Hockey Nuts

Weekly Preview Big Showdown in New Hampshire

2007-02-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

This weekend the Maine Black Bears will look for revenge against their inter-state rival the New Hampshire Wildcats.

UNH is coming in as the number one team in the country. Last month the Wildcats only had one loss (against Massachusetts). How dominant have the Wildcats been. Since the month of November began UNH is 17-2-1 with their only losses coming against UMASS and Cornell. With players like Trevor Smith and Matt Fornataro who came out of nowhere, the Wildcats have had a lethal one two punch.

But if you had to tell me one Wildcat player who had the best month, it would be goaltender Kevin Regan. In the month of January, Regan allowed just six goals in five games, with UNH winning in all five games that he started in net. Also worth mentioning that he stopped a total of 113 shots out of the 119 shots that he faced giving him a .950 save percentage for the month.

On the other side, the Maine Black Bears will look to avenge an 8-2 loss against New Hampshire which was Maine's first loss of the year. Ever since their 8-0-1 start the Black Bears have been inconsistent going 8-7-1 in their lasd 16 games. In the month of January the Black Bears barely got a .500 after their last game which they defeated Northeastern in overtime.

The top three scorers for Maine (Teddy Purcell, Josh Soares, and Michel Leveille) have a combined 40 goals and 56 assists accounting for 96 points. The goal totals are just 10 less than the rest of the team's goals combined (50). If Maine is to win at least one game against New Hampshire this weekend, then the team has to find another playmaker.

This is not going to be an easy next six games for Maine. After this series against New Hampshire, the Black Bears will face Vermont for two games (at Maine), then they go right back on the road for a showdown with Boston College. Will Maine survive this stretch? Or will UNH start Maine off on the wrong note?

In other college hockey games this weekend:

Cornell will face two of the top teams in the ECACHL, Clarkson and St. Lawrence at Lynah Rink.

Boston College will face Massachusetts before their first round Beanpot game against Harvard (Beanpot preview coming soon).

Wisconsin will travel to Colorado College for two.

And in the other first round Beanpot game, Boston University will take on Northeastern.

Like I said the Beanpot preview is coming up witbin the next few days, so keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Bracketology Wednesday 2007 Week 4

2007-01-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

New teams and new placements are set for this weeks bracketology so lets get right to it.

First lets breakdown the conference bids.

WCHA: 5
CCHA: 4
Hockey East: 4
ECACHL: 1
CHA: 1
Atlantic Hockey: 1

Now here are the conference (or projected) leaders up to this point. These teams will have the automatic bid into the tournament. New Leaders are in bold

Atlantic Hockey: RIT
CCHA: Notre Dame
CHA: Niagara
ECACHL: Clarkson
Hockey East: New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota

Those are the conference leaders, now its time to give out the at-large bids. New teams are in bold

CCHA: Miami, Michigan, Michigan State
Hockey East: Boston College, Maine, Vermont
WCHA: Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota, St. Cloud State

Out from last week are Boston University and Bemidji State

Last two in: Colorado College, Vermont

So now that you know the teams that are in lets put them in the hockeynuts rankings.

#1 New Hampshire (19-4-1) +
#2 Minnesota (21-5-3) -
#3 St. Cloud State (17-5-4) =
#4 Notre Dame (21-5-2) =
#5 Denver (19-9-2) =
#6 Clarkson (16-6-4) =
#7 Michigan State (16-8-1) +
#8 Maine (16-7-2) -
#9 Michigan (19-9-0) +
#10 North Dakota (15-11-2) +
#11 Miami (18-9-3) +
#12 Boston College (14-9-1) +
#13 Colorado College (14-10-2) -
#14 Vermont (14-8-4) -
#15 Niagara (17-8-3) +
#16 RIT (16-8-2) =

So the teams are ranked, therefore it is time to place them in their regions.

Northeast (Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH, UNH host):

#1 New Hampshire vs. #16 RIT
#8 Maine vs. #9 Michigan

Midwest (Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI, Western Michigan University host):

#2 Minnesota vs. #15 Niagara
#7 Michigan State vs. #10 North Dakota

East (Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY, ECACHL host):

#3 St. Cloud State vs. #14 Vermont
#6 Clarkson vs. #11 Miami

West (Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, University of Denver host):

#4 Notre Dame vs. #13 Colorado College
#5 Denver vs. #12 Boston College

Teams on the bubble this week:

Boston University
Quinnipiac
St. Lawrence

The Frozen Four bracket will look as follows:

Northeast Regional Champ vs. West Regional Champ
Midwest Regional Champ vs. East Regional Champ

That's all for this week. Tommorrow the weekly preview, Friday hockeynuts will name its players of the month for January, and this weekend there will be an exclusive preview on the upcoming Beanpot tournament. Keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Hobey Watch Jan 30

2007-01-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

Finally, there is some movement in the top of the Hobey Baker Watch, so lets get right to the top spot.

Nathan Davis who held the top spot has dropped for the first time since November. Who has the top spot in hockeynuts' Hobey Watch? Let's take a look.

Scott Parse F Nebraska-Omaha (SR): Where did this guy come from? Parse who found his game after an early season slump is now in the top spot. In his last ten games, Parse has moved up in the NCAA scoring race scoring eight goals while tallying six assists during that span. This weekend the Mavericks have a huge series against Michigan State.

Season Stats: 19 g, 25 a, 44 p

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): One point in the weekend series against Notre Dame made Davis' stock go down a little bit. Davis has struggled in his last ten games scoring two goals and assisting on only five. Still plenty of time for Davis to gain some ground, including this weekend when the Redhawks travel to Alaska to face the Nanooks.

Season Stats: 16 g, 26 a, 42 p

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): True he is tied for the top spot in the nation in scoring, but lately Henisick and the Wolverines have been playing the bottom teams in the CCHA for the last few weeks. This past weekend Hensick had two goals and three assists for five points. This weekend Michigan faces another cellar dweller in the CCHA as they have a home and home series with Western Michigan.

Season Stats: 12 g, 34 a, 46 p

The rest of the top five:

Joe Fallon G Vermont (JR): This weekend Fallon tied Merrimack. He could have been in the Hobey Hat Trick had that did not happen. Fallon leads the nation for the fewest goals against average and has the most shutouts than any goalie in the country.

Season Stats: 13-7-3, 1.59 gaa, .931 save pct, 5 shutouts

Kevin Porter F Michigan (JR): With a big game against Ferris State on Friday night (a five point night), Porter finds himself right back in the hockeynuts Hobey Watch. In the Wolverines last ten games, Porter has five goals and nine assists. With linemate T.J. Hensick, Porter has been getting many opportunities to do some damage.

Season Stats: 18 g, 26 a, 44 p

This weeks darkhorse:

Andrew Gordon F St. Cloud State (JR): One of the hottest teams in the nation are the St. Cloud State Huskies and Gordon is one of the main reasons why the team has been playing well. Gordon once had a stretch of seven goals in six games. The current co-leading scorer in the WCHA (along with teammate Andreas Nodl), Gordon could be a prospect to leave early after the season. This weekend Gordon and the Huskies have an off week before the stretch run.

Season Stats: 17 g, 19 a, 36 p

A reminder that Bracketology Wednesday will be featured for the fourth week. Also of note the players of the month will be announced on Friday, and the weekly preview will happen on Thursday. Keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Weekly Wrap-Up North Dakota on the way up after sweep of Minnesota

2007-01-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

The North Dakota Fighting Sioux are on their way up as they will rise in the rankings after a sweep of Minnesota in Mariucci Arena.

On Friday night it seemed like Minnesota was going to cruise to another victory as they were up 2-0 with 5:40 to go in the first. North Dakota however answered the call as Robbie Bina scored a shorthanded goal to cut the lead in half at 2-1 after the first period.

In the second period, North Dakota dominated. Three more goals were scored by the Sioux as Erik Fabian, Jonatahan Toews, and Ryan Duncan all scored to make it 4-2. Ryan Duncan would add another goal in the third as North Dakota won 5-3 to take the game on Friday night.

Saturday night was the same story, another Sioux victory. After the first period, one would think that this would be a shootout as Minnesota and North Dakota were tied at the end of one at 3-3. But once again it was another meltdown by Minnesota. Ryan Duncan would add a goal in the second to make it 4-3. :24 later Erik Fabian would make it 5-3 North Dakota. From there it was all Fighting Sioux as T.J. Oshie would add two more in the third and North Dakota took the 7-3 victory, and the series sweep over the Golden Gophers.

In other college hockey action from this weekend:

Boston College and Boston University split as both teams won on the road. BC took the series 2-1. Beanpot final possibility? Find out this weekend in the hockeynuts Beanpot preview.

Maine bounced back after a 6-1 beatdown on Friday night on their home ice, as the Black Bears won a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory the next night.

Notre Dame took three out of a possible four points against Miami in CCHA play.

And Denver and St. Cloud State split in an important WCHA series.

This weeks slate of games include:

New Hampshire and Maine for two (one at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH)

Michigan State will travel to Omaha as they face Scott Parse and the Mavericks.

St. Lawrence will face Cornell and Colgate on the road.

And not to forget the two Beanpot games on Monday Feb 5th as BU will face Northeastern and BC will face Harvard in the first round.

We are getting closer to the end of the season. And hockeynuts is here for the stretch run on the road to St. Louis. Keep it here.

Weekly Preview BU goes for sweep against rivals

2007-01-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

On Wednseday night at Conte Fourm the Boston University Terriers got a road victory over their rivals the Boston College Eagles. Peter MacArthur scored a pair of goals while goaltender John Curry was spectacular stopping 32 of 33 BC shots on goal.

Tonight the Terriers will go for the sweep in this two game series against the struggling BC Eagles who have lost their last three games.

Something to watch out for tonight is BC's desperation. The Eagles have only scored five goals in their last three, and the offense does not seem to be improving. BC has had oppurtunity after oppurtunity to make some noise and they have not done so. Their power play is one of the worst in the country and the penalty killing has been out on the ice longer than expected because of penalties. In other words what I am trying to say is BC can't catch a break.

On the other end of the ice, the Boston University Terriers have started 2007 with a bang going 7-0-1 in their eight games played in the new year. With the return of Brandon Yip, the Terriers have found their offensive strive that they had needed in the start of the year when Yip went down with an injury. And let's not forget the play of goaltender John Curry. The BU netminder has been playing great hockey only allowing eight goals in the new year that include the stat of three shutouts.

It will be a team of desperation in BC versus the hottest team in the country in BU. This should be an interesting game to watch.

Other games this weekend include:

St. Cloud State traveling to Denver for a key standings game in the WCHA.

Miami will travel to South Bend to face Notre Dame as the two top CCHA teams face off against each other.

North Dakota and Minnesota for two at Marrucci Arena.

And an improved Northeastern team will travel to Maine for two in Alfond Arena.

All of this and much more coming up in the weekly wrap-up in the beginning of the week. Keep it here on hockeynuts.

Bracketology Wednesday 2007 Week 3

2007-01-24T10:15:00.000-08:00

There is some moving around in the rankings, so lets get right to this weeks bracket.

First off let me point out that there are no new teams but like I said there are some seeding changes.

Before we get to the teams lets breakdown the conference bids.

Hockey East: 5
CCHA: 4
WCHA: 4
ECACHL: 1
Atlantic Hockey: 1
CHA: 1

Now here are the conference leaders (or for some the projected conference winner at the end of the year)

Atlantic Hockey: RIT
CCHA: Notre Dame
CHA: Bemidji State
ECACHL: Clarkson
Hockey East: New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota

So your team is not a conference leader, but did they get an at-large bid? Here are the 10 at-large teams

CCHA: Miami, Michigan, Michigan State
Hockey East: Boston College, Boston University, Maine, Vermont
WCHA: Colorado College, Denver, St. Cloud State

Now its finally time to rank the teams. Like I said there are some changes but there are no new teams. Some rankings have remained the same, but 10 of the teams are either moving up and down in the "hockeynuts rankings." Anyway let's take a look.

#1 Minnesota (21-3-3) =
#2 New Hampshire (18-4-1) =
#3 St. Cloud State (16-4-4) +
#4 Notre Dame (20-5-1) -
#5 Denver (18-8-2) =
#6 Clarkson (15-6-3) =
#7 Maine (15-6-2) +
#8 Michigan State (16-8-1) +
#9 Vermont (14-8-2) +
#10 Michigan (17-9-0) +
#11 Colorado College (14-9-1) -
#12 Miami (18-8-2) -
#13 Boston College (12-8-1) -
#14 Boston University (12-4-6) -
#15 Bemidji State (12-9-3) =
#16 RIT (14-8-2) =

The rankings are all set, now lets place them in their regional sites.

Midwest: #1 Minnesota vs #16 RIT
#8 Michigan State vs #9 Vermont

Northeast: #2 New Hampshire vs #15 Bemidji State
#7 Maine vs #10 Michigan

East: #3 St. Cloud State vs #14 Boston University
#6 Clarkson vs #11 Colorado College

West: #4 Notre Dame vs #13 Boston College
#5 Denver vs #12 Miami

The Frozen Four Bracket will look like this:

Midwest vs West
Northeast vs East

On the bubble this week:

North Dakota
Quinnipiac
St. Lawrence

Thats all for this weeks bracketology, be sure to take a look at next weeks bracket, and do not forget about the weekly preview for this weeks games exclusively here on hockeynuts.

Hobey Watch Jan 23

2007-01-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

Once again the top spot remains the same in the Hobey Watch, but there is some moving around within the top five so lets get right to it.

Another week down and another week for Nathan Davis being the top spot in the hockeynuts Hobey Watch.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Davis had three assists this past weekend against Ohio State and is tied for second in the country in scoring. This weekend Davis and the Redhawks got three points against the Buckeyes. Big weekend for Miami as they travel to South Bend to face the top team in the CCHA the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Season Stats: 16 g, 25 a, 41 p

Joe Fallon G Vermont (JR): What a difference a week makes. Fallon went from out of the Hobey Race last week to being back in the Hat Trick this week. Why? His stellar performance this past weekend against Boston College helped his cause. Not to forget, Fallon also leads the country in goals against average and shutouts.

Season Stats: 13-7-2, 1.62 gaa, .930 save pct, 5 shutouts

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): A hat trick against Alaska on Friday night put Hensick in double digits for goals. Hensick is tied for second in the country in scoring with Nathan Davis. Michigan has been playing well lately winning four out of their last five, and the Wolverines are now only five points in back of first place Notre Dame in the CCHA. This weekend the Wolverines have Ferris State. Heniscks numbers should go up against a weak defense.

Season Stats: 10 g, 31 a, 41 p

The Rest of the Top five:

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): Smith had a two point night against UMASS-Amherst on Friday. The next game UNH was shutout for their second loss in the conference both to the Minutemen. This weekend Smith and the Wildcats have a warmup game against Providence before the Wildcats host Maine next weekend.

Season Stats: 15 g, 17 a, 32 p

Scott Parse F Nebraska-Omaha (SR): Although he did not have a point against Ferris State, Parse has improved since the begginning of the year. With six goals in his last six, Parse has proved that he is the biggest threat on the Mavericks. This weekend UNO will host Northern Michigan.

Season Stats: 17 g, 21 a, 38 p

This weeks darkhorse:

Andreas Nodl F St. Cloud State (FR): Nodl has made an immediate impact for the Huskies. A five point weekend against Minnesota-Duluth has put Nodl in this spot. Huge two games for Nodl and the Huskies as the Huskies will face Denver for two in the Rocky Mountains.

Season Sstats: 12 g, 21 a, 33 p

Tommorrow week three of Bracketology Wednesday will be featured here exclusively on hockeynuts.

Weekly Wrap-Up Vermont gets an advantage

2007-01-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Vermont Catamounts came into the series against Boston College without a win against the Eagles since 1994. They got two this weekend as Vermont swept BC and have taken over third place in Hockey East.

The first game held on Friday had a lot of controversy. So much in fact that the penalty minutes combined for both teams was 67. Not just that, in the third period the refs disallowed a goal because of a BC player (Matt Lombardi) supposedly hit it with a high stick. The replay showed that Lombardi did not hit it with a high stick thus prevented BC to tie the game at three. Vermont goals were scored by Cory Carlson (twice) and Torrey Mitchell.

The second of the two game series saw Vermont go up 3-0. Although BC made it a game, Vermont goaltender Joe Fallon again stoned the Eagles shot after shot. Brayden Irwin scored two goals and Torrey Mitchell added another one as he and Irwin had a three point night. Viktor Stalberg would score on an empty netter and the Catamounts completed the sweep as they took the 4-2 victory.

The other big game this weekend happened in the WCHA where Minnesota and Denver took the ice. For the first time all season, Minnesota was held scoreless in a game as Denver got the 1-0 victory on Friday night. Denver goaltender Glenn Fisher stopped all 31 Minnesota shots on goal.

Saturday night was a different story. Super Freshman Kyle Okposo opened up the scoring with a four on four goal as he got the puck past Glenn Fisher for the 1-0 first period lead. The second period saw a total of seven goals. Minnesota scored four (three by defensemen Mike Vannelli) and Denver scored three in a wild second period. Minnesota led 5-3 going into the third period, however, Geoff Paukovich of Denver scored to make it an interesting game as Minnesota's lead was cut to one at 5-4. Denver had a lot of chances in the third period, but goaltender Jeff Frazee stopped 14 of 15 Denver shots on goal in the third. Overall Frazee had 41 saves and Minnesota's offense helped Frazee out this time as the Gophers took the game 5-4 salvaging a split with Denver.

In other college hockey action from this past weekend:

New Hampshire split with UMASS-Amherst as the Minutemen have two victories over UNH this year (both games the only losses in conference for UNH).

North Dakota is getting back into the swing of things as they swept Bemidji State.

And Michigan State swept Lake Superior in CCHA action.

This weeks top games include:

Boston College and Boston University for two games a home and home series. The game on Wednesday is a make-up game from the fog incident in December at Conte Fourm.

Denver will host St. Cloud State for two in a huge WCHA showdown.

Miami travels to Notre Dame as two of the top CCHA teams battle it out in South Bend.

Minnesota hosts North Dakota for two at Marrucci Arena.

And Cornell will host Colgate on Saturday night in ECACHL play.

Big slate of games this weekend, and do not forget about the Hobey Watch, Bracketology Wednesday, and the weekly preview all coming up this week on hockeynuts.

Weekly Preview Pairwise Weekend

2007-01-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend is a huge weekend for four teams that are bunched in in the Pairwise Rankings and they are Boston College, Vermont, Minnesota, and Denver.

First lets preview the Boston College vs Vermont two game series at Gutterson Field House.

Boston College climbed a little closer to the first place team in Hockey East the New Hampshire Wildcats and they now trail by six points in the standings. Vermont on the other hand has fallen a little bit as they are now nine points behind UNH.

Last weekend against Merrimack Brian Boyle had a six point weekend (1 g, 5 a) including a five point night on Friday. Benn Ferriero scored a hat trick as well on Friday in a 6-1 victory. Is the offense for Boston College coming back after a 10 goal weekend?

The Vermont Catamounts on the other hand are struggling to score goals. Their defense is doing well and the play of goaltender Joe Fallon has been great, however the Catamounts need to score goals in order to have an impact series against the Eagles. With seven goals in the last four games, the offense is not getting it done.

The question for BC is can they get more out of their offense? Will Brian Boyle have a second half surge for the Eagles? And for Vermont the question is who will step up and score goals? Fallon can not do it alone in this key series.

The other big game features the Denver Pioneers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Both teams are in the top of the pairwise rankings. Denver is tied for second with Colorado College with 20 points, and they are currently seven points behind first place Minnesota.

Last week in the two games the Golden Gophers scored two goals in a split with Wisconsin (1-2, 1-0) in a defensive struggle. The Gophers have only scored three goals in their last three games but they went 2-1. Kellen Briggs got his first loss of the season, but Jeff Frazee, who Briggs is spliting time with, helped out with his first shutout of the season. Minnesota's offense will need to find a way to get goals as they face a solid Denver defense.

On the other end of the ice, Denver has posted an 8-1-1 record in their last 10. The Pioneers are coming off a sweep against Niagara and are Minnesota's biggest threat in the standings right now. The goaltending has been solid with Glenn Fisher getting the most starts, but Peter Mannino, who was a hero in Denver's National Championship team, has also been seeing playing time. Brock Trotter has made a big impact this year as a Freshman leading the team in scoring. Ryan Dingle, the teams leading goal scorer and the fourth leading goal scorer in the country should play a major role in this series.

Overall I see this series as a potential turning point in the season for both teams. Minnesota wants to prove that they have the best home ice advantage in the country, while Denver wants to prove that they can win on the road and get more momentum going into the stretch run. Should be an interesting series to watch.

The other big games include:

New Hampshire and UMASS-Amherst will have a home and home series.

Lake Superior travels to Michigan State in another tough contest for the Lakers who were swept by Notre Dame last weekend.

Up and coming Bemidji State will have a home and home series against North Dakota.

And Michigan heads to Alaska for two in Fairbainks.

A lot of big games for this weekend, and hockeynuts is here for your exclusive coverage of all the action in the college hockey world.

Bracketology Wednesday 2007 Week 2

2007-01-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of moving around in this weeks edition of bracketology so lets get right to the projected bracket.

First here are the number of bids each conference would have if the season ended today.

Hockey East: 5
CCHA: 4
WCHA: 4
ECACHL: 1
Atlantic Hockey: 1
CHA: 1

Now here are the conference winners if the season ended today (tournament winners if neccesary like the ECACHL). New leaders are in bold.

Atlantic Hockey: RIT
CCHA: Notre Dame
CHA: Bemidji State
ECACHL: Clarkson
Hockey East: New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota

And now here are the 10 at large teams, new teams are in bold.

CCHA: Miami, Michigan. Michigan State
Hockey East: Boston College, Boston University, Maine, Vermont
WCHA: Colorado College, Denver, St. Cloud State

Out from last week are Lake Superior, Niagara, and Sacred Heart

Now lets rank the teams as hockeynuts sees it. The movement of seeds is based on this + is higher than last week, - is lower than last week, and = means the team stayed at that spot.

#1 Minnesota (20-2-3) =
#2 New Hampshire (17-3-1) =
#3 Notre Dame (19-4-1) +
#4 St. Cloud State (14-4-4) -
#5 Denver (17-7-2) +
#6 Clarkson (13-5-3) +
#7 Boston College (12-6-1) +
#8 Maine (14-5-2) -
#9 Michigan State (14-8-1) +
#10 Colorado College (14-9-1) +
#11 Miami (17-8-1) -
#12 Michigan (15-9-0) -
#13 Boston University (10-4-6) +
#14 Vermont (12-8-2) +
#15 Bemidji State (12-7-3) -
#16 RIT (13-7-2) +

Now that you know the teams lets place them in their regions:

Midwest: #1 Minnesota vs #16 RIT
#8 Maine vs #9 Michigan State

Norteast: #2 New Hampshire vs #15 Bemidji State
#7 Boston College vs #10 Colorado College

East: #3 Notre Dame vs #14 Vermont
#6 Clarkson vs #11 Miami

West: #4 St. Cloud State vs #13 Boston University
#5 Denver vs #12 Michigan

Teams on the bubble this week are:

Lake Superior
Quinnipiac
Cornell

Thats all for this weeks edition of bracketology. Tommorrow hockeynuts will bring you the weekly preview for all the big games in college hockey.

Hobey Watch Jan 16

2007-01-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here is this weeks Hockeynuts Hobey Watch for January 16, 2007.

There are some changes in the top three but the top spot again remains the same. With some shuffling around in the top five lets get right to it.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Davis was quiet this weekend with only one goal in the split against Western Michigan. Davis still has the stats even though he has been quiet the last five games (2 g, 1 a, 3 p) but he is still an impact player and is vital to Miami's late season run.

Season Stats: 16 g, 22 a, 38 p

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): A four point weekend helped Hensick this weekend as he is now tied for second in the country and first in the CCHA in scoring. Two assists against Bowling Green and two assists the next game against Western Michigan helped Hensick spring up back into the Hobey Hat Trick.

Season Stats: 7 g, 31 a, 38 p

David Brown G Notre Dame (SR): With a sweep of Lake Superior on the road this past weekend, Brown and the Irish are now alone at the top of the CCHA standings. With a 51 save weekend, Brown held the Lakers to four goals. Right now one can argue that Brown has been the best goalie in the country in the Nations surprise team this year.

Season Stats: 18-3-1, 1.76 gaa, .927 save pct, 3 shutouts.

The rest of the top five:

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): A quiet game against Dartmouth, Smith falls down a few spots in the Hobey watch. Smith is still leading Hockey East in scoring and right now one can argue that Smith should be the Hockey East Player of the Year. This weekend the Wildcats have a home and home against UMASS-Amherst.

Season Stats: 14 g, 16 a, 30 p

Kevin Regan G New Hampshire (JR): In a 43 save performance against Dartmouth, Regan helped his cause by going from darkhorse to the top five in the Hobey Watch.

