This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Nobody inside the Rensselaer hockey program felt satisfied at the end of last season. The year began with elevated expectations after the 2022-2023 season established the Engineers as a legitimate force on home ice. They’d beaten everyone short of Quinnipiac and Cornell while avoiding sweeps on every weekend at Houston Field House. Struggling to win … Read more
North Dakota earned a 5-2 win over Providence on Saturday in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game, part of a difficult start to the season for the Fighting Hawks (Photo: North Dakota athletics)
First-year head coach Dennis Williams won his first two NCAA games behind the bench for Bowling Green and looks forward to navigating the ever-changing world of college hockey (Photo: Bowling Green athletics)
Wisconsin’s tough loss in its opener against Lindenwood was one of the few losses for Big Ten teams this weekend as the conference sits second behind the NCHC in non-conference winning percentage (Photo: Wisconsin Athletics)
Mercyhurst has begun the season 1-3, but coach Rick Gotkin says the team easily could be 2-2 or 3-1 (Photo: Mercyhurst Athletics)
Boston University started its season 2-0 after wins over both Holy Cross and Union (Photo: Boston University athletics)
Strange as it sounds for someone who has been associated with Omaha hockey for nearly three decades, Mike Kemp briefly but purposefully stayed away from the Baxter Arena ice after it was put in for the new season. The Mavericks’ former coach of 12 years and later an executive associate athletic director at UNO, Kemp … Read more
During the CCHA’s annual preseason video conference, Minnesota State head coach Luke Strand had stressed how important it would be for the Mavericks to go and challenge themselves in their nonconference schedule this season. “Our out of conference play, it’s a tough schedule. It’s supposed to be that way. I made it that way for … Read more
College hockey rinks aren’t the same anymore. They aren’t the old barns built during the 1970s. They’re more antiseptic and devoid of character than the old buildings lacking heat or modern comfort, but they represent the soul and fabric stitched by generations of slap shots and millions of body checks. Even ones owned by corporations … Read more
Some of college hockey’s elite teams ease into their schedule, opening the season against less-heralded programs from small conferences. Not the case for Boston College this year. The Eagles, ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll and picked first in Hockey East by both the coaches and the media, kicks off its … Read more
It was a tale of two games for Air Force last weekend. On Friday, the Falcons opened their season with an 8-1 loss on home ice to 20th-ranked Arizona State. Nothing went right for coach Frank Serratore’s team, which allowed three short-handed breakaway goals in the loss. The Sun Devils tacked on a pair of … Read more
Ohio State was picked seventh – last – in the Big Ten preseason coaches’ poll. Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik has an idea or two about that. “Everybody’s got to put somebody somewhere,” said Rohlik, now in his 12th season behind the Ohio State bench. “I’ve never really paid attention to it since forever. What they … Read more
In 2004, Michael Farber wrote about the intensity of the Michigan-Michigan State hockey rivalry for Sports Illustrated when the magazine was celebrating its 50th anniversary by highlighting the fiercest sports rivalries state by state. That piece ended with a quote by NHL veteran and Michigan State alum John-Michael Liles, who said, “This rivalry demanded the … Read more
One game for all the marbles. The longest postseason in college hockey comes to an end on Saturday in Rochester, N.Y. After almost four weeks, the Atlantic Hockey tournament is down to the final two teams: American International and Rochester Institute of Technology. They will play a single game on Saturday in Rochester for the … Read more
There will be no lack of intensity this weekend as Hockey East’s final four — Boston College, Boston University, Maine and Massachusetts — vie for the Lou Lamoreillo Trophy. BC and BU will be looking to erase bitter memories of losses in the Beanpot, held in the same building just over a month ago. Maine … Read more
Coming back from one game down last weekend to beat 10th-ranked Colorado College on the road in the first round of the NCHC playoffs all but guaranteed No. 12 Omaha what would be the Mavericks’ first NCAA tournament berth since 2021. The noteworthiness of Omaha’s success in Colorado Springs didn’t stop there. A sixth win … Read more
Since the CCHA reformed in 2021, fans outside the greater Mankato metro area have not had much of a chance to see the Mason Cup in person. That’s because, up until now, the road to the league’s playoff trophy has gone through Minnesota State. The Mavericks won the trophy, and the associated NCAA at-large bid, … Read more
The 2023-24 season’s long and winding road reaches its final exit ramp this week when ECAC Hockey invades the northern reaches of New York’s Essex County for its postseason championship weekend in Lake Placid. Nicknamed the “Olympic Town,” the host of the 1932 Winter Olympics host village became the third repeat host of the cold … Read more
“Now it’s the second season. It’s win or go home. You’ve got to play your best hockey.” That’s how Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale described the Spartans’ task this weekend against Ohio State in Big Ten semifinal action, and it sums up nicely what’s at stake in the coming weeks. Win or go home. Play … Read more
We are down to four teams still in contention to host the Riley Cup. Last weekend’s Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals had their share of drama despite all four series ending in sweeps – two for the home teams, two for the underdogs. – Rochester Institute of Technology swept Robert Morris, winning 7-0 and 5-1. The first … Read more