Upsets pave the way to the NCHC’s inaugural Frozen Faceoff
Miami, Denver and Western Michigan won road quarterfinal series to join North Dakota in Minneapolis.
This Week
This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Geneseo, Oswego ready to represent SUNYAC at D-III Frozen Four
Hercules. Atlas. Samson. All of them broad shouldered guys of legend – two mythical, one Biblical – who came through in the crunch. You can add to that list the likes of Tyler Brickler and Matt Galati. It’s likely that without them, neither of the two bitter SUNYAC foes, Geneseo and Oswego, would be two … Read more
Crazy quarterfinals give way to unpredictable semifinals in Hockey East
Three of the top four seeds — Massachusetts-Lowell, Providence and New Hampshire — join eighth seed Notre Dame in Boston.
First Frozen Four doesn’t bring pressure for Clarkson
Five years ago, Mercyhurst arrived at its first Frozen Four, outgunning Minnesota in a semifinal before coming up short against Wisconsin in the final. All three of those teams are back this year, and this time the Lakers are the experienced team in their pairing, facing a Clarkson squad reaching this stage for the first … Read more
Women’s D-III Frozen Four Preview
The uncertainties and speculation of the Frozen Four will unfold this weekend at Plattsburgh’s Robert Stafford Ice Arena. Defending champion Elmira and runner-up Middlebury will be on the outside looking in this time around, leaving familiar final four participants Plattsburgh and Norwich to return to the podium. Wisconsin-River Falls’ last appearance in the final four … Read more
One last grind in the WCHA season for teams that survived quarterfinals
The WCHA Final Five shifts to Grand Rapids, Mich., after 15 years in the Twin Cities.
Compact postseason could be advantageous for Big Ten’s lower seeds
Three wins this weekend, not having to survive a best-of-three series, gets the bottom four seeds a championship.
Road to Rochester is via the road for an unprecedented three Atlantic Hockey teams
Top-seed Mercyhurst was the only home team to advance in last week’s quarterfinal round.
An old new look for ECAC Hockey as top four teams head to Lake Placid
The conference tournament is back where it took place from 1993 to 2002, and the Olympic-sized sheet could make a difference.
Despite falling in NCAA tournament, Salem State had consistent MASCAC season
Salem State’s season came to an abrupt end last Wednesday night. Norwich stormed past the Vikings in the first round of the NCAA tournament 8-2 as there was a Nor’easter going on outside Kreitzberg Arena in Northfield, Vt. It was a bitter defeat to a fine season Salem State put together in 2013-14. The Vikings … Read more
Nichols finds numerous positives in 2013-14 campaign
It doesn’t matter at any level, whether it’s Division I, Division III or even at the NHL level, when freshmen or rookies have outstanding first years there’s questions if they can repeat or fall for the dreaded “sophomore slump.” Coming into the year for Nichols, the questions were if other coaches in ECAC Northeast would … Read more
Boeser reflects on successful season for St. Thomas
It wasn’t the way St. Thomas wanted to end its season, but despite the 3-0 loss to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the NCAA tournament on Saturday, coach Jeff Boeser is pleased with the effort his team gave against the Pointers. The Tommies and Pointers were scoreless through two periods, before Stevens Point scored three goals in … Read more
Wisconsin-Stevens Point focused on getting two more wins
Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been pushing all season for a shot at a national championship and the Pointers moved one step closer to that goal on Saturday with a 3-0 win over second-ranked St. Thomas. The fourth-ranked Pointers are now headed to the final four where they will take on Oswego on Friday night, marking the … Read more
NCHA rivals Adrian and St. Norbert draw one another in NCAA quarterfinals
The season will continue for two NCHA teams as Adrian and St. Norbert have earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. The teams will have familiar opponents in Saturday night’s quarterfinal matchup – each other. During the regular season, the two top teams in “new-look” NCHA have formed quite the rivalry. In the month of … Read more
For St. Cloud State, narrow focus yields a title and becomes more important in postseason
The Huskies host Miami in the first round, and the RedHawks won both series-opening games against St. Cloud State this season.
Future unknown for Hockey East’s single-elimination first round despite positive debut
The playoff format will change again next season with the addition of a 12th team, and coaches want to see a best-of-three series in the first round.
RIT and Binnington rise to the top sooner than expected
RIT coach Scott McDonald knew that when his team made the jump from Division-III to Division-I, his future included some tough times. The surprise may be that there weren’t that many in the first season. Sure, Mercyhurst jumped on RIT in its first D-I game in October of 2012, taking a 6-0 lead after 25 … Read more
Williams ready for challenge of Plattsburgh
Competing in its first NCAA tournament since 2003, upstart Williams is apt to possess a bit of collective apprehension in taking to the road for a meeting with top-seeded Plattsburgh. While a one vs. eight scenario seems daunting, the Ephs have forged valid credentials in facing such a task. The NESCAC champions enter the tournament … Read more
New WCHA meets old WCHA in league’s first-round series
The four series all match a team new to the league this season against one that’s been around for a while.
SUNYAC sends two squads – Geneseo, Oswego – to NCAA tournament
Vulcan? Who’s that? Can he unleash a blazing slapper from the point on the power play? Perhaps not. Nor can he prevent the SUNYAC’s two entries in the NCAA tournament – No. 8 Oswego and No. 9 Geneseo – from firing up their Frozen Four hopes. Despite the threat of the winter storm named for … Read more