U.S. College Hockey News

[JMCx4]

A spot for news & feature stories for wide ranging but largely underappreciated segments/topics of U.S. college hockey. As warranted, or for an occasional diversion.

Click to read more...

 

[JMCx4]

From: The Adrian, MI Daily Telegram > Sports > College

Adrian College hockey teams sweep at Winterfest

Matt Sisoler
The Daily Telegram
Published 10:55 p.m. ET, Jan. 2, 2022

TOLEDO — The NCAA Division III ninth-ranked Adrian College men's and women’s hockey team kicked off 2022 with a bang on Sunday afternoon with a pair of wins at Fifth/Third Ballpark during Winterfest.

The women defeated Trine, 6-1, before the men topped Milwaukee School of Engineering, 5-3 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association play.

“It’s something that our program has never had the ability to do, and today was incredible all-around,” said women's coach Shawn Skelly. “The scenery, getting the snow yesterday made the place look even better, and our team put together a great 60-minute effort.”

Leading the charge for the Bulldogs, who are now 7-2-1 and ranked ninth in the nation, was captain Jessica VonRuden, as the senior forward found the back of the net twice, while Karmen Anderson, Lindsey Sorrell, Aileena Dopheide and Abbie Grias all scored once, with Anderson picking up two assists as Dopheide had one.

Sophie Goldberg started and got the win in goal for Adrian, playing 40:27 of the contest in two stretches, turning aside seven of eight shots while Gwen Bowler played 19:33, stopping all 10 shots she faced. ...

Men's team rallies for win

The NCAA Division III top-ranked Bulldogs came back from a one-goal deficit twice against the (MSOE) Raiders to complete an AC sweep on Sunday.

“It’s so special and so fun to watch the guys, watch their faces when they come in and they get to see it for the first time, see the cool sweaters they’re going to be wearing tonight,” said men’s coach Adam Krug. “It means a lot to the guys and we’ve had some of those guys who have been through a lot the past two years.”

Senior forward Zach Goberis found the back of the net twice, including the put away tally, while Sam Ruffin, Alessio Luciani and Rex Moe each scored one goal with Luciani and Moe both tacking on an assist.

Adrian, which is now 12-1 and has won 12 straight games since a season-opening loss to third-ranked Utica, had Cameron Gray get the call in between the pipes and pick up the victory, stopping 19 of 22 shots ... .

Read more at: Adrian College hockey teams top Trine, MSOE at Winterfest

 

[JMCx4]

From: USCHO.com > D-II/III Men

Cortland climbing the SUNYAC standings

By Tim Costello - January 5, 2022

A look at the SUNYAC standings typically finds some usual suspects leading the way year after year. Geneseo, Oswego and Plattsburgh have long been the dominant teams in the conference, but this year sees an interloper sitting in second place at the semester break. Cortland finished conference play at 5-2-1 in the first-half including a tie with No. 2 ranked Geneseo on the road and a major non-conference win at Hobart (of the Liberty League). Confidence is high. Results have been positive. There is a lot to expect in the second half.

It has been a couple of years in the making but we are starting to see the results mirror the effort and hard work that the players have put in over the last two seasons,” said head coach Joe Cardarelli. “We played Oswego, Geneseo and Plattsburgh all on the road in the first half and lost two one-goal games and tied at Geneseo. We can look forward to playing them in our rink in the second half of the season knowing we can compete with them.” ...

Read more at: https://www.uscho.com/2022/01/05/courtland-climbing-the-sunyac-standings/

 

[JMCx4]

From: SavannahNow.com > Sports > College

'Feel like an NHL player for the weekend': Teams rave about Savannah Hockey Classic

Nathan Dominitz
Savannah Morning News
Published 6:45 a.m. ET Jan. 13, 2022 | Updated 9:18 a.m. ET Jan. 13, 2022


The players who joined the college ice hockey teams last season had no real idea what they missed, but they're about to find out.

