College Hockey News from CHN

Penn State Unveils Its First Schedule

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Penn State's first Division I schedule is highlighted by four matchups against future Big Ten opponents Michigan State and Wisconsin and a home weekend series against Air Force. In 2012-13, the Nittany Lions will compete as an independent and play 23 games against NCAA Division I opponents. Penn State will also play three Division III teams and eight exhibitions. In all, the Nittany Lions will ...

Q&A with NCHC Commissioner Jim Scherr

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Jim Scherr was named commissioner of the NCHC in January. Scherr spent nine years (2000-09) with the United States Olympic Committee, first as Chief of Sport Performance, then as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to that, he was the head of USA Wrestling for 10 years. Since January, Scherr has been working on building a staff and getting the new conference ready to play in 2013-14. The NCHC was born ...

Doctor: Study Supports Eliminating Full Shields

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

As a health science researcher and sports medicine clinician, I am in agreement with the coaches that removing full-shields and wearing three-quarter visors will likely decrease blows to the head. Intuitively, one would think that more protection to the face and head would equate to less face and head injuries. However, more protection often gives players a sense of security that they are unlikely ...

NCHC Names Novak Dir. of Hockey Ops.

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has named Air Force administrator Joe Novak as its Director of Hockey Operations. Jim Scherr, the commissioner of the new league, set to begin play in 2013-14, said that Novak will primarily be responsible for the internal hockey operations and administration for the NCHC. Novak’s immediate tasks will include "developing, in consultation ...

Biggs Decides to Bolt Miami After One Year

Sat, 05 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Miami forward Tyler Biggs has decided to leave school after one season. A first-round pick of Toronto in last summer's NHL Draft, Biggs, 19, hopes to either sign a pro deal or play major junior in Oshawa. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Ohio native had 17 points last season for the RedHawks. “It was a decision that me and my family took our time with,” Biggs told the Dayton Times. "Ultimately ...

4-on-4 Gets Little Support Among Coaches

Sat, 05 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

While the face shields issue is dominating the rules discussion this year, there are a variety of other issues on the table. The most prominent of those is whether to go to 4-on-4 in overtime. According to NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee chair Ed McLaughlin, the athletic director at Niagara, there was little support for 4-on-4 overtime among coaches during the recent convention in Naples, and the ...

Full Shields Closer than Ever to Being Eliminated

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

There are few issues that you will get every coach in college hockey to agree upon. Eliminating the mandate for full face shields is one of them. As far back as 30 years ago, when the requirement was implemented, coaches have been against the NCAA-mandated use of full face shields. But now, for the first time, college hockey is close to eliminating the requirement. The NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee ...

Hakstol Makes Coaching Staff Change

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:00:00 +0100

North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol announced today that associate head coach Cary Eades will not have his contract renewed as part of a restructuring of UND’s coaching staff for the 2012-13 season. Eades has been a member of the Fighting Sioux coaching staff for each of Hasktol’s eight seasons behind the bench and was elevated from assistant coach to associate head coach prior to the 2006-07 ...

College Hockey Inc. to Get New Governing Body

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

College Hockey Inc. will have a new governance structure, but there will not be an overhaul of the direction of the organization. According to sources, College Hockey Inc., the marketing arm of the sport that was installed two years ago, will no longer be governed solely by the conference commissioners. Instead, the commissioners will relinquish some authority to create a new governing board, comprised ...

Four Schools to Play Outdoor Doubleheader in Chicago

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Wisconsin and Minnesota, and Notre Dame and Miami, will play in doubleheader outdoor games next season, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The games would be played at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. According to the report, the four participating schools are looking over the contracts, and intend to soon finalize the deal with InterSport, a sports promotion company in Chicago ...

ECAC Should Return to Lake Placid

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

"Lake Placid." Saying the name invokes certain emotions among hockey fans. And that says all you need to know for why the ECAC needs to move its postseason tournament back there. The ECAC's three-year deal with Atlantic City to host its postseason tournament championship, expires after the upcoming season. Consequently, the league is already looking into what will happen next. One ...

Big Ten Lays Claim to 'The Joe,' Xcel for Tournament

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

The Big Ten is seizing two popular college hockey venues for its postseason tournament, when it begins play in 2013-14. The conference announced today that Detroit's Joe Louis Arena and St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center will rotate as hosts of the event in a four-year span between 2014 and 2017, starting with St. Paul. Those two arenas have been known as home of the CCHA and WCHA tournament, respectively ...

Hakstol Renewed For 6 Seasons

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol has signed a new six-year contract, extending him through the 2017-18 season. Hakstol took over for Dean Blais eight seasons ago. Since then, Hakstol has become the third-winningest coach in program history, compiling a 213-106-30 (.653) overall record, five Frozen Four appearances, four WCHA tournament titles and two WCHA regular-season championships. "I'm ...

