Forget resolutions. Chronicling what a team should resolve to do or not to do is a popular thing for writers to present at this time of year, but I just don’t care. We’ve watched the CCHA and college hockey for half a season, and by now every fan’s an expert in what needs to be … Read more
Happy 2011! If you had a break from work, I hope it was restful. If you celebrated anything, I hope that was enjoyable. Two teams in the CCHA are entering the first week of 2011 and the second half of the season with something to celebrate, and one of them blows my little mind. Congratulations … Read more
Happy holidays and welcome back to college hockey action. If you celebrated Christmas, I hope you laughed as much as I did with my family in Florida. If you’re stranded somewhere because of the storm on the East coast, I hope you’re safe and warm and have access to both the Internet and the NHL … Read more
Two Wolverines will miss the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament because they’ll be representing the U.S. in the IIHF World Junior Championship tournament Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Freshman defenseman Jon Merrill (5-7–12) and sophomore forward Chris Brown (2-8–10) are the only players from the CCHA on this year’s roster, which features 14 collegians: seven from the WCHA, … Read more
Christmas came early for the CCHA in the form of three nonconference wins. Northern Michigan beat Michigan Tech, 6-2, and Western Michigan swept No. 12 Union, 2-1 and 3-1. The Wildcats netted four second-period goals in their win, two from sophomore defenseman Wade Epp, his first two collegiate tallies. Epp told USCHO arena reporter Daver … Read more
What struck me this week in the CCHA was the minutiae, the things that don’t draw a lot of attention but that matter in small ways. Perhaps it’s a Big Chill hangover – so much of it seemed ridiculous and overblown to me – but I found hockey beauty in the little things last weekend. … Read more
Thank you Nanooks and Bulldogs. Thank you. While I realize that neither of you is entirely pleased with last weekend’s split, you did win on the nights that I picked for each of you to win. Two other series split with each team winning on nights opposite of my picks for their wins. You’d think … Read more
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Some video from during and after the Big Chill at the Big House on Saturday: Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick, part 1: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGH-GhtvR3E Hunwick, part 2: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LI9X-TybDI Michigan coach Red Berenson, part 1: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DgQEMi717Q Berenson, part 2: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tsxILuPG-Y Michigan’s Carl Hagelin, part 1: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpY_DyVLcIY Michigan State coach Rick Comley: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vOKtPu-074 The crowd … Read more
Clearly, I am not someone you can take to the bank, so to speak. My picks last week: 2-5-3 Overall this season: 54-27-15 And I thought Thanksgiving week was bad. I did call MSU-FSU, ND-Miami and OSU-UM to split. Unfortunately, only the Buckeyes and Wolverines won and lost on the predicted nights. Ouch. I’m now … Read more
For its 50th anniversary in 2004, Sports Illustrated named the fiercest sports rivalry in each of the 50 U.S. states. No one familiar with college hockey was surprised when Michael Farber wrote about the intensity of what happens on the ice when Michigan and Michigan State meet. Not football. Not basketball. Not croquet. Men’s Division-I … Read more
Welcome to the CCHA, a.k.a. Splitsville. Everyone split points this weekend in the CCHA, although not everyone did so evenly. In three series, teams split wins and losses. One series produced two tied games, and another a split and a tie. When the closest thing to a sweep in a given league weekend is the … Read more
Before I get to anything else, I have to say how deeply saddened by the death of Dave Faiella, Northern Michigan’s sports information director. Dave died Dec. 1, reportedly from heart and kidney trouble that had struck recently. He was only 49. I’d been acquainted with Dave for over a decade, longer than his nine … Read more
Last week’s games brought us a week of notable firsts, and they make up the bulk of this week’s list of 15 things. Michigan State’s 5-2 win over Minnesota was the Spartans’ first in 10 games. In the last nine meetings, MSU had gone 0-4-5. The win was also the first on the road for … Read more
What did the Thanksgiving tournaments teach us about the CCHA? As feared, parity doesn’t mean equally good. The top three teams – three of the best in the country, arguably – took hits in semi-predictable ways. Two of the three played nonconference opponents, and that provided a good barometer of where the league stands in … Read more
Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving from the Peach State, y’all, home of the University of Georgia Ice Dogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, both of the ACHA. Would I love D-I hockey in these here parts, where the club-level sport is so well supported. Closer to home, this is how I’m doing: Last week: 7-1-2 Overall: … Read more
You knew this was coming. You had to know, too, that I wouldn’t end that headline with a preposition. Carter Camper. I know I’ve been beating his drum all season, but the Miami senior has singlehandedly reminded us of how collegiate players used to play, how they used to score. Thirty points in 13 games … Read more
I had to laugh when I read USCHO’s front page after Friday night’s games. “Freaky Friday,” the headline proclaimed, because there were upsets all over the place in College Hockeyland. Except for in the CCHA. Friday was, in fact, the least freakiest night of the CCHA season, I thought, as the top teams beat the … Read more
Thank goodness there were no tied games this week. Why, you ask? Because I’ve been calculating my win percentage wrong … and I knew that I had to have been doing so all season. I am surprised that no one wrote to correct me until this week. Frankly, I’m just as surprised that someone claiming … Read more
After Notre Dame lost to Michigan, 5-3, Saturday night, ND head coach Jeff Jackson said, “They scored three goals that must have bounced off 15 things.” That got me thinking about all the little things that make a difference — or don’t — in college hockey. Keep in mind that small is a relative term. … Read more
I’ve checked the planets and can’t find anything to explain this. All I can do is believe Rick Comley, who told me Saturday that there is parity in the CCHA. Who knew? Going into last weekend’s play, the top five CCHA teams were as follows, points totals in parentheses: Notre Dame (14) Michigan (13) Miami … Read more