Season Stats: 15-3-1, 2.14 gaa, .929 save pct, 1 shutout

This weeks darkhorse:

Cory Schneider G Boston College (JR): Schneider has allowed three goals in his last three games. People can argue that John Curry of BU and Joe Fallon of Vermont should be up there, but they both have been darkhorses and Schneider has not so he gets the darkhorse spot this week. This weekend Schneider and the Eagles travel to Vermont to face the Catamounts.

Season Stats: 12-6-1, 2.15 gaa, .924 save pct, 3 shutouts.

Tommorrow week two edition of Bracketology 2007 exclusively on hockeynuts.

Weekly Wrap-Up BU Sweeps Maine in Orono

2007-01-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

With Great goaltending by John Curry, and the return of Brandon Yip, the Boston University Terriers went into Maine and surprisingly swept the Maine Black Bears at Alfond Arena.

On Friday night BU shocked everyone when the offense was a factor in the game. In the first period Maine scored on the power play when Brent Shepheard got one passed John Curry to give Maine a 1-0 lead. 15 seconds later, BU came right back when Peter MacArthur scored to tie it at 1-1. In the second period MacArthur was at it again scoring two goals (giving him a hat trick for the night) including a shorthander to give BU a 4-1 lead. Maine would make it 4-2 when Josh Soares scored Maine's second power play goal of the game. Jason Lawrence for BU would add another power play goal giving BU a 5-2 lead going into the third. In the third period Bryan Ewing made it 6-2 1:27 into the third. So BU with a 6-2 lead could cruise into Saturday nights game right? Wrong! Keith Johnson added a power play goal Maine's third of the night to make it 6-3. Josh Soares would score a pair to make it 6-5. Maine had many oppurtunities in the last 3:46 to tie the game but it was too little too late as John Curry stopped 40 of 45 Maine Shots on goal in the 6-5 victory.

Saturday night the power play was not a factor for Maine. The Black Bears went 0-7 on the powerplay. Matt Gilroy, Dan McGoff, and Chris Higgins all had a goal for the Terriers. John Curry was spectacular again stopping all 30 Maine shots in a 3-0 shutout. Curry stopped 70 of 75 Maine shots this past weekend and proved again that he is arguably the best goalie in Hockey East.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

In the CCHA series of the week two surprise teams went at it as Notre Dame swept Lake Superior in a series in the Great Lakes. The first night went into overtime where Irish forward Erik Condra scored the game winner with 1:36 left in overtime. Irish netminder David Brown has 30 saves the second night as Notre Dame got the 4-1 victory over Lake Superior.

Wisconsin and Minnesota split in a rivalry series in the WCHA. Wisconsin won 2-1 the first night behind Ross Carlson's two power play goals. The second night saw just one goal by Minnesota forward Jim O'Brien as Minnesota got the split in Madison.

New Hampshire goaltender Kevin Regan had 43 saves in a 4-2 win against in state rival Dartmouth at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.

And Clarkson tied Colgate and Cornell in ECACHL play.

This weeks top upcoming games include:

Boston College travels to Vermont to face the Catamounts in a key Hockey East series. The teams are seperated by three points.

Denver and Minnesota will face off for a two game WCHA series at Marucci Arena.

Michigan State and Lake Superior (also important for CCHA standings) will face each other in East Lansing for two.

Michigan travels to Alaska for a pair of games.

And up and coming Bemidji State will have a home and home series against North Dakota.

Big games this weekend and keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Weekly Preview Two Surprise Teams Battle in the Great Lakes

2007-01-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

This weeks top game happens to have two of the biggest surprises in college hockey this season as head coach Jeff Jackson and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan where they will face the Lake Superior Lakers.

Coming off a recent split against Robert Morris, Notre Dame finds itself fourth in this weeks pairwise rankings. On the other side, Lake Superior finds itself 15th and in the hunt for the NCAA tournament in March.

The Irish are coming in as one of the most balanced teams in the country. Their offense does deserve credit with four players over 20 points, but their goaltending and their defense have been the backbone of the team. In fact the Irish have only allowed 499 shots on goal in 22 games an average of 22.7 shots on goal per game that the opposition have taken against the Irish. Do not be surprised however if Notre Dame allows more shots on goal this weekend against the Lakers.

On the other side of the ice, the Lake Superior Lakers have done it all on defense. The Lakers are giving up an average of 2.1 goals per game. Reiging CCHA player of the month Jeff Jakaitis had a great December allowing just seven goals in five games. For Lake Superior to win they need to get the offense going. Only one player has 10 goals and that is Freshman forward Nathan Perkovich. The offense has to get going against another solid defense in Notre Dame.

Overall I expect one of the games to be defensive, maybe both. For the Lakers the question is, who will break out this series and become a go to guy? And for Notre Dame their question is can David Brown get tested this weekend?

Another big game this weekend is in Orono where the Maine Black Bears host Boston University for two huge games at Alfond Arena.

These two games are important for a spot in the top three of Hockey East. BU's offense has struggled all year (2.3 goals per game) while Maine's strength is its potent offensive attack (4.2 goals per game). Maine is 7-2-1 in their last 10 while BU is 6-2-2. BU netminder John Curry will have his hands full this weekend. Will Ben Bishop on the other end have a breezy weekend?

In other action this weekend:

Minnesota travels to Wisconsin for two at the Kohl Center. Will Minnesota continue to roll through the WCHA? Or will the Badgers protect home ice? Always intresting when these two teams play each other and look for a lot of emotion in this rivalry.

Another rivalry game features two in state opponents as New Hampshire faces Dartmouth at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.

And two of the top teams in the ECACHL will go at it as Clarkson faces Cornell.

Big weekend in college hockey and Hockeynuts is your place for all your college hockey needs. Be sure to check out the weekly wrap up on Monday with all the results from this weeks big games.

Bracketology Wednesday Week 1 2007

2007-01-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well the long wait is over. Bracketology Wednesday is back for 2007. Before we get to the teams that are in lets breakdown the confrence bids.

CCHA: 5
WCHA: 4
Hockey East: 3
CHA: 2
ECACHL: 1
Atlantic Hockey: 1

The confrence bids are in, but who are the automatics? Here are the projected first place teams in their confrences.

Atlantic Hockey: Sacred Heart
CCHA: Notre Dame
CHA: Bemidji State
ECACHL: Clarkson
Hockey East: New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota

Now for the 10 at-large teams.

Atlantic Hockey: None
CCHA (4): Lake Superior, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State
CHA (1): Niagara
ECACHL: None
Hockey East (2): Boston College, Maine
WCHA (3): Colorado College, Denver, St. Cloud State

You know the teams now lets rank them.

#1 Minnesota (19-1-3)
#2 New Hampshire (16-3-1)
#3 St. Cloud State (14-3-3)
#4 Maine (14-3-2)
#5 Notre Dame (17-4-1)
#6 Denver (15-7-2)
#7 Clarkson (13-5-1)
#8 Boston College (10-6-1)
#9 Miami (16-7-1)
#10 Colorado College (13-8-1)
#11 Michigan (14-8-0)
#12 Bemidji State (12-5-3)
#13 Michigan State (12-8-1)
#14 Lake Superior (13-6-3)
#15 Niagara (13-6-3)
#16 Sacred Heart (13-4-4)

Now its time to place the teams in their regions.

Here are the 2007 regional sites

East: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY, March 23-24 (ECACHL host)
Northeast: Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH, March 24-25 (New Hampshire host)
Midwest: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI, March 23-24 (Western Michigan host)
West: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, March 24-25 (Denver host)

So now that you know the regional sites, lets place them.

Midwest: #1 Minnesota vs #16 Sacred Heart
#8 Boston College vs #9 Miami

Northeast: #2 New Hampshire vs #15 Niagara
#7 Clarkson vs #10 Colorado College

West: #3 St. Cloud State vs #14 Lake Superior
#6 Denver vs #11 Michigan

East: #4 Maine vs #13 Michigan State
#5 Notre Dame vs #12 Bemidji State

Teams on the bubble:

Boston University
Cornell
Vermont

So the Frozen Four bracket would look like this

Midwest Regional Champion vs East Regional Champion
Northeast Regional Champion vs West Regional Champion

Thats all for the week one edition of Bracketology 2007. Tommorrow the weekly preview will give you all the information you need about the college hockey action happening this weekend.

Hobey Watch Jan 9

2007-01-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Here is the Hobey Watch for January 9th, 2007. There will be some moving around so lets get right to it.

Once again Miami forward Nathan Davis is at the top but the rest of the top five is all moved around.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Before being held scoreless against Michigan State on Saturday, Davis added two points on Friday night against the Spartans. This weekend Davis and the Redhawks travel to Kalamazoo to face the Western Michigan Broncos. Expect Davis to chalk up more points.

Season Stats: 15 g, 22 a, 37 p

Alex Goligoski D Minnesota (JR): Last weeks darkhorse had a clutch weekend against Minnesota State moving him up to the number two spot in the Hobey Watch. This weekend the Gophers travel to Wisconsin to renew their rivalry with the Badgers. Can the leading scorer among defensemen come up big again against the Badgers?

Season Stats: 8 g, 20 a, 28 p

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): With leading goal scorer Mike Radja out, Smith stepped up this weekend at Vermont. A three goal weekend puts Smith back in the Hobey Hat Trick. This weekend the Wildcats face in state rival Dartmouth at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.

Season Stats: 14 g, 16 a, 30 p

The Rest of the top five:

Kevin Porter F Michigan (JR): So what if the Wolverines had a week off. Notthing changes anedd Porter remains in the top five. This weekend the Wolverines host Northern Michigan for two, and have Bowling Green tonight. Three games this week could boster Porter back in the Hobey Hat Trick next week.

Season Stats: 14 g, 19 a, 33 p

Jeff Jakaitis G Lake Superior (SR): The CCHA player of the month in December, Jakaitis had a 34 save night in a tie against Nebraska-Omaha this weekend in his lone start. Jakaitis has improved every year he has played at Lake Superior and is a key to the Lakers run to the NCAA tournament.

Season Stats: 8-5-3, 1.78 gaa, .949 save pct, 3 shutouts

This weeks darkhorse:

Kevin Regan G New Hampshire (JR): Regan has been clutch so far this year for the Wildcats. In his last three games, Regan has stopped 74 of 76 opponents shots on goal. There were questions early in the year if this team could be consistant and so far the Wildcats have proved that they are the team to beat in the East. Regan has improved and is making his team better and for that he is this weeks darkhorse.

Season Stats: 14-3-1, 2.14 gaa, .927 save pct, 2 shutouts.

Thats all for this week. Tommorrow is the long awaited debut of Bracketology Wednesday. Will your team make it in its first predicted bracket? Find out tommorrow.

Weekly Wrap-Up New Hampshire dominates

2007-01-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

The New Hampshire Wildcats have proven time and time again that they are the best team in Hockey East. With a dominating 7-1 win on Friday and a 2-1 victory on Saturday against Vermont, UNH has increeased its lead to 10 points in the Hockey East standings.

The first night UNH dominated in all aspects. With three goals in the first 11 minutes, the Wildcats quickly sent Vermont goaltender Joe Fallon to the bench as four of the first seven New Hampshire shots went in. Vermont forward Colin Vock quickly scored on the power play to make it a 3-1 game after one. That was the only shinning point in the game for Vermont. With a pair of goals from Brett Hemmingway and Trevor Smith in the second, the Wildcats put the game out of reach. Kevin Regan only saw eight shots on goal, while Freshman backup Brian Foster saw both Vermont shots on goal in the third as the Wildcats won 7-1.

Saturday night was more of a defensive game. Trevor Smith scored the first goal 48 seconds into the second period, but Vermont came back with a goal from their own less than one minute from Smith's goal as they responded to tie the game at one. Vermont had 16 shots on goal in the second, stopping 15 of them to keep the game tied at one going into the third. But New Hampshire would walk away with a victory again as Chris Murray scored the game winning goal on the power play with 3:44 left in the game. Kevin Regan was superb in net making 34 saves as New Hampshire took the game 2-1 and the weekend sweep of Vermont.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

Boston College had a 2-0 lead, but lost that in the third as Northeastern came from behind with a 3-2 overtime victory.

Two CCHA powers Michigan State and Miami split in Oxford, Ohio.

North Dakota and Colorado College split in Colorado Springs.

St. Cloud State continues its hot streak as they have now won 12 in a row as they swept Alaska-Anchorage.

And Denver and Wisconsin split in WCHA play.

This weeks top games include:

Lake Superior and Notre Dame as two of this years surprise teams will play two at Lake Superior.

Boston University and Maine will face each for two key games at Alfond Arena.

Cornell will face Clarkson in ECACHL play.

Minnesota and Wisconsin will renew its rivalry at Madison.

And New Hampshire will face in state rival Dartmouth at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.

Lots of action going on in the world of college hockey as we inch closer to Bracketology Wednesday. Where will your team be? Find out Wednesday and the Hobey Watch and the Weekly Preview will also be featured.

Weekly Preview Getting Back in the Swing of Things

2007-01-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

Two of the top teams in Hockey East will collide this weekend as New Hampshire travels to Vermont for two at Gutterson Field House.

In the Florida College Classic UNH went 1-1 losing to Cornell and defeating Western Michigan in the consolation game. Vermont hosted the Shearton/TD Banknorth Classic Vermont went 1-1 on their home ice losing to St. Cloud State in the finals before defeating Union. A lot of bragging rights in this matchup so lets break it down.

For UNH once again their offense is among the best in the country averaging more than four goals per game. On the other end of the ice Vermont's strength is its goaltending and its defense. In 18 games the Catamounts have only allowed a total of 29 goals. Goaltender Joe Fallon has proved all year that he is one of the elite goaltenders in the country. The question for Vermont tonight is can they stop the formable attack of Trevor Smith and Mike Radja? Will Jacob Micfliker and Matt Fornataro be a key factor? How about Brett Hemingway? Will he step up his play in the second half? Can Kevin Regan stay consistant? This will be a great series to watch.

Another weekend series worth looking at is the Michigan State vs Miami series. These two games will be played at the Goggin Ice Arena. Michigan State is coming off a championship in teh Great Lakes Invitational while Miami went 1-1 in the Ohio Hockey Classic defeating Bowling Green before losing to Ohio State in the championship game. Are these two teams headed in different directions?

Some interesting questions to ask this weekend is can Michigan State stop Nathan Davis? After all last month Davis only scored one point but the Redhawks are 2-1-1 in the last four games in which Davis did not score a point. For Michigan State one might wonder if the duo of Bryan Lerg and Tim Kennedy can breakout in the second half. Also do not forget about the play of goaltneder Jeff Lerg, and the Spartan defense has been playing well lately. Can Michigan State pull of another big second half run? Will Miami be consistant on a nightly basis? This is a key series in the CCHA as both teams will try to catch Notre Dame in the standings.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

Wisconsin travels to Denver for two in the Rocky Mountains.
North Dakota will face Colorado College in another two game key series in the WCHA.
And to round up the top five St. Cloud State faces Alaska-Anchorage.

These games and much more to be featured in the weekly wrap-up on Monday. And not to forget that Bracketology Wednesday will return on Wednesday as the first projected brackets will come out. Where will your team be? Find out as hockeynuts will start its "Road to St. Louis" on Monday with the weekly wrap-up.

Players of the Month December

2007-01-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

Here are the players of the month for the month of December.

Atlantic Hockey: Jason Smith G Sacred Heart (SR): Smith has been part of Sacred Heart's run in the first half of the season. After a shaky start in three of his first five starts in net, Smith has recovered nicely to help Sacred Heart. Smith is vitale for a Pioneer second half run.

Monthly Stats: 2-0-2, 1.04 gaa, .967 save pct
Year to date Stats: 9-3-3, 2.87 gaa, .907 save pct

CCHA: Jeff Jakatis G Lake Superior (SR): I think now that there is a clear number one net minder in Lake Superior and that is Jakatis. For the first half of the year, Jakatis has split time with Freshman Pat Inglis. Jakatis got five out of the six starts in December and will be an important factor in the Lakers second half run.

Monthly Stats: 3-1-1, 1.20 gaa, .968 save pct, 1 shutout
Year to date Stats: 8-5-2, 1.63 gaa, .953 save pct, 3 shutouts

CHA: Ted Cook F Niagara (SO): With a bundle of goals so far in the season, Cook added to his lead for goals scored in the NCAA. It will be either the Purple Eagles or the Bemidji State Beavers who will be dancing in March.

Monthly Stats: 4 g, 1 a, 5 p
Year to date Stats: 18 g, 13 a , 31 p

ECACHL: Nick Dodge F Clarkson (JR): Dodge had a spectacular month for the Golden Knights. The month ended with the Knights winning the Badger showdown and the future looks bright for Clarkson.

Monthly Stats: 5 g, 6 a, 11 p
Year to date Stats: 10 g, 13 a, 23 p

Hockey East: Mike Radja F New Hampshire (JR): Radja is on pace to at least double his career high in goals which is eight where he scored that in his Freshman and Sophomore seasons. UNH is a team to watch and with a great first half, they are the favorites to win Hockey East.

Monthly Stats: 4 g, 3 a, 7 p
Year to date Stats: 14 g, 8 a, 22 p

WCHA: Alex Goligoski D Minnesota (JR): The leading scorer for the Gophers is also the leading scorer among defensemen in the country. An All-American canidate, Goligoski is known for his scoring ability as well as his play on defense. Right now I can't find a better two way defensemen in the country.

Monthly Stats: 2 g, 8 a, 10 p
Year to date Stats: 7 g, 19 a, 26 p

NCAA: Jakatis, LSSU (pictured above)

Tommorrow hockeynuts will bring you the weekly preview for all the big games going on in the world of college hockey.

Hobey Watch Jan 3, 2007

2007-01-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

We have not had a Hobey Watch for awhile so lets get to this weeks edition.

I forget how many times in a row but the top spot again remains the same while there is some switching around in the top five so here is this weeks edition of the Hobey Watch.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Although Davis only had one point in the month of December, he is still number two in the country in scoring. The Redhawks start of the new year with Michigan State coming to the new Goggin Ice Arena in Oxford.

Season Stats: 14 g, 21 a, 35 p

Kevin Porter F Michigan (SR): In the month of December, Porter had two goals and three assists for five points moving him up to the top five in the country in scoring. Although he is only the second leading scorer on the team, Porter is the team leader in goals scored. Watch out for Porter in the second half of the year.

Season Stats: 14 g, 19 a, 33 p

Joe Fallon G Vermont (JR): With an outstanding month of December, Joe Fallon moves his way up to the Hobey Watch and into the Hobey Hat Trick. In the month of December Fallon went 3-2 only allowing seven goals against and posted back to back shutouts against St. Lawrence and Rensselaer. This weekend Fallon and the Catamounts welcome the first place team in Hockey East the New Hampshire Wildcats.

Season Stats: 10-5-1, 1.50 gaa, .934 save pct, 4 shutouts

The rest of the top five:

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): A month with no goals will drop Hensick a little bit, however he did manage six assists including four in early December in a game against Western Michigan. If Hensick can manage to score some goals than this team will be dangerous come March.

Season Stats: 7 g, 27 a, 34 p

David Brown G Notre Dame (SR): Brown was in the top five for a few weeks, until now. He is still one of the best goaltenders in the country and Notre Dame is a great surprise, but in December it was the offense of Notre Dame that raised eyebrows this month. Brown still had a good month winning every game but he needs to be challenged a little bit more becuase Notre Dame's defense in the month of December only allowed 138 shots on goal in six games which averages to 23 shots on goal per game.

Season Stats: 15-3-1, 1.73 gaa, .928 save pct, 2 shutouts

This weeks darkhorse:

Alex Goligoski D Minnesota (JR): Finally the number one team in the country gets someone in the Hobey Watch and the WCHA is represented for the first time in quite awhile. The leading scorer among defensemen in the country, Goligoski had a great month with two goals and nine assists for 11 points. Could another WCHA player win the Hobey this year? Goligoski right now is the favorite to do it in the conference.

Season Stats: 7 g, 19 a, 26 p

Thats all for this weeks edition of the Hobey Watch. Tommorrow the players of the month will be announced and on Friday the weekly preview will feature all the top games for this weekend. Keep it here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs.

Holiday Tournament(s) Wrap-Up

2007-01-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

This years holiday tournaments in college hockey brought lots of excitement to many college hockey fans.

Lets start off with the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit where Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, and Harvard were featured. In the first set of games held on Friday 12/29, Michigan State defeated Harvard in the first game 5-2 led by the two goal effort from Bryan Lerg. Goaltender Jeff Lerg was spectacular in net stopping 45 of 47 Harvard shots on goal. In the second game Michigan defeated Michigan Tech 4-1 with Matt Hunwick scoring two goals. The Wolverines were led by a solid effort from goaltender Billy Sauer who stopped 27 shots from the Huskies.

In the consolation game Harvard defeated Michigan Tech 3-2. Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter stopped 41 Michigan Tech shots. Mike Taylor had a pair of goals in the Harvard victory.

The championship game featured rivals Michigan and Michigan State. The Spartans played a great defensive game only allowing 22 shots on goal against a great offensive team in Michigan. All of the goals were scored on special teams with Michigan State scoring three power play goals and added another shorthanded in a Spartan 4-1 victory. Bryan Lerg had a goal and two assists giving him a five point weekend and earned him MVP honors for the tournament. The win gave the Spartans their 11th Great Lake Invitational Championship and their second GLI championship in the last three years.

Another tournament worth watching was the Florida College Classic held in Estero. Three top 15 teams were featured (Maine, New Hampshire, and Cornell) and an improved Western Michigan team. In the first game Cornell and New Hampshire squared off. The Big Red defeated the Wildcats 5-2 behind Raymond Sawada's pair of goals for Cornell. Sawada also added an assist. The game was back and forth for two-thirds of the game. After two it looked like a game where either team could win as Cornell had a 3-2 advantage. But with two goals in the third by Cornell, the Big Red earned their shot at the title game the next night.

Cornell would face the winner of the Maine vs Western Michigan game. This game was a defensive struggle as a combined total of 12 goals were put in the net by the two teams. Maine had a 3-2 lead going into the second period. Western Michigan would tie the game at three in the second period and it would remain a tie going into the third. It looked like it was going to be a great third period to watch as it was a back and fourth game. But again it was that for 2/3rds of the game. Maine exploded in the third period as the Black Bears scored five goals. Bret Tyler had two goals in the period giving him three for the night (scored in the 1st as well). Wes Clark, Mike Hamilton, and Teddy Purcell all added goals in the third giving Maine the 8-4 victory over Western Michigan.

New Hampshire got a win the next night in the consolation game against Western Michigan. Five different Wildcat players scored as New Hampshire defeated the Broncos 5-2. Kevin Regan made 32 saves in the Wildcat victory.

The championship game featured Maine and Cornell. The potent Black Bear offense was back as Teddy Purcell had two goals and an assist in the 6-3 victory. Troy Davenport was pulled in the second period after giving up the fourth goal at the 9:34 mark. Although Cornell only trailed 4-3 in the second, Maine again had the stronger third period giving them the victory and the Florida Hockey Classic Championship.

The other holiday champions include:

Minnesota in the Dodge Holiday Classic
Clarkson in the Badger Showdown
Denver in the Denver Cup
Colgate in the UCONN Hockey Classic
Ohio State in the Ohio Hockey Classic
North Dakota in the Ledyard Bank Tournament
St. Cloud State in the Shreaton/TD Banknorth Tournament

This weeks top games include:

Michigan State @ Miami for two in Oxford, Ohio
New Hampshrie @ Vermont for two in Burlington
North Dakota @ Colorado College for two in Colorado Springs
Wisconsin @ Denver for two in Denver
Alaska Anchorage @ St. Cloud State for two in St. Cloud, Minn

Thats it for the holiday tournaments. A weekly rundown of this week includes the Hobey Watch tommorrow, the players of the month for December on Thursday, and the weekly preview on Friday. And a week from tommorrow Bracketology returns as the first predicted brackets of 2007 will be featured. We are passed the midway point of the season and time is flying by. Keep reading features on hockeynuts as we are here for all your college hockey needs.

The First Half Blog

2006-12-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

Well it has been an exciting first half of the college hockey season and now we are closing in on the holiday tournaments, so I thought it would be appropriate now to overview the first half of the year.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have had the best first half of the season. The Gophers are 15-1-3 with their only loss coming against Maine on opening night. Minnesota has eased their way in WCHA play going 9-0-3 in 12 contests. This team is very dangerous on both sides of the ice. Offensively, the Gophers have 6 players with 20+ points and 9 players with at least 10+ points. The super freshman led by Kyle Okposo, Jay Barriball, and the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft Erik Johnson. And the goaltending you ask? There is no clear number one goaltender going into the second half of the season because Senior Kellen Briggs, and Sophomore Jeff Frazee have been playing outstanding in goal. This team has it all and will look to set team records and win their third National Championship in six years.