The Enmarket Savannah Hockey Classic returns for its 23rd edition on Friday and Saturday after the annual event was canceled in January 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Club teams from Georgia, Georgia Tech and Florida have been battling since 1999, and Florida State joined them in 2000 at the Savannah Civic Center. Title sponsors have changed over the years, but the classic format has basically remained the same: conference rivalry games the first night, in-state rivalries the second. The team with the best record (or through tiebreakers) skates away with the Thrasher Cup — a very distant cousin, perhaps, of the NHL's iconic Stanley Cup, but a fitting reward given the stakes and the setting, as the civic center regularly fills to at or near capacity for the final matches. ...


Read more at: Savannah Hockey Classic college teams UGA, Georgia Tech, Florida, FSU

 

[JMCx4]

From: USCHO.com > Feature

Self-proclaimed ‘Mr. Sports Travel’ continues trek to college hockey arenas with 2021 ventures

... January 11, 2022
By Joe Connor/Special to USCHO.com

When my last sports travel column was published here in February 2019, never could I have imagined I wouldn’t publish another one – until now.

Good riddance 2020 – yet thank goodness 2021 because fans were back in the stands. And Mr. Sports Travel, too!

Since my first opus here in 2013, I’ve been sharing my experiences and opinions as I quest to enjoy a game at every NCAA Division I men’s venue. Update: one left – Alaska Fairbanks! – but saving a trip to “The Last Frontier” for next season when Alaska Anchorage returns. ...

(Here) are highlights of my college pucks travels from the first half of this season – and “Awards Time!” returns too! Incidentally, I enjoyed games across 13 states, and took in more Division III pucks than ever before. ...


Read more at: https://www.uscho.com/2022/01/11/se...-to-college-hockey-arenas-with-2021-ventures/

 

[JMCx4]

From: USCHO.com > News

NCAA passes proposal that allows RIT, Union to offer D-I college hockey athletic scholarships

By USCHO Staff-January 22, 2022

The NCAA Division III membership Saturday voted to allow all multi-divisional institutions including Rochester Institute of Technology and Union College to apply Division I rules to their Division I programs, including financial aid. ...

The vote immediately allows a full 18 athletic scholarships to be awarded by the men’s and women’s programs at both RIT and Union. ...

RIT and Union were the only schools competing in Division I hockey that were not allowed to offer scholarships. Four Division III institutions had been grandfathered to allow financial aid for their Division I hockey programs: Clarkson, Colorado College, Rensselaer, and St. Lawrence. ...

RIT’s women’s hockey was the last Division III program to elevate to D-I after the NCAA made a moratorium on multi-divisional play permanent. ...


Read more at: https://www.uscho.com/2022/01/22/nc...fer-d-i-college-hockey-athletic-scholarships/

 

[JMCx4]

From: The American Hockey Coaches Association > Press Releases

AHCA Major Award Winners for 2022 Are Announced

Gaudet, Heeres, Driscoll, Bellamy Among Honorees

JANUARY 12, 2022

The American Hockey Coaches Asociation has announced an impressive slate of recipients of its most prestigious awards for 2022. The eight individuals being recognized will be honored at the 2022 AHCA Convention in Naples, FL, scheduled for April 20-23, 2022. This year’s slate of honorees follows here. ...

THE JOHN MARIUCCI AWARD: John Mariucci, the former coach of the University of Minnesota, was not only an outstanding college coach, but also a driving force behind the growth of hockey in the United States. In 1987, the AHCA created this award to honor a secondary school association coach who best exemplifies the spirit, dedication and enthusiasm of the "GODFATHER OF U.S. HOCKEY," John Mariucci. ... 2022 Recipient: Tom Ward, Shattuck St. Mary’s ...

THE JIM FULLERTON AWARD: Named in honor of the former Brown University hockey coach and AHCA spiritual leader, this award recognizes an individual who loves the purity of our sport. Whether a coach, administrator, trainer, official, journalist or simply a fan, the recipient exemplifies Jim Fullerton, who gave as much as he received and never stopped caring about the direction in which our game was heading. ... 2022 Recipient: Brendan Sheehy, Merrimack, Bauer, Hockey East ...

