Division 1 NCAA Hockey

[tealhockey]

I didn't see a thread for college hockey in general here so decided to make one where we can talk about teams, games, prospects etc.

My favorite conference is the Big Ten but the NCHC and Hockey East are pretty strong too. Minnesota-Duluth has won it twice in a row and when Denver won they were runner-ups, so the NCHC is pretty clearly on top. That said I think the Big Ten is the strongest conference top-to-bottom. Hockey East is a little more diluted but has some great teams and a ton of potential as well.

Here is USCHO.com's poll for October 7th 2019

1	Minnesota Duluth	(39)	0-0-0	978	1
2	Denver	(10)	2-0-0	927	2
3	Minnesota State	(1)	0-0-0	844	3
4	Massachusetts		0-0-0	767	4
5	Cornell		0-0-0	747	5
6	Providence		1-0-0	651	7
7	St. Cloud		0-0-0	630	6
8	Notre Dame		0-0-0	550	9
9	Quinnipiac		0-0-0	528	8
10	Boston College		0-0-0	522	11
11	Clarkson		0-0-0	510	10
12	Ohio State		0-0-0	460	12
13	Penn State		0-0-0	436	13
14	Western Michigan		0-0-0	375	14
15	Northeastern		0-0-0	302	15
16	Wisconsin		0-0-0	286	16
17	Bowling Green		1-0-0	258	17
18	North Dakota		0-0-0	153	18
19	Harvard		0-0-0	114	19
20	Boston University		1-0-0	95	NR

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Others receiving votes: UMass Lowell 83, AIC 80, Minnesota 53, Michigan 45, Arizona State 40, Lake Superior 18, Brown 12, Northern Michigan 12, Colorado College 7, Michigan Tech 7, Dartmouth 5, Mercyhurst 2, Niagara 2, Air Force 1

Click to read more...

 

[JMCx4]

Despite the 11-1 total goal differential, the non-conference pair between the NCHC's UNO Mavericks & the WCHA's AL-Huntsville Chargers was entertaining hockey on opening weekend in Omaha. Both rosters have quite a few freshmen & sophomores, especially the Chargers, but both teams have good transitional speed & pretty good goaltending. The Game 2 shutout for the Mavs was the much more evenly played match of the weekend, but UAH clearly has some work to do before they become consistently competitive. Hopefully their future affiliation uncertainty doesn't stunt their hockey growth.

Special shout out to the UNO Pep Band & accompanying drum corps. Some of the best college sports music/rhythm my wife & I have heard.

 

[JMCx4]

A bit delayed, but here are the NCAA Div I men's team previews from College Hockey News ...

• WCHA 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• Big 10 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• ECAC 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• Hockey East 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• NCHC 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules

No preview for the Atlantic Hockey conference at this writing.

 

[tealhockey]

A bit delayed, but here are the NCAA Div I men's team previews from College Hockey News ...

• WCHA 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• Big 10 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• ECAC 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• Hockey East 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules
• NCHC 2019-20 Team Preview Capsules

No preview for the Atlantic Hockey conference at this writing.

Fun fact I used to do recruiting news for them. I write for my own site now, have some work up this season and will continue to do so, focusing on Big Ten for the most part, here are some to start the year..
100519: BU x Union -- game recap
Big Ten Week Zero Power Rankings -- podcast
Two Must-Watch Prospects For Every Big Ten Team

 

[JMCx4]

Fun fact I used to do recruiting news for them. I write for my own site now, have some work up this season and will continue to do so, focusing on Big Ten for the most part, here are some to start the year..

Oh, man, I opened the door ... ...

 

[alko]

Are there in NCAA hockey some special rules?

I see often, that the games ended in tie, that means 2:2, 1:1 etc. Why dont they have a winning format like other leagues?

Any other exemptions comparing to other junior or professional leagues?

 

[JMCx4]

Are there in NCAA hockey some special rules?

I see often, that the games ended in tie, that means 2:2, 1:1 etc. Why dont they have a winning format like other leagues?

Any other exemptions comparing to other junior or professional leagues?

Last October, the NCAA Rules Panel approved "alternative formats" to break tie scores beyond the prevailing standard 5 minutes of 5-on-5 overtime play. These options are left to the individual collegiate hockey conferences, and do not apply to non-conference matches. So you will see more tie games early in an NCAA Division I season, because that's when many non-conference games are scheduled.

Other unique rules of play according to a browse of the 2018-19 AND 2019-20 NCAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY RULES AND INTERPRETATIONS include:
(1) immediate disqualification of a player for fighting or punching;
(2) the "Minigame Format" for tie-breaking in a two-game post-season tournament (which I've never witnessed);
(3) the special "Section 11 - Women's Ice Hockey" rule against body checking (which I've seen many times - who says women's hockey isn't a physical game?).

 

[tealhockey]

Last October, the NCAA Rules Panel approved "alternative formats" to break tie scores beyond the prevailing standard 5 minutes of 5-on-5 overtime play. These options are left to the individual collegiate hockey conferences, and do not apply to non-conference matches. So you will see more tie games early in an NCAA Division I season, because that's when many non-conference games are scheduled.

Other unique rules of play according to a browse of the 2018-19 AND 2019-20 NCAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY RULES AND INTERPRETATIONS include:
(1) immediate disqualification of a player for fighting or punching;
(2) the "Minigame Format" for tie-breaking in a two-game post-season tournament (which I've never witnessed);
(3) the special "Section 11 - Women's Ice Hockey" rule against body checking (which I've seen many times - who says women's hockey isn't a physical game?).

Women's hockey is surprisingly physical for what the rules say for sure, if I recall correctly has the highest concussion incident rate of any NCAA sport so I think they really have to address that somehow...

While I like that the NCAA approved 'alternate formats', I believe that the game will still go in as a tie after 5 mins of OT for NCAA purposes. It only would count as a win for Big Ten or NCHC standings for example if you were to win in the second OT or shootout. At least that's how it went last year. You tie officially after 65 mins, whatever takes place after only is relevant for the conference standings, so winning pre-overtime and and in that first OT is massively important if you aren't locked for the tournament.

 

[JMCx4]

Women's hockey is surprisingly physical for what the rules say for sure, if I recall correctly has the highest concussion incident rate of any NCAA sport so I think they really have to address that somehow...

The latest data on sports concussions from the NCAA shows wrestling has the highest rates, by significant margins above men's & then women's hockey. But all of the numbers are certainly cause for concern & thoughtful action.

During the first regular season women's college hockey game that I attended - after I was introduced to the sport by the 2017 Women's Frozen Four tourney - I was sitting about 15 feet from a scrum along the boards that ended when a visiting player got an opponent's elbow square in the cage. She immediately crumpled to the ice, had to be helped across the ice surface to the player bench by two teammates, and spent the next 5 minutes puking in a trash can as play resumed. In that same game, a home team player was forced to miss the rest of play after a nasty slash across the wrist. In a subsequent weekend match, I saw a young "lady" charge the width of the ice to join a post-whistle scuffle & slam an opponent's head against the glass. Welcome to the softer side of hockey.

 

[tealhockey]

The latest data on sports concussions from the NCAA shows wrestling has the highest rates, by significant margins above men's & then women's hockey. But all of the numbers are certainly cause for concern & thoughtful action.

During the first regular season women's college hockey game that I attended - after I was introduced to the sport by the 2017 Women's Frozen Four tourney - I was sitting about 15 feet from a scrum along the boards that ended when a visiting player got an opponent's elbow square in the cage. She immediately crumpled to the ice, had to be helped across the ice surface to the player bench by two teammates, and spent the next 5 minutes puking in a trash can as play resumed. In that same game, a home team player was forced to miss the rest of play after a nasty slash across the wrist. In a subsequent weekend match, I saw a young "lady" charge the width of the ice to join a post-whistle scuffle & slam an opponent's head against the glass. Welcome to the softer side of hockey.

Huh, I think I saw it a few years ago and they were well ahead of everything else. I wonder what changed, maybe how they report it or something. Doesn't make sense where I got that from though because the data there is from 6 years ago. Maybe I saw a different source

 

[tealhockey]

Scores tonight... Denver hanging on to the top spot firmly 3-0 vs BC at home, UMD upset by Wisconsin 6-2 in Madison. NoDak and Minn State battle to a 4-4 tie. Alaska Fairbanks upsets Penn State 4-0 after losing 7-0 on thursday night. Maine upsets Qpac 4-2, UMass slaps around Union 6-1 to prove they are still 'for real', at least for now. Shaping up to be a great year..

 

[JMCx4]

Meanwhile, among the leaders on the women's side ...

• #1 ranked Wisconsin played a pair of non-conference games this weekend, beating host Long Island by scores of 10-2 and 12-0. The defending champion Lady Badgers are now 8-0-0, going into their first WCHA action next weekend hosting Bemidji State in a Saturday-Sunday pair.
• #3 ranked Northeastern began their Hockey East play this weekend, defeating Maine 6-1 in Orono on Friday night then improving their overall record to 5-0-0 with a 4-1 home victory over New Hampshire. Both teams were 0-6 on the power play today, but NEU outshot UNH 49-24. The Howlin Huskies will look to maintain their conference winning streak next weekend, with a Friday night visit to Providence followed by a home-and-home vs. BU.
• #4 ranked Clarkson have started 4-1-1 over six non-conference games, including two OT matches this weekend @ #10 ranked Robert Morris (a 3-3 tie & a 6-5 victory for the visitors). The Golden Knights will host the Lindenwood Lady Lions (my hometown faves) in a pair next weekend, before entering ECACH play in November.
• #7 ranked Boston College is off to a perfect 6-0-0 start this season, five of those against Hockey East rivals. BC visited Vermont on Sunday, and scored an early 3rd period goal to win 3-2. The Eagles will continue HEA play next weekend, hosting Holy Cross on Friday afternoon & Maine on Saturday afternoon.

And with stick taps for my home team, the Lady Lions improved their overall record to 2-3-1 this weekend with a 3-1 victory and a come-from-behind extra attacker 2-2 tie hosting ECACH’s Union College.

 

[JMCx4]

Women's Top 10 surprises for the weekend 25-27 October, all on Friday night ...

• Unranked Providence College defeated #3 Northeastern 1-0, for the Huskies' first loss of the season. Senior goalie Clare Minnerath earned the winning shutout with 33 saves in front of her home crowd.

• Unranked Lindenwood University Lady Lions tied #4 Clarkson 1-1 in Potsdam, with sophomore Annika Asplundh playing all 65 minutes & stopping 43 of 44 Clarkson shots. But the Golden Knights exacted their revenge on Saturday, blowing out LU 7-0.

• #8 ranked Ohio State handed the #2 ranked Minnesota women their first season defeat, winning 4-3 in Columbus. The Lady Gophers turned it around on Saturday in Ohio, defeating OSU 4-2 to improve Minnesota's record to 9-1-0 (5-1-0 in the WCHA).

On the not-so-surprising front, #1 ranked Wisconsin is now 10-0-0 (4-0-0 in WCHA play) after a pair of 4-1 victories over Bemidji State in Madison.

 

[tealhockey]

Women's Top 10 surprises for the weekend 25-27 October, all on Friday night ...

• Unranked Providence College defeated #3 Northeastern 1-0, for the Huskies' first loss of the season. Senior goalie Clare Minnerath earned the winning shutout with 33 saves in front of her home crowd.

• Unranked Lindenwood University Lady Lions tied #4 Clarkson 1-1 in Potsdam, with sophomore Annika Asplundh playing all 65 minutes & stopping 43 of 44 Clarkson shots. But the Golden Knights exacted their revenge on Saturday, blowing out LU 7-0.

• #8 ranked Ohio State handed the #2 ranked Minnesota women their first season defeat, winning 4-3 in Columbus. The Lady Gophers turned it around on Saturday in Ohio, defeating OSU 4-2 to improve Minnesota's record to 9-1-0 (5-1-0 in the WCHA).

On the not-so-surprising front, #1 ranked Wisconsin is now 10-0-0 (4-0-0 in WCHA play) after a pair of 4-1 victories over Bemidji State in Madison.

Wisconsin is so good lol. The "Big Ten" women's teams are pretty unstoppable... Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State always do well.

 

[mk80]

Women's Top 10 surprises for the weekend 25-27 October, all on Friday night ...

• Unranked Providence College defeated #3 Northeastern 1-0, for the Huskies' first loss of the season. Senior goalie Clare Minnerath earned the winning shutout with 33 saves in front of her home crowd.

• Unranked Lindenwood University Lady Lions tied #4 Clarkson 1-1 in Potsdam, with sophomore Annika Asplundh playing all 65 minutes & stopping 43 of 44 Clarkson shots. But the Golden Knights exacted their revenge on Saturday, blowing out LU 7-0.

• #8 ranked Ohio State handed the #2 ranked Minnesota women their first season defeat, winning 4-3 in Columbus. The Lady Gophers turned it around on Saturday in Ohio, defeating OSU 4-2 to improve Minnesota's record to 9-1-0 (5-1-0 in the WCHA).

On the not-so-surprising front, #1 ranked Wisconsin is now 10-0-0 (4-0-0 in WCHA play) after a pair of 4-1 victories over Bemidji State in Madison.

Interesting that it seems Annika Asplundh has been getting more starts so far in this young season for the Lions after Wolf had assumed the #1 spot at the midway point of last season when DeBruyn graduated early. Not sure if it's just Coach Looney wanting to see both goaltenders to know what she's got, or if she is going with a 1A 1B type duo.

 

[JMCx4]

Interesting that it seems Annika Asplundh has been getting more starts so far in this young season for the Lions after Wolf had assumed the #1 spot at the midway point of last season when DeBruyn graduated early. Not sure if it's just Coach Looney wanting to see both goaltenders to know what she's got, or if she is going with a 1A 1B type duo.

LU's Sophie Wolf showed last season under then-head coach Scott Spencer that she has the fundamental skills to play goal with some success. But the thing that stood out most about her - her "free spirit" (e.g., cutting up with teammates in the runway before they took the ice, dancing with the arena music during the game) - might be a trait that new head coach Shelley Looney does not appreciate. Annika doesn't have the post-to-post speed that Sophie does, but she appears to be steady & focused. We'll see as the first half moves on how Coach Looney & her new bench assistant (and fellow NEU alum) Kristi Kehoe fashion the Lady Lions' lineup throughout as they try to make some folks in women's DI take notice of the Lindenwood program.

 

[mk80]

LU's Sophie Wolf showed last season under then-head coach Scott Spencer that she has the fundamental skills to play goal with some success. But the thing that stood out most about her - her "free spirit" (e.g., cutting up with teammates in the runway before they took the ice, dancing with the arena music during the game) - might be a trait that new head coach Shelley Looney does not appreciate. Annika doesn't have the post-to-post speed that Sophie does, but she appears to be steady & focused. We'll see as the first half moves on how Coach Looney & her new bench assistant (and fellow NEU alum) Kristi Kehoe fashion the Lady Lions' lineup throughout as they try to make some folks in women's DI take notice of the Lindenwood program.

Wolf is definitely one of the unique goalies who likes to thrive off the atmosphere around them, instead of blocking it out.

 

[tealhockey]

Big Ten: ND splits with MN (tie and win in NCAA books, OTL and W in Big Ten)
OSU swept Michigan at home
Penn State swept Wisconsin at home
Cornell sweeps Michigan State on the road
Maine beats and ties BU
BC beat providence
NoDak beat Michigan Tech
Denver continues to roll 8-0

 

[JMCx4]

PIONEERS!

 

[JMCx4]

Focusing this weekend on the Top 3 women’s teams in the latest USCHO rankings, the only 3 to be above the 100-point voting line …

• #2 Minnesota hosted #1 Wisconsin for a pair, and it yielded the biggest upset of the D1 women's season so far. The Lady Gophers handed the Badgers their first defeat of the season on Saturday, with Wisconsin taking an early lead before MN scored four straight & held on for a 4-2 victory. The rematch on Sunday afternoon went through 2 overtime periods before the game ended in a 2-2 tie. The Badgers & Golden Gophers each now hold a 10-1-1 season record.
• The #3 Cornell women have only played four games so far, but their perceived “strength-of-schedule” has apparently earned them a climb into the Top 3 with their 4-0 record. After taking a pair from a strong Robert Morris University team (the Western Pennsylvania one) on their opening weekend, the Big Red defeated their ECACH rivals Quinnipiac and #6 Princeton this weekend (final scores of 1-0 and 3-1, respectively). The Cornell women have outscored their opponents 13-1 so far in their young season, with junior goalie Lindsay Browning handling all of the work in the nets.

Some noteworthy match-ups next weekend are:

• Top 5 Clarkson will host Colgate then Cornell.
• Top 10 Princeton will host Harvard then Dartmouth.
• Top 10 Boston College will be visiting Connecticut on Saturday. Stick taps to BC’s freshman forward Hannah Bilka, who in 10 games has 18 points (10G, 8A) with 3 game winners & 4 power play goals for the 9-0-1 Eagles.
• And the close-to-being-ranked Robert Morris University Lady Colonials will be in my hometown for a pair vs. Lindenwood U. Should be another good weekend of hockey watching for me.

 

[JMCx4]

… The #3 Cornell women have only played four games so far, but their perceived “strength-of-schedule” has apparently earned them a climb into the Top 3 with their 4-0 record. ...

Could this USCHO.com article have evoked some sympathy from the rankings poll voters?

Women’s DI: Thin margins, disappointment and a focus on the details at Cornell
By Nicole Haase
October 31, 2019

The NCAA Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations Manual is 174 pages long. The Ivy Manual, an additional handbook for Ivy League school athletic teams, is an additional 179 page of rules and guidelines.

When Cornell took the ice last weekend for their first games of the competitive season, they and their Ivy League counterparts (Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton and Yale) were five weeks and up to eight games behind the rest of the teams in the country. Ivy rules say they can’t start practicing until October 15 and their competitive schedule can’t start before three Fridays prior to Thanksgiving.

On October 15, Wisconsin and Minnesota each already had six wins on their resume. Clarkson was 4-0. The three teams that joined them in last season’s Frozen Four were well past the early season learning curve and are smoothing out their rough spots before Cornell ever even took the ice.

There’s nothing to be done for it – it is what it is, it’s what all the Ivy League teams are faced with and it’s all the players know. But it presents a challenge for coach Doug Derraugh and his staff to get his team up to speed as quickly as possible. ...

 

[JMCx4]

In this week's USCHO.com women's Div I poll, Minnesota leapfrogged Wisconsin to take the #1 spot; each team is 10-0-1. The BC women moved up 2 places to #5 with their 9-0-1 record. And MN-Duluth & BU swapped the last two slots in the Top 10.

 

[JMCx4]

In NCAA Div I women’s action for the weekend of 8 & 9 November ...

• #4 ranked Northeastern posted a home shutout vs. Holy Cross 6-0 on Friday night. Sophomore forward Alina Mueller notched the GWG halfway through the 1st period & added two assists. Junior forward Tessa Ward scored the last two goals for the Huskies in the 3rd to wrap up their single-game weekend. They are now 8-1-0 overall for the season, 5-1 in Hockey East play. Northeastern will play a home-and-home against conference rival New Hampshire next weekend.
• Also on Friday night, #6 ranked Clarkson was led by junior forward Elizabeth Guigere with two 2nd period goals. The Golden Knights held on to defeat the Colgate Raiders 2-1. Clarkson then hosted Cornell on Saturday afternoon, with the game ending in a 1-1 tie. Clarkson is now 8-1-3 overall (3-0-1 in conference), and will host a pair of games against non-conference Mercyhurst next weekend.
• #10 ranked Boston University played a single match this weekend. Terriers’ freshman forward Julia Nearis opened the scoring then netted the GWG, to defeat their hosts Providence Lady Friars 2-1 on Saturday afternoon. BU senior forward Sammy Davis (presumably not a “Jr.”) assisted on both of her team’s tallies. The Lady Terriers will try to improve their 6-3-1 overall record – and their national ranking – with a Tuesday night matchup against Yale in Boston.
• Honorable mention goes to the unranked Harvard Crimson women’s team, who have been getting some attention from UCHO poll voters. Harvard won two road games this weekend: a 6-2 victory over Princeton on Friday night, and a 3-2 OT win over Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson were led in scoring for the weekend by sophomore forwards Becca Gilmore (4 assists vs. the Tigers & 2 more on Saturday against QU) and Anne Bloomer (2 goals & an assist on Friday with another assist plus the game-winning OT tally on Saturday). Their next game will be on Tuesday, Nov. 19th @ BU, where a Harvard victory may bump the Terriers from the Top 10.

ETA: Harvard's Anne Bloomer earned the NCAA women's hockey 2nd star honors for week of 5-11 November 2019.
​

On an unseasonably warm weekend in suburban St. Louis (with unusually comfortable temps inside the new Centene Community Ice Center's USA Arena), it was another very productive weekend for Robert Morris U’s senior forward Jaycee Gebhard who had been named the #1 star for the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4 in NCAA Division I women's college hockey. On Friday night, Jaycee registered an assist on the GWG (a power play tally) and scored an ENG to wrap up a 2-0 victory over host & CHA foe Lindenwood University. Then on Saturday afternoon, Gebhard had an assist followed by a goal – both as part of a strong RMU power play unit – to help her Colonials overcome a 3-0 lead and ultimately defeat the Lady Lions 4-3 in overtime to sweep the weekend. (Post Script: Kudos to LU's sophomore goalie Annika Asplundh, who allowed just five tough-to-stop RMU goals while facing a total of 85 shots. I hope she has a restful Sunday before classes start again.)

 

[JMCx4]

MN women grab all of the top spot points for this week, while Harvard unseats BU sooner than I anticipated ...

 

[mk80]

On an unseasonably warm weekend in suburban St. Louis (with unusually comfortable temps inside the new Centene Community Ice Center's USA Arena), it was another very productive weekend for Robert Morris U’s senior forward Jaycee Gebhard who had been named the #1 star for the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4 in NCAA Division I women's college hockey. On Friday night, Jaycee registered an assist on the GWG (a power play tally) and scored an ENG to wrap up a 2-0 victory over host & CHA foe Lindenwood University. Then on Saturday afternoon, Gebhard had an assist followed by a goal – both as part of a strong RMU power play unit – to help her Colonials overcome a 3-0 lead and ultimately defeat the Lady Lions 4-3 in overtime to sweep the weekend. (Post Script: Kudos to LU's sophomore goalie Annika Asplundh, who allowed just five tough-to-stop RMU goals while facing a total of 85 shots. I hope she has a restful Sunday before classes start again.)

Asplundh has been named as the CHA Goalie of the Week as of today. A very well deserved honor for her. Also while calling the games this weekend, Robert Morris' Emily Curlett is a dynamic force to be reckoned with. She was my vote for player of the series!