In the East the strongest team so far is New Hampshire. The Wildcats are 13-2-1 and 10-1-1 in Hockey East play with an eight point lead over Boston College and Vermont. However, no lead is safe in Hockey East. Boston College has two league games on hand while Vermont has three. Things could get interesting at the end of the year but for now the Wildcats are in the elite. With consistant play from goaltender Kevin Regan, as well as the scoring from Trevor Smith and Mike Radja, the Wildcats will be an interesting team to watch. Their schedule gets tougher beginning with the Florida College Classic against Cornell and possibly Maine. And not to forget the Wildcats have a home and home with BC and BU and a two game series at home against Maine, and to begin the month of January, the Wildcats will travel to Vermont for two.

The biggest surprise so far in the first half is easily Coach Jeff Jackson and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This team was picked in the middle of the CCHA, but that didint bother the Irish as Notre Dame has rose to second place in the CCHA. With great goaltending from Senior David Brown, and some solid play from Defensemen Wes O'Neill, the Irish have given up only 28 goals in 18 games. With a mediocre schedule from here on (toughest opponent Miami at South Bend for two), the Irish could be the team to beat in the CCHA, and could make some noise in the NCAA tournament come March.

Teams to watch out for in the second half:

Despite mediocre play, the Boston College Eagles are still ranked #7 in the polls and are 9-5-1. The Eagles though have some ground to make up from first place New Hampshire, however as said earlier the Eagles have two games on hand against UNH. BC is off until January 5th when they play Northeastern. This team has the players and the experience from last years surprise run. But mark this down right now, the BC-UNH series March 2nd and 3rd will be for the Hockey East title.

The Wisconsin Badgers started off 4-9-2, but have since won three in a row. If anyone out West is poised for a second half run its coach Mike Eaves' club. Senior Ross Carlson and Junior Defensemen Kyle Klubertanz are back from injury and both are a key factor to the Badgers second half of the season. And not to forget, the Badgers have Brian Elliott in net last years Hobey Hat Trick finalist who to me is still one of the best goalies in the country.

Teams that potentially will fall:

The North Dakota Fighting Sioux have lost four in a row at home none the less against Wisconsin and North Dakota. The schedule only gets tougher for the Sioux with Colorado College, Minnesota, Denver, and St. Cloud State (the top four teams in the WCHA) each twice. Coach Dave Hakstol will have his toughest test in his third year at the helms of North Dakota.

Out East Dartmouth could be a team who could be on the decline in the second half. The in conference schedule includes an improved Colgate team, a power in Cornell, Quinnipiac, Brown, Yale, and Clarkson. The Big Green are currently 5-4-2 and are winless in their last three. This team has the potential to fall but it is not a definate.

And finally let me give you my first half team:

Nathan Davis F Miami
T.J. Hensick F Michigan
Trevor Smith F New Hmapshire
Alex Goligoski D Minnesota
Mike Vanelli D Minnesota
David Brwon G Notre Dame

Enjoy the hollidays everyone and hockeynuts will be back after the new year.

Hobey Watch Dec 12

2006-12-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

There are some changes in the Hobey Watch for December 5th so lets get right to them.

Once again the top spot remains the same, but there is a shakeup in the Hat Trick. Here are the results for this week.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Davis only had a one point weekend against Ohio State, but his stats were still good enough to keep Davis in the top spot for the seventh week in a row. With some time off before the Ohio Hockey Classic where Davis can again shine against Bowling Green and against the winner/loser of the Ohio State Minnesota-Duluth game.

Season Stats: 14 g, 21 a, 35 p

David Brown G Notre Dame (SR): Brown moves up one spot from last week as he had a solid weekend against Michigan. Although Brown allowed six goals this weekend, the Irish still swept the Wolverines. So far this season Brown has not let up more than three goals in every game. Still solid and the results move Brown to the number two spot in the Hobey Watch this week.

Season Stats: 13-3-1, 1.64 gaa, .933 save pct, 2 shutouts

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): Guess what it is not a CCHA sweep this weekend as New Hampshire's Trevor Smith enters for the first time this season. Smith had a two point weekend, and T.J. Hensick did not have any points this weekend. True Hensick has better stats, but Smith is making an impact on this Wildcat squad as the leading scorer in Hockey East.

Season Stats: 11 g, 13 a, 24 p

The rest of the top five

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): Hensick falls two spots this weekend to number four on the Hobey Watch. I am not saying that Hensick doesn't deserve to be in the top three, but he had a lackluster weekend getting exactly 0 points against Notre Dame. True he is the third leading scorer in the country, but its his lack of scoring goals that made him fall to the fourth spot this week.

Season Stats: 7 g, 26 a, 33 p

Jeff Jakatis G Lake Superior (SR): The Lakers are another surprise team in the CCHA, and goaltender Jeff Jakatis has helped Lake Superior get back on the map. A combined total of 91 saves in two games against Ferris State helped Jakatis this week (three games with 40+ saves this year) and the year is looking brighter for the upstart Lakers. With 11 out of their final 16 conference games at home, it is defenitley possible to see Lake Superior in the NCAA's this year and exepct Jakatis to have a big second half of the year.

Season Stats: 7-4-2, 1.57 gaa, .956 save pct, 3 shutouts

This weeks darkhorse:

Scott Parse F Nebraska-Omaha (SR): After a quiet early part of the year, Parse has put that aside and has shined in his last three games. With 10 points in his last three games, Parse was the easy choice to be this weeks darkhorse.

Season Stats: 11 g, 17 a, 28 p

Thats all for the Hobey Watch for December 12. The next couple of weeks will be quiet in college hockey with finals week happening everywhere, but hockeynuts will continue to provide you with in depth previews and analysis for the quiet weekend of December 15th. The holiday tournaments are also approaching and some previews for that will be on hockeynuts so stay tuned as the college hockey season has hit the mid point of the season.

Weekly Wrap Up Notre Dame sweeps Michigan

2006-12-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish continued its success story this season by sweeping perennial CCHA power Michigan.

On Friday night at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, the Irish came away with a 7-3 victory on the road in a hostile environment. Seven different players for Notre Dame scored goals (Tom Sawatske, Garrett Reggan, Erik Condra, Josh Sciba, Ryan Thang, Christian Hanson, and Evan Rankin) as the Michigan defense struggled to keep the puck out of the net again. This has been a constant struggle for the Wolverines all season and if they want to improve, the defense has to start playing better. For David Brown, it was another solid night for the goaltender, stopping 26 of 29 Michigan shots on goal. On the other end it was a nightmare for Billy Sauer as he got pulled after the second period only stopping 11 of 16 Notre Dame shots on goal. Nevertheless Notre Dame continued its hot streak.

After a day off, the two teams were at battle again this time at South Bend. This game was a little closer but still the same result. Michigan opened up the scoring 42 seconds into the first period when Travis Turnbull put the puck past David Brown and the Wolverines gained the early 1-0 lead and took a 2-1 lead after one. After the second period Michigan took a 3-2 lead. However, the Wolverines could not hang on in the third period. The collpase started at the 7:13 mark of the third when Ryan Thang tied it on the Irish's third power play goal of the night. 30 seconds later Garrett Regan scored his second of the night, third of the seriesd, and the game winning goal. David Brown stopped all nine Michigan shots on goal in the third and the Irish took the 4-3 victory. Notre Dame was 3-7 on the power play while Michigan was 0-6. In the series the Irish were 5-14 while Michigan could only get one power play goal out of 13 opportunities. Thats the stat of the series for you.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

Wisconsin got back on its winning ways as they went on the road to Grand Forks and swept the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

Boston College and UMASS-Amherst split in Hockey East action.

New Hampshire improved its winning streak to nine and are now unbeaten in their last 12 (11-0-1) as the Wildcats defeated St. Lawrence.

And St. Cloud State swept Colgate in non league action.

Next weeks top games include:

Vermont @ St. Lawrence
Dartmouth @ Harvard
Denver @ Alaska-Anchorage (2 game series)

As finals week comes many of the teams have the week off until after christmas. But keep it right here on hockeynuts for all your college hockey needs as we inch closer to the return of Bracketology 2007 edition starting the first week of January.

Weekly Preview Michigan and Notre Dame collide in a home and home battle

2006-12-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

This weekends big battle is a home and home series in the CCHA as #5 Notre Dame faces #7 Michigan.

Notre Dame goaltender David Brown will have a tough task this weekend facing the #1 offensive team in the CCHA. Led by T.J. Hensick, the Wolverines are averaging about 4.4 goals per game. Although Michigan only has four players with 10+ goals, the Wolverines have five players with 20+ points already, and those five are averaging more than one point per game.

On the other side of the ice for Michigan they need to find a way to play better defense. Goaltender Billy Sauer is 11-5, however, he has allowed 52 goals and his goals against average is 3.31. The Fighting Irish only have one player with 10+ goals in Mark Van Guilder. Michigan will need to look out for Van Guilder as he is known to get on a hot streak at any point of the season.

This is a battle of mismatches as Notre Dame is strong defensively, but lately have not found a way to put the puck in the net. This is the exact opposite for Michigan as we all know they are strong offensively, but on defense the Wolverines cannot stop the puck from going into the net. Should be a great home and home series beginning tommorrow.

The other top games include:

North Dakota will host Wisconsin. While North Dakota is having an up and down year, the Wisconsin Badgers are the exact opposite and are looking for wins in a hurry.

Boston College will face UMASS-Amherst in a home and home series in Hockey East action.

Colgate travels to St. Cloud State for two games.

And New Hampshire will look to continue its unbeaten streak to 12 (10-0-1 in their last 11) as the Wildcats will host St. Lawrence.

Other games to watch out for this weekend:

Alaska Anchorage @ Colorado College (2 games)
Michigan State @ Northern Michigan (2 games)
Minnesota @ Michigan Tech (2 games)

As mentioned we are getting closer to the midway point, and by the first week of January Bracketology returns on hockeynuts. There will be more things to talk about in college hockey throughout the year so keep it here for all your college hockey needs.

Players of the Month November

2006-12-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here are the monthly awards for the month of November.

Atlantic Hockey: Eric Ehn F Air Force (JR): Ehn might not of scored too many goals this month, but he still helped out the team by dishing out a lot of assists. This month Ehn had a four point night and two three point nights. Ehn currently leads Atlantic Hockey in scoring and is tied for second with T.J. Hensick of Michigan for the most points.

Monthly Stats: 5 g, 10 a, 15 p
Season Stats: 15 g, 18 a, 33 p

CCHA: Nathan Davis F Miami (JR) and T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): I don't normally give out co-players of the month but for this month it was hard to choose between the two. Davis for the sixth week in a row is the top player in the Hobey Watch and Hensick has moved up to second in the Hobey Hat Trick. Hensick has gathered at least one point in seven consecutive games while Davis (pictured above) is continuing to take over as an elite player in the country

(Davis) Monthly Stats: 9 g, 11 a, 20 p
Season Stats: 14 g, 2o a, 34 p

(Hensick) Monthly Stats: 4 g, 18 a, 22 p
Season Stats: 7 g, 26 a, 33 p

CHA: Les Raney F Niagara (SO): Raney had solid stats for the month and is leading the Purple Eagles in almost every category. The Purple Eagles will look to make a push starting this month to their first NCAA apperance since 2004. With Ted Cook and Sean Bentivoglio second and third in the league in scoring, it is safe to say that this Niagara team is the best offensive team in the conference.

Monthly Stats: 6 g, 9 a, 15 p
Season Stats: 12 g, 17 a, 29 p

ECACHL: Dan Rosen G Brown (FR): Rosen was the best goaltender in the league by far in the month of November. Although he only played in six games, Rosen has solidified himself as the number one goaltender on the Brown squad that has improved and is the surprise of the ECACHL for the month.

Monthly and Season Stats: 4-2-0, 1.37 gaa, .958 save pct.

Hockey East: Dean Strong F Vermont (SO): With a streak of six consecutive games with a goal, it was a no brainer for Strong to recieve Hockey East player of the month. Strong has proven that he can be a goal scorer in this league and also has helped Vermont rise to second place in Hockey East behind New Hampshire. This could be the sleeper player in the country, not to forget Trevor Smith of New Hampshire as well.

Monthly Stats: 6 g, 4 a, 10 p
Season Stats: 10 g, 7 a, 17 p

WCHA: Andreas Nodl F St. Cloud St. (FR): Many players were considered to be player of the month in the WCHA but Nodl has been on of the better Freshman players in the country. Coming from Austria, Nodl has felt comfortable with the college game. If he continues to play well then expect Nodl to be a high draft pick.

Monthly Stats: 5 g, 7 a, 12 p
Season Stats: 8 g, 12 a, 20 p

NCAA Player of the Month: It was hard to decide this one but Nathan Davis will get the hockeynuts NCAA Player of the Month for November.

Tommorrow we will preview the weekend ahead in college hockey including a home and home showdown in the CCHA between Notre Dame and Michigan.

Hobey Watch Dec 5

2006-12-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

In this weeks edition of the Hobey Watch we have some changes in the top five, but a lack of movement in the top three. Let's get right to it.

Once again there is no change in the top spot and the top three has the same players. But anyway here is the Hobey Hat Trick.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Although he was held scoreless on Friday, Nathan Davis came right back on Saturday against Ferris State with a four point night. Davis has now held the top spot for the sixth consecutive week. This week is a no brainer as Davis took the lead in the NCAA scoring race. This weekend Miami and Ohio State have a home and home series. Expect Davis to have good numbers again this weekend.

Season Stats: 14 g, 20 a, 34 p

David Brown G Notre Dame (SR): Brown stopped 38 of 41 Alaska shots on goal this weekend. The Irish are off to their best start in team history and Brown has had great games. Brown has not given up more than three goals all season. This weekend Brown and the Irish have a tough task with a home and home series against Michigan. Brown's numbers might not be stellar with a loaded offensively talented team in Michigan, but Brown will be up to the task.

Season Stats: 11-3-1, 1.45 gaa, .935 save pct. (1 shutout)

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): The second leading scorer in the country, Hensick helps complete the CCHA sweep of the Hobey Hat Trick for the third week in a row. He might not have the goals, but Hensick has the assists to prove that he is one of the best centers in college hockey. Hensick is averaging an NCAA best 1.94 points per game. Expect this weekends series against Notre Dame to be exciting.

Season Stats: 7 g, 26 a, 33 p

The rest of the top five:

Kevin Porter F Michigan (JR): A two point weekend helped Porter get back in the Hobey Race. The leading goal scorer and the second leading point scorer on the Wolverines, Porter has proven that he is an offensive threat on this solid Michigan team. Porter is one of five Michigan players with 20+ points and one of four with 10+ goals.

Season Stats: 13 g, 16 a, 29 p

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): Smith did not do much this past week as he only got one point against Merrimack, but the Wildcats are still #2 in the country and #1 in Hockey East. The Wildcats will travel to Lowell tommorrow night and will host St. Lawrence in a non-conference showdown on Friday.

Season Stats: 11 g, 11 a, 22 p

This weeks darkhorse:

Jeff Jakatis G Lake Superior (SR): After a solid season in 2005-2006 which included four shutouts, Jakatis has stepped up his game. Although he is splitting time with Freshman Pat Inglis, Jakatis still has the numbers to be this weeks darkhorse. The Lakers are off to a 10-5-1 start and just cracked the top 20 for the first time this season. This weekend the Lakers travel to Ferris State and Jakatis should have no problem trying to stop an offensively challanged team in the Ferris State Bulldogs.

Season Stats: 6-4-1, 1.70 gaa, .949 save pct. (3 shutouts)

Thats all for this weeks Hobey Watch. Tommorrow I promise I will name the players of the month for the conferences and the national player of the month of November. We are getting closer to the halfway point of the season, and there is still more to come.

Weekly Wrap-Up Eagles Get Lucky

2006-12-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night at Agganis Arena the Boston University Terriers host the Boston College Eagles in what was supposed to be a home and home series. The game that was scheduled for Friday December 1 was postponed due to the weather and the fog on the ice at Conte Fourm.

Even though the two teams did not play on Friday, the Eagles and the Terriers sure did not dissapoint the fans on Saturday. It was a high-flying, fast pace action throughout the game.

The only goal was scored (well he didin't really score) by Nathan Gerbe when Terrier goaltender John Curry watch the puck go off his own teammates skate which deflected off Curry's skate. It was confusing to describe it but nevertheless the Eagles got lucky and got the 1-0 victory.

Goaltender Cory Schneider was outstanding in net stopping all 34 Terrier shots on goal. Schneider might of left big rebounds in front of the net, but the defense was able to clear the puck or Schneider was able to make a great save off the rebound.

Besides the own goal, Terrier netminder John Curry was also solid stopping 22 of 23 BC shots on goal. The stats might of seemed like Curry had an easy third period, but he didin't. BC only put on three shots on goal in the third period, but the Eagles had their chances throughout the game.

Both teams need to get into their rythm still as BC nor BU has established that prolific goal scorer. Expect the next game (1/26/07 or before that if they make it up) to be more fast paced and possibly higher scoring.

Other games from this past weekend:

Colorado College swept Denver in a home and home series in the WCHA. The young Colorado College team have now won seven out of their last eight. Denver is having an up and down year but expect the Pioneers to be back in the swing of things this weekend as they host the last place Minnesota State Mavericks for two.

New Hampshire defeated Vermont to increase their lead in Hockey East to six points. The Wildcats and Catamounts will meet again for two at the Gutterson Field House in the first week of January.

Minnesota escaped with three points at Minnesota State.

And Notre Dame swept Alaska in CCHA play.

This weeks top five games include:

Notre Dame and Michigan in a home and home series (game[s] of the week)
UMASS-Amherst and Boston College in a home and home series
Colgate @ St. Cloud State for two
Wisconsin @ North Dakota for two
St. Lawrence @ New Hampshire

For those of you who were waiting for Saturday's report from Conte Fourm, well you will have to wait a bit for the behind the scenes look. But Hockeynuts will continue to go on. The players of the month will be announced on Wednesday for the month of November, and don't forget about the Hobey Watch and the weekly preview coming up.

Weekly Preview Showdown Time in the Commenwealth Avenue Rivlary

2006-11-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

The time has come. The Commenwealth Avenue Rivalry (aka BC vs BU) has arrived. Both teams might not be playing their best hockey right now, but I promise you that this weekends home and home series between Boston College and Boston University will be the game(s) to watch this weekend.

BU forward Peter MacArthur (pictured above) had eight straight games without a goal until Tuesday night against UMASS-Amherst where he scored a power play goal in the third period. Expect MacArthur to be a key factor in this series.

The Terriers are curretnly on a four game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) after going 0-2-3 in their previous five games. Head Coach Jack Parker and the Terriers will have their hands full this weekend against the #7 ranked BC Eagles. The Terriers have to find a way to put the puck in the net and keep the pressure of goaltender John Curry.

For Boston College its simple, sweep BU and their back in the top five. After a 4-1 start, which included a sweep at Wisconsin, the Eagles have been struggling on offense. Sound familar to BU as well. In their last seven the Eagles are 3-3-1 with a 7-4-1 record overall. But motivation could be on the way as a new month approaches and the 6-3 loss to New Hampshire with a collapse in the third period could have some extra motivation in this series.

The Eagles have had a slow November. Senior Brian Boyle can't find a way to score lately and the defense has been a little shaky of late as the Eagles have given up 12 goals in their last three games. Goaltender Cory Schneider will need to play on top of his game in this series.

This is a series where both teams need at least one win. Expect a great atmosphere at Conte Fourm on Friday night and Agganis Arena on Saturday night. Should be a fun series to watch.

And after the game on Friday, hockeynuts will take you where you have never seen this blog before. The post-game comments. Look for an inside look on the Friday game on Saturday night.

In other action this weekend (the rest of the top five):

Denver and Colorado College renew their rivalry in a home and home series.

Alaska and Notre Dame will play two at South Bend in a key CCHA series.

Vermont travels to New Hampshire as the top two teams battle it out in Hockey East play.

And St. Cloud State will take on the surprising Michigan Tech Huskies for two at Houghton, Mich.

Other games to watch include:

Air Force and Sacred Heart
Yale vs St. Lawrence and Clarkson
Minnesota State and Minnesota
Michigan State and Ohio State

Tommorrow the Players of the month will be announced. So get ready for an exciting weekend in the world of college hockey.

Hobey Watch Nov 28

2006-11-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

Some changes made in the Hat Trick so lets get right to it.

There are no significant changes to the top five, but there is some shuffling around, and a new face is being added this week.

For several weeks now Nathan Davis from Miami has had the top spot and that has continued, but the hat trick and the two top five spots have some changes. Enough has been said let's break it down.

Natahan Davis F Miami (JR): Davis is tied with Eric Ehn of Air Force for the top spot in scoring. This weekend Davis added a goal and two assists to his stellar season with a goal and an assist against St. Lawrence and an assist against Clarkson. Miami went 1-1 in those two games but they still hold their top five ranking. This weekend Davis and the Redhawks host a struggling Ferris State team who is 1-6-1 in their last eight. Expect some more points to come from Davis this weekend.

Season Stats: 13 g, 17 a, 30 p

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): Out of the hat trick is teammate Kevin Porter, but the Wolverines are still well represented in the Hobey Watch. A six point week (3 g, 3 a) put Hensick in the Hat Trick. Not to forget that Hensick is leading the country in assists. There might not be a better line combonation than Hensick, Porter, and Chad Kolarik in the country right now. Combined the three have 30 goals and 44 assists which total 74 points, an average of a little over 24 points per player. This week Hensick and teh Wolverines have a home and home series with an improved Western Michigan team.

Season Stats: 7 g, 21 a, 28 p

David Brown G Notre Dame: For the second week in a row its a sweep of CCHA players in the Hobey Hat Trick. Brown gave up five goals this weekend, but the Irish salvaged a split against Nebraska-Omaha. Brown dropped to second in the country in goals against average, which might of dropped his stock a little bit, but he is still the best goaltender in the country right now. A huge series for Brown and the Fighting Irish this weekend as Notre Dame will face Alaska in South Bend.

Season Stats: 9-3-1, 1.45 gaa, .941 save pct, 2 shutouts

The rest of the Top Five

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): A two point weekend was just enough to move Smith up from number five to number four in the Hobey Watch. Six of his goals this season have come on special teams (4 power play, 2 shorthanded). Pretty Impressive. This week New Hampshire faces Merrimack and Vermont. Could see his stats go up against Merrimack, but Vermont is a good defensive team. Expect Smith's stats to go up at least in the Merrimack game.

Season Stats: 11 g, 10 a, 21 p

Kevin Porter F Michigan (JR): Although he had a five point weekend, Porter slips to number five. Porter though should not be taken lightly just because he is out of the Hobey Hat Trick. His play so far will keep him in the top five for awhile and playing on the top line helps.

Season Stats: 12 g, 15 a, 27 p

This weeks darkhorse:

John Curry G Boston University (SR): Curry only played in one game this week, but he had a solid 22 save performance against Harvard. If the Terriers can find a way to score, then they would be a top five team right now. Curry has been the backbone of this team and will need some help from the Terriers offense to relieve some pressure off of him. But for now Curry is this weeks darkhorse and his stats prove it.

Season Stats: 4-2-4, 1.94 gaa, .924 save pct, 1 shutout

For this week two more blogs will be published on Hockeynuts including the weekly preview and the players of the month for November. So make sure to check it out as we near the midway point of the season.

Weekly Wrap-Up Minnesota Showcases It's Talent

2006-11-27T09:38:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Golden Gophers proved that they are still the number one team in the country with a sweep in the College Hockey Showcase.

A thrilling 5-4 victory over Michigan State helped kick off this weekends showcase which also featured Michigan (more on the Minnesota Michigan game later) and Wisconsin. Gopher Defensemen Alex Goligoski scored the game winner against the Spartans on the power play with 8:40 left in the game. Goligoski also added two assists in the victory. Michigan State only had 17 shots on goal but beat Goaltender Jeff Frazee four times, including two goals from Tim Kennedy. But it was Minnesota who had 33 shots on goal and the better scoring oppurtunities throughout the game.

The other game on Friday night was in Madison where the Wisconsin Badgers fell to Michigan in a third period collapse by the Badgers. Wisconsin had a 2-0 lead going into the second and a 3-2 lead going into the third. However, two goals in a span of 27 seconds helped the Wolverines get the victory on the road. Goaltender Billy Sauer of Michigan stopped all 15 Wisconsin shots on goal in the third period.

Saturday Wisconsin ended their six game losing streak with a victory over Michigan State 2-0. Goals were scored by Andrew Joudrey and Ben Street. And in goal was Shane Connelly, who made only his second start on the season, but nevertheless was solid stopping all 19 shots on goal by the Spartans in route to his second career shutout.

But the night, and the Showcase belonged to the Golden Gophers of Minnesota who put on a shooting clinic against Michigan with 52 shots on net. But it was the score that surprised everyone as the Gophers Offense scored five goals in the third period in the 8-2 victory of the Wolverines. Jim O'Brien and Mike Carmen led the way with two goals each. Kellen Briggs had a solid night in goal as he stopped 22 of 24 Michigan shots on goal.

So now you know the results, here is the hockeynuts all Showcase team:

G- Kellen Briggs, Minnesota
D- Alex Goligoski, Minnesota
D- Kyle Klubertanz, Wisconsin
F- Blake Wheeler, Minnesota
F- Andrew Cogliano, Michigan
F- T.J. Hensick, Michigan

In other college hockey action from this past week:

New Hampshire kept its first place standing in Hockey East defeating Boston College and Northeastern by a combined score of 9-4.

