mustread

Bracketology: NCAA hockey tournament picture coming into focus with Selection Sunday coming up in four days

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Selection Sunday is just a few days away, which means the NCAA picture for most of the schools is getting quite clear. We’ve mentioned it elsewhere this week, but we can say with full certainty that the top 10 teams in the PairWise have secured their spots: Minnesota State, Michigan, Denver, North Dakota, Minnesota, Western … Read more

Bracketology: As college hockey playoffs kick into high gear, which teams are on the bubble, and which teams are locks for NCAA tournament bids?

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We’re three weeks into Braceketology and we’re already seeing some conference tournament results that are having lasting impact. Last weekend, it was Ohio State losing its series in three games to Penn State. The Buckeyes have no games remaining to change their PairWise possibilities, and right now OSU sits right on the tournament bubble – … Read more

Bracketology: With postseason starting, two spots maximum up for grabs for upcoming NCAA hockey tournament

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As we approach the home stretch of the college hockey season, we’re seeing some teams really solidify their NCAA tournament positions. We can say certainly that Minnesota State, Michigan and Minnesota all have punched their NCAA tickets and Denver, North Dakota, Western Michigan Notre Dame and St. Cloud State are all virtual locks (though my … Read more

Bracketology: The first set of predictions on which college hockey teams crack the field of 16 for the 2022 NCAA tournament

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It’s finally that time of year where everyone is wondering what teams will make the NCAA men’s Division I ice hockey tournament and, more so, where their favorite teams will likely be playing. Thus, we’ll dust off the old column called Bracketology. Each week until selection Sunday, Jayson Moy and I try to give you … Read more

With Beanpot underway for 2022 edition, event lends itself to college hockey getting back to pre-COVID times

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“Now is the winter of our discontent,” wrote William Shakespeare in Richard III. What he described, this feeble writer’s mind doesn’t know, despite studying Latin and the Classics throughout a high school education at Boston Latin School, located just miles from TD Garden. But if Shakespeare was predicting a future, one in Boston could associate … Read more

As college hockey inches back to pre-COVID times, conferences utilizing digital media to keep fans, supporters engaged

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The first half of college hockey’s 2021-22 season brought about the return of familiar surroundings. Fans lost during a year of empty arenas once again filed through turnstiles and ticket booths in order to cheer their teams, and chants dating back decades rang through campuses across the United States. The pageantry of the sport, once … Read more

One-time transfer rule has changed the college hockey landscape, but not to everyone’s liking

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The adoption of legislation by the NCAA on April 28 that extended one-time transfers to men’s hockey may have permanently and significantly changed the landscape of the sport. The ability for players to move to another program without having to sit a year — which only applied to men’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, football, … Read more

With vaccinations varying across the college hockey community, most schools, leagues helping make this a normal season while still in a COVID world

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Even before the puck dropped on the opening weekend of the 2021-22 season, college hockey felt the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The season-opening series between Alaska and Minnesota scheduled for Oct. 2-3 in Minneapolis was postponed to mid-January because of COVID protocols that involved Tier 1 individuals associated with the Alaska program. Tier … Read more

College hockey community rising to occasion to save teams, but should such a responsibility fall on fans?

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The 2020-21 season was another typical year for the Robert Morris hockey program. The Colonials won Atlantic Hockey’s Western Pod regular-season championship and were within a game of advancing to their seventh straight playoff semifinal appearance. It took an unorthodox playoff format and a double-overtime second game to stop the team, but RMU clearly ranked … Read more