THE JOHN "SNOOKS" KELLEY FOUNDERS AWARD: Named after the famed Boston College coach, this award honors those people in the coaching profession who have contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of ice hockey in the United States. ... 2022 Recipient: Gary Wright, AIC ...

THE JOHN MACINNES AWARD: Established by the AHCA in 1982 to honor former Michigan Tech coach, John MacInnes, this award recognizes those people who have shown a great concern for amateur hockey and youth programs. The recipients have had high winning percentages, as well as outstanding graduating percentages among their former players. The winners of this award have helped young men grow not only as hockey players, but more importantly, as men. ... 2022 Recipient: Bob Gaudet, Brown and Dartmouth ...


TERRY FLANAGAN AWARD: Named in honor of the former UNH player and Bowling Green Assistant, this award honors an assistant coach's career body of work. ... 2022 Recipient Kris Heeres, SUNY Geneseo ...

THE JOE BURKE AWARD: Presented annually to the person who has given outstanding contribution, support, and dedication to women's ice hockey." It is named in honor of a girls' and women's hockey "superfan," Joe Burke. ... 2022 Recipient: Caroline Heatley ...

THE WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY FOUNDERS AWARD: This award honors a member of the hockey community or college coaching profession who has contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of women's ice hockey in the United States through their enthusiasm, passion and selflessness. ... 2022 Recipient: Bill Driscoll, NAHA ...

ASSISTANT WOMEN'S COACH AWARD: Established in 2011, this award honors an assistant coach's career body of work. ... 2022 Recipient: Laura Bellamy, Harvard, Minnesota Duluth ...


Read all Award Recipient Profiles at:
AHCA Major Award Winners for 2022 Are Announced - American Hockey Coaches Association

 

[JMCx4]

From: USCHO.com > DIII Women

NCAA Division III hockey: Women’s hockey a natural fit at Milwaukee School of Engineering

By Nicole Haase - February 4, 2022

When an alumna donated a rumored $4 million dollars earmarked for expansion of women’s sports opportunities at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), it seemed natural that one of the first programs added was women’s hockey. The university already fields a men’s hockey team and has their own rink, so few structural changes were necessary. ...

The MSOE men’s team has had varsity status since the 1998-99 season and play in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA), where it is expected the women will play.

The announcement of the monetary gift and women’s sports expansion was made in late 2021 – not an ideal time to be searching for a hockey coach. According to Athletic Director Brian Miller, the university wanted to give the new head coach as long as possible to be in their role before the puck drops on their first game, but the coaching search committee also discussed the possible need for extending or delaying the search until the end of the 2021-22 collegiate hockey season, which coaches would be more likely to apply and be available.

It turned out to be serendipitous that former Rochester Institute of Technology and Adrian College coach Chad Davis was available. Davis spent two seasons coaching at RIT, where he was named 2019 CHA Coach of the Year. Before that, he spent seven years as the head coach at Division III Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan. ...


Read more at: https://www.uscho.com/2022/02/04/nc...tural-fit-at-milwaukee-school-of-engineering/

 

[JMCx4]

From: USCHO.com > DII/III Men

Bates having a year to remember with Green Knights

By Brian Lester - February 10, 2022

One year after having his season taken away because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peter Bates is making up for lost time.

He is the nation’s leading goal scorer (24) and tops the country in assists as well, racking up 24, and the senior standout has played an instrumental role in propelling St. Norbert into the spotlight once again.

The Green Knights (20-3 overall, 16-0 NCHA) have won 19 consecutive games. They are ranked fifth in the nation in the DCU/USCHO NCAA Division III men’s poll heading into a huge NCHA showdown with top-ranked Adrian this weekend that will decide home ice in the Harris Cup playoffs. ...

Bates has played in more than 100 games in his career at St. Norbert, racking up over 30 multi-point games. He has 146 points in his carer, ranking third all-time on the scoring list.