Notre Dame and Nebraska-Omaha split their series in the CCHA.

Boston University escaped with two wins in their two games against Harvard and Yale

Maine continues to struggle as they lost their third game in a row as the Black Bears fell to Vermont.

And Clarkson defeated Miami in non-conference play.

This weeks top five games include:

Boston College and Boston University in a home and home series
Denver and Colorado College in a home and home series
Notre Dame and Alaksa in South Bend
Cornell and Rensselaer
Michigan Tech and St. Cloud State in a key WCHA series in Houghton, Michigan.

So this is the 200th blog in its second year of existince. And more to come this week including players of the month, the Hobey Watch, and the weekly preview. For those of you who have commented or put in a good word about this blog, I would like to say thanks for your support and to keep checking as more updates will be on the way.

Hobey Watch Nov 22

2006-11-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Some changes have been made to the Hobey Watch this week so lets get to the top three first.

The top spot will remain the same but players are inching closer this week to the top spot which could change any week.

So you got the explination now lets see who else is in this week.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): A five point weekend against Nebraska-Omaha not only kept Davis in the top spot, but it moved the Redhawks up in the rankings. The top player so far in the CCHA has been in the Hobey Watch for awhile and he has held the top spot for the third week in a row. In his last three games, Davis has three goals and three assists. Overall Davis is still the best player out there in the country.

Season Stats: 12 g, 15 a, 27 p

David Brown G Notre Dame (SR): The Irish lost their first game since early October this past weekend. However, Brown still had a great weekend and is still leading the country in goals against average. Brown stopped 41 of 44 Michigan State shots on goal this past weekend and Brown has only allowed six goals in his last five games. Notre Dame has all sorts of weapons, but Brown has been the best player on the team. This weekend the Irish will travel to Omaha where they will face Scott Parse and the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks.

Season Stats: 8-2-1, 1.26 gaa, .950 save pct, 2 shutouts

Kevin Porter F Michigan (JR): With 13 points in the Wolverines last six games, Porter moves up in the Hobey Hat Trick this weekend completing a CCHA sweep of the Hat Trick. Over the last six, Porter has six goals while adding seven assists. The only game in which Porter did not recieve a point was 10/20 against Miami. With the College Hockey Showcase this weekend, expect Porter to showcase his game against Minnesota and Wisconsin.
(By the way I made an error in the preview yesterday the game was at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. My Appologies.)

Season Stats: 11 g, 13 a, 24 p

The Rest of the top five

Michel Leveille F Maine (SR): Although Maine has lost their last two games, Leveille still is playing well. After being held scoreless against Boston University, Leveille has had two plus points in his last three games. Leveille moves down a little bit but expect him to continue his strong play. With a tough game against Vermont on the road on Saturday, Leveille and the Black Bears will should be at their best after losing their last two at home.

Season Stats: 11 g, 8 a, 19 p

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): Smith has already matched his goal total from last season and is having a breakout year. With seven points in his last three games, Smith will take those stats tonight against Boston College at The Heights against a squad who is starting to click on all cylinders. Should be an exciting game tonight at Chestnut Hill.

Season Stats: 10 g, 9 a, 19 p

This weeks darkhorse:

Joe Fallon G Vermont (JR): The all time shutout leader in school history finally gets some recognition as he is this weeks darkhorse. Fallon and the Catamounts have won four straight and will look to make it five in a row this Saturday against Maine. In his last five, Fallon has only allowed five goals and added a shutout against UMASS-Amherst last night.

Season Stats: 6-3-1, 1.49 gaa, .933 save pct, 2 shutouts.

This is the last blog before next week. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hockeynuts will be back on Monday with the weekly wrap-up.

Weekly Preview It's Showcase Time

2006-11-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

Yes it is that time of year again. The college hockey showcase featuring Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Michigan.

So here is the tale of tale of the tape:

Minnesota: The Golden Gophers are coming off a sweep in the Border War against Wisconsin at Marruci Arena. Minnesota has not lost a game since the first game of the year against Maine. Their 10-1-2 mark in their first 13 games is one of their best starts in team history. And to prove how good Minnesota is, six players are averaging more than a point per game and eight players already have 10+ points. As a team the Gophers have scored 55 goals, averaging more than four goals per game. And not to forgett that their defense and their goalies have been outstanding as well. The defense has only gave up 25 goals all season, and the goaltending between Senior Kellen Briggs (pictured above) and Sophomore Jeff Frazee has worked out. Minnesota is unquestionably the favorite to win both games in the College Hockey Showcase against Michigan and Michigan State.

Wisconsin: After winning the National Championship last season, the Badgers came in as the number two team in the pre-season polls. But the slow 4-8-2 start has knocked the Badgers out of the top 20. The Badgers are winless in their last five games and have only scored six goals in that span. The only positive is that the Badgers defense has been keeping them in games. While goaltender Brian Elliott has a 2.02 goals against average, the offense has not been showing up. In fact only one player has 10 points and that is Senior Forward Andrew Joudery. Granted the Badgers have had a lot of injuries, and players such as Jack Skille and Ross Carlson are coming back, however, they need to get back in rhythm in order for the Badgers to make a run. Expect the Badgers to play with a lot of desperation this weekend.

Michigan State: The Spartans are coming off a split against Notre Dame over the weekend. A solid start has the Spartans in the top 10. Jeff Lerg is has two shutouts in three games and is one of the reasons why the Spartans are playing better defensively. Offensively the trio of Tim Kennedy, Tim Crowder, and Bryan Lerg could be the most leathal weapons in the country. Though they have two tough games on the road in the Showcase, the Spartans could be the team who knocks off Minnesota at their home ice.

Michigan: This could be the best offense in the country. The Wolverines have two players with 20 points already in Kevin Porter and T.J. Hensick. While their defense has been questionable at times, it seems like Michigan is starting to gel on D. Michigan has won five in a row and are looking to extend that, but it will be tough with Minnesota and Wisconsin on the road. Expect role players such as defensemen Jack Johnson to step up in the Showcase.

And do not forget before the Showcase, Michigan and Michigan State will face off at the Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. This will already be the third meeting between the two teams and could meet again in the Great Lakes Invatational and the two teams have another meeting later in the year.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

After a huge win against Maine, Boston College is right back in the top five. Can they keep that ranking with a win against number eight New Hampshire at Conte Forum?

Colorado College and North Dakota will play two in Grand Forks for two huge games in the WCHA? Both teams have had an up and down season and will need victories at this point of the season.

And the last of the top five games of the week has Clarkson and Miami facing off against each other in upstate New York.

Other games to watch out for include:

Nebraska-Omaha and Notre Dame
Boston University and Yale
Dartmouth and Quinnipiac
The RPI holiday tournament featuring Rensselaer, Ohio State, Niagara, and Colgate

Don't forget to check out the Hobey Watch tommorrow exclusively on hockeynuts.

Weekly Wrap-Up Gophers sweep Badgers in the Border War

2006-11-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Tony Lucia (pictured above) and the Minnesota Golden Gophers had a great weekend against rival Wisconsin with a weekend sweep of the Badgers. Lucia got his first goal on Sunday, a go-ahead goal that put Minnesota ahead 2-1.

The first game however was a offensive struggle for both teams. Wisconsin goaltender Brian Elliott made 35 saves while his counterpart Kellen Briggs stopped 25 shots on goal. Defensemen Alex Goligoski got the game started with his fourth goal on the season scored on the power play. After a scoreless second period, the teams came right back on the ice for a solid third period. Jay Barriball scored his ninth on the season as the Gophers took a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin made it 2-1 late in the third with a goal by Ross Carlson his first of the season, but it was not enough as the Gophers took a 2-1 victory.

The next game saw Wisconsin take to a 1-0 lead at the 14:37 mark of the second period with a goal by Ben Street. Wisconsin who outplayed the Gophers for 2/3 of the game but could not hold their one goal lead. Minnesota tied it at one with a goal from Ryan Stoa on a breakaway. After back and forth action for over nine minutes, Tony Lucia, the son of Gopher head coach Don Lucia scored his first goal of the year and the game winner at the 14:17 mark. Blake Wheeler added an empty netter as the Gophers took the second game and a weekend sweep against the Badgers 3-1.

While Minnesota is on a roll, the Badgers are struggling and have now lost five in a row, a totaly unexpected start by the defending National Champions.

The other big series this weekend was Notre Dame and Michigan State in a CCHA battle. The Irish took the first game against the Spartans. Three goals by Notre Dame in the second period help the Fighting Irish get a 4-1 victory. Notre Dame goaltender David Brown made 26 saves in the victory. Michigan State took the second game to gain a split in a battle of top five teams. Bryan Lerg and Tim Crowder scored the only two goals of the game. Goaltender Jeff Lerg stopped all 25 Notre Dame shots on goal as the Spartans gained a victory at Munn Ice Arena.

In other college hockey action this past weekend:

Boston College defeated Maine 4-3 in overtime at Orono. BC forward Joe Rooney scored two goals including the game winner. BC will move up this weekend while Maine will probably move down a few spots after they lost their second in a row.

Quinnipiac got a weekend sweep of upstate New York teams Colgate and Cornell.

Miami swept Nebraska-Omaha

And the big surprise of the weekend was Alaska-Anchorage who swept #3 North Dakota.

This upcoming slate of the top five games include:

The College Hockey Showcase featuring Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Michigan State
Michigan State vs Michigan tommorrow night
Boston College vs New Hampshire Wednesday night
Dartmouth vs Quinnipiac
Clarkson vs Miami

Since games are happening all week the weekly preview will come out tommorrow and the Hobey Watch will come out on Wednesday (one week only). More exciting action coming up as we inch closer to the halfway mark on the college hockey season.

Weekly Preview David Brown and Irish look to extend unbeaten streak against conference rival

2006-11-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

Goaltender David Brown and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the biggest surprise so far in the first half of the college hockey season. The Irish are 8-1-1 and are unbeaten in their last 10 games. This week Notre Dame will look to extend its unbeaten streak to 12 as the Irish and the Michigan State Spartans will battle it out in a home and home series.

When mentioned in the pre-season most of the country were talking about the great play of Cory Schneider from Boston College, Ben Bishop of Maine, John Curry of Boston University, and Brian Elliott of Wisconsin as great goaltenders returning. There are more goaltenders on this list that were mentioned well before Notre Dame's David Brown. Well this year, Brown has been the best goalie in the country.

Brown's stats has been amazing through his first nine games that he has started in net. The Irish netminder is off to a 7-1-1 start and has only allowed 11 goals all season. Thats right, 11. And not to forget, Brown has a 1.20 goals against average, a .953 save pct, and two shutouts, all tops in those statistics.

While Brown has been the best player on the Irish, there are other players who have done well. In fact four players from Notre Dame have 10 or more points. Mark Van Guilder leads the way with 14 points and has been the best Notre Dame skater on the ice. Kevin Deeth and Ryan Thang, both Freshman are also playing well for the Irish.

I can go on and on about Notre Dame but let's talk about Michigan State, another top five team.

While Michigan State is only 3-2-1 in conference play, the Spartans are still one of the toughest teams in college hockey. It is true that Jeff Lerg has been shaky this year in between the pipes, but the Spartans offensive attack is helping him out. Sophomores Tim Kennedy and Tim Crowder are leading the team in scoring with a combined 21 points between the two of them. Lets not forget about Bryan Lerg too who is second on the team in goals scored. Overall the Spartans have a solid team. If the goaltending and the defense step it up then this will be a team to watch this weekend and throughout the season.

Other must-see games include:

Two Hockey East powers collide on Sunday in Orono as Maine and Boston College will battle it out. Maine is coming off a shalacking against New Hampshire at home while BC at 6-3-0 are still trying to find its identity for the season. This is a huge game for both teams with Maine's #1 ranking on the line.

Nebraska-Omaha and Miami, two high powered offenses will battle it out in Oxford.

Minnesota and Wisconsin will renew its rivalry at Marruci Arena in Minneapolis. Wisconsin can not afford a sweep while Minnesota will look to get the #1 spot in the country.

Quinnipiac and Cornell will face each other in ECACHL play.

And other games worth watching include:

Army and Holy Cross
Niagara and Bemidji State
Yale and Dartmouth
Clarkson and St. Cloud State

Who will prevail this weekend? Check out the weekly wrap-up to get all your college hockey needs on this big weekend.

Hobey Watch Nov 14

2006-11-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

This weeks Hobey watch has a lot of changes so lets get right to it.

The top spot is still the same for the second week in a row but there are new players in the top five so lets take a look, beginning with the Hobey Hat Trick.

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Although Davis only got one point this weekend against Lake Superior, he still holds the top spot in the Hobey watch. In his last five games Davis has six goals and four assists for 10 points, averaging two points per game. This weekend Davis and the Redhawks will host Nebraska-Omaha in which both games could be a shootout. Expect his numbers to go up in these next two games against the Mavericks.

Season Stats: 10 g, 12 a, 22 p

Michel Leveille F Maine (SR): Although the Black Bears lost their first game of the season against inter-state rival New Hampshire, Leveille had a goal and an assist against the Wildcats, to go along with his two goals against UMASS-Lowell two nights before. With seven goals in his last six games, Leveille has become a big time player for the Black Bears who are still the number one team in the country. A big game this Sunday for Leveille and the Black Bears as they host Hockey East favorite Boston College.

Season Stats: 9 g, 7 a, 16 p

David Brown G Notre Dame (SR): Brown has been stellar so far in the early season. He is leading the country in almost every goaltending stat there is. A shutout this weekend against Bowling Green helped Brown jump from being a darkhorse to being one of the top three players in the Hobey watch for this week. Brown and the Fighting Irish are in the top five for the first time in school history. Big test for the Irish this weekend as Brown and company faces Michigan State in a home and home series.

Season Stats: 7-1-1, 1.20 gaa, .953 save pct, 2 shutouts

The rest of the top five

Kevin Porter F Michigan (JR): Porter has been on a tear the last five games for the Wolverines. In those games he has scored seven goals and added four assists for a total of 11 points. Michigan travels to Ferris State this weekend and expect Porter to be a big factor this weekend.

Season Stats: 10 g, 9 a, 19 p

Alex Goligoski D Minnesota (JR): Goligoski who is usally known for his offense has been getting it done on defense this season and his stats show. He might not be a prolific scorer but he is a key factor on this Gopher team and could be one of the better defensemen since the time that Jordan Leopold won the Hobey Baker award in 2002. This weekend the Gophers host the defending National Champion Wisconsin Badgers.

Season Stats: 3 g, 9 a, 12 p

This weeks Darkhorse:

Trevor Smith F New Hampshire (SO): Smith is closing in on his goal total last year already. He has become a key offensive threat to the Wildcats who just blewout Maine this past weekend. The only game Smith has been scoreless in was against Boston University on Saturday night. Expect bigger things from Smith as the season goes on.

Season Stats: 9 g, 6 a, 15 p

There you have it, the Hobey Watch for this week November 14th, 2006. Big weekend coming up with some huge games so make sure to catch the weekly preview coming up in the next couple of days.

Weekly Wrap-Up Maine and Cornell unbeaten no more

2006-11-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

For the first time this season, Maine and Cornell both lost on a toss up weekend in college hockey.

Maine did get a victory on Friday night against UMASS-Lowell 4-1, but on Sunday the New Hampshire Wildcats dominated play against the Black Bears on Sunday afternoon in Orono.

New Hampshire jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead thanks to the play of Mike Radja, who earned two goals and an assist in the first period. Maine would score first in the second period and tried to make things intresting. However, the Wildcats quickly had other plans after two power play goals by Maine. And finally in the third period, UNH went back to their ways in dominating play like they did in the first period. Two quick goals by Chris Murray and Matt Fornataro in 25 second (and a goal by Trevor Smith a few minutes later) sealed the deal as the UNH Wildcats gave Maine their first loss of the season. Final score UNH 8-2. Kevin Regan stopped 33 of 35 Maine shots on goal including an 18 save second period performance.

The night before saw Cornell go into the game unbeaten. The Big Red had momentum after coming from behind in the third period against Harvard on Friday to give Cornell the 3-2 win. But Dartmouth came into the game with a lot energy after a 6-3 win against Colgate the night before.

The first period saw Dartmouth scored two power play goals in the period one by Ben Lovejoy and the other by T.J. Galiardi gave the Big Green a 2-0 lead over Cornell in the first period. Cornell took 16 shots on goal in the first but were denied on every angle they took against goaltender Mike Devine. After a scoreless second period, the Big Green opened up the lead to 3-0 when Tanner Glass scored an empty net goal with 2:22 left in the game. Cornell however made it close at the end scoring two goals in 20 seconds (both four on four), but it was too late for the Big Red to climb out of the hole they created as the Big Green won 3-2 giving Cornell their first loss of the season.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

Denver swept Wisconsin in Madison. The defending National Champion Badgers have lost five out of their last six and are now 4-6-2 heading into their next series at Minnesota. Denver has won their last three games all on the road and are looking to climb up the WCHA standings.

Notre Dame continues its unbeaten streak as it is up to eight games (7-0-1) as the Irish swept Bowling Green. The Irish next have Michigan State on their schedule which should be exciting to watch.

Sacred Heart swept Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey action.

And Minnesota and St. Cloud State could not settle a score in this rivalry as the Gophers and the Huskies tied in both games.

This coming week the top five games include:

Michigan State and Notre Dame
Boston College and Maine
Nebraska-Omaha and Miami
Minnesota and Wisconsin
Cornell and Quinnipiac

All of these great games and more will be mentioned in the weekly preview coming up later this week.

Weekly Preview Toss Up Weekend

2006-11-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

This weeks slate of games are indeed a toss up, starting with #2 Minnesota where the Gophers have a home and home series against St. Cloud State.

Tyler Hirsch (pictured above) is the leading scorer on the Gophers with two goals and 12 assists for 14 points. After being a medical redshirt last season, Hirsch has picked up where he left off two years ago where he had 44 points (11 g, 33 a). While Hirsch is leading the team in scoring, the team has six other players who have 10 or more points and we are just nine games into the season.

After the loss to Maine, the Gophers have not lost a game since. In the last eight games, the Gophers have outscored the opposition 41-12. While you got the goal scorers in Kyle Okposo, and Jay Barriball one of the best one two Freshman punches in the country, the goaltending has the same type of one two punch. Senior Kellen Briggs has only allowed four goals and has a shutout to his credit. While Sophomore Jeff Frazee has played in more games and is doing quite well, expect to see both goaltenders this weekend.

On the other side St. Cloud State has started off a little slow at 2-3-1. Bobby Goepfert has not regained his game yet, but again we are still early in the season. This team could give Minnesota fits like they have in years past. Expect St. Cloud to play with a little desperiation and don't be surprised if the Huskies get the offense going against Minnesota.

Other Big Games include:

Maine will face New Hampshire on Sunday. The inter-state rivals will play their only meeting at Alfond Arena this Sunday. Both teams have important games before Sunday UNH has Boston University at the Whittemore Center, and Maine hosts UMASS-Lowell. Expect this game to be fast paced with a lot of oppurtunities.

After their first win of the season, the Harvard Crimson will look to get a hot streak going, but they will have to do it on the road as Harvard goes to upstate New York to face Cornell and Colgate.

Denver and Wisconsin will face each other as both games will be held at the Kohl Center in Madison.

A key CCHA series will feature Alaska and Northern Michigan (both games at Northern Michigan).

And Sacred Heart will face Holy Cross in an Atlantic Hockey showdown for a two game home and home series.

These games and more will be featured in the weekly wrap-up. But until then enjoy this toss up weekend in the world of college hockey.

Hobey Watch Nov 7

2006-11-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

More changes this week in the Hobey Watch that we should get to including a shake up in the Hobey Hat Trick. There is a new top player and some more changes that will be discussed in this edition of the Hobey Watch.

Here are the Hobey Hat Trick players for the week of Nov 7.

Natahan Davis F Miami (JR): A seven point weekend for Davis against Northern Michigan, including a five point night on Friday (3 g, 2 a) put Davis number one for this week. It also helps that Davis has now become the leading scorer in the country and the fact that he is the only player so far with 20+ points in the country bolts him to the top spot which was held last week by Michigan Forward Chad Kolarik.

Season Stats: 9 g, 12 a, 21 p

Ben Bishop G Maine (SO): Bishop moves up one from number three to number two this week. The fact that Bishop has only allowed more than one goal in two games this weekend is amazing. He came up big on the road in the 2-2 tie against Boston University making 29 saves. Bishop is using all of his size (6"7) well and is inching closer to the top spot.

Season Stats: 7-0-1, 1.41 gaa, .942 save pct.

T.J. Hensick F Michigan (SR): After only a one point night against Michigan State on Friday, Henisck and the Wolverines stormed back on Saturday night as Hensick scored a goal and added three assists. Hensick may not be a goal scorer, but he sure knows how to dish out the assists. A second CCHA player will cap off the Hobey Hat Trick.

Season Stats: 4 g, 12 a, 16 p

The rest of the top five

Michel Leveille F Maine (SR): Leveille was in the hat trick last week as the number two guy, but a one point weekend put him out for this week.

Season Stats 6 g, 6 a, 12 p

Jack Johnson D Michigan (SO): After a great Freshman season, Johnson has really improved his game. Although Johnson only had one goal this weekend, he is still making noise around the country as a solid two way player.

Season Stats: 5 g, 3 a, 8 p

This weeks Darkhorse:

David Brown G Notre Dame (SR): For the second week in a row, a CCHA goaltender has been the darkhorse. So far on this years resume, Brown has had some big games, including a 7-1 thrashing of then number one Boston College, where Brown stopped 26 shots on goal. In his last five Brown has only allowed six goals as he and the Irish are off to one of their best starts in school history.

Season Stats: 5-1-1, 1.26 gaa, .950 save pct, 1 shutout.

So there you have it for the Hobey Watch. This weeks games promises to bring excitement, so keep your eyes open for the weekly preview as we will get to all the exciting action in the world of college hockey.

Weekly Wrap-Up Michigan finally gets one over arch-rival

2006-11-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

After being winless in their last nine games against Michigan State, Michigan finally defeated their archrival for the first time since the 2004-2005 season on Saturday night earning a split with the Spartans, who defeated the Wolverines on Friday night.

What looked like a Michigan victory in the first period on Friday night sooned turned into a defensive breakdown for the Wolverines. With a 3-1 lead after the first period, Michigan seemed to have the upper hand until the second period. A four goal second period for the Spartans helped Michigan State get the upperhand in a 7-4 final in East Lansing.

The second game Michigan came in with more desperation. With a nine game winless streak against the Spartans, the Wolverines came out looking sharp. With Jack Johnson back in the lineup, everything was clicking for the Wolverines. A two point first period by T.J. Hensick helped Michigan get the team rolling as Michigan went into the first period ahead again 2-1. Like the night before where Michigan State scored four goals in the second, it was Michigan's turn to get some offense. Sophmore Tim Miller scored his first goal of the season shorthanded to give the Wolverines a 3-1 lead early in the second period. Tim Kennedy scored 51 seconds later and kept the Spartans alive with a power play goal making it 3-2. However the Wolverines would not be denied scoring the next three goals in 5:11. Kevin Porter who scored one of the goals in that span got his seventh goal of the season. T.J. Hensick added two assists one of them to Porter, the other to Jack Johnson, giving him four points on the night (1 g, 3 a). Michigan won the game 6-2. Michigan Goaltender Billy Sauer played his best game of the season making 34 saves, the most he has had all season.

In other College Hockey action from this past weekend:

Alaska got three points on the road against Nebraska-Omaha.

After a loss on Tuesday to Providence, Cory Schneider and the Boston College Eagles rebounded on Saturday as Schneider got his 11th career shutout in his college career, as the Eagles won 1-0 over Vermont.

UMASS-Amherst swept Providence in a home and home series.

Boston University survived with two ties against UMASS-Lowell and Maine. The Terriers now have more ties than wins on the season (2-1-3)

And Colorado College got back on the right track sweeping #18 Michigan Tech in a great defensive effort by the Tigers allowing just one goal in both games.

This coming weeks games include:

Harvard and Boston College. The Eagles will come in facing another desperate team in Harvard who hasan't won a game yet.

A key WCHA series between Denver and Wisconsin. Wisconsin could not get past .500 this weekend with a split with Alaska-Anchorage, and Denver is coming off a week where they didin't play. The Pioneers are at .500 too so everything is at stake here.

Maine will host New Hampshire on Sunday giving the Black Bears their first big test at Alfond Arena.

And Quinnipiac travels to upstate New York to face Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

All of these games and much more (except for the BC-Harvard game) will be featured in the weekly preview so don't miss out as another week of exciting college hockey action awaits us.

Weekly Preview Michigan and Michigan State one of many games on this weekends slate

2006-11-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

This weekends big series between Michigan and Michigan State is the top series in this weekends slate of games.

