The best College Hockey coverage is at CollegeHockeyNews.com http://www.collegehockeynews.com Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:02:00 -0500 RSSCreator 1.2 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/images/design/chn2006-text-180px.gif http://www.collegehockeynews.com College Hockey News http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2009/01/04_luciaaddresses.php Minnesota coach Don Lucia, winner of two national championships during his tenure there, addressed the media at the Dodge Holiday Class about his illness, details of which had been undisclosed since being announced last last night. Lucia did not take questions, and still would not go into great specifics about the problem, but did provide some insight along with team doctor Rob LaPrade. Lucia has ... Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2009/01/04_usfinishes.php It was not the way Team USA wanted things to go considering a 3-0 start, but after a somewhat embarrassing loss to Slovakia in the quarterfinals, the Americans concluded the tournament by defeating Czech Repbulic in overtime for a fifth-place finish. New Hampshire's James van Riemsdyk, who had an outstanding tournament all around, scored the game winner. The Americans started 3-0, taking care of ... Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2009/01/02_luciato.php Minnesota coach Don Lucia has been battling an undisclosed illness, and will miss the start of the Dodge Holiday Classic at Mariucci Arena, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has reported. Lucia has not been attending practice regularly this week. If he does come to the game tonight, he will be in the press box, not behind the bench. Assistant coaches John Hill and Mike Hastings will handle the coaching ... Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2009/01/02_second.php Happy New Year from CHN. 2009 kicks off with five more holiday tournaments, taking place across the country this Friday and Saturday. Here are the previews: Denver Cup Boston University (11-4-1) vs. Rensselaer (3-13-1) Holy Cross (5-11-1) at Denver (13-5-1) The [[Denver]] Pioneers, who won their final seven games before the holiday break, host the Wells Fargo Denver Cup this weekend. But they ... Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/29_saints.php At St. Lawrence, practices tend to be a bit intense. “We battle pretty hard,” said senior Mike McKenzie. “We do a lot of battle-type drills and it just breeds a competitive atmosphere. I can’t tell you that emotions don’t boil over sometimes. “But by the end of the day we’re all still buddies.” That’s 33 buddies to be exact. The Saints boast ... Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/29_teamusa.php Team USA improved to 2-0 at the World Junior Championships with a 4-3 win over Czech Republic on Sunday. The U.S. led 4-1 in the third, then had to hold off a furious rally by the Czechs, holding on in front of a tournament record crowd of 19,847 at Scotiabank Place. Minnesota freshman Jordan Schroeder and New Hampshire sophomore James van Riemsdyk continue to be the stars for the U.S. With just a ... Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/27_badger.php It certainly looked like the Wisconsin Badgers were in rebuilding mode during their first seven games of the season. Now, they’ve gone from pretenders to contenders in the WCHA and are just three points out of first place. Struggling to find any consistency during an abysmal 0-6-1 start to the season, Wisconsin has turned its season around with a 9-1-1 record in its last 11 games. A big reason ... Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/27_usworld.php Five players tallied at least two points, including a goal and three assists from Minnesota freshman Jordan Schroeder to help Team USA to an 8-2 win over Germany in its first game of this year's World Junior Championships. With the U.S. on a five-on-three power play, Colin Wilson (Boston University) banged home a cross-crease pass from Schroeder at 8:23 to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. After Germany tied ... Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/22_itsa.php James Brown once sang, "This is a man's world. But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl." The late Godfather of Soul may very well have been speaking about assistant-coaching men's college hockey. There's an abundance of second-in-commands, all with dreams of, one day, running their own program. Getting in the way is the finite number of head coaching positions available ... Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/22_thepower.php As the 2008-09 season began just a few months ago, most of the preseason talk in the WCHA centered on the new four-official system and the inaugural year of the penalty crackdown. But as the season reaches its halfway point, it seems the penalties — a crackdown on stick fouls and other interference-type calls emphasized in the WCHA after being instilled in other conferences in previous seasons ... Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/20_denvers.php Denver sophomore forward Tyler Bozak will be out the remainder of the regular season, it was determined following arthroscopic surgery on Friday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Bozak injured his left knee in a knee-on-knee collision with Andrew Sackrison during the second period of Denver’s 3-2 win over Minnesota State on Friday, Dec. 12. A precautionary MRI taken on Monday revealed ... Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/19_better.php Back in September, the media ranked Alaska 11th of 12 teams in the CCHA’s preseason poll. The coaches had the Nanooks tied for 11th. And it’s pretty easy to see why. The Nanooks lost 21 games last year and started this season with a dozen freshmen and their third head coach in as many years. But Alaska’s players and coaches saw something else. “I think everybody on the team ... Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/19_thereturn.php Unless something changes, the makeup of the NCAA tournament could be very different this March. But the six hockey conferences and the Men's Ice Hockey Committee are trying to make sure that doesn't happen. The NCAA's Championships/Sports Management Cabinet will be looking, at its next meeting in February, to put its final stamp of approval on travel restrictions for its tournaments. The push for ... Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/19_cepisleaves.php Bowling Green sophomore forward Jacob Cepis has left the program for "personal reasons", according to coach Scott Paluch. Cepis was a standout freshman for the Falcons last season, scoring 15 goals and 31 points in 38 games. But this season, Cepis has just one goal in 18 games. "I'm not happy with hockey right now," Cepis told the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune. "There are ... Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/17_twospartans.php Michigan State, off to a rough 4-11-3 start this season, announced some roster shakeups today as it heads into the holiday break. Also, injuries incurred by sophomore defenseman A.J. Sturges in an off-campus fight in October, have been deemed serious enough to keep him out for the rest of the season. Freshman forward Mike Merrifield will return to junior hockey to play the remainder of the 2008-09 ... Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/15_teamcanada.php Hockey Canada has selected just one NCAA player to this year's team, and for the second straight year, it's someone from the Wisconsin Badgers. Sophomore defenseman Cody Goloubef was named to the team on Monday. Goloubef, the 37th overall draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, made the 22-member squad that will compete in the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships in Ottawa ... Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/12_massie.php Massachusetts-Lowell freshman goaltender T.J. Massie has left the team, and is playing for Tri-City of the United States Hockey League. He intends to return at a later time. Massie flew into Fargo, N.D., earlier this week, and played for last-place Tri-City against Fargo on Thursday night, taking the loss. Massie was the youngest player on Lowell's roster, the only 1990 birthdate on the team. He ... Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/11_marshalls.php First, a quick history lesson. The Marshall Plan of 1947 was the road map for the United State and its allies for rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation for the countries of Western Europe. Fast forward to the present time where the University of [[Maine]] hockey program is slowly re-establishing itself back into dominance. Heading into this season, the Black Bears weren’t expected to ... Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/11_cheverie.php It would be easy to understand if [[Denver]] carried a bit of a chip on its shoulder at this point of the season. After all, there is no hotter team in Division I college hockey. Consider this: not only has DU outscored its opponents 26-3 in its last five games -- all wins, of course -- but the Pioneers have also played the roles of Giant Killers, handing both Minnesota and Air Force their first ... Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/11_pisellini.php Quinnipiac freshman goaltender Nick Pisellini has taken a temporary leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. Pisellini cited a family matter for his leave and has not yet made a decision regarding a return to the Bobcats. “Nick is going to take some needed time off,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “We don’t know when he’ll return to the team – ... Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/09_keeping.php With [[Cornell]] off to a 7-1-2 start, it's worth noting the other thing that went Cornell's way this season, and it could turn out to have important implications. (Also see: Cornell Named CHN Team of the Week) It's not always big news when an assistant coach moves from one school to another, but Casey Jones' departure from Ohio State to Cornell this summer was particularly noteworthy, and the importance ... Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/09_michigan.php Michigan vs. Michigan State isn’t just a rivalry. As exemplified seven years ago in front of more than 74,500 spectators in Spartan Stadium, it’s a Cold War. The historic hockey game propelled the hostility to new levels, and that hatred between the teams hasn’t diminished since. Constant battles for in-state recruiting. Friends from travel teams turned into foes. Brawls after the ... Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/09_teamof.php The last time [[Cornell]] was unbeaten through the first eight league games was ... 1969-70. Yes, astute observers, that is the year the Big Red posted the only perfect season of the modern era. But, while Cornell -- after a couple of seasons taking a step back from the lofty standards it had previously set for itself -- is again thinking NCAAs and beyond, it's far from making romantic correlations ... Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/09_ciskie.php Long-time Minnesota-Duluth play-by-play announcer Bruce Ciskie has joined the College Hockey News team as a blogger. Ciskie's musings can be seen regularly, starting today, on the CHN Blog at blog.collegehockeynews.com. Ciskie was also sports director and talk show host for Duluth station KDAL, until its ownership recently decided to eliminate sports programming from the station. Long a respected ... Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/05_morematurity.php Massachusetts-Lowell’s Scott Campbell doesn’t like to look at statistics. For the most part, none of the River Hawks do. "We don’t really play a lot of attention to the stats," Campbell said. "We just focus on one game at a time." But that doesn’t mean they’re oblivious to what is happening this season in Lowell. In just 13 games, the River Hawks ... Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/05_finley.php North Dakota senior defenseman Joe Finley remains out of the lineup with a concussion, as the Sioux head to Harvard for a pair of games this weekend. The 6-foot-7 senior was injured in the second game of the season, Oct. 11 vs. Massachusetts. Initially, it was thought he might only miss a handful of games.  Last month, he made the trip with the team to Colorado Springs and appeared ready to return. ... Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/03_teamof.php The first two parts of Wisconsin's season so far have been as startling a discrepancy as you can have. After going winless in the first seven games of the year -- and down 2-0 after two periods of the eighth game -- the Badgers have rallied to go 7-1-1 in the last eight games. This culminated in a pair of wins in the College Hockey Showcase, capped by Saturday's 3-0 triumph over Michigan, and gave ... Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/03_vanriemsdyk.php James van Riemsdyk and Colin Wilson are among 14 NCAA players named to this year's U.S. World Junior National team's 22-man roster. The U.S., looking to win its second gold medal -- first since 2004 -- is coached by former Boston College assistant Ron Rolston. The team will compete in the tournament in Ottawa, Ontario, Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. Van Riemsdyk and Wilson were the top NCAA players taken in the ... Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/12/02_matson.php Minnesota freshman center Taylor Matson will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 season with a knee injury suffered in the Gophers’ loss to Michigan on Friday. Matson will undergo surgery in the upcoming weeks. Matson is a native of Mound, Minn., and played on a Minnesota state high school championship team at Academy of Holy Angels. He was injured early in the first period of Friday’s game ... Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/30_airforce.php The past two seasons, Air Force has won the Atlantic Hockey tournament, qualified for the NCAA tournament, and nearly pulled off two consecutive upsets only to fall agonizingly short. Then it started this season 12-0. Yet it took a split of a weekend series for Air Force to truly earn the respect it deserves. A win over Colorado College "legitimized" the Falcons in the eyes of many, but ... Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/30_krachis.php College Hockey News is known for publishing a ratings system called KRACH to rank the teams. And with Air Force's loss Saturday night, CHN now has KRACH available for viewing for the first time this season. CHN waits until every team has at least one tie or loss before publishing KRACH each season, since the system is more mathematically pure that way. The early-season numbers are wonderfully illustrative ... Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/28_dalpea.php The calm before the storm lasted only two games into the season before [[Ohio State]] freshman Zac Dalpe erupted for 11 points in the last eleven games. Not surprisingly, his performance lead to two CCHA Rookie of the Week honors and is the top ranked freshman in the conference in scoring. But it wasn’t long ago that Dalpe received little interest from the college ranks due in large part to ... Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/28_biggreen.php Frustrating. That's how Rob Pritchard describes it. The Dartmouth captain was there on Media Day, listening to not one, but two polls picking his team to finish 11th in the twelve-team ECAC. "I knew they were wrong," he says. "They look at teams in terms of players we've lost versus players we've gained. Our goal is that same as every team's goal: you want to be first in the league. ... Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/28_youngsters.php The October and November months have never been too friendly to [[Minnesota State]]. In the Mavericks’ previous three seasons, they’ve had just nine total wins in those months – three each season – and only five total WCHA wins. But with six October and November series completed this season and one more left to play, the Mavericks already have seven wins and five in the conference. The ... Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/23_maines.php Scott Darling's ‘Welcome to Maine Hockey' moment happened quickly. Starting his first game at Alfond Arena against Northeastern on Oct. 25, Darling took the ice and before he knew it -- just like all the Maine greats before -- a flood of emotions came over him. "The biggest moment was that game--it was one of the coolest and most emotional moments," Darling said. "I got overwhelmed ... Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/23_friday.php Flash back to April 10, 2008, last year's Frozen Four national semifinal between Michigan and Notre Dame. Wolverines junior goaltender Billy Sauer, who had earned a stellar 30-4-3 record until that night, had allowed three first period goals, and Michigan trailed as a result. Longtime coach Red Berenson walked into the locker room and looked over at then-freshman goaltender Bryan Hogan, who had only ... Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/23_youthmovement.php "Pretty good. Put it on my headstone." So responded a smiling Miami coach Enrico Blasi following Saturday's win against Michigan, after being told that he is the first coach in over 15 years to sweep CCHA powerhouses Michigan State and Michigan on consecutive weekends. And leave it to a pair of freshman goaltenders to help him pull off that improbable feat. Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp ... Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/21_roughspots.php When you lose your top three scorers and your new roster includes 11 freshmen, you expect to go through some growing pains. But Rick Comley didn't expect his Michigan State Spartans to have this much trouble putting the puck in the net. The Spartans currently rank 57th in the nation in goals per game, they're on a four-game losing streak and they've dropped out of the Division I rankings. They're ... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/21_foster.php New Hampshire goaltender Brian Foster, who hurt an ankle in a game against Northeastern on Oct. 31, is set to return to the lineup today. His status was still in doubt this week, but he was selected as the starter for a rematch with Northeastern in Boston. In his absence, freshman goaltender Matt DiGirolamo has struggled to a 5.56 goals against average. And the Wildcats have slipped to 4-4-3. Foster ... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/21_maines.php According to the Bangor Daily News, Maine freshman goaltender Scott Darling has been suspended for Friday’s game against Merrimack for a “violation of team rules.” Darling has helped the Black Bears quickly get past the departure of esteemed netminder Ben Bishop, by taking the starting job by the horns. He is 5-1-0 this season with a 1.00 GAA and a .961 save percentage through six ... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/21_gwilliams.php Michigan Tech senior Malcolm Gwilliam will not return to the Huskies this season, thus ending his college career. Gwilliam spent three days in the hospital after becoming sick in the Michigan Tech locker room prior to last Sunday's game against Minnesota. According to reports, he felt numbing in his face and there was some fear of a stroke at first, though that turned out not to be the case. "It's ... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/20_airforce.php Riding a perfect 10-0 start to the season, Frank Serratore now has a new five-year contract. Air Force and Serratore have agreed on the new deal, taking him through the 2012-13 season. Details of the contract are still being worked out and are going through the Academy process. Serratore has led the Falcons to back-to-back Atlantic Hockey Association championships and NCAA berths. Two years ago ... Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/19_teamof.php St. Cloud State knew it would have some inexperience issues to work through, and in the WCHA, where the margin of error is so slim, it could mean a challenging season. What it didn't expect, however, was for the special teams to implode as it had early in the season. As a result, the Huskies got off to a slow start, and particularly struggled to score goals. Part of that has improved. The penalty ... Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/19_wchawill.php The WCHA has agreed to at least vote on lifting its moratorium on expansion, the first step towards what Bemidji State is hoping will be acceptance into the league. While not referencing Bemidji State specifically, it's well known that BSU hopes to apply for admittance. It has been unable to do so because of the moratorium. Bemidji State is one of four schools in College Hockey America that is looking ... Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/14_commentary.php The idea of "conference realignment" is generating a lot of buzz out there, kick-started by a blog posting from Denver Post beat writer Mike Chambers. Since then, other blogs have commented, and both we and other news organizations have tried to separate fact from fiction. Unfortunately, some are trying to make this a competition between us and the original author, and it shouldn't be that ... Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/13_bozaktaking.php After leading the Denver Pioneers in scoring last season, sophomore forward Tyler Bozak is picking up where he left off. Already nine games into the young season, the offensive sniper has amassed 13 points and is tied for second in the WCHA in scoring. But it should come as no surprise to find Bozak near the top in relatively all offensive categories in the conference. Before coming to [[Denver]] ... Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/12_righting.php Alaska coach Dallas Ferguson wasn't intimidated at the prospect of facing his role model. Sure, he has always respected Michigan coach Red Berenson, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity for a program-defining victory. Ferguson's Nanooks knocked out Berenson's seventh-ranked Wolverines 4-1 last Friday night in Fairbanks. Perhaps Ferguson's biggest win of his rookie campaign, the game represented ... Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/12_teamof.php When [[Ohio State]] was heading towards a rebuilding phase a couple of years ago, it figured it could weather the storm with a highly-touted goaltender coming out of the U.S. National Program -- Joe Palmer, a fourth-round pick of Chicago. But Palmer's career at Ohio State has been rocky at best, forcing OSU coach John Markell to scramble the last two years to plug the holes. The results, at times ... Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/10_noconference.php A recent Denver Post blog posting set off speculation that a realigning of conferences was imminent, as the four remaining College Hockey America schools look for new homes. According to several sources, this is not true. College Hockey News has closely followed the fate of the CHA for years -- as its size dwindled to five, then four, teams, leaving its NCAA automatic bid in serious jeopardy -- and ... Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/11/07_alaska.php By far, the biggest early-season surprise in the WCHA, if not all of college hockey, is the play of the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. After splitting their first true road series at Michigan Tech last weekend, the Seawolves moved their record to 5-2-1, 2-1-1 in the WCHA. Picked to finish dead last in the preseason coaches' poll, UAA is currently tied for third with Denver. Their 4-1-1 start is their ... Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST