There has been a significant amount of buzz around college hockey about the possibility that this could be one of the final weekends for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament regional tournaments as we now know them.
Possibly the most telling statistic in reviewing the top 50 longest games list is that 38 of those 50 games occurred since 2000.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — College hockey fans, take note: It’s time to finally admit it, ECAC Hockey is one very good hockey league right now. Yes, I’m a Hockey East guy. And, yes, if you’ve talked to me in recent years the ECAC has often been my go-to punch line. But I’m ready to step up … Read more
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Wisconsin and head coach Mike Eaves enters Friday’s NCAA first-round game as one of the hottest teams in the country. The only problem is that the team they’re facing on Friday, top-seeded Massachusetts-Lowell, is the only team hotter. Asked what stands out to him or concerns him most about the matchup with … Read more
The Worldwide Leader in Sports – the self-proclaimed title given to ESPN – has done a lot to help grow the NCAA men’s ice hockey championship over the years. Now, though, it seems like “that network” is doing everything to hurt this tournament when interest in the event is at an all-time high. Back in … Read more
Everyone knows hockey players love to watch hockey on television. So it may seem ironic that on a critically important night where outcomes of various other college hockey games – most of them televised – would affect Michigan State’s NCAA future, that many players chose not to watch any hockey. Michigan State was eliminated from … Read more
With all four teams practicing Thursday at the East Regional, there were plenty of quotable moments. Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin kicked off his press conference on Thursday by introducing leading scorer Jack Connolly as Zac Brown from the Zac Brown Band. I’ll admit that I had to do a Google image search for Zac … Read more
DETROIT — Perhaps no one in Ford Field this weekend will have as much experience in Frozen Fours as Boston College head coach Jerry York. York, who played in the Frozen Four in 1965, falling to Colorado College in the title game as a member of the Eagles, not only has led BC to the … Read more
DETROIT – The NCAA men’s basketball tournament has become famous in past years for splicing together a highlight video from the 65-team event that airs prior to the national championship game called, “One Shining Moment.” During the layoff between the regional tournament and the Frozen Four, the Boston College staff put together a video, not … Read more
DETROIT – No team has ever played a hockey game on Ford Field. But that doesn’t mean Boston College doesn’t have a bit of a home ice advantage heading into Thursday’s national semifinal game at the Frozen Four in Detroit. The Eagles may not have played on Ford Field, but that have played on the … Read more
DETROIT – When this season began, Boston College goaltender John Muse was the team’s biggest question. Coming off surgery in the summer to repair his hip, head coach Jerry York wondered if we’d see the standout netminder before November. When he appeared in net, though, to start the season, many were shocked. But a somewhat … Read more
MANCHESTER, N.H. – On paper, top seeded Boston University looks by far like the hottest team in this weekend’s Northeast Regional. The Terriers have just two losses since Christmas and are the only club of the four participants to have won its league championship last weekend. If you listened to head coach Jack Parker speak, … Read more
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Quite possibly no team in the NCAA tournament field is as thankful to be playing as Ohio State. The Buckeyes were the last at-large team selected for the 16-team field. To boot, they sat idle last weekend after losing a hard-fought, three-game quarterfinal series to Alaska two weekends ago. To say that … Read more
MANCHESTER, N.H. — While the excitement of the NCAA Tournament is in Manchester, N.H., this weekend for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, you can’t blame any players for having some concern for those back home. The Sioux left behind a state wrapped up in a natural disaster right now as the Red River in Fargo, … Read more
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Though the reason for taking time off last weekend might not have sat too well with New Hampshire, the third seed in this weekend’s NCAA regional in Manchester, N.H., the Wildcats team is looking at the rest as nothing but a positive. UNH, of course, was missing from last weekend’s Hockey East … Read more
I won’t proclaim to be the master of the PairWise, but cursory analysis this morning makes me believe that BU may have already locked up the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Much of this is due to the strongest RPI and a sick, I am talking SICK record against Teams Under Consideration. … Read more
Rumors that Atlantic Hockey will admit Robert Morris and Niagara for the 2010-11 season seem to be on the verge of becoming official, according to Chris Lerch’s story on USCHO.com. That move, combined with the WCHA’s recent vote to lift its moratorium on expansion, are good news for the programs that now comprise College Hockey … Read more
Call it winter doldrums, but this writers mind is struggling to find great topics about which to blog this week. So instead, I’ll pass along some random musings… – I wonder if I’m the only person whose jaw dropped when someone told me that Air Force is currently in second place in Atlantic Hockey. I’ll … Read more
As USCHO.com’s Todd Milewski first reported, the WCHA voted unanimously on Thursday to lift the league’s moratorium on expansion. This could be the first step in saving four NCAA Division I programs, namely the four members of the CHA. The best news from the vote belongs to Bemidji State. A perfect geographic fit, the Beavers … Read more
So I ask my fellow Americans: Am I the only one that is getting extremely bored with the World Junior Championship. I do thank the good folks at USA Hockey for negotiating a deal with NHL Network to broadcast all of Team USA’s games as well as the medal round this year. Unfortunately, the quality … Read more