Chad Kolarik and T.J. Hensick one of the best one two punches in the country will give a tough task for Michigan State this weekend. With a struggling defense so far for the Spartans, who have given up 12 goals in their first four games, the Spartans will need to step up their play especially after last weekend where the defense allowed eight goals in two games. Henisck and Kolarik could have a couple of field days against the Spartans if the defense does not step it up this weekend.

Another story this weekend in this series is that Michigan Defensemen Jack Johnson has been suspended for Friday's game. Senior Forward Tim Cook will move to replace Johnson's spot on defense and Morgan Ward, who has only played in two games this year, will fill in the vacant forward spot held by Cook.

Overall expect a tough gritty series between these two teams. Michigan is coming off a split at home against Northeastern and will look to start November off with a bang. While goaltender Jeff Lerg and the Spartans will look to forget about giving up eight goals this weekend and start playing defense.

In other action this weekend:

The surprising Michigan Tech Huskies will take their 5-1-0 record on the road against Colorado College.

Boston University will look for revenge at UMASS-Lowell before their showdown with #1 Maine at Agganis Arena on Saturday night.

Northern Michigan will go on the road against Miami in another CCHA series.

And Boston College will look to rebound from its loss on Tuesday night against Providence as the Eagles take on Vermont at The Heights.

These games and much more will be covered next week in the weekly wrap-up.

Players of the Month October

2006-11-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Here are the players of the month for the month of October.

Atlantic Hockey: Eric Ehn F Air Force (JR)- The nations leading scorer has scored multiple goals in four out of his first eight games. A six point night against Alabama-Huntsville helped his status this week on becoming the Nations leading scorer.

Season Stats: 10 g, 8 a, 18 p

CCHA: Chad Kolarik F Michigan (JR)- Kolarik is already approaching his goal total from last year in which he scored 12. Kolarik has two hat tricks already and is an early sleeper in the Hobey Baker race. Kolarik and linemate T.J. Hensick are tied for the team in points and I can't see why this duo shouldn't be the best one two punch in the nation.

Season Stats: 8 g, 3 a, 11 p

CHA: Ted Cook F Niagara (SO)- Cook has scored a goal in six of his first eight games, including a three goal performance this past weekend against Bemidji State. He is one of the players who could be recognized around the country by the end of the year if he keeps his stats up. Don't forget he scored 20 goals and added 20 assists as a Freshman.

Season Stats: 8 g, 7 a, 15 p

ECACHL: Jared Ross D St. Lawrence (SO)- Ross is a solid two way defensemen. He has the most points on the team and is averaging a point per game. There were not many teams who started in early October from the conference, but Ross is taking advantage of the games he has played. Expect Ross to improve on his numbers from last year. He is close to that now in fact.

Season Stats: 3 g, 2 a, 5 p

Hockey East: Michel Leveille F Maine (SR)- When he decided to return for a Senior season, that sparked the Black Bears and so far he is the key factor in Maine's potent offensive attack. Leveille has scored at least one point in every game so far, and if the season ended today, he would be near the top of the Hobey Baker race. I think it will happen this year, Leveille is one of the better talents in College Hockey.

Season Stats: 6 g, 5 a, 11 p

WCHA: Jay Barriball F Minnesota (FR)- Barriball is making an immediate impact for the Gophers and is quite a surprise so far. With a tough task to replace someone like a Phil Kessel and a Ryan Poltuny, Barriball has stepped up to the task. Currently, Barriball is the leading Freshman scorer in the country and deserves recognition for that which is why he is the hockeynuts WCHA player of the month.

Season Stats: 6 g, 5 a, 11 p

NCAA Player of the Month: Michel Leveille, Maine (pictured above)

Hobey Watch Oct 31

2006-10-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

Some changes yet again to the Hobey Watch, including a new player at the top position so lets get right to it.

Here is the new Hobey Hat Trick:

Chad Kolarik F Michigan (JR): Kolarik only had one goal this past week, but is still putting up some impressive numbers. Kolarik, a first week sleeper, has stepped up his game from last year. He is already four goals shy of tying his mark from last season. It also helps that fellow linemate T.J. Hensick is helping him out too. Kolarik and Hensick right now are one of the most dangerous one two combos in all of college hockey.

Season Stats: 8 g, 3 a, 11 p

Michel Leveille F Maine (SR): Levielle has scored four goals in his last two games including a two goal performance this past weekend against UMASS-Amherst. Also to mention that seven points in his past three games also helps too. Leveille is a good all-around player and is one of the reasons why Maine is the number one team in the country right now. He will continue to progress throughout the season.

Season Stats 6 g, 5 a, 11 p

Nathan Davis F Miami (JR): Davis got himself a four point weekend against Bowling Green. He is currently third in the country in scoring and is leading the CCHA in scoring. Davis is a solid player but has only scored at least one goal in only three games this season. A key series against Northern Michigan might help his status in the Hobey race.

Season Stats 5 g, 9 a, 14 p

The rest of the top five:

Brian Boyle F Boston College (SR): Although Boyle had only one point this weekend, he was still a key factor in the Eagles sweep over defending champion Wisconsin. With Providence and Vermont on the schedule (both have struggled early on this season), Boyle stats could rise and put him back on the Hat Trick, but for now he is on the outside looking in on the Hobey Hat Trick.

Season Stats 3 g, 3 a, 6 p

Ben Bishop G Maine (SO): Currently Bishop has been playing his best hockey early on in the year. Although he only had 16 saves against UMASS-Amherst, Bishop only let up one goal for the third consecutive game, and has only allowed one goal in five of his six games so far this season. At 6"7, Bishop has quick reactions and uses his body well to make the tough saves. Bishop and the Black Bears have Merrimack and Boston University both on the road this coming week.

Season Stats 6-0-0, 1.40 gaa, .944 save pct.

This weeks Darkhorse:

Chad Johnson G Alaska (SO): The name probably doesn't sound familar with the rest of the country, but so far Johnson has great stats. With one shutout against Air Force, Johnson's game has seemed to go up since that game. He has let up more than one goal only once this season. Johnson clearly should be the number one netminder at Alaska for awhile.

Season Stats 3-0-1, 0.98 gaa, .959 save pct.

Thats all for this weeks Hobey Watch. Still to come this week, the player of the month(s) for each conference, and the weekly preview which will get you ready for this exciting weekend in College Hockey.

Weekly Wrap-Up Eagles soar past Badgers

2006-10-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

The Boston College Eagles went on the road this weekend with one thing on their mind, revenge from last years National Championship game. The Eagles got that in the weekend sweep against the defending National Champion, Wisconsin Badgers.

Sophomore Nathan Gerbe got things started with a shorthanded five on three goal 5:48 into the first period giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. In a scoreless second period, Junior goaltender Cory Schneider made 14 saves in the second period, while BC only mustered five shots on goal. Late in the third BC pulled away with another goal by Nathan Gerbe and Brock Bradford added an empty netter to give the Eagles a 3-0 victory on Friday night.

The second game on Saturday saw much of the same thing, total BC domination. All of the goals came in the second period. BC scored two power play goals back to back to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead as Benn Ferriero and Andrew Orpik added to their goal total. Wisconsin would respond right back on their power play with a goal from Jake Dowell making it 2-1 with less than nine minutes left in the second period. But, the Eagles came right back as Joe Rooney scored on a breakaway to make it 3-1. And to cap off the scoring, Benn Ferriero added another goal with a little over five seconds left in the second to give the Eagles a 4-1 lead. Cory Schneider again was solid with 28 saves, and again stopped 14 Wisconsin shots in the second. His counterpart, Brian Elliott struggled stopping 33 of 39 Boston College shots in both games.

In other action this weekend:

Northeastern went on the road to Michigan and gained a surprising split over the Wolverines.

New Hampshire lost both of their games at home as Yale, and UMASS-Amherst came in and defeated the Wildcats.

Northern Michigan and Ohio State split in a key CCHA series.

Colorado College got swept for the second weekend in a row as the Minnesota Golden Gophers took care of business on their home ice.

And Rensselaer won the Governor's Cup in Albany, NY as the Engineers defeated Union (shootout victory) and ECACHL favorite Colgate in the finals.

This coming weeks games include:

A home and home series between Michigan and Michigan State.

A key Hockey East series between New Hampshire and Northeastern also a home and home series.

Minnesota's biggest rivalry between Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth.

And #1 Maine and Boston University will play each other on Saturday night at Agganis Arena.

All of these games and much more coming up in the weekly preview.

Weekly Preview Championship game rematch promises to be exciting

2006-10-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

The long awaited series between Wisconsin and Boston College has finally arrived. This two game series promises to be just as exciting as the National Championship game in 2006.

After a loss to Notre Dame in which the Eagles got trounced 7-1, BC came back the night after and defeated Bowling Green 5-1. Senior captain and one of the early Hobey favorites, Brian Boyle, was held to only one goal last weekend. However, unlike last year, there is more scoring for the Eagles. Boyle is currently third on the team in scoring with three goals and two assists for five points. The leading two scorers for the Eagles are Sophomore Brock Bradford (2 g, 5 a, 7 p), and Senior Joe Rooney (1 g, 5 a, 6 p).

BC goaltender Cory Schneider has already given up 10 goals this season. However, he played a solid game against Bowling Green with his lone goal allowed coming in the first period. Look for Schneider to be a key factor in this series.

For Wisconsin, the injury bug has hit early. Ross Carlson and Kyle Klubertanz are listed as questionable for this weekend's series, while Jack Skille is out until mid-November with a hyperextended elbow.

However, the Badgers still look strong on both ends of the ice. Senior forward Jake Dowell has five goals in the early part of the season. Freshman Michael Davies has notched two for the Badgers making him the second leading goal scorer on the team.

But the main part of Wisconsins game is on defense, and one of the reasons is the play of goaltender Brian Elliott who is picking up right where he left off last year. After all in his first three games, Elliott got two shutouts. This so far will be Elliott's toughest task facing a solid offense in Boston College.

In other action this weekend:

The new number one team in the country, the Maine Black Bears, will face UMASS-Amherst at Alfond Arena.

Colorado College travels to Minnesota in a key WCHA series.

Ohio State faces CCHA foe Northern Michigan.

And a couple of tournaments this weekend as we got the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, as well as the Governors Cup in Albany, NY.

Come back next week when we wrap up this exciting weekend in college hockey.

Hobey Watch Week 2

2006-10-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Some changes this week in the Hobey watch so lets get right to them.

The top five is a little different this week, with some players from the East checking in fcr the first time. So here is the second week Hobey Watch.

Brian Elliott G, Wisconsin (SR):

Elliott had 56 saves last week in a three point weekend for the Badgers. He let up two goals in both games against Minnesota Duluth, raising his goals against average a little bit, but he still holds the #1 spot in the Hobey watch. If Elliott indeed stays healthy throughout the season, he will be the best goaltender in the country.

Season stats: 3-1-1, 1.37 gaa, .949 save pct. (2 shutouts)

Chad Kolarik F, Michigan (JR):

Last weeks darkhorse, has stepped up his play and has himself a spot in the Hobey hat-trick. Last week, Kolarik scored his second hat trick in two games against Miami on Thursday night, but was shutout in the second game. Four of Kolarik's goals have been unassisted goals this season.

Season stats: 7 g, 3 a, 10 p

Brian Boyle F, Boston College (SR):

Boyle might of slid a little bit to the third spot, but his play has still been solid. Even though right now he is no where near the top of Hockey East in scoring, Boyle's play has still been strong. He uses his size whenever and wherever he needs to. Last week just one goal, but Boyle at 6"7 could be a tough task to handle for the Badgers this weekend.

Season stats: 3 g, 2 a, 5 p

The rest of the top five:

Michel Leveille F, Maine (SR):

In the first three games, Leveille had a goal and three assists. This week he added three goals and two assists to help lead Maine to a sweep of North Dakota. If Leveille remains consistant like that, the Black Bears will be tough to beat this year.

Season stats: 4 g, 5 a, 9 p

Nathan Davis F, Miami (JR):

A hat trick by Davis in the second game of the Michigan series helped Miami to a split over Michigan.

Season stats: 4 g, 6 a, 10 p

This weeks darkhorse: Ben Bishop G, Maine (SO)

Bishop made 48 saves in the weekend sweep over North Dakota. So far he is undefeated, and has only allowed more than one goal just once this season.

Season stats: 5-0-0, 1.49 gaa, .944 save pct.

Thats all for this weeks Hobey watch. With some big games this weekend, who knows if anything will change, but the games should be interesting to watch.

Weekly Wrap-Up Black Bear Necessities help Maine sweep North Dakota

2006-10-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

The Maine Black Bears not only swept the North Dakota Fighting Sioux over the weekend, but they swept them on the road at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, ND.

The first game Maine dominated with a 6-2 victory which included a five goal second period. Goaltender Ben Bishop's workload was a light one. He only saw 16 shots and stopped 15 of them in the victory. Michel Leveille had a goal and two assists picking up three points. Freshman Teddy Purcell added a goal and an assist in the victory.

The second night was dominated by the same two players. Teddy Purcell scored the first goal at the 3:20 mark of the first period. Michel Leveille scored two one assisted by Purcell and that was all the Black Bears needed. North Dakota scored late in the third but it was too little too late as Ben Bishop faced all tests stopping 33 of 34 North Dakota shots on goal in the 3-1 victory.

With Boston College losing on Friday Night by Notre Dame 7-1 (who also defeated Providence 6-1 on Saturday night), and Wisconsin not sweeping Minnesota-Duluth, Maine could be the number one team in the country when the polls come out tommorrow. North Dakota could be out of the top 10.

Cross State rival New Hampshire also had a big weekend as they opened up their season with two victories at Colorado College. The Wildcats outscored the Tigers 11-5 in the sweep. Trevor Smith and Mike Radja both scored three goals in the sweep. Junior goaltender Kevin Regan made 61 saves in the two games.

In other action this weekend:

Miami and Michigan split in Ann Arbor. Michigan junior forward Chad Kolarik continues to impress, getting a hat trick on Thursday night as he adds his goal total to seven on the season.

In a big surprise, Michigan Tech went to Vermont and took four points in the sweep over the Cattamounts.

Former Denver assistant and current Rensselaer head coach Seth Appert got a victory over his former team as the Engineers split the Pioneers in Denver.

And Boston University got its milestone as Peter MacArthur scored the Terriers' 10,000th goal in the 4-3 win against Northeastern. The Terriers also defeated Merrimack 4-1 in North Andover, MA.

This weeks upcoming games include:

A national championship rematch between Wisconsin and Boston College at the Kohl Center, in Madison.

A big CCHA series between Northern Michigan and Ohio State.

A big out of conference matchup as Vermont will look to forget about their weekend sweep against Michigan Tech and will look to move on as they travel to Dartmouth.

And a WCHA series at Minnesota as the Gophers will host Colorado College.

Those games and more to be mentioned in the weekly preview.

Weekly Preview Johnson and Wolverines hope for a big weekend at Yost against Miami

2006-10-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

This weeks big series comes in the CCHA where the Michigan Wolverines host the Miami Redhawks at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, MI.

Defensemen Jack Johnson (pictured above), was one of many people who had a big two game weekend as the Wolverines easily defeated Alabama-Huntsville 8-1, and defeated UCONN the next night 7-5. Johnson scored two of the 15 goals this weekend, while also tallying two assists. But the big weekend belonged to Junior Forward Chad Kolarik who had four goals and three assists for seven points. And the other big gun for the Wolverines, T.J. Hensick had three goals and two assists for five points. I don't expect the Wolverines to put up as many goals as they did last weekend, however the offense can still click with some firepower, which they were missing last season.

Miami is also coming off a two win weekend as they swept Canisius, outscoring the Griffs 8-2 over the weekend. Nathan Davis and Ryan Jones are picking up right where they left off last season, both have a combined four goals and seven assists for 11 points. The Redhawks however will need some more offense this weekend. You never know one of these teams whether its Michigan or Miami could strike at any point of the game.

In the goaltending matchup I give the edge to Miami. Billy Sauer has plenty of talent don't get me wrong, however, he gave up five goals against UCONN and only has a save percentage of .897. Sauer will improve, however the duo of Miami's Charlie Effinger (2-0, 1.50 gaa) and Jeff Zatkoff (1-1, 2.52 gaa) could be the best 1-2 goalie combonation in the country.

It is hard to predict whether the two games this weekend will be highly offensive (which would favor Michigan), or if it will be defensive (where Miami has the edge). Should be an interesting two game series this weekend.

Not to forget this weekend, there is also Maine and North Dakota. Maine is 3-0 while North Dakota suffered their first loss on Saturday night against Wisconsin where they were shutout 1-0. The series is in Grand Forks. The 3-1 Sioux will face the 3-0 Black Bears in another great matchup this weekend. The winner of this series will stay in the top five, while a split could keep both teams in the top five. Expect a grueling, hard fought series this weekend at the Ralph.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

Wisconsin and Boston College face each other next week, but before that they have some tough competition. BC will host Notre Dame and Bowling Green, while Wisconsin hosts a much improved Minnesota-Duluth team in Madison for two.

Ohio State will host Minnesota this weekend. Everyone will wonder if the fans will come after only a little above 2,000 people came to see both games this weekend against Lake Superior at the Schottenstein Center which holds over 17,000. Will a National power draw more fans at Ohio State?

Alaska hosts Alaska Anchorage this weekend.

And Niagara, Northern Michigan, and UMASS-Lowell will be at the Maverick Stampede with host Nebraska-Omaha.

Find out these results and more in the Weekly wrap-up next week.

Hobey Watch Week 1

2006-10-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

The 27th annual Hobey Baker award ceremony will be held on April 6th, 2007, the night before the National Championship game in St. Louis. But its never to early to do a Hobey watch. Here are my canidates starting with the hat trick and then the rest of the top five and the darkhorse.

The Hat-Trick

G Brian Elliott, Wisconsin (SR):

Elliott has two shutouts in three games for the Badgers this season, including a most recent shutout against a high powered offense in North Dakota. In three games, Elliott has stopped 75 of 78 shots on goal. In 181:28 he has allowed only three goals and has a stingy 0.99 goals against average to go along with a .962 save percentage. A good early spot lands Elliott the top spot this week in the Hobey Watch.

F Brian Boyle, Boston College (SR):

One game, that is all Boyle has played so far and he is already third in Hockey East in scoring with four points (2 g, 2 a). He was dominating against Northeastern as he fought for loose pucks, and outmuscled the competition. Boyle also had a highlight reel goal, as he skated down the ice, carrying a Northeastern player on his back, and scored a shorthanded goal when fellow classmate Joe Rooney passed him the puck. If Boyle plays like this all year, he will be a dominating force for the Eagles.

F Jonathan Toews, North Dakota (SO):

Though Toews did not score a point in the series against Wisconsin over the weekend, Toews still had a solid couple of games. In his previous two games Toews had a hat trick in the 4-2 victory in the second game of the Quinnipiac series, and added an assist. Toews had an assist the first game as well. Toews was the third pick of the 2006 NHL draft, but decided to stay to improve his numbers. Toews will be a solid player in the NHL, but has some business he needs to take care of in North Dakota before anything. With Maine coming into town this weekend, this game could give Toews some more national attention with a good two game series.

The rest of the top five

F T.J. Hensick, Michigan (SR) 2006-2007 stats: 3 g, 2a, 5p

F Ryan Dingle, Denver (JR) 2006- 2007 stats: 2g, 2a, 4p

This week's Darkhorse:

Chad Kolarik, Michigan (JR):

Kolarik had four goals and three assists over the weekend including a hat trick against UCONN, who also added an assist to his four point night on Saturday. If he can get back to scoring goals like he did his Freshman year when he had 18 goals, he will be a Hobey finalist come years end.

You will be getting a Hobey watch each and every week, so if you're favorite player didin't make it in, there is still plenty of time, as things will most likely change throughout the season.

Weekly Wrap-Up Wisconsin and North Dakota split

2006-10-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

After watching this weekends Wisconsin vs North Dakota series, I can tell you right now that the WCHA will be once again a very competitive league, with the two teams leading the pack along with Minnesota.

On Friday night it was great back and forth action between the two teams. Wisconsin forward Matthew Ford opened up the scoring 5:55 into the second period on a breakaway. Ryan Duncan and Chris Porter would score the next two goals for the Fighting Sioux as North Dakota took a 2-1 lead into the third period. Jack Skille scored his first goal of the year on the power play as the Badgers tied the game at two. The game went into overtime, where North Dakota Freshman Darcy Zajac scored the game winning goal to give the Sioux the 3-2 victory. Brian Elliott made 25 saves in the loss, Phillipe Lamoureux made 20 saves in the victory.

Saturday night Wisconsin had three players out due to injuries as Ross Carlson, Jack Skille, and Kyle Klubertanz. That did not stop Brian Elliott however from having another great game. The only goal of the game came 8:03 into the third as Jake Dowell scored in the 1-0 victory. Brian Elliott made 11 saves in the third period and 27 overall for his second shutout in his three games that he has played this season.

Overall it was a great two game series. These two teams will play again December 8th and 9th at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Grand Forks, ND. By then the teams should start peaking around that time.

Other results from this weekend:

Denver and St. Cloud State split at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

Miami swept Canisius.

Lake Superior and Ohio State split in a great CCHA series in Columbus.

Maine continues to impress as they scored 13 goals in two games against Bemidji State in Orono.

And Minnesota took out Wayne State, avenging their loss against Maine as they outscored the Warriors 12-2 in the weekend series.

This weeks upcoming games include:

An early important CCHA series as Michigan hosts Miami for two at Yost.

Brian Elliott and the Badgers will face Minnesota-Duluth as the Badgers prepare for another big weekend before their series with Boston College.

Speaking of the Eagles, they host Notre Dame and Bowling Green this weekend at the Heights.

And the top out of conference series includes Colorado College and New Hampshire.

All of this and much more will be featured in the Weekly preview coming up later this week.

Weekly Preview 2 Monsters collide in Madison

2006-10-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

Two of the biggest names in college hockey will collide in Madison, WI as the Wisconsin Badgers host the North Dakota Fighting Sioux for two at the Kohl Center.

Tonight will be banner night as the Badgers will hoist their National Championship banner from last season. The Badgers will come in after a win and a tie against Northern Michigan, while the Fighting Sioux have momentum as well as they are coming in sweeping Quinnipiac last week at Grand Forks.

With big names such as Toews and Parise for North Dakota, and Elliott and Dowell for Wisconsin, it might be someone else who comes out with a big series this weekend. Just look at last weeks WCHA rookie of the week Michael Davies. In the first game against Northern Michigan, he scored two goals. Sophomore Tom Gorowsky, and Junior Matthew Ford each had three assists in the series.

When you think of the 2006-2007 North Dakota squad, the two names that come up the most often is Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie last years leading Freshman goal scorer. North Dakota has a Freshman of their own in Darcy Zajac who scored two goals against Quinnipiac on opening night. Also watch out for Sophomore Ryan Duncan, he could be a big factor in this series outcome.

In terms of goaltending, it is going to be a good matchup between North Dakota's Phillipe Lamoureux and Wisconsin's Brian Elliott. Elliott, a Hobey Baker finalist last season, started off strong with a shutout on opening night against Northern Michigan as he stopped all 23 Wildcat shots on goal. Lamoureux, who is replacing the departed Jordan Parise, stopped 46 out of 49 Quinnipiac shots on goal over the weekend in the sweep.

I do not know what to expect from these two teams. While they can both put up quite a few goals on the board, these two teams can also play a defensive game. Should be interesting.

Other games this weekend include:

Michigan State opens up this weekend as the Spartans play a home and home with Western Michigan.

Denver is put up with another tough task as they go to St. Cloud for two against St. Cloud State.

Clarkson travels to New England as they go to Providence tonight to face the Friars, and Amherst tommorrow to face UMASS-Amherst.

And Maine will look to keep the momentum going after defeating Minnesota as the Black Bears host the CHA favorite Bemidji State for two in Orono.

Exciting weekend in college hockey, so get ready college hockey fans it should be filled with great early season games.

Opening Week Wrap-Up

2006-10-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Lots of excitement on opening week for the 2006-2007 season and it all started with the Ice Breaker tournament at the new Steve Cady Rink at Goggin Ice Arena.

Vermont came out the first night against Colgate and defeated the pre-season number one team in the ECACHL on Friday 6-0. Vermont Sophomore forward Peter Lenes had two goals both assisted by Dean Strong, who also had a goal, and Senior Ryan Gunderson. Goaltender Joe Fallon (pictured above) earned 23 saves in the shutout.

Miami would defeat Denver in their first round game 5-2. Junior Forward Ryan Jones scored two goals and goaltender Charlie Effinger stopped 28 of 30 Denver shots.

The Finals saw Fallon and the Cattamounts get the upper hand as the Junior goaltender stopped 31 of 32 Miami shots on goal as Vermont captured the Ice Breaker tournament in the 4-1 victory. Sophomore Corey Carlson had two goals in the victory.

The Maine Black Bears also had a victory giving Hockey East an early advantage in the third annual Commisoner's Cup as they defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-1 in the Hall of Fame game at the Xcel Energy Center. 21 seconds into the game Josh Soares scored the first goal of the year for the Black Bears and that gave Maine the immediate momentum. Freshman Teddy Purcell put away the game with an empty netter in the third. Maine goaltender Ben Bishop continued to impress people after bringing the Black Bears to the Frozen Four last season, stopping 29 of 30 Minnesota shots on goal. Senior Forward Michel Leveille had two assists in the victory.

