Division I women’s hockey has seen the addition of four teams in the past six seasons — Lindenwood in 2011, Penn State and RIT in 2012, and Merrimack in 2015. Lindenwood and RIT has been playing Division III hockey before making their teams Division I. Penn State added men’s and women’s hockey Division I hockey … Read more
No league had more questions to resolve heading into the final weekend of its schedule than ECAC Hockey, with uncertainty at the top, bottom, and in the middle.
Candace and Nicole look at some of last weekend’s surprising results and whether that changes a possible NCAA tournament field, the likely finishing order of teams in all the conferences, and preview next week’s Beanpot tournament.
Candace and Arlan look at Wisconsin’s Fill the Bowl success, Minnesota-Duluth’s first sweep of Minnesota since 2010, some other puzzling results, like Northeastern getting swept by Maine, what shuffling might occur in the standings, and early favorites for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
Arlan and Nicole look at teams that had a hit to their confidence, like St. Lawrence and Colgate, and teams that may have gained some confidence from their surprise results, such as Mercyhurst, Providence, and St. Cloud State, as well as some of the favorites and what will happen in the PairWise in the second half.
It’s the midway point of the season, and all but a few teams are done with their schedule until after the new year. As the students prepare for finals and we all head into the holidays, I’ve prepared a letter to Santa to let him know what I wish for each of the Division I … Read more
Candace and Arlan ponder Minnesota-Duluth’s win over Wisconsin, the state of Hockey East and the favorites in that conference, Harvard’s struggles. St. Lawrence’s success, and whether Mercyhurst can make a run in the CHA in the second half.
Arlan and Nicole look at some other potential NCAA tournament teams besides Minnesota and Wisconsin, especially in the CHA, and go in depth on the ECAC, as well as what teams in Hockey East have the potential to knock Boston College from the top of the roost.
Candace and Nicole take a look at Ann-Renee Desbiens setting a new shutout record, the strengths of Wisconsin and Minnesota, what the Boston College-Boston University split portends in Hockey East, St. Lawrence’s continued early success, and the parity in the CHA.
Candace and Arlan look at Holy Cross moving up and compare the Crusaders to previous teams that have moved up to D-I, try to make sense of the many contenders in the ECAC, look at whether Boston College is the favorite in Hockey East, ponder whether North Dakota or Minnesota-Duluth has an edge in the at-large bid battle, and also debate the strengths and weaknesses of teams in the CHA.
When the Union Dutchwomen left the ice on Saturday afternoon, it was as winners for the first time since December 12, 2014. The first win in 56 games was a big moment for the players and the program, but new coach Josh Sciba has never highlighted “win games” as a goal for the team or … Read more
In the first Wednesday Women column of the year, former USCHO women’s columnist Arlan Marrtila discusses the surprises out West with our new columnist, Nicole Haase. They also look at St. Lawrence, preview this weekend’s big games, and discuss scoring. Arlan will periodically appear going forward, as will women’s editor Candace Horgan.
The CHA has, in its history, been about one team: Mercyhurst. The Lakers have finished first in the league in 11 of 12 seasons, and even before the CHA tournament gave the winner an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, Mercyhurst usually qualified as an at-large team. Other CHA teams have challenged the Lakers at … Read more
Syracuse received five first-place votes in the annual CHA preseason coaches poll, which was released Monday, and was deemed the top team heading into the 2016-17 season. Mercyhurst garnered the other first-place vote and is slotted second in the poll.
Castleton announced Monday that Bill Silengo has been hired as the head coach of the Spartan men’s program. Silengo replaces Steve Moffat, who stepped down in August to take an assistant’s job at Plattsburgh. For the past two seasons, Silengo has been the assistant coach at Manhattanville, where he managed team practices, meetings and the … Read more
Penn State announced Thursday the hiring of Alex Dawes as its new director of hockey operations. Dawes replaces Bill Downey, who has accepted the role of manger of hockey operations for the American Hockey League affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms . “Alex Dawes has impressed the athletic department, our administration and … Read more
The College Hockey America tournament will return to Buffalo’s HarborCenter in 2017. “We are thrilled to be able to return to the HarborCenter for a second straight year,” said CHA commissioner Robert DeGregorio in a statement. “All three games were highly competitive [in 2016], not to mention, we had nearly 2,500 people come out during … Read more
Candace and Arlan discuss the NCAA Selection Committee’s puzzling pairings in the NCAA tournament, the results of the conference tournaments, the possibilities for upsets in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and the three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
College Hockey America announced its 2015-16 regular-season awards Thursday night, in addition to a pair of All-Conference Teams and an All-Rookie Team. Player of the Year honors went to Syracuse senior forward Melissa Piacentini, who tallied 18 points in conference play and a school-record 112 points entering the CHA tournament. Mercyhurst forward Rachael Smith is … Read more
People often struggle to correctly apply facts that seem to be saying conflicting things. Take global warming. How can we take global warming seriously when we encounter days where the temperature doesn’t even reach zero degrees Fahrenheit? The polar ice caps are disappearing, but there are weeks where it seems like new glaciers are ready … Read more