But he didn’t come to St. Norbert because he cared about personal success. He’s always been about playing on a winning team and contributing to it.

“I wanted to be somewhere where winning was important. The best part of this team is no one is playing for themselves,” Bates said. “We’re all trying to win and work as a team. That was a big selling point for me when I was looking for a school.” ...


Read more at: https://www.uscho.com/2022/02/10/bates-having-a-year-to-remember-with-green-knights/

 

[JMCx4]

A couple of shameless plugs for my hometown boyz @ Lindenwood University ACHA DII & DI ...

Men's Ice Hockey DII 2/16/2022 12:58:00 PM
Goalie Trever Osborne Breaks Record for Most DII Wins All-Time

Trever Osborne broke the record for most American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) DII wins as a goaltender all-time when the Lions defeated Miami (Ohio) 5-4 Saturday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

The Lindenwood senior from Ballwin, Missouri entered the game tied with Josh Martin and Stephen Willette at 44 wins....

With the victory, Lindenwood DII ice hockey improved to 24-6-2 on the season, and Osborne achieved the record-setting wins mark of 45, adding to his all-time leading statistics of a 2.00 goals against average and .931 save percentage. ...


Read more at: Goalie Trever Osborne Breaks Record for Most DII Wins All-Time - Lindenwood University Athletics

Men's Ice Hockey 2/17/2022 8:57:00 PM
Men’s Ice Hockey Ranked No. 1 for 10th Week in a Row

The Lions are No. 1 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men's Division I Ranking for the 10th straight week. After seeing a series against Ohio University canceled due to weather issues, Lindenwood made it back on the ice for a two-game set against Missouri State February 11-12 and came away with convincing 6-1 and 7-1 wins. The losses knocked the Bears from ninth to 13th in the ranking.

Meanwhile, the top five teams remained the same week-to-week, but Liberty and Iowa State swapped the No. 3 and No. 5 spots. The Flames swept a series against the No. 14 Bobcats, winning the finale in the seventh round of a shootout, to raise their record to 18-7-1 and move up two spots. The Cyclones dropped two spots despite sweeping the University of Jamestown to improve to 24-4-2. Minot State remained No. 2 and extended a winning streak to 13 games after a sweep of Arizona to improve to 23-2-0. The University of Nevada – Las Vegas (UNLV) claimed No. 4 once again even though the Rebels dropped the first game of a series against Arizona State in a shootout. UNLV stands at 22-4-1 on the season.

There were several teams that made big moves in the ranking. In addition to the Missouri State decline of four spots, Indiana Tech jumped from No. 14 to No. 10, while Maryville slipped five spots from No. 10 to No. 15. ...

Read more at: Men’s Ice Hockey Ranked No. 1 for 10th Week in a Row - Lindenwood University Athletics

 

[JMCx4]

The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is holding their 2022 national tournament during the next two weeks in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. The ACHA member teams are non-varsity U.S. (and three Canadian) college "club teams" from across North America (over 450 clubs) who compete in three men's divisions & two women's divisions. These young men & women are playing the game they love, and this annual tournament gives many of them an opportunity to show their talents & enthusiasm at a national level of competition.

The Nationals post-season mega-event will stretch over 11 days (March 10-20), with a total of 113 games among 78 teams to be played on 5 rinks in two suburban STL ice facilities. Division brackets & game schedules & team rosters & ticket info can be found at this ACHA tournament webpage. The event will also be streamed on HockeyTV, with a $5 discount code being offered for a one-month subscription (Code = ACHA2022).

 

[JMCx4]

Congratulations to the five 2022 ACHA National Champions!

 

[JMCx4]

From: USCHO.com > News

NEWHA adds eighth member as Assumption to start play in women’s hockey conference with ’23-24 season

By USCHO Staff-July 18, 2022

Assumption has accepted an invitation for its women’s hockey team to compete in the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance (NEWHA).