In other college hockey action this weekend:

Wisconsin got a win and a tie against Northern Michigan in Green Bay. Goaltender and one of the early Hobey Baker canidates, Brian Elliott, had 23 saves in his first shutout on the year and 12th career shutout. Sophomore Shane Connelly started on Saturday in the 3-3 tie.

Union swept Ferris State behind great play by Junior goaltender Justin Marzek who made 76 saves and had a shutout in the series.

And Boston College forward Brian Boyle made a statement against Northeastern as he scored twice while adding two assists in the 5-2 victory against the Huskies.

Coming tommorrow: A preview of this coming week. One of the big games include a big WCHA showdown between North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Opening Week Preview: Miami set to open up a new era

2006-10-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

The brand new Steve Cady Rink at Goggin Ice Arena will open up as the new era of Miami (Ohio) Ice Hockey begins when they host the annual Ice Breaker tournament in Oxford.

In the first game Vermont takes on Colgate as two Eastern teams collide in the first regular-season game ever played at the new Goggin. Vermont will need to find an offense this year while Colgate has found a solid player in Tyler Burton (hockeynuts second team pre-season All-American). Vermont's leading scorer Torrey Mitchell returns, however he will need to improve on his 12 goal status from a year ago. Both teams have really solid goaltenders. Vermont's Jimmy Fallon had the lowest goals against average in Hockey East last season, while Colgate's Mark Dekanich is an all first team pre-season all ECACHL goaltender. Although Colgate has a solid offense, expect a defensive game tommorrow afternoon.

The second game features two strong teams from the west as Denver takes on Miami. Denver lost a couple of key players to the pros last year, but should still be solid. Goaltender Peter Manino was a key part of the Pioneers second National Championship, but yet only played in 22 games last season, as he split time with Glen Fisher. Miami has the same thing with Charlie Effinger and Jeff Zatkoff had solid seasons last year. Both teams have goal scorers, Denver returns Ryan Dingle who scored 27 goals last season, and Miami might have one of the best one-two punches in Nathan Davis and Ryan Jones, who combined had 42 goals. This could be an offensive game with all the potential goal scorers on both these teams this season. The winner of this game will take on the Vermont/Colgate winner in the Ice Breaker title game.

Also another game of note Minnesota takes on Maine in the Hall of Fame game at the Xcel Energy Center at St. Paul, the same place that held the National Championship game in 2002 which also featured these two teams. Sophomore Jeff Frazee will start in place of Kellen Briggs who earlier this week was suspended for three games for vioalting unspecified team rules. Minnesota has a great Freshman class with the likes of Erik Johnson, the #1 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Kyle Okposo another first round pick, David Fischer, a late first round pick, and also players such as Ray Barriball, Mike Carman, and Ryan Flynn just to name a few more.

Maine is coming off a Frozen Four season a year ago, and will look to make it back. Ben Bishop proved he was the number one netminder for the Black Bears as the 6"7 goaltender was a key factor in Maine's run. Michel Leveille will captain the Black Bears this season, he will be Maine's number one threat. Ted Purcell is a Freshman to watch for Maine this year.

Other games this weekend include:

The defending National Champion Wisconsin Badgers facing the Northern Michigan Wildcats in Green Bay, WI.

North Dakota faces an up and coming team as the Sioux will take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats at Grand Forks for two.

And Union takes on Ferris State in an out of conference matchup.

Not to forget that on Tuesday the co-number one team in the country the Boston College Eagles (along with Wisconsin) will open up Hockey East play against Northeastern.

College Hockey season offically begins tommorrow so lets drop the puck and play hockey.

Frozen Four Pre-Season Picks

2006-10-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I gave you my regional picks from the bracketology, now its time to pick the Frozen Four.

But first lets recap the teams who won their region.

East: Boston College
Midwest: Minnesota
West: Maine
Northeast: Wisconsin

Here are the Frozen Four matchups (with the overall seeds):

#1 Boston College vs #4 Wisconsin
#2 Minnesota vs #6 Maine

Now lets pick the National Semifinals.

We will start with Minnesota and Maine:

Maine got in with two hard fought victories over Ohio State and North Dakota. Minnesota got in by defeating Sacred Heart and Michigan. This game is a rematch of the 2002 National Championship game in which Minnesota won a thriller in overtime 4-3. The coaches are still there in Don Lucia from Minnesota, and Tim Whitehead from Maine. Both of this years squad should be strong defensively. The goaltending matchup is even, the offense pretty much the same. This will be a really good semi-final. In the end however, the Minnesota Golden Gophers will prevail and move on to the National Championship game.

Final Score: Minnesota 3, Maine 2

Boston College vs Wisconsin:

They play each other twice in the regular season (both at Wisconsin) this month, which should be a great series. The rematch of the 2006 National Championship game which Wisconsin won will be a good one. Boston College is thinking about one thing in this game, revenge. Wisconsin is looking to start a dynasty by winning back to back National Titles. This will be a game of goaltending and defense. Boston College has the better defense, but the edge in goal, a slight one will go to Wisconsin. Schneider is great and so is Elliott and they are two of the best goaltenders in the country. This will come down to an overtime game I think. BC has the better goal scoring, but will not need much as Schneider will outplay Elliott and give BC the victory.

Final Score: Boston College 2, Wisconsin 1 (OT)

The National Championship Boston College vs Minnesota:

Two of the well-known college hockey schools in the country will face each other in the National Championship game. Both teams survived in one goal victories. Minnesota is a good all around team, and BC can say the same thing about themselves. The question for the Gophers is who will stop 6"7 Brian Boyle from picking up the garbage in front of the net? The question for the Eagles is who will step up in this matchup? For Minnesota, they might have to double team Boyle in front of the net creating more scoring oppurtunities. For BC, Boyle and Schneider can not be the only impact players in this game. So therefore who will win the matchups? Minnesota is a young team with a great Freshman class, but BC has the more veteran team. In the end it will be BC with the more experience in this game, therefore I am picking the Eagles to win their third National Championship and their second in seven seasons under head coach Jerry York.

Final score: Boston College 3, Minnesota 2

Well these are my predictions for the upcoming season. The puck drops on Friday, with a number of games. Tommorrow we will preview the upcoming games including Maine vs Minnesota in the US Hockey Hall of Fame game, and the Icebreaker tournament from Oxford, Ohio, where Vermont, Colgate, Denver, and host Miami will look to get off to a fast start.

Bracketology picks

2006-10-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

The road to St. Louis begins with the Regionals of the NCAA tournament which this year will be held in Manchester, NH, Rochester, NY, Grand Rapids, MI, and Denver, CO.

Lets review the brackets and what they will look like.

East vs Northeast
Midwest vs West

In the East Region we have Boston College vs Bemidji State and Harvard vs Miami.

Here are my picks for the East regional.

Boston College vs Bemidji State:

Bemidji will make its third straight NCAA apperance, two years ago the Beavers nearly pulled off the upset over eventual National Champion Denver, taking them to overtime. This will be no easy task however, as the Eagles are coming in (at least in this bracket) as the number one overall seed. This year Bemidji State won't pull off anything, and the Eagles will dominate.

Final Score- BC 6, BSU 2

Harvard vs Miami:

The most intriguing matchup in the first round, Harvard and Miami will both go into the tournament in opposite directions. Harvard as mentioned yesterday was picked by me to win the ECACHL, while Miami struggled in the CCHA semifinal and consolation game. Although Miami had 29 wins, the Redhawks are the three seed based on their conference tournament status. Meanwhile Harvard comes in on a roll winning the ECACHL regular season and tournament. This will be a close one, and a defensive struggle but in the end the Crimson prevail giving Ted Donato his first ever NCAA touranment victory.

Final Score- HU 3, Miami 1

Regional Final- Boston College vs Harvard:

They will meet two times in the regular season. Let's add a third game however. Harvard is a gritty team that likes to take out the trash. The Eagles are a strong defensive team with a solid offense this year. This will come down to the goaltenders in which the edge goes to Boston College goalie Cory Schneider who has big game experience. In the end the Eagles will be the first team to go to the Frozen Four.

Final Score- BC 4, HU 1

The Eagles will face the winner of the Northeast Regional who has host New Hampshire and another in state team in Dartmouth as well as top seed Wisconsin and CCHA tournament champion Michigan State.

Here are the picks for the Northeast Regional.

Wisconsin vs Dartmouth:

Dartmouth has the home crowd edge in this one. Wisconsin is the defending National Champion. Dartmouth made the ECACHL final which got them the bid, Wisconsin with a strong core of talent this year will be a number one seed for the second straight year. The game will be a defensive game with two strong goaltenders in Dartmouth's Mike Devine, and Wisconsin's Brian Elliott. The edge will go to Wisconsin again because of big game experience therefore the Badgers will win a tight one.

Final Score: Wisconsin 2, Dartmouth 1

Michigan State vs New Hampshire:

The home-ice advatange will be key in order for UNH to win. After all they are the host school. And not to forget that this is a rematch from last season's NCAA first round regional in which Michigan State won 1-0. Michigan State does have a strong team this year, and will be led by goaltender Jeff Lerg. UNH has a solid offense returning and will be the vital part of their season. Kevin Regan will improve in net this year. In the end I like the Wildcats to pull off the upset over the Spartans.

Final Score: UNH 4, MSU 3 (OT)

Regional Final- Wisconsin vs New Hampshire:

The Wildcats came off an overtime victory over Michigan State at home so this will be the biggest hockey event ever to come from New Hampshire. Wisconsin is the strong defensive team, while UNH has a very good offensive attack. They do say defense wins championships. Wisconsin with the better defense wins in New Hampshire ending the Wildcats' season and thus having the Badgers heading to the Frozen Four.

Final Score: Wisconsin 3, UNH 1

So the first matchup is set with a rematch of the National Championship in the National Semi-Finals as Boston College will face Wisconsin.

So lets go to the next regional the West Regional who has Cornell, Maine, North Dakota, and Ohio State.

Here are the West Regional Picks

North Dakota vs Cornell:

North Dakota might have lost a lot of underclassmen to the NHL, however the Fighting Sioux will reload. With T.J. Oshie and Jonathan Toews coming back, the Sioux will rally around them for the offensive production. Cornell is faced with the same situation as well, losing three underclassmen. Cornell just squeezed in on the last day with a consolation victory over Colgate in the ECACHL tournament. North Dakota with its size and speed will be too much for Cornell to handle.

Final Score: UND 4, Cornell 1

Maine vs Ohio State:

The Buckeyes have the top goaltender who they recruited from the class of 2006 in Joe Palmer. Expect him to make an immediate impact for the Buckeyes. Maine has an experienced team coming back from its Frozen Four season. Michel Leveille is one of the most underrated players in the country and goaltender Ben Bishop is the most underrated goaltender in the country. Therefore I will go with the Black Bears to win a close one.

Final Score: Maine 3, Ohio State 2

Regional Final- North Dakota vs Maine:

Probably the best matchup in the regional final(s). North Dakota might have the edge offensively, but Maine has the edge in experience. Oshie and Toews will have an impact on this game for the Sioux, while Ben Bishop, last years hero from their Frozen Four team in 2005-2006 will play another big game. Bishop with the big game experience has the edge over Phillipe Laramoux. The game will come down to goaltending therefore Bishop and the Black Bears will make the Frozen Four.

Final Score: Maine 3, North Dakota 2

The final regional is the Midwest regional with Boston University, Minnesota, Michigan, and Sacred Heart.

Here are the picks for the Midwest Regional.

Minnesota vs Sacred Heart:

Last year the Gophers were upset by Holy Cross in the biggest cinderella victory in NCAA Hockey Tournament history. This year it won't happen. Minnesota is just too strong and will move on with a big victory.

Final Score: Minnesota 5, Sacred Heart 2

Michigan vs Boston University:

A matchup of two historic teams in NCAA hockey. BU might have the edge in goal with John Curry, but will still need to find a way to stop Michigan's potent offense. T.J. Hensick and the Wolverines will get the victory, therefore knocking out BU and keeping the streak alive for BU's consecutive streak without making the Frozen Four.

Final Score: Michigan 4, Boston University 2

Regional Final- Minnesota vs Michigan:

This has been a frequent thing, Minnesota vs Michigan in the NCAA tournament. They faced each other two times in the Frozen Four, both semi-final games, and both victories for Minnesota who after both those games went on to win the National Championship. I don't see any of that changing this year as the Gophers will make their fourth Frozen Four in six years.

Final Score: Minnesota 5, Michigan 3

So the Frozen Four is set.

Minnesota vs Maine
Boston College vs Wisconsin

Who will win the Frozen Four? Find out tommorrow as hockeynuts will preview the pre-season Frozen Four.

Final Pre-Season Bracketology for 2006-2007

2006-10-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

The day has come. This is the final pre-season bracketology for 2006-2007 pre-season. Before I jump into the rankings lets recap yesterday's predictions from the conference tournaments.

We will first start with the automatic bids.

Atlantic Hockey: Sacred Heart
CCHA: Michigan State
CHA: Bemidji State
ECACHL: Harvard
Hockey East: Boston College
WCHA: North Dakota

Now let's take a look at who is in for the at-large bids.

Atlantic Hockey: None
CCHA: Miami, Michigan, Ohio State
CHA: None
ECACHL: Cornell, Dartmouth
Hockey East: Boston University, Maine, New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota, Wisconsin

Out from last month: St. Cloud State
In from last month: Cornell

Now lets rank the teams, with my predicted records for the season.

#1 Boston College (30-6-2)
#2 Minnesota (28-10-3)
#3 North Dakota (26-10-4)
#4 Wisconsin (27-10-3)
#5 Michigan State (27-8-4)
#6 Maine (26-10-3)
#7 Michigan (28-9-3)
#8 Harvard (25-6-2)
#9 Miami (29-11-3)
#10 Boston University (24-10-3)
#11 Ohio State (23-12-3)
#12 New Hampshire (22-12-4)
#13 Dartmouth (23-8-4)
#14 Cornell (21-12-2)
#15 Sacred Heart (26-9-2)
#16 Bemidji State (20-11-3)

Now that you know the rankings, it is time to place the teams in their regions

The top seed in the tournament is Hockey East champ Boston College, and they will be placed in the East Regional held in Rochester, NY. Joining them will be ECACHL champ Harvard, CHA champ, Bemidji State, Miami.

East Regional:

#1 Boston College vs #4 Bemidji State
#2 Harvard vs #3 Miami

The second seed is Minnesota and they will be placed in the Midwest regional in Grand Rapids, MI. Joining them will be Boston University, Michigan, and Atlantic Hockey Champion Sacred Heart.

Midwest Regional:

#1 Minnesota vs #4 Sacred Heart
#2 Michigan vs #3 Boston University

The third overall seed is WCHA tournament champion North Dakota. They will be placed in the West Regional in Denver, CO with Cornell, Maine, and Ohio State.

West Regional:

#1 North Dakota vs #4 Cornell
#2 Maine vs #3 Ohio State

And finally the last number one seed (foruth overall) is Wisconsin, and they will be placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, NH. Joining them will be the host, New Hampshire, another in state team in Dartmouth, and CCHA tournament champion Michigan State.

Northeast Regional:

#1 Wisconsin vs #4 Dartmouth
#2 Michigan State vs #3 New Hampshire

So here is what the bracket would look like come Frozen Four time.

East vs Northeast
Midwest vs West

There are still two more media days, but come Friday, everyones record is 0-0-0. We will have a preview of opening weekend on Thursday here at Hockeynuts. But tommorrow I will give you a Frozen Four prediction from this bracketology.

Conference tournament pre-season picks

2006-10-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Today I will give you my conference tournament predictions before the final bracketology.

First lets start with Atlantic Hockey.

Play-in game (#8 vs #9 seed):

#9 American International over #8 RIT

Quarterfinals:

#1 Sacred Heart over American
#2 Bentley over #7 Army
#3 Connecticut over #6 Air Force
#5 Mercyhurst over #4 Holy Cross

Semifinals (Rochester, NY):

Sacred Heart over Mercyhurst
Connecticut over Bentley

Finals:

Sacred Heart over Connecticut (Sacred Heart gets automatic bid)

CCHA Tournament (First and Second round are best of three)

First Round (On-Campus at higher seed):

#12 Western Michigan over #5 Northern Michigan (2-1)
#6 Nebraska-Omaha over #11 Lake Superior (2-0)
#7 Alaska over #10 Bowling Green (2-1)
#8 Notre Dame over #9 Ferris State (2-1)

Second Round (On-Campus):

#1 Michigan over #12 Western Michigan (2-0)
#2 Michigan State over #8 Notre Dame (2-1)
#3 Miami over #7 Alaska (2-1)
#4 Ohio State over #6 Nebraska-Omaha (2-0)

Semi-Finals (Detroit, MI):

Michigan over Ohio State
Michigan State over Miami

Consolation:

Ohio State over Miami

Championship:

Michigan State over Michigan

CHA Tournament

Play-In:

#4 Robert Morris over #5 Wayne State

Semi-Finals (Des Moines, IA):

#1 Bemidji State over Robert Morris
#3 Alabama-Huntsivlle over #2 Niagara

Finals:

#1 Bemidji State over #3 Alabama Huntsville

ECACHL Tournament (First and Second Round best of three):

First Round (On-Campus):

#5 St. Lawrence over #12 Brown (2-0)
#6 Cornell over #11 Yale (2-0)
#7 Quinnipiac over #10 Union (2-0)
#9 Rensselaer over #8 Princeton (2-1)

Second Round (On-Campus):

#1 Harvard over Rensselaer (2-0)
#2 Dartmouth over Quinnipiac (2-1)
Cornell over #3 Clarkson (2-0)
#4 Colgate over St. Lawrence (2-1)

Semi-Finals (Albany, NY)

Harvard over Colgate
Dartmouth over Cornell

Consolation

Cornell over Colgate

Championship

Harvard over Dartmouth

Hockey East

First Round (On-Campus best of three):

#1 Boston College over #8 UMASS-Lowell (2-0)
#2 Boston University over #7 UMASS-Amherst (2-0)
#3 Maine over #6 Vermont (2-0)
#4 New Hampshire over #5 Providence (2-1)

Semifinals (Boston, MA):

Boston College over New Hampshire
Maine over Boston University

Finals:

Boston College over Maine

WCHA Tournament

First Round (On-Campus best of three):

#1 Minnesota over #10 Alaska-Anchorage (2-0)
#2 Wisconsin over #9 Michigan Tech (2-0)
#3 North Dakota over #8 Minnesota State (2-0)
#7 Minnesota-Duluth over #4 St. Cloud State (2-1)
#5 Colorado College over #6 Denver (2-1)

WCHA Final Five (St. Paul, MN)

Play in game:

Colorado College over Minnesota-Duluth

Semifinals:

Minnesota over Colorado College
North Dakota over Wisconsin

Consolation game:

Wisconsin over Colorado College

Championship game:

North Dakota over Minnesota

Now that you have an idea of what my predictions are, I will have my final pre-season bracketology tommororw. 5 more days till college hockey season begins.

College Hockey Pre-Season All Americans

2006-09-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here exclusively on hockeynuts are the exclusive pre-season picks for the all-american team.

All American First team

G- Brian Elliott (SR), Wisconsin. Last years Hobey Hat Trick finalist enjoyed one of the best seasons a Wisconsin goaltender has ever had, and could well be the first goaltender since 2001 to win the Hobey this year. Last year Elliott was 27-5-3 with a ncaa low 1.55 goals against average. Those numbers might go up a little bit but non the less expect Elliott to have stellar numbers again.

D- Jack Johnson (SO), Michigan. Last year as a Freshman, Johnson lived up to the hype. He led all defensemen on his team with 32 points last year, and will look to improve on those stats this year. Johnson is a solid two way defensemen and will see his stats improve this year.

D- Alex Goligoski (JR), Minnesota. The leading returning scorer for the Gophers with 39 points. He could lead the young Gophers in scoring this season. Defensively he is solid. The Junior defensemen is an assistant captain this year, and he will be a prime target to go pro this season.

F- T.J. Oshie (SO), North Dakota. Last year Oshie led all Freshman in goals scored with 24 goals and added 21 assists for 45 points total. He and linemate Jonathan Toews will be the focal point of the North Dakota offense. Oshie could be a sleeper pick for the Hobey this season.

F- Scott Parse (SR), Nebraska-Omaha. A prime target this season, Parse decided to stay for his Senior season in Omaha. He is the leading returning scorer in the country from last year with 20 goals and 41 assists for 61 points. Although the Mavericks lost Bill Thomas, the Mavericks still have a loaded offense and Parse will look to lead the team to its second consecutive NCAA tournament apperance. Another early favorite to win the Hobey.

F- Brian Boyle (SR), Boston College. Perhaps the biggest news in the offseason is that 6"7 Brian Boyle decided to stay at BC rather than accept a deal to go to the NHL right after the season. Boyle will be a force to be reckoned with. The Eagles captain has improved his numbers in each of his three seasons at The Heights. He could have huge numbers this season and is another Hobey favorite.

All Amerian Second Team

G- Cory Schneider (JR), Boston College. A great NCAA postseason last year lands Schneider on the second team. He is quick and has quick reactions to the puck. And also to add, he had eight shutouts last season including three in a row during the regular season.

D- Matt Hunwick (SR), Michigan. The captain of the Wolverines will anchor a veteran defense this year. Hunwick has great potential in the NHL and has amazing speed for a defensemen.

D- Kyle Klbuertanz (JR), Wisconsin. Klubertanz had a solid post-season last year and was a big factor for Wisconsins run at the National Title. Talented offensively and will improve on his stats in his Junior season.

F- Jonathan Toews (SO), North Dakota. The #3 pick in the 2006 NHL draft decided to stay in school for at least one more season. Should be able to feed Oshie the puck this year and he will score more goals this season.

F- Tyler Burton (JR), Colgate. The biggest offensive threat for Colgate, Burton and the Raiders are the favorites in the ECACHL media and coaches poll to win the conference.

F- T.J. Hensick (SR), Michigan. Another Wolverine who decided to stay, what a surprise. Hensick should have a solid Senior season and will give everyone something to talk about.

Honorable Mention

G- John Curry (SR), Boston University
G- Bobby Goepfert (SR), St. Cloud State
G- Jeff Lerg (SO), Michigan State
G- Ben Bishop (SO), Maine
D- Mitch Ganzak (JR), Miami
D- Brett Motherwell (SO), Boston College
D- Chris Butler (SO), Denver
D- Brian Lee (SO), North Dakota
F- Ryan Dingle (JR), Denver
F- Michel Leveille (SR), Maine
F- Natahn Davis (JR), Miami
F- Andrew Gordon (JR), St. Cloud State

Two more media days are left, the WCHA and the CHA. Coming soon, final pre-season bracketology.

Atlantic Hockey Media Day

2006-09-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

The 2nd of two media days yesterday is covered today as hockeynuts brings you the Atlantic Hockey Media Day results which took place in Rochester, NY.

This years coaches poll has Mercyhurst in the top of Atlantic Hockey. The Lakers recieved 96 points and gained seven first place votes from the coaches. Last season Mercyhurst shared the top spot with Holy Cross in the coaches poll.

Last years surprise team, Sacred Heart came in second place with 88 points, while last seasons regular season and tournament champion Holy Cross came in third with 83 points. Holy Cross pulled off the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history as they defeated the #1 seed in the west and second overall seed in the tournament, Minnesota in overtime. The momentum could continue for the Crusaders this season and should do well early.

Connecticut, who made a trip to the semi-finals of the Atlantic Hockey tournament, was picked fourth by the coaches with 55 points. And one more notice is that Atlantic Hockey newcomer Air Force and Bentley tied for fifth with 51 points.

The bottom of the league consits of Canisius, Army, American International, and the second newcomer to Atlantic Hockey, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Coaches Poll

#1 Mercyhurst (7), 96
#2 Sacred Heart (2), 88
#3 Holy Cross (1), 83
#4 Connecticut, 55
t-5 Air Force, 51
t-5 Bentley, 51
#7 Canisius, 45
#8 RIT, 36
#9 Army, 32
#10 American International, 13

Now that you know the coaches pre-season poll it is time for the hockeynuts Atlantic Hockey poll. There are some surprises in here just to let you know.

Sacred Heart
Bentley
Connecticut
Holy Cross
Mercyhurst
Air Force
Army
RIT
American International
Canisius

Since the Atlantic Hockey league did not select its all league team, we will still name one team anyway.

G- Jason Smith, Sacred Heart
D- Chase Podsiad, Army
D- Jon Landry, Holy Cross
F- James Sixsmith, Holy Cross
F- Ben Cottreau, Mercyhurst
F- Pierre Luc-O'Brien, Sacred Heart

Thats all for Atlantic Hockey media day. Still to come are the WCHA and CHA media days. After that there will be a week long preview before the college hockey season begins on October 6 with Bracketology, Hobey Baker Canidates, and much more.