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

As one season ends, it's already time to look forward. The annual coaches convention is coming up in Naples. This one is sure to be filled with fireworks -- more so than usual. The biggest issue will be the commissioners' firing of Paul Kelly as Executive Director of College Hockey Inc. This enraged a certain set of coaches, particularly a group that was working closely with Kelly, a group ...

Hastings Named New Minnesota State Coach

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

One day after Mike Hastings met the Minnesota State media and public, in what was called an interview session, he has been officially named the new head coach of the Mavericks. Hastings, a native of Crookston, Minn., has been an assistant coach to Dean Blais at Nebraska-Omaha since Blais took over three seasons ago. He was thought by many to be the heir apparent for that job, as Blais has indicated ...

Kreider, Dumoulin Sign NHL Deals

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Fresh off a second national championship to cap their junior years at Boston College, forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Brian Dumoulin signed NHL contracts today with their respective teams that drafted them. Both players will give up their senior seasons at Boston College. Both moves were expected. Kreider, 20, was selected by the Rangers in the first round, 19th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry ...

FF: One And Done?

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Ferris State's remarkable march to the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four ended with a 4-1 loss to Boston College on Saturday in the national championship game. And although the Eagles were the final team of the 2011-12 college hockey season to skate off the ice, the Bulldogs were, nevertheless, still right there at the end as well, skating off the rink at the Tampa Bay Times Forum after falling short in a ...

FF: Fire And Ice

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Jerry York has mastered what most college hockey coaches can only dream of. He has figured out how to land blue-chip recruits who can set the ice on fire with their speed and skill, and then get them to buy into a defense-first system that sometimes limits their offensive freedom. He has the offense to beat any defensive system it encounters, and the defensive discipline to shut down anyone. The ...

FF: Carey Gets His Due

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Floating in the right face-off circle, Paul Carey saw the puck find its way back to the point, where defenseman Brian Dumoulin collected a pass and scanned the goalmouth. As a Ferris State penalty killer reacted, darting from his pivot point to the blue line, Dumoulin effortlessly loaded his stick and wristed the puck toward the net. Harmless, really. When the puck left his stick, the eyes of FSU ...

FF: Milner Caps Remarkable Transformation

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

For all that's already been written about Parker Milner's transformation to elite goaltender down the stretch, he managed to top himself yet again when it mattered most. Milner, Boston College's junior goaltender, was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four after Boston College won its third championship in five years, 4-1 on Saturday over Ferris State. Milner stopped ...

FF: The Extra Mile

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Less than an hour after Boston College defeated Ferris State, 4-1, in the championship game of the 2012 Frozen Four, the questions regarding the futures of junior defenseman Brian Dumoulin and junior winger Chris Kreider began. Kreider, a first-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2009, and Dumoulin, a second-round selection of the Carolina Hurricanes in the same draft, played integral roles in the ...

FF: Jaw-Dropping Finale

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

The same split second it took his Boston College teammates to realize what a special talent Johnny Gaudreau is, is the same split second opponents have to figure it out when he's rushing at them. And that's not nearly enough time. Gaudreau's dazzling move and finish with mere minutes remaining in Saturday's national championship game, a goal that made it 3-1 and all but buried Ferris ...

FF: One More Trophy

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

All around MacDill Air Force Base, which hosted Friday's Hobey Baker Award presentation, there were signs that read, "One Team, One Family, One Community." While the motto is meant for the base's military personnel, it would also be a fitting motto for Hobey Baker winner Jack Connolly. In his acceptance speech and ensuing interviews, the senior center from Minnesota-Duluth kept coming ...

FF: Dog Days Are Over

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

After killing off every opposing power play in the NCAA tournament prior to the 2012 national championship game, Ferris State allowed a goal on Boston College's first man-advantage opportunity on Saturday night. The goal, a Paul Carey deflection of a Brian Dumoulin shot that beat the Bulldogs' first team All-American netminder Taylor Nelson, would prove to be the game-winner as the Eagles ...

Boston College Wins Third Title in Five Years

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Parker Milner made 27 saves and Johnny Gaudreau scored with 3:02 remaining to give Boston College a two-goal lead and send the Eagles on to their fifth NCAA championship, 4-1 over Ferris State. Milner was named as the Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Four, allowing just two goals in the entire NCAA tournament. BC (33-10-1) closed the season with a remarkable 19 straight victories, a school record ...

Hockey Humanitarian: Aleca Hughes

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0100

Aleca Hughes was named recipient of the 2012 Hockey Humanitarian Award on Friday at the Frozen Four. The Yale senior forward women's team captain started a number of initiatives, inspired by the battle with cancer by teammate Mandi Schwartz. Schwartz, the sister of Colorado College men's players Rylan and Jaden Schwartz, passed away in April 2011 after battling cancer more than two years. Hughes' ...

FF: Saved Ferris