Women’s D-I in general
As 10 of the 24 women named Wednesday to the preliminary roster of the 2007 U.S. National Team were marked by their collegiate opponents during their Division I hockey games, they were being watched equally carefully by other, more important, watchers. The coaches and scouts of USA Hockey spent much of the 2006-07 hockey season … Read more
Ten current college players were among the 24-player preliminary roster announced today by USA Hockey for the U.S. Women’s National Team that will compete in the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship in Winnipeg and Selkirk, Man., from April 3-10. Among the fresh faces on the roster are Boston College freshmen Allie Thurnstrom … Read more
Although Mercyhurst has been No. 1 in the hockey polls since late November, the team still plays with an underdog mentality. And that’s just fine with them. Coach Mike Sisti says it’s the retention of the underdog mentality that keeps his team hungry and on its toes. Sure, there’s been complacency at times, but the … Read more
For the second time this season the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the nation will face off in a fight to be the top team in the nation. While the teams remain same, the rankings have changed. On Nov. 18, the then No. 1-ranked Middlebury Panthers invaded the Ronald B. Stafford Ice … Read more
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, bestowed annually upon the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey, will descend upon historic Lake Placid, N.Y., on March 17 for a brunch ceremony to announce the 2007 award recipient. Held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four March 16 and 18, … Read more
Earlier this week it was announced that starting next season, the ECAC East will realign into two six-team divisions. In addition to the realignment, the playoffs will be expanded to eight teams. The current format has six teams making the postseason. The two divisions will be referred to as the North and the South. The … Read more
A team that welcomes four Olympians into the fold is supposed to excel, and this has certainly been true of Dartmouth this season. Although the team opened its season in October with back-to-back losses at current No. 1 Mercyhurst (is there any shame in that, really?) the Big Green have since compiled a 17-4-2 record … Read more
Ending what will be a three-year stint behind the bench for the Union women’s team, head coach Tim Gerrish announced Wednesday that this season will be his last on the job. Gerrish has led Union to a 12-69-2 record in his two-plus seasons, and is expected to finish out the year before departing. Union currently … Read more
With the end of the regular season just one month away, each game is becoming more important than ever. It is at this point in the season when the true contenders start separating themselves from the rest of the pack. That starts this weekend with three exciting matchups which will directly affect conference playoff seedings … Read more
A month ago, asking University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey coach Shannon Miller about her team’s chances for postseason glory would most likely have drawn raised shoulders and a questioning look. With a third of her 18 scholarship players either on the bench for long stretches of time with serious or season-ending injuries, Miller counted … Read more
With the unveiling of the 2006-07 USCHO.com Division I Women’s Pairwise Rankings (PWR), it’s time to discuss the new twists in the NCAA tournament selection criteria. So how are the eight teams selected for NCAAs? Automatic bids go to the conference tournament champions of the ECACHL, WCHA, and Hockey East. There are five at-large selections … Read more
As many of you know, this past summer the entire Division III college hockey community suffered a tragic loss. Arguably the greatest player to ever play Division III hockey, Laura Hurd, was the victim of a fatal car accident on an early June morning just outside of Watkins Glen, New York. I unfortunately was never … Read more
The expectations were modest for Boston University’s women’s team as it debuted in Division I, but head coach Brian Durocher’s charges have done much more than that. Scott Weighart reports in an exclusive to USCHO Extra.
Women’s hockey will return to SUNY Potsdam after a more than 20-year absence. The program will begin in 2007-08 with club status for one year and then change to a Division III varsity team in 2008-09. The decision to add women’s hockey resulted after a two-year study of athletics equity issues and an effort to … Read more
Quotas in college sports have not been kind to the state of Wisconsin as of late. Last month, the Badgers’ football team failed to qualify for the Bowl Championship Series, despite an 11-1 record and No. 7 national ranking. The BCS cannot take more than two teams from any one conference, and Wisconsin was stuck … Read more
The sophomore slump is a phrase that means nothing to the University of New Hampshire hockey team. Since 2002-03, second-year players have led the team in points and placed among the highest in the nation every season. This season, sophomore Sam Faber is holding up her end. Entering the weekend games, Faber has 28 points … Read more
Is there a better way to ring in 2007? In the NESCAC, No. 2 Middlebury ventures to Maine to take on Colby and No. 10 ranked Bowdoin in pivotal conference matchups for the Panthers. In nonconference action, No. 8 Utica, who recently won the St. Michael’s Tournament with consecutive 5-1 wins over Colby and Neumann, … Read more
At least two Olympic hockey players have and continue to spread the beauty and excitement of the sport to the four corners of the world. Two summers ago, Harvard junior Caitlin Cahow spent a few weeks in Kazakhstan with Athletes in Action, a Christian organization of past and present collegiate athletes, who tried to improve … Read more
The University of New Hampshire honored a legend in women’s hockey recently when the athletic department established a gallery reflecting the achievements of former coach Russell J. McCurdy. “He was a fantastic coach and a legend at UNH,” said former player Bridget Stearns who helped organize the Dec. 10 unveiling of the gallery before 80 … Read more
Frank Cole, the NCAA’s National Coordinator of Officals, along with Col. James Knowlton, the chair of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee and Ty Halpin, the NCAA’s liasion to the Ice Hockey Rules Committee recently sent a memorandum to the Conference Commissioners and Hockey Coaches in regards to the Officiating Directive. Below is the text … Read more