CCHA Media Day

2006-09-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

There were two media days today, Atlantic Hockey (which will be featured tommorrow), and the CCHA. Today we will take a look at the CCHA.

For the first time in awhile the coaches and the media did not agree on who they thought would be the top team in the conference.

In the Coaches poll the tally was based on an 11 (for first)-10 (second)- 9 (third) etc. point system, while the media went with the 12-11-10-9 etc. system.

The coaches poll usually looks a little more realistic than the media. With that in mind lets start breaking down the coaches poll.

Last year's CCHA tournament champion, Michigan State, is the favorite in the coaches poll as the recieved seven first place votes and 117 points overall. Michigan only had one first place vote, but they are placed in second in a narrow one point margin. The Miami Redhawks came in third but had more first place votes in the poll than Michigan with four. Ohio State rounds up the top four.

Other teams in the coaches poll in whom they think will get home ice for a first round series in the tournament are Alaska, Nebraska-Omaha, Northern Michigan, and Notre Dame.

Coaches poll

Michigan State (7), 117
Michigan (1), 108
Miami (4), 107
Ohio State, 84
Nebraska-Omaha, 75
Notre Dame, 62
Alaska, 60
Northern Michigan, 59
Ferris State, 55
Lake Superior, 30
Bowling Green, 18
Western Michigan, 17

The Media poll looks a little different. Michigan State still recieved the most first place votes with 38, however, it was Michigan who recieved more votes, thus giving making them the favorites to win the CCHA regular-season title in the media poll. Other changes include Northern Michigan (eighth in the coaches poll), they move up four spots to number four, while Ohio State who was fourth in the coaches poll was picked sixth in the media poll. A lot of flip flopping between teams in this poll

Media Poll

Michigan (26), 845
Michigan State (38), 844
Miami (13), 800
Northern Michigan, 570
Nebraska-Omaha, 539
Ohio State, 514
Ferris State, 437
Notre Dame, 403
Alaska, 390
Lake Superior, 379
Bowling Green, 158
Western Michigan, 127

And to top off CCHA media day, here are the picks for the all CCHA team. The vote values are as followed 1st place = 5, 2nd place = 3, 3rd place = 1. * Indicates a unanimous slection

G- Jeff Lerg, Michigan State
D- Jack Johnson, Michigan
D- Matt Hunwick, Michigan
F- Nathan Davis, Miami
F- T.J. Hensick, Michigan
F- Scott Parse, Nebraska-Omaha*

Now its time for the hockeynuts picks for the upcoming CCHA season.

Michigan
Michigan State
Miami
Ohio State
Northern Michigan
Nebraska-Omaha
Alaska
Notre Dame
Ferris State
Bowling Green
Lake Superior
Western Michigan

Now here is the hockeynuts all CCHA team

G- Jeff Lerg, Michigan State
D- Jack Johnson, Michigan
D- Mitch Ganzak, Miami
F- Nathan Davis, Miami
F- T.J. Hensick, Michigan
F- Scott Parse, Nebraska-Omaha

Well thats it for the CCHA media day. Tommorrow we will take a look at the Atlantic Hockey Media day (which as previously stated was also today), and still to come are the WCHA media day and the CHA media day.

Hockey East Media Day

2006-09-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

The 2006 Hockey East Media Day began with a bang.

As expected Boston College (who shared first place on the uscho.com/cstv poll) got the most first place votes as eight out of ten coaches picked the Eagles to win the regular season. The Eagles also recieved 89 points overall in the coaches pre-season poll. There are some surprises, let's begin with second place Boston University. Picked fourth in the country by uscho.com, it would seem like head coach Jack Parker and the Terriers would get some first place votes, instead they got none but did get 78 points. Maine got the other two first place votes, however coach Tim Whitehead and the Black Bears are picked third in the conference. The University of New Hampshire was picked fourth to wind up the elite class of Hockey East.

The most interesting prediction is who will finish fifth or sixth. Vermont wound up in the fifth spot with 57 points Providence sixth by a near five points behind Vermont at 52. This will be a back and fourth battle all year between these two teams. To see who I pick go near the end of the blog.

To no surprise, UMASS-Amherst was picked seventh with 37 points. Spots eight through ten, well they are wide open as well. Northeastern was picked eighth with 35 points. To me that is a surprise. A team with only three wins last year, the Huskies are hungry for victories this year. They will make a close race for the final spot in the Hockey East Playoffs. UMASS-Lowell 32 points, and Merrimack 18 points wind up the final two spots in the coaches poll.

So what is their to expect from the Hockey East teams this year?

Expect Brian Boyle to make his temmates better this year as he should lead the league in assists and points. The captain of the Eagles is undoubtedly an all-american canidate. He will score his share of goals too. Boyle is a good possibility to win the Hobey Baker this year. Also expect a better defense this year from the Eagles, which should help Cory Schneider out.

Expect Boston University's Freshman class to be the most productive. With guys like Brian Strait (captain of the under-18 US Developmental Team last season), Eric Gryba, and Zach Cohen could make an immediate impact for this Terrier class that finished second in recruting according to Insidecollegehockey.com. Also expect another strong year from Senior Goaltender John Curry.

Expect another unsung hero for Maine to help the Black Bears make a run at the Frozen Four? Ben Bishop was that last season. This year it could be Simon Denis-Papin who makes a big difference for the Black Bears.

Expect New Hampshire goaltender Kevin Regan to have a breakthrough season. After a shaky Sophomore season in which he split time with Jeff Petresiak, Regan is the clear number one goaltender in Durham this year.

Other things to expect are the following:

Expect Providence, Vermont, and UNH to fight for home ice for the Hockey East playoffs.

Expect Maine to prove everyone wrong again.

Expect BC to possibly runaway with the regular season before their final home and home games in March against New Hampshire.

And expect the bottom of the league to be fought out between Northeastern, UMASS-Lowell, and Merrimack.

So I gave you the coaches poll now it is time for the hockeynuts Hockey East poll.

Boston College
Boston University
Maine
New Hampshire
Providence
Vermont
UMASS-Amherst
UMASS-Lowell
Northeastern
Merrimack

The coaches did not pick an all Hockey East team, but I will give you my picks for the all Hockey East team.

G- Cory Schnedier, Boston College
D- Cody Wild, Providence,
D- Sean Sullivan, Boston Unviersity
F- Brian Boyle, Boston College
F- Michel Leveille, Maine
F- Jacob Micflikier, New Hampshire

Well thats all for Hockey East Media Day, Tommorrow it is the CCHA's turn for their annual media day.

ECACHL Media Day

2006-09-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

The ECACHL held its annual Media Day today in Albany, New York. The polls happen to be surprising to me and others as well.

As I have it in bracketology, Harvard and Dartmouth are the two teams in the brackets with Harvard getting the automatic bid. That will not change come Sunday when the final bracketology of the pre-season comes out.

In the coaches poll everything seems confusing. The first place team, Colgate, had only three first place votes. Clarkson had the most first place votes with five first place votes in the coaches poll, however they are tied with Harvard for second with 101 points overall. Colgate with 108 points. And Dartmouth you ask? They are picked tied for fourth with Cornell who both recieved 95 points.

The pre-season All-ECACHL team was not a surprise however. Goaltender Mark Dekanich of Colgate, and Defensemen Reid Cashman of Quinnipiac were the two unanimous selections.

ECACHL Pre-Season Coaches Poll
#1 Colgate, 108 points (3 first-place votes)
t-2 Clarkson, 101 (5)
t-2 Harvard, 101 (4)
t-4 Cornell, 95
t-4 Dartmouth, 95
#6 St. Lawrence, 67
#7 Quinnipiac, 60
#8 Union, 54
#9 Rensselaer, 41
#10 Princeton, 34
t-11 Brown, 18
t-11 Yale, 18

ALL ECACHL Team, Coaches
G- Mark Dekanich, Colgate*
D- Reid Cashman, Quinnipiac*
D- Grant Lewis, Dartmouth
F- Tyler Burton, Colgate
F- David Jones, Dartmouth
F- Nick Dodge, Clarkson

*Unanimous Selection

The media poll has a little more sense to it. Colgate is the clear favorite with 11 first place votes. And the Media poll has basically the same pre-season team except for one, Dylan Reese, Defensemen from Harvard.

ECACHL Pre-Season Media Poll
#1 Colgate, 222 (11)
#2 Harvard, 208 (2)
#3 Dartmouth, 195 (5)
#4 Cornell, 178 (1)
#5 Clarkson, 173 (1)
#6 Quinnipiac, 139
#7 St. Lawrence, 123
#8 Union, 93
#9 Rensselaer, 71
#10 Princeton, 69
#11 Yale, 54
#12 Brown, 35

All-ECACHL team, Media
G- Mark Dekanich, Colgate
D- Reid Cashman, Quinnipiac
D- Dylan Reese, Harvard
F- Tyler Burton, Colgate
F- David Jones, Dartmouth
F- Nick Dodge, Clarkson

Now its my turn to pick the teams in order of finish on the exclusive Hockey Nuts pre-season ECACHL predictions.

#1 Harvard
#2 Dartmouth
#3 Clarkson
#4 Colgate
#5 St. Lawrence
#6 Cornell
#7 Quinnipiac
#8 Princeton
#9 Rensselaer
#10 Union
#11 Yale
#12 Brown

And here are my picks for the All-ECACHL team

G- Mark Dekanich, Colgate
D- Reid Cashman, Quinnipiac
D- Dylan Reese, Harvard
F- Tyler Burton, Colgate
F- David Jones, Dartmouth
F- Nick Dodge, Clarkson

That is all for ECACHL media day coverage. Tommorrow Hockeynuts will have exclusive coverage of the Hockey East Media day in Boston.

59 Teams in 59 Days Yale

2006-09-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour concludes with a trip to New Haven, Connecticut where one of the most elite Ivy league schools, the Yale Bulldogs are featured.

Gone this year are nine Seniors and their head coach in the previous 29 seasons, Tim Taylor, who was fired immediatley after the season. In for Yale is first year head coach Keith Allain.

So what does this year bring for the new look Yale Bulldogs?

On offense the teams leading goal scorer, Jean-Francois Boucher is back for his Junior season. He was one of two players who scored 10+ goals last season. Look out for some sleepers such as Senior Brad Mills, and Junior Blair Yaworski to make an impact on the team.

Defensively Yale gave up 123 goals last season in 33 games last season. A good sign however is that five defensemen return, so that will help out Sophomore goaltender Alec Richards. The defense might have to keep them in some games. With a questionable offense, the defense will have to improve on its game.

Keith Allain who is entering his first season and it looks like the Bulldogs will be rebuilding the next couple seasons. For now expect them to be in the bottom of the ECACHL the next couple of years.

The predicted ceiling for Yale is ninth in the ECACHL, the gutter is 12th.

Well thats it for the tour but the action doesn't stop there. We are about three weeks away from the college hockey season and as the media days come and go, hockeynuts will have exclusive reports from each conference's media days. And do not forget we do have one more bracketology before the season begins. Stay tuned as we will have reports starting with the ECACHL media day (the 1st media day out of the six major conferences I believe).

59 Teams in 59 Days Wisconsin

2006-09-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour is on the second to last day of the tour. And what a way to do so with a trip to Madison, Wisconsin where the defending National Champions, the Wisconsin Badgers are featured.

Head Coach Mike Eaves and the Badgers started 18-2-2 in its first 22 games, then goaltender Brian Elliott got injured and the Badgers finished the regular season 5-8-1. After that the Badgers found their identity and won nine out of their last 10, en route to their first National Championship since 1990.

So how will the Badgers do this year? Everyone is wondering if they have enough despite their two huge losses in the offseason in the teams leading scorer Joe Palveski, and the Frozen Four's most outstanding player Robbie Earl. But with Senior goaltender Brian Elliott staying in school, the Badgers should be up there in contention for another National title.

On offense the Badgers lose all of their top five scorers. This means there will be no offense right? Well if you think that way, then youre wrong. The Badgers still have a ton of talent and they will see if players like Sophomore Jack Skille, and Senior Ross Carlson shine this year. Also look out for Sophomore Ben Street who scored 10 goals last season. Also lookout for Freshman Mike Davies. Although he might not have the size, Davies has plenty of speed. Expect him to make an immediate impact on this team.

Defensively the only loss for the Badgers is Tom Gilbert. Kyle Klubertanz, Jeff Likens, Joe Piskula, Davis Drewiske, Josh Engel, and Matt Olinger all who played last year on defense will return this year. Also lookout for Freshmen Nigel Williams another one of the US NTDP players that was picked in the draft. He has got the size at 6"5 to hammer people. Lookout for him in the next few years.

Right now goaltender Brian Elliott could not be any happier. After posting a 27-5-3 record, with eight shutouts, Elliott became a Hobey Baker Finalist. Expect Elliott to be one of the best goaltenders again as the Badgers look to repeat.

Overall, this team is capable of going back to the Frozen Four and possibly winning it. With Minnesota, and North Dakota expected to be up their in the National Rankings from the WCHA this year, the Badgers are looking elsewhere. They will look to be the third consecutive team to repeat, all of them coming from the WCHA the last few years (Minnesota 2002-2003 and Denver 2004-2005).

The predicted ceiling for Wisconsin is first in the WCHA, while their gutter is third.

Tommorrow the last team on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour, the Yale Bulldogs will be featured. After hiring a new coach, the Bulldogs will look to rebuild quickly. Can new head coach Keith Allain get enough out of his talent to improve immediatley? Or will Yale be the laughing stock of the ECACHL again? Find out tommorrow as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour concludes in New Haven, Connecticut.

59 Teams in 59 Days Western Michigan

2006-09-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

The final weekend has approached us on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour. So lets get right to it as today we make the trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan where the Western Michigan Broncos are featured.

With only one returning scorer with 10+ goals last year in Senior Paul Szczechura, and with an all CCHA performer in Brent Walton gone, head coach Jim Culhane will need to find help on the offense immediatley.

The entire team last year was based on Brent Walton. With him gone the Broncos will need to find someone else to put the puck in the net besides Szczechura. True Szczechura is the go to guy, however, if you told me to name one returning player to score as well, I would tell you there isin't any guy on the roster who has the potential to score. But yet thats why they have sleepers. And the recruting class, well only time will tell on who will be the big shots in a few years.

The defense struggled all year last season. In 40 games the Broncos gave up 160 goals, an average of four per game. The Broncos will need to find an identity on defense or else Junior goaltender Daniel Bellissimo will be shellshocked, again. Maybe Freshman Riley Gill will step up but again expect this team to struggle on defense.

Overall I don't expect Western Michigan to do much this year in the CCHA. The Broncos will probably have a tough time getting through the rest of the league. Expect the Western Michigan to be back in the bottom of the league.

The predicted ceiling for Western Michigan is ninth in the CCHA, while the gutter is 12th.

Tommorrow, we will make the trip to Madison, Wisconsin, where the defending National Champs, the Wisconsin Badgers will be featured. Season tickets have rised to an all time high at the Kohl Center, can they live up to the reputation? Or will the losses of Robbie Earl and Joe Palveski be too much for the Badgers to handle? Find out tommorrow as we hit day number 58 on the tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Wayne State

2006-09-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues as we hit day number 56. Today the Wayne State Warriors from Detroit are featured.

After their first apperance in the NCAA's in 2002-2003, the Warriors have not found the same success. In their last three years the Warriors have gone 29-64-13 over that span. Head coach Bill Wilkinson and the team will look to improve as the Wayne State only won six games all of last year.

So where is the strong point of the team. Last year there was none. Only two players scored 10+ goals last season. The defense was not much better as they allowed 138 goals in 38 games. Now granted it was a young team last year, however not much has changed.

And to mention in the offense, only two players scored more than 20 points last season, and one of those players graduated. The other will return for a Junior year in Adam Krug. However, if he wants to step up, he will have to improve on his seven goal campagin last season.

Goaltending wise, last year Will Hooper and Matt Kelly split time each getting 19 games in last season. Hooper will probably be the starting goaltender this year, with Senior Kevin Bonikowski, and incoming Freshmen Brett Bothwell as backups.

Overall this team will struggle this year. Who knows how many wins they'll get and who knows how head coach Bill Wilkinson will find the talent he once had in 2002-2003.

The predicted ceiling for Wayne State is fourth in the CHA, while the gutter is fifth.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan where the Western Michigan Broncos will be featured as we are inching closer to the final day of the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Vermont

2006-09-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with day number 55 on the tour. Today we make a trip to Burlington, Vermont where the Vermont Catamounts are featured.

Head coach Kevin Sneddon and the Catamounts entered their first year in Hockey East after leaving the ECACHL. The Catamounts had an up and down year last season in their first year.

After winning their first seven games, the Catamounts struggled after that going 11-14-6 in their final 31 games, including an 0-4-2 record in their final six. This year, there are some questions that need to be answered.

The good news is that Torrey Mitchell, returns for a Junior season. Last year Mitchell led the Catamounts in scoring with 12 goals and 28 assists for 40 points. Although he will need to improve in the goal production, Mitchell should have a better season. Sophomores Dean Strong and Peter Lenes will help contribute this year, keeping some pressure of Mitchell.

Defensively, the Catamounts allowed very few goals. 78 to be exact. The only player they lose is Jamie Sifers. Five will return on D this year, which should help Junior goaltender Joe Fallon, who has been one of the better goaltenders in the country.

Fallon will probably be the backbone of the team this year. Even though he only won 14 games last season, Fallon had a great year posting six shutouts, and had a great goals against average of 2.02. Fallon is probably one of the most underated players in the country and should be recognized this year as he will prove that he belongs as one of the elite goaltenders in the country.

Overall no one knows what to expect from Vermont this year. While they have a veteran defense, the goal scoring is still a question mark. Someone else other than Torrey Mitchell has to step up. If they can't get any goal scorers expect another up and down year from Vermont, but if they connect on all cylanders, the Catamounts can be mentioned as an NCAA team come March.

The predicted ceiling for Vermont is fourth in Hockey East, while the gutter is seventh.

Tommorrow the Wayne State Warriors will be featured as we make the trip to Detroit as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour hits day number 56.

59 Teams in 59 Days Union

2006-09-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour hits day number 54 on its last week of the tour. Today we make a trip to Schenctady, New York where the Union Dutchman are featured.

Head coach Nate Leaman is entering his fourth season at Union. He and the team is coming off an up and down season as the team went 16-16-6 in which Union lost five out of their last six games of the year, including a first round loss on home ice to Yale.

The team had trouble scoring goals as they only came up with 90 goals in 38 games last season. This year might not be any different for the Dutchman.

Eight Seniors are gone from last years team. And with only four Seniors this year, the team will be young. Leaman will have his toughest task yet, and that is replacing goaltender Kris Mayotte. A four year starter in net, Mayotte in his career had 10 shutouts, including five last year. Mayotte started 116 games in his career at Union, this years goaltenders have a combined 26 starts in goal.

The likely replacement for Mayotte will be Junior Justin Mrazek. As a Freshman, Mrazek did start 19 games for the Dutchman, however, with the success of Mayotte last season, Mrazek only started five games last season. Senior Daniel Tatar and Incoming Freshmen Rich Sillery, and Shaun Williams will battle to be Mrazek's backup.

On offense, the leading scorer from last year returns in Senior Olivier Bouchard, however, he only scored 14 goals last year. He will need to improve his stats if Union wants to go anywhere this year. A couple of sleepers to watch out for are Sophomores Augie DiMarzo, and T.J. Fox.

On defense the Dutchman return five, and will be lead by Senior captain Sean Sterich. Last year the Dutchman allowed 103 goals. If the Dutchman have a strong point it is on defense.

Overall expect the Dutchman to struggle a little bit this year. With only four Seniors on the squad, the Dutchman will not bring a whole lot of experience this year. 12 Freshmen are coming in so expect this to be a tough season for the Dutchman.

The predicted ceiling for Union is seventh in the ECACHL, while the gutter is 12th.

Tommorrow we will head to Burlington, Vermont on day number 55 of the tour where the Vermont Catamounts will be featured on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days St. Lawrence

2006-09-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

The final week of the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour starts with a trip to Canton, New York where the St. Lawrence Saints are featured.

Head Coach Joe Marsh will head into the season this year without their top five leading scorers from last year who all graduated.

On offense, someone needs to step up. Expect Sophomore Kevin DeVergilio to step up this year. DeVergilio, scored 14 goals last year and earned all ECACHL rookie honors. Out of all the returning players from last year, they only scored 51 goals from 10 players.

The defense will be the main focal point of this team this year. The only player they lost is Mike Madill. It will be tough replacing an all ECACHL performer, however, with five returning defensemen from last year, the goalie can rely on a good defense this year. Last season the Saints gave up 118 goals in 40 games, a pretty solid defense. This year however will be a better defense. Senior Drew Bagnall will lead the defense as the only Senior on the squad. Sophomores Zack Miskovic, Matt Generous, Shawn Fensel, and Jared Ross all return. The last spot will be a battle between Junior Paul Wallman (who played in only 10 games last year), and Freshman Derek Keller.

Goaltedning wise, Junior Justin Pesony will be the starter. Pesony, had a solid year last season, winning 20 games while tallying two shutouts. With a year under his belt, and a better defense on the way, Pesony should improve on the 2.90 goals against average from last season. Classmates Ryan Thorpe, and John Hallas will be the backups.

This year, the Saints will be a young team. Eight newcomers come in including Alex Curran and Mike McKenzie, who could make an immediate impact. Expect St. Lawrence to stay in the middle of the ECACHL this year, but in the next few years, they should be back up top in the ECACHL rankings.

The predicted ceiling for St. Lawrence is fifth in the ECACHL, while the gutter is ninth.

Tommorrow we will make a stop at Schenectady, New York, where the Union Dutchman will be featured, as the countdown to the end of the line is at 5 days as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour hits day number 54.

59 Teams in 59 Days St. Cloud State

2006-09-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

A week from today we will have our last team in Yale. But for today the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour hits St. Cloud, Minnesota where the St. Cloud State Huskies are featured.

Last year first year head coach Bob Motzko led the Huskies to a surprise run to the WCHA conference finals, where they lost to eventual champion and Frozen Four particapant North Dakota. The Huskies finished 21-15-4 and Motzko earned WCHA coach of the year honors. This years team looks like it can go a step further and make it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003.

The only bad news on this team is that four out of the top five leading scorers graduated. The good news, there is enough talent elsewhere to pick up the pieces. Andrew Gordon was the teams leading scorer with 20 goals and 20 assists for 40 points and he is returning for a Junior season. Also returning are 10+ goal scorers in Senior Dan Kronick, and Junior Matt Hartman. Some potential sleepers include Senior Nate Radnus, and Junior Nate Dey.

The defense should be the strong point of this team this year. All WCHA performer Justin Fletcher will anchor the defense in his Senior season. Classmates Grant Clafton, and Casey Borer will also take a leadership position. Juniors Aaron Brockelhurst, and Matt Stephenson are also returning, leaving one spot open. Junior Chirs Anderson, and incoming Freshmen Jon Ammerman, Craig Gaudet, and Jared Hummel will be on the lookout for that final spot.

Goaltending wise, all WCHA performer Bobby Goepfert will return for a Senior season. Goepfert posted a 20-14-4 record with three shutouts and a 2.20 goals against average to go along with a nifty .924 save percentage. The former Providence Friar transfered to St. Cloud State after the 2003-2004 season. To some Goepfert could be a Hobey Baker canidate. Expect a breakthrough year for the 5"10 170 lb goaltender.

All the pieces are in place for the Huskies. The team has something to prove this year, in that St. Cloud State should be back in the NCAA's. I think now, and the future looks good for Bob Motzko and the St. Cloud State Huskies.

The predicted ceiling for St. Cloud State is third in the WCHA, while the gutter is sixth.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Canton, New York where the improving St. Lawrence Saints will be featured on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour as we hit day number 53.

59 Teams in 59 Days Sacred Heart

2006-09-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Milford, Connecticut where we visit the Sacred Heart Pioneers on day number 51 on the tour.

Despite losing in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals to Connecticut, the Pioneers still had a solid season with a 21-12-2 record, their best season under head coach Shaun Hannah. This year Hannah and the Pioneers should be one of the pre-season favorites to win the league.

The biggest weapon for Sacred Heart is Senior Pierre-Luc O'Brien. In his career O'Brien has been great scoring 51 goals and adding 61 assists for his career point total of 112. Last year he became more of an assist man as he had a career high 31 assists to go with his 19 goals. Also returning are all rookie performer from last year Bear Trapp, and Alexander Parent, who each averaged over a point a game.

On Defense, the Pioneers lose two, but return a solid core of defensemen. Senior Thomas Spencer will lead the solid core of defensemen, along with classmate Kalen Wright. Also returning from last year are Junior Scott Marchesi, and Sophomore David Grimson.

Goaltending, the Pioneers have one of the best goalies coming back in Atlantic Hockey in Senior Jason Smith. In 30 games last year, Smtih was 18-11-1 with a solid 2.24 goals against average and an great .927 save percentage. Sophomore Stefan Drew, who played in six games last year, will be the backup for one more season. Expect him to start next year.