Assumption becomes the eighth member of the NEWHA, and the second school located in Massachusetts. The Greyhounds will join Franklin Pierce, Long Island, Post, Sacred Heart, Saint Anselm, Saint Michael’s, and Stonehill. ...


Read more at:

NEWHA adds eighth member as Assumption to start play in women’s hockey conference with ’23-24 season

Assumption has accepted an invitation for its women's hockey team to compete in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA).Assumption becomes the eighth member of the NEWHA, and the secon

www.uscho.com

 

[AUS Fan]

Just found this in the NYT:

Michigan men’s hockey coach accused of berating staff, misleading recruits and retaliating against team captain

One finding from the investigation into the program detailed 'pervasive fears among both student athletes and staff members of retaliation.'

theathletic.com

 

[JMCx4]

Just found this in the NYT:

Michigan men’s hockey coach accused of berating staff, misleading recruits and retaliating against team captain

One finding from the investigation into the program detailed 'pervasive fears among both student athletes and staff members of retaliation.'

theathletic.com

The HFB cognoscente are all over this ...

University of Michigan Hockey Scandal

Not specific to one prospect but given how many top flight recruits go to the program, this could affect a lot of prospects we all diligently follow. The investigation reports have come out on Mel Pearson and his staff at the University of Michigan and it's not good. I can't imagine he survives...

forums.hfboards.com

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Pearson will resign before the end of the week, I'd bet.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

The HFB cognoscente are all over this ...

University of Michigan Hockey Scandal

Not specific to one prospect but given how many top flight recruits go to the program, this could affect a lot of prospects we all diligently follow. The investigation reports have come out on Mel Pearson and his staff at the University of Michigan and it's not good. I can't imagine he survives...

forums.hfboards.com

yup.... even Boston's junior connections/ (writers/posters, etc) are on this story......

 

[JMCx4]

Pearson will resign before the end of the week, I'd bet.

Is that "resign" as in sign a new contract with Michigan as his last contract has expired, or "resign" as in leave the job he is not under contract to do?

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Is that "resign" as in sign a new contract with Michigan as his last contract has expired, or "resign" as in leave the job he is not under contract to do?

Resign, as in "You'll sign this resignation letter or you'll be fired and escorted the f*** out by security."

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Resign, as in "You'll sign this resignation letter or you'll be fired and escorted the f*** out by security."

Sounds like ol' Mel picked the latter option:

 

[AUS Fan]

Sounds like ol' Mel picked the latter option:

I just saw that and was gonna post. You hit the nail on the head with your comment: "resign or we fire you".

 

[CrazyEddie20]

I just saw that and was gonna post. You hit the nail on the head with your comment: "resign or we fire you".

I'm honestly surprised that it took this long. Manuel had the report for quite a while before it reached the public and stood by Pearson despite WilmerHale's findings. He'll probably be gone soon enough, too.

 

[AUS Fan]

I'm honestly surprised that it took this long. Manuel had the report for quite a while before it reached the public and stood by Pearson despite WilmerHale's findings. He'll probably be gone soon enough, too.

As long as the public doesn't know, there is no reason for any action by the administration. The lawyers were probably negotiating some kind of a soft landing for Pearson. A lot of stuff is under the surface and we never hear about it.

 

[mk80]

I guess technically since Pearson wasn't under contract they had already let him go....

But it's a bad look on the administration and especially the AD for not taking a more decisive approach to ending things sooner, and the reports of the AD trying to negotiate a contract extension with Pearson even this week is problematic

 

[CrazyEddie20]

I guess technically since Pearson wasn't under contract they had already let him go....

But it's a bad look on the administration and especially the AD for not taking a more decisive approach to ending things sooner, and the reports of the AD trying to negotiate a contract extension with Pearson even this week is problematic

Pearson was an at-will employee, becoming so when his contract expired. He was still employed by the university. Michigan probably knew the results of the investigation and was in no rush to give him a new contract because it's much harder (well, not really, but more expensive) to fire a contracted employee.