The best College Hockey coverage is at CollegeHockeyNews.com http://www.collegehockeynews.com Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:36:30 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/images/design/chn2006-text-180px.gif http://www.collegehockeynews.com College Hockey News http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/04/07_haula_is_fifth_gopher_to_leave.php Minnesota lost its fifth player to early departure this week, as junior forward Erik Haula signed an entry-level contract with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The Wild selected Haula in the seventh round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (182nd overall). Haula is expected to finish out the season with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL).  In 114 career games, Haula had 124 total points and ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/04/05_more_players_add_to_early.php The end of the college season for all but four teams, has brought the usual bevy of players leaving early to sign NHL deals. Some of those players were drafted, and some were not. In addition to those already signed, the end of the first week of April brought a bunch more. The list includes Union goaltender Troy Grosenick, who leaves after three seasons to sign a free agent deal with the San Jose ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/04/03_trouba,_bjugstad_leave_ncaa.php Michigan defenseman Jacob Trouba and Minnesota forward Nick Bjugstad both signed with the NHL teams that drafted them, becoming two of the higher-profile players to leave the NCAA so far since their seasons ended. Both were former first-round picks, Trouba by Winnipeg and Bjugstad by Florida. Trouba played just one season with Michigan, but excelled, scoring 12 goals and was named College Hockey ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/04/02_minnesotas_schmidt_signs.php Minnesota defenseman Nate Schmidt has signed a two-year entry level contract with the Washington Capitals, giving up his final year of college eligibility. Schmidt was an undrafted free agent. “I wouldn’t trade my experience at the University of Minnesota for anything, and I am incredibly grateful to the team and staff for three great seasons at the 'U,'" Schmidt said. “This wasn’t an easy ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/29_wt_minnesota_left_stunned.php The game probably wasn’t ever supposed to be this close. Minnesota was coming into the NCAA West Regional as an overall No. 2 seed with a veteran team fresh off a Frozen Four appearance the year before. Plus, the Golden Gophers were going up against Yale, a team that barely squeaked into the tournament lat weekend. Yet, all it took was a matter of seconds — nine to be precise — for the Bulldogs ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/28_wt_warning_shot.php Although every team entering the NCAA tournament wants to be coming into the single-elimination tournament playing their best hockey, that’s not possible. The five conference tournaments make sure of it. All the spin in the world doesn’t change the fact 11 teams have to make a quick turnaround and forget that their last game ended in a loss. But, in the case of Minnesota forward Sam Warning, remembering ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/23_lucia_named_world_junior_coach.php USA Hockey has named Minnesota coach Don Lucia the head coach of its 2014 World Junior Championship team that will compete Dec. 26, 2013 – Jan. 5, 2014 in Malmo, Sweden. The U.S. is coming off a gold medal at least year's World Juniors. “I’m so excited to have this opportunity," Lucia said. "When I started coaching many years ago one of the things I hoped to be able to do was to be involved ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/23_imbalance_of_power.php Minnesota had many opportunities to use its No. 1-ranked power play to place itself next to Wisconsin in Saturday's championship game. But five lost opportunities later, the Gophers skated off with a disheartening 2-0 loss to streaking Colorado College. “They just couldn’t find a rhythm to their game,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia about his team’s power play. It was evident even on the ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/22_wcha_final_five_semifinal.php And then there were four. The WCHA Final Five opened Thursday with two contrasting games where Minnesota State and North Dakota saw their chances for the Broadmoor Trophy end. In the opener, Wisconsin scored three goals in the opening 8 minutes, 11 seconds to defeat the Mavericks 7-2. Then the nightcap included a bit of bonus hockey as defenseman Peter Stoykewych scored the winner 4:52 into overtime ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/21_wilcox_a_difference_maker.php Going into this season, Minnesota coach Don Lucia planned to rotate his goalies for the first few weeks before making any decisions about whether or not one of them would become his full-time starter. The rotation lasted just three games. Junior Michael Shibrowski and freshman Adam Wilcox split a pair of lopsided wins over Michigan State on the first weekend of the season, but Shibrowski got pulled ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/20_wcha_final_five_preview.php The WCHA Final Five has always been a celebration of college hockey, where fans of different schools in the conference get together to fill the Xcel Energy Center as an end-of-the-year tradition. This year it doubles as the end of an era. With eight of the conference’s 12 schools leaving the WCHA for new leagues, teams across the Upper Midwest and West will be split apart beginning next year. That ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/15_wcha_tournament_preview.php With two-thirds of the league heading elsewhere next season, this year's WCHA tournament will be the last of its kind. If the regular season was any indication, it promises to be a memorable one. The race for home ice came down to the final weekend, and the battle for the MacNaughton Cup went down to the final night. St. Cloud State clinched a share of its first MacNaughton Cup on Friday, but then ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/03/14_more_than_a_scorer.php As the sun set on the Chicago skyline last month, what was a scenic evening of hockey at Soldier Field between Minnesota and Wisconsin did not feel like it. Winds and temperatures dropping into the high teens drove fans to find shelter. Meanwhile, the ice in the center of the historic stadium was visibly deteriorating faster than the falling temperatures and players on both teams regularly hit ruts ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2013/02/18_wisconsin_thrives_outdoors.php Old rivals Wisconsin and Minnesota met Sunday in a setting they had never met in before. But for Wisconsin, the result seemed very familiar. Wisconsin improved to 3-0 in outdoor games during the modern era, scoring three goals in a 3:19 span of the second period to defeat the Gophers, 3-2. For Minnesota, it was the program's first experience outside since these spectacles have become more commonplace ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100