams on the ice, the change has been for the better. At this time last year, the Big Ten had two ranked teams; No. 6 Michigan and No. 16 Penn State. Eventual regular season … Read more
Believe it or not, I think that Hockey East fans have learned by now not to gloat too much. Lest we forget, a year ago was chest-thumping time. Just a year removed from Providence and Boston University squaring off at the TD Garden for a national title, the league placed a record-tying six teams into … Read more
It’s been an up-and-down year for the Mercyhurst Lakers, who sit in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Hockey standings at 10-10-4 in league play. The Lakers have spent most of the season straddling the .500 mark, winning consecutive games only twice, but never dropping more than three contests in a row. … Read more
For one night only, the second period of a Bowling Green hockey game will once again belong to Mike “Doc” Emrick. More than four decades ago, Emrick got his start as a broadcaster calling the second period play-by-play for Bowling Green hockey team as a graduate student. “I got in 18 periods of experience the … Read more
Good work can always get better. That appears to be the mantra at the NCHC conference office in Colorado Springs, Colo., almost four full seasons into the league’s playing existence. That the NCHC is experiencing another strong season compared to other conferences around the country is nothing new. If anything, it’s expected any more. Two … Read more
The Wisconsin Badgers have been the no. 1 program in the country every week of this season. They head into the final two weekends facing No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth and No. 4 Minnesota, the only two teams to beat them this season. Though it’s a daunting path to the postseason, Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson likes that … Read more
Wisconsin-Eau Claire coach Matt Loen was asked about the thing that has surprised him most about this college hockey season. He didn’t bring up anything regarding his team in particular, but pointed out the biggest surprise of this season might just be the parity in NCAA Division III hockey. A total of 32 teams have … Read more
“No doubt you gain chemistry on the ice by being good friends off the ice,” said UNE sophomore forward Brady Fleurent. If that is the case, the B-F-F line must be REALLY good friends off the ice just based on what they have been able to do offensively this season. To date, Brady leads the … Read more
With nine new faces on the Augsburg roster, it wasn’t exactly clear how the season would go. The Auggies have been gradually building and improving their program and the results have shown with improved records nearly every year of coach Michelle McAteer’s tenure. Every coach says it’s difficult to know how freshmen will assimilate and … Read more
February is going to define the season for Northern Michigan. After a bye in the final weekend of January, the Wildcats are looking at their final eight regular season games from the bottom of the WCHA standings and they need instant results. Northern Michigan is tied for last with Alaska Anchorage in the WCHA with … Read more
Amherst coach Jeffrey Matthews and his staff take a unique and interesting approach to coaching. His players are student-athletes and he sees the coaching staff as an extension of the academic tradition at Amherst — another branch on the educational tree, so to speak. That educator-first mindset is the basis of the culture of … Read more
Thomas Williams came to St. Thomas with a great deal of potential, and it’s safe to say he has lived up to it. Consistent throughout his career as a scorer, Williams is well on his way to making his senior season with the Tommies his best one yet, scoring seven goals and dishing out seven … Read more
For many teams, the holiday break was exactly that, a holiday break. For the Hobart Statesmen, the holiday break included a unique opportunity to visit and play hockey in France and Switzerland. From December 28, 2016, through January 7, 2017, the team spent time in the French Alps touring, skiing, and visiting the U.N. and … Read more
In Cornell coach Doug Derraugh’s first NCAA appearance, a reporter asked him about his team’s “risky” style of play. It’s a moment that’s stuck with him ever since. He wouldn’t characterize the Big Red’s style as risky, though he admits that he does try to play an aggressive brand of hockey. Cornell wants to play … Read more
After an emotional road sweep of North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth set its sights on the North Star College Cup last weekend. Duluth was one team that hadn’t won the trophy, and in the event’s last year, the team wanted to take it home. With one-goal wins over Minnesota and St. Cloud State, the latter of which … Read more
Every college hockey program has an identity. It’s what defines them in certain situations, and it’s what becomes the oft-seen hallmark of them through the years. It’s something each program embraces as a cornerstone, and it becomes the one thing to look for in every game. For years, Bentley embraced the concepts of blue-collar hockey. … Read more
You learn a lot about a team when times are good. Does it become a bit full of itself and become easy to knock of its perch, or does it stay hungry to keep the good times rolling? Almost certainly, though, you learn even more when adversity hits. Does the team have what it takes … Read more