Canisius’ Capobianco takes postseason perfection to a new level
The Golden Griffins goaltender is 8-0 in Atlantic Hockey playoff games after blanking Sacred Heart last weekend.
This Week
This Week in … columns; weekly columns on a league, region or gender-division
Big Ten title comes down to road series for Minnesota, Wisconsin
The Gophers lead the Badgers by five points and need just one win or shootout win at Michigan for the inaugural regular season championship.
Rested and healthy, Cornell starts playoffs against a familiar coach
The Big Red will see former assistant Casey Jones on the other bench in an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series.
One-time powerhouse Salem State back in D-III national tournament
It’s shaping up to be a homecoming of sorts for Salem State coach Bill O’Neill on Wednesday. Before taking the reins with the Vikings, he was an assistant coach with Norwich in the 1980 season under former Massachusetts coach Don “Toot” Cahoon, who was the head coach for Norwich in 1980. Now 34 years later, … Read more
Nichols excited to crack NCAA tournament for first time since 2009
Nichols qualified for the NCAA tournament last weekend, but it wasn’t without its share of drama or stress. Brett Jackson’s game-winner 1:41 into overtime lifted the Bison to a 3-2 win over Wentworth in the ECAC Northeast championship game. The game nearly made Nichols coach Kevin Swallow bald. “I think had it had gone much … Read more
Norwich enters NCAA tourney in unfamiliar position
Having been to the last four consecutive Frozen Fours, Norwich is familiar with the challenges that lie ahead in the upcoming NCAA tournament. That said, this new and younger version from Norwich finds itself with not only an at-large invite, but also a first-round game on Wednesday night against the MASCAC champions from Salem State. … Read more
St. Thomas, Wisconsin-Stevens Point ready for NCAA quarterfinal
When St. Thomas and Wisconsin-Stevens Point battle on the ice Saturday night in their quarterfinal NCAA tournament game, it will be a rematch of a game played earlier this season. The Pointers defeated the Tommies 3-0 on Nov. 15, but the game means little at this point. “It doesn’t really give you any advantage in … Read more
Bowdoin comfortable in role as NCAA tournament underdog
Back in January as the season’s second half got underway, Bowdoin coach Terry Meagher said that “they had the league right where they wanted them,” sitting in sixth place in the NESCAC and looking at a lot of teams ahead of them. So it should come as no surprise that from the fifth-seeded position in … Read more
Babson savoring the moment, ready for the challenge ahead
Following Saturday night’s scintillating win over rival Norwich for the ECAC East title, Babson awaited the release of the NCAA tournament bracket and now know they will host the winner of the Oswego-Bowdoin game in a quarterfinal matchup on home ice this coming Saturday. So what does it all mean to the team in green … Read more
Harris Cup on the line as St. Scholastica visits St. Norbert
Like St. Scholastica has done so many times in the past, the Saints will visit St. Norbert for a road game this weekend. However, this weekend will have a new twist. The two teams will be playing for the Harris Cup for the first time in each of their program’s history. After the WIAC schools … Read more
ECAC Northeast title game a toss-up between Nichols, Wentworth
The ECAC Northeast conference championship game will be a battle of consistency throughout the season and a team getting hot at the right time. Top-seeded Nichols has been at top of the conference for the majority of season with a 17-6-3 overall record (9-3-2 ECAC Northeast). Wentworth, the defending league champions, had a rough first … Read more
Can Geneseo win the SUNYAC tournament after winning the regular season?
Halley’s Comet? No, it’s Oswego as an underdog. Having been cast as perennial favorites in the SUNYAC – with the last four (and six of the last eight) league regular-season crowns locked in the trophy case – the No. 3 Lakers (19-6-2, 10-5-1) come into Saturday’s championship game at No. 1 Geneseo (21-5-0, 14-2-0) as … Read more
Top two ECAC West teams – Utica and Elmira – battle for all league’s marbles
It all boils down to this. The two top teams in the ECAC West – No. 1 Utica and No. 2 Elmira – will fight it out on Saturday for league supremacy. Is anyone surprised? Ya shouldn’t be. The two squads, who between them have taken the last six league championships (okay, Elmira copped the … Read more
Pressure gets narrowed into one game in new Hockey East first-round format
The number of unhappy coaches, athletic directors and presidents at the end of the weekend likely will have a lot to do with whether this same do-or-die format is around next year.
Destination unknown for Penrose Cups — yes, plural — entering the final weekend
North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Nebraska-Omaha all have a chance at getting their hands on one of the two regular season championship trophies the NCHC had made.
Douville and Vermont prepare for an opponent that can fly
Vermont hosted Maine on Saturday in the Catamounts’ first home playoff game. They won, 3-2, their first postseason win, advancing them to their first Hockey East semifinal. The game ended in the third overtime, and at 117 minutes and 12 seconds, it was the longest game in program history. “Obviously, it’s super exciting to do … Read more
New attitude has Castleton challenging for title
A vision nearly unrealized. Such was the status of Castleton’s postseason hopes, just weeks into the 2013-14 season. With a modest .500 record, the Spartans were lukewarm at best in terms of contending for a ECAC East championship. Saturday, coach Bill Bowes’s team will vie for the aforementioned conference championship against No. 3 Norwich. At … Read more
MASCAC championship looks to be a ‘terrific college hockey game’
There is no Cinderella story in the MASCAC playoffs as the top two teams in the conference – Salem State and Plymouth State – will meet Saturday to decide the MASCAC tournament champion. The two teams met three times this season and saw the Vikings win twice, including once in overtime 4-3 in the second … Read more
WCHA’s roller-coaster regular season comes down to the wire
It’s possible that little will be decided for the WCHA playoffs until Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage wrap up their series — and the league’s regular season schedule — this Saturday night.
St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus primed for classic MIAC final
Perhaps the only surprise over the opening weekend of the MIAC tournament is that no surprises unraveled in a league that was once again competitive throughout the year. St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus, the top two seeds in the tourney, survived and advanced and will play for the championship Saturday night at St. Thomas. An … Read more