Overall, the Pioneers have one of the most solid teams in the conference. Shaun Hannah will have a good load of talent in front of him, the question is can the Pioneers win their conference and get to the NCAA's?

The predicted ceiling for Sacred Heart is first in Atlantic Hockey, their gutter is fourth.

Well one more week from tommorrow we will have our last team on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour. But for day number 52, we will feature the St. Cloud State Huskies, one of the biggest surprises in the WCHA last year. Can the Huskies get back to the NCAA's? Find out tommorrow as we make the trip to St. Cloud, Minnesota.

59 Teams in 59 Days Robert Morris

2006-09-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Moon Township, Pennsylvania where the Robert Morris Colonials are featured on day number 50 of the tour.

Last year the Colonials went 12-20-3 and made it to the conference semi-finals where they lost to Niagara. The good news is Robert Morris only lost two Seniors. The bad news is, the Colonials are still a relatively young team.

This year the Colonials will only have three Seniors on the squad. Forwards Doug Conleyn and Aaron Clark, and backup goaltender Joe Tuset are the three Seniors who will look to lead the squad to bigger things this year.

On offense the Colonials return three double digit goal scorers in Sophomore Chris Margott (the teams leading scorer last year), and Juniors Brett Hopfe and Sean Berkstresser. Overall the three combined for 37 goals, the rest of the 18 players only scored 45 goals last year. The Colonials will need more offense if they want to make a run at becoming a threat in the CHA.

Defensively the Colonials return five. The only player they lose is Brian Mills. However, the defense must improve on becoming a unit as they gave up 117 goals last year in 35 games. There are no seniors on the defense, however they have five Juniors. Although they will improve this year, expect the Defense to struggle at times with teams such as Quinnipiac, Cornell, and Miami all of them had solid offenses last season.

Goaltending wise, Junior Christian Boucher is a returning two year starter. In the last six games last season Boucher only gave up 14 goals and the team went 3-3 which included the semi-final game against Niagara. Boucher has put up solid numbers in the past. Expect Boucher to be the backbone of the team this year. He will really need to step it up a little bit if the Colonials want to carry over their momentum from last season.

Third year head coach Derek Schooley had a four win improvement from 2004-2005. This year Schooley will have a lot of work ahead of him on an important season for the Colonials. Can Robert Morris get to the top of the CHA this year? Or will Schooley and the Colonials have to wait another year or two? Expect Robert Morris to jump around from place to place in the standings, but they are not yet ready to be up in the top.

The predicted ceiling for Robert Morris is third in the CHA, while their gutter is fifth.

Tommorrow one of the early favorites to win the Atlantic Hockey conference will be featured as we take a trip to Milford, Connecticut where the Sacred Heart Pioneers will be featured. Sacred Heart was one of the most improved teams in the country last season as they went from sixth in Atlantic Hockey in 2004-2005 to third in 2005-2006, can the Pioneers take the Atlantic Hockey title this year? Find out tommorrow as we hit day number 51 on the tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days RIT

2006-09-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Rochester, New York where the newest Division I team, the RIT Tigers are featured.

RIT was an independent team last year. After making the jump from Division III to Division I, they immediatley signed a contract to join the Atlantic Hockey league this season.

Head Coach Wayne Wilson and the rest of the Tigers will have a lot of work ahead of them this year. With out of conference opponents such as St. Lawrence, Clarkson, and Niagara among others, the Tigers will have to at least stay competitive in those games if they have any shot of making an immediate impact in Atlantic Hockey.

Last year as an independent, RIT went 6-22-2, with one of the victories coming against St. Lawrence.

Junior Simon Lambert was the teams leading scorer last year. He averaged over a point per game as he tallied 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points in 28 games last season. Expect him to be their impact player. A sleeper to watch out for is Junior Darrell Draper, the teams second leading scorer from last year.

On defense the Tigers lost two Seniors, in Marc Hyman, and Tony Bifulco. Matt Smith will be the go to guy for the Tigers on D. Smith tallied 19 points last year, and is a good all around defensemen.

Goaltending wise Junior Jocelyn Guimond will probably get the start between the pipes. He started 26 games last year. While only getting four wins, Guimond will have some Division I experience coming into the season. Expect his numbers to improve.

Overall I think it will take RIT a few years to get used to Atlantic Hockey. However, they do have a future, and the move to Division I will improve their status as a school.

The predicted ceiling for RIT is seventh in Atlantic Hockey, while the gutter is 10th.

Tommorrow we will make our way to Moon Township, Pennsylvania where the Robert Morris Colonials are featured on day number 50 of the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Rensselaer

2006-09-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Troy, New York where we visit one of the finest engeneering institues in the country, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where today the RPI Engeneers are featured.

New head coach Seth Appert is coming in from Denver, where he was an assistant for Denver's two National Championships in 2003-2004, and 2004-2005. He is coming in with a team who finished 14-17-6 last year, and lost in the first round to Quinnipiac.

RPI will have some work to do this year. While leading scorer Kevin Croxton is gone, the Engeneers will have a couple of players who need to step up their game. Senior Oren Eizenman (the teams returning leading scorer), and Junior Jonathan Ornelas should improve their stats from last year. Expect some sleepers such as Sophomore Kurt Colling, and Freshman forward Paul Kerins to make a big impact this year.

Defensively, the Engenners will need to replace four Seniors from last years squad. Seniors Jake Luthi, and Ryan Swanson are the two returning regular players, while Sophomore Reed Kipp should see more ice time. There are three spots on Defense avilable, and it will be fought out by four incoming Freshman. Erik Burgdoefer, Jason Fortino, Christian Jensen, and Peter Merth will look to make an immediate impact on this young RPI defense. Expect RPI to struggle a little bit, but to improve each game.

Goaltending wise Sophomore Mathias Lange will get the start between the pipes. Lange could see his numbers falter a little bit from last year with three new defensemen. Last year Lange was 13-15-6 with two shutouts, and played in 2041 minutes. Lange has the potential to be a real good goaltender, but he might have to wait.

Overall I can't tell you whether or not RPI will be up in the ECACHL rankings, but they will improve each game. With a young team, Seth Appert will have a team for the future, but expect them this year to fight for home ice in the ECACHL playoffs.

The predicted ceiling for RPI is sixth in the ECACHL, while their gutter is ninth.

Tommorrow the RIT Tigers will be featured. RIT is one of two new teams in Atlantic Hockey (the other is Air Force). How will they fare in their first "real" year in Division I hockey? Find out tommorrow as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour goes to Rochester as we hit day number 49 on the tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Quinnipiac

2006-09-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Hamden, Connecticut where the Quinnipiac Bobcats are featured.

Head Coach Rand Pecknold should be happy with the squads first season last year in the ECACHL as they posted their second consecutive 20 win season. This year he and the Bobcats will look to improve on that as they enter their second year in the ECACHL.

A big plus for Quinnipiac is that all of their top five leading scorers are returning. Two players scored 20 goals last year. Junior Jamie Bates, and Sophomore David Marshall will be two of the main offensive threats again this year. Brian Leitch lead the team in scoring as a Freshman, and earned all ECACHL rookie honors. Ben Nelson winds up the top four forward scorers.

But the main player on this team will be Senior Reid Cashman. Cashman, is one of the favorites to win the ECACHL player of the year. In three seasons he has totaled 20 goals while adding 87 assists, and tallying 107 points. Cashman should be one of the top defensemen again not only in the ECACHL, but in the country. Could Quinnipiac see its first ever Hobey Baker Finalist?

In goal will be Sophomore Bud Fisher. As a Freshman last year, Fisher played in 34 games, going 18-14-1 with a 2.56 goalst against average while adding three shutouts. With a year under his belt, Fisher could be one of the better goalies in the conference.

Quinnipaic might of lost seven seniors, but they still have a lot of experience coming back. Expect Quinnipiac to gain home ice for the first round of the ECACHL tournament, and possibly go to the semi-finals in Albany, New York. This is a solid squad that could raise some eyebrows all over the country.

The predicted ceiling for Quinnipiac is fourth in the ECACHL, while their gutter is ninth.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to one of the finest engenerring institutes in the country in Troy, New York, as the Rensselaer Engineers will be featured as we hit day number 48 on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Providence

2006-09-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to the capital city of Rhode Island, Providence where today the Providence College Friars are featured.

Last season first year head coach Tim Army and his crew were predicted to finish eighth in Hockey East. He took those expectations and smashed them as the Friars finished fifth in Hockey East.

The leading scorer from last year Torry Gadja, is gone, however, the Friars return four out of their top five scorers from last years team. Junior Jon Rheault, the teams leading goal scorer returns, as well as Senior Chase Watson, the teams leading assist man. Senior Colin McDonald, and Sophomore defensemne Cody Wild wind up the top four leading returning scorers.

The teams captain last year Tony Zancanaro also returns. At 5"6, Zancanro is known for his speed. What you might not know is that he is also known for his defense. Expect him to be a big factor as a defensive forward this year.

Defensively, the Friars only loss is James Pemberton. Five return and one spot is left to fill. Cody Wild, Dinos Stamoulis, Matt Taormina, Mark Bastarche, and Trevor Ludwig, all should have spots on the team, the other defensive spot will be fought out between Mark Mulhern, Austin Miller, and incoming Freshman Dave Cavanagh.

In goal the Friars are set with Tyler Sims who will start between the pipes. As a sophomore last year, Sims was one of the better goaltenders in Hockey East. He went 17-14-2 with a 2.32 goals against average while recording three shutouts. Expect Sims to have another solid season between the pipes as there quest for an NCAA berth is on Sims' shoulder.

Overall Providence should be a very solid team this year. Right now they would be a bubble team, but the Friars can easily become a team back on the rise.

The predicted ceiling for the Friars is third in Hockey East, while their gutter is sixth.

Tommorrow the Quinnipiacf Bobcats will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour hits day number 47.

59 Teams in 59 Days Princeton

2006-09-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, New Jersey. Today the Princeton Tigers are featured.

Head Coach Guy Gadowsky has improved the Tigers in each of his two seasons at Princeton. From three wins in 2003-2004, to eight in 2004-2005, and 10 in 2005-2006, it seems like Gadowsky has his team heading in the right direction.

The Tigers lose six seniors from last years squad, however, the Tigers' top three scorers return. Senior Grant Goeckner-Zoeller was the leading scorer and could be an all ECACHL performer this year, while fellow classmate Kevin Westgarth will look to improve his stats from a year ago as well as Sophomore Brett Wilson.

On Defense the Tigers lose two. Senior Brett Westgarth will be the leader of the Tiger defense with Daryl Marcoux, Mike Moore, and Max Cousins contrubiting.

The only question on this years squad is who is going to be the goaltender. Senior B.J. Sklapsky looks like the favorite to replace Eric Leroux in net, although look out for Sophomore Thomas Sychterz to be in the hunt for the job.

Overall expect Princeton to improve from last year. Though they are not ready to be up in the elite of the ECACHL, Guy Gadowsky will have his team prepared for anything this year.

The predicted ceiling for Princeton is seventh in the ECACHL, while their gutter is 11th.

Tommorrow one of the surprise teams of Hockey East last year, the Providence Friars will be featured. Can head coach Tim Army get this program back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001? Find out tommorrow as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues in Providence.

59 Teams in 59 Days Ohio State

2006-09-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days continues with a trip to the capital city of Ohio, Columbus. Today the Ohio State Buckeyes will be featured.

After high expectations last year, Ohio State ended up in a dissapointment finishing 15-19-5. The defense was pretty good, but the Buckeyes could not put the puck in the net last year. Only two players had 10 or more goals last year, and goaltender Dave Caruso carried the team last year. Don't worry Buckeye fans this year will be different.

The Buckeyes only lose four seniors on a team that was highly defensive last year. This year people have to step up such as Junior Tom Fritsche, and Senior Andrew Schembri, the two leading scorers on the team last year. This year they will only improve their play, as long as they get others to help out. Expect a breakout year for Junior Domenic Maiani, who only played in 26 games last year due to injury.

Defensively the Buckeyes will be fine, the question is who will be the one to replace Dave Caruso? Freshman Joe Palmer was one of the top recruits in the country. Expect him to make a big impact his rookie year. Although Palmer might not start right away, he should get better whether he's the number two goaltender behind Ian Keserich where he can learn, or if he indeed gets the number one position in net. Either way Palmer is the future of the Buckeyes, the question is, is the future now?

Overall expect head coach John Markell and the Buckeyes to bounce back from an off year. This team is talented enough to get to the NCAA's. Expect them to make news come March.

The predicted ceiling for Ohio State if fourth in the CCHA, while their gutter is seventh.

Tommorrow we will take a trip to Hobey Baker Rink home of the Princeton Tigers as we hit day number 45 on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Notre Dame

2006-09-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to one of the most famous colleges in America. Today we make a trip to South Bend, Indiana where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are featured.

Head Coach Jeff Jackson had one goal in mind last year, and that was to improve from the previous season where the Irish went 5-27-6 in 2004-2005. In 2005-2006, the Irish went 13-19-4 and finished in eighth place in the CCHA, which got them a home playoff series with Alaska-Fairbainks. Even though the Irish got swept by the Alaska, it was still an improvement from the 2004-2005 campaign. So what does this season bring for the Irish?

Lets start with the Offense, where Notre Dame returns four out of the top five scorers on the team. Erik Condra led the team in points with 6 goals and 28 assists for 34 points. With that perfromance last year, Condra got selected in this years NHL draft in the seventh round. Senior Josh Sciba was the team leading goal scorer with 17, he will captain the Irish this year. Expect a big year from those two players as well as Junior Matt Van Guilder.

The defense could be this years backbone however. With five players returning, the Irish will have experience on D. Wes O'Neill is a two-way threat, as he can score if you need him too, as well as play his position. Noah Babin, Brock Sheahan, Tom Sawatske, and Dan VeNard are the remaining defensemen who return from last years squad. So who will fill that sixth spot on Defense? Three incoming Freshman are coming in to fight for that spot in Brett Blatchford, Stewart Carlin, and Kyle Lawson. Junior Dan VeNard will be the other defensemen who will look for playing time this season.

Goaltending wise the Irish should be set. Davd Brown, who helped lead Notre Dame to their first ever NCAA tournament apperance in the 2003-2004 season, looked like he had got some of that experience back after only playing in 15 games in 2004-2005. Brown was 9-15-4, that was the only stat that was shaky. All of the other stats such as a 2.47 goals against average, and a .915 save percentage. Brown also got two shutouts last year. Brown will be the starter, and Sophomore Jordan Pearce will be the backup.

Overall it looks like second year head coach Jeff Jackson has a pretty solid team this year. Notre Dame is in such a tough conference though. With one through three being Miami, Michigan, and Michigan State, expect the final five "home-ice" spots to be fought out by Notre Dame, Nebraska-Omaha, Ohio State, Alaska-Fairbanks, and Northern Michigan.

The predicted ceiling for Notre Dame is fourth in the CCHA, while the gutter is ninth.

Tommorrow we will travel to Columbus, Ohio where the Ohio State Buckeyes will be featured on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour as we hit day number 44.

Bracketology 2006-2007 September Edition

2006-09-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

There is some moving around from last month's bracket so lets get right to it.

First lets breakdown the conferences and its bids. Automatic bids are in parenthesees.

Atlantic Hockey: 1 (Sacred Heart)
CCHA: 4 (Michigan State)
CHA: 1 (Bemidji State)
ECACHL: 2 (Harvard)
Hockey East: 4 (Boston College)
WCHA: 4 (North Dakota)

The 10 at large teams

Atlantic Hockey: None
CCHA: Miami, Michigan, Ohio State
CHA: None
ECACHL: Dartmouth
Hockey East: Boston University, Maine, New Hampshire
WCHA: Minnesota, St. Cloud State, Wisconsin

Now you know whos in and whos not, so lets do this months power rankings.

#1 Boston College=
#2 Minnesota=
#3 Michigan State+
#4 Michigan+
#5 North Dakota+
#6 Harvard-
#7 Maine-
#8 Miami+
#9 Wisconsin+
#10 Ohio State+
#11 Boston University-
#12 New Hampshire-
#13 Dartmouth-
#14 St. Cloud State=
#15 Sacred Heart=
#16 Bemidji State=

Now that you know the power rankings, lets place them in their respective regions.

Boston College is the top seed once again in this months bracket, but there is a little change. Instead of going to the Northeast region in Manchester, this month they will go to the East Region in Rochester, NY and joining them will be Bemidji State, Miami, and Wisconsin.

East Regional:

#1 Boston College vs #4 Bemidji State
#2 Miami vs #3 Wisconsin

Minnesota is the second seed in the tournament, and will be placed in the West Region in Denver, CO. In this region Minnesota will be joined by Maine, Ohio State, and Sacred Heart.

West Regional:

#1 Minnesota vs #4 Sacred Heart
#2 Maine vs #3 Ohio State

The third overall seed is Michigan State, and they are placed in the Midwest Region in Grand Rapids, MI with Boston University, Harvard, and St. Cloud State.

Midwest Regional:

#1 Michigan State vs #4 St. Cloud State
#2 Harvard vs #3 Boston University

And finally the last number one seed is Michigan and they will be placed in the Northeast Region in Manchester, NH. The other three teams in this region are Dartmouth, North Dakota, and host New Hampshire.

Northeast Regional:

#1 Michigan vs #4 Dartmouth
#2 North Dakota vs #3 New Hampshire

The projected bracket will look like this:

East vs Northeast
West vs Midwest

Don't forget later today we will continue the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour with Notre Dame. The season is quickly approaching us, on the horizon are conference previews and picks, and one more pre-season bracketology in October. The countdown is on, another month and five days until the regular season starts, so get ready college hockey fans you will be in for what is expected to be a great season in college hockey.

59 Teams in 59 Days Northern Michigan

2006-08-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour has hit day number 42 and today we make a trip to Marquette, Michigan where the Northern Michigan Wildcats are featured.

Going into last year no one knew what to expect from this Northern Michigan club. Some picked them in the middle of the CCHA, some picked them to be an NCAA team, and some picked them near the bottom of the conference. The Wildcats wound up to do alright as they made it to the Joe Louis Arena, only to lose the CCHA semi-final and consolation game which cost them an NCAA tournament bid.

So what does this years squad look like. Again it is tough to call. The Wildcats lose eight seniors from last years squad, three defensemen and five forwards. However three of the top five leading scorers return.

Darin Olver, Mike Santorelli, and Pat Bateman are the leading returning scorers on a team that only scored 118 goals in 40 games. Other players will have to step up if Northern Michigan wants to get back to the NCAA tournament.

The good news is that Junior goaltender Bill Zaniboni is returning. After posting an 18-12-2 record, and with other good numbers such as a 2.31 goals against average and three shutouts, Zaniboni was one of the better goaltenders in the CCHA. This year might be a tough with losing three defensemen. But the good news is that the Wildcats have size on defense coming in, with Alan Dorich (6"2), T.J. Miller (6"4), and a goaltender with size who is also 6"4 in Brian Stewart.

Overall expect the Wildcats to be in the middle of the pack in the CCHA. With Miami, Michigan, and Michigan State in the elite this year, Northern Michigan will eventually look to go back up their in the elite. It might not be now, but Northern Michigan fans will have plenty to cheer about with a solid recruting class and a good head coach in Walt Kyle who has led the Wildcats to 20+ wins in each of his first four seasons.

The predicted ceiling for Northern Michigan is fourth in the CCHA, while their gutter is eighth.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to one of the most famous institutions in America in Notre Dame. Head Coach Jeff Jackson will look to improve in his second year at Notre Dame, the question is how long will it take for Notre Dame to be back in the NCAA's? How will they fare this year? Find out tommorrow as we make a trip to South Bend on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Northeastern

2006-08-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Boston, where the Northeastern Huskies are featured.

Entering the season last year many people did not have high expectations for new head coach Greg Cronin and the Huskies. In fact they were expected to be in the gutter of Hockey East. Guess what, many people were right as the Huskies only tallied three wins all year. What does this years squad bring to us? Probably the same thing, but hey they will probably fight for a position in the Hockey East tournament.

On offense, well there wasan't much offense for the Huskies last year. Only one player scored 10 or more goals and that was Ryan Ginand. No one had over 20 points last year. Expect the scoring to change a little bit. Joe Vitale and Jimmy Russo, who were in the top three on the team in scoring last year, both need to step up this year if Northeastern wants to be competitive.

Defensively, not much better. The Huskies do return five defensemen, a defense that allowed an average of 3.6 goals per game. Senior Goaltender Adam Gearagosian will be the starter, but he will need some help. Expect Northeastern to struggle on both sides.

Greg Cronin will eventually get the Huskies out of the gutter. But for at least one more season expect the Huskies to be competitive in some games, but at the same time expect them to breakdown at some point during the game(s).

The predicted ceiling for Northeastern is eighth in Hockey East, while the gutter is 10th.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Marquette, Michigan where the Northern Michigan Wildcats will be featured as we hit day number 42 on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days North Dakota

2006-08-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the North Dakota Fighting Sioux are featured.

Head Coach Dave Hakstol has done a great job his first two years. Replacing Dean Blais in 2004-2005 seemed like a hard task, but Hakstol took the Sioux to the National Championship game where they lost to Denver. Last year Hakstol took the Sioux back to the Frozen Four making it two for two. This year might seem difficult. While only losing two seniors from last years squad, the Sioux lost five underclassmen including Goaltender Jordan Parise, and Captain from last years team in Drew Stafford. But Sioux fans don't worry, there is enough talent coming back, and there is great talent coming in.

North Dakota was relived that the third draft pick in this years NHL Draft, Jonathan Toews announced that he will be returning for a Sophomore season. Also returning is the teams co-leader in goals scored in 2005-2006 in T.J. Oshie. Oshie and Toews could be on one line this year along with Sophomore Ryan Duncan. Combined the three scored 62 goals.

On defense the Sioux return five out of the six defensemen. The only player they lose is 6"5 Matt Smaby. However, there is still a lot of size returning on D, with the biggest one being 6"7 Joe Finley. Surprise to you? Not to many in the country as the Sioux have been known to have a ton of size on defense in its history.

Goaltending wise expect Junior Philippe Lamoureux should be the starter. Though he does not have a winning record in his career, Lamoureux has still impressed people. Sophomore Aaron Walski, and Freshman Anthony Grieco will be fighting for the backup job.

Overall coach Hakstol has an important year this year as they will be tested in many ways. Can he lead the team back to their third consecutive Frozen Four? Or will losing five underclassmen be too much for Hakstol to handle. I think the team should be alright and expect them to be in the hunt for the Frozen Four again.

The predicted ceiling for North Dakota is first in the WCHA, while the gutter is fourth.

Tommorrow the Northeastern Huskies will be featured on day number 41 as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues in Boston. Northeastern only had three wins last year, can they improve from last years tough season? Find out tommorrow.

59 Teams in 59 Days Niagara

2006-08-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Niagara Falls, where the Niagara Purple Eagles are featured.

Head Coach Dave Burkholder could have the most talented team returning in the CHA. Four out of the five leading scorers on the team return, and five players who had double figures in goals return. In fact Niagara only lost five Seniors from last years team, who made it to the CHA tournament finals.

The out of conference schedule however is brutal. With opponents such as Denver (2), Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Nebraska-Omaha among the opponents on the out of conference schedule, the Purple Eagles will have a tough task ahead of them.

The Purple Eagles should be a good solid offensive team, with improvements on the defense. With goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten graduating, the position will be up in the air between Junior Scott Mollison, Sophomores Juliano Pagliero and Allen Barton. Whoever the goaltender is will have tough shoes to fill.

Overall expect Niagara to be very competitive this year, maybe pull an upset over one of the tougher opponents, and also be right up their in the CHA standings.

The predicted ceiling for Niagara is first in the CHA, while their gutter is third.

Tommorrow we stop in Grand Forks, North Dakota where the North Dakota Fighting Sioux will be featured. Also we hit day number 40 on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour, which means there are only 19 more days on the tour. How will the Sioux fare with losing five underclassmen? Find out tommorrow as the tour continues.

59 Teams in 59 Days New Hampshire

2006-08-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues as we hit day number 38 on the tour. Today we make a trip to Durham, New Hampshire where the UNH Wildcats are featured.

In the past few years New Hampshire has been an offensive team. They would usually win games 5-4, 6-5, in that nature. This year the offense is their but what about their defense?

Dick Umile is only losing four seniors from last years squad, however, the Wildcats also lost Daniel Winnik who made the jump to the NHL. Winnik was tied for second on the team in scoring with Brett Hemmingway, who both recorded 41 points. Jacob McFlikier was the teams leading scorer with 42 points, and he is returning for a Senior season. Some players to watch out for this year are Sophomore Trevor Smith, Senior Josh Ciocco, and Junior Mike Radja, each of them will be more than contributors this year. In fact one of them could play on the McFlikier, Hemmingway line.

On defense the Wildcats return six players who saw playing time. They do lose Brian Yandle, an all Hockey East performer, however, the experience will be there for the Wildcats.

Goaltending wise, Kevin Regan should be the clear number one netminder. After a solid Freshman year, Regan's numbers went downhill going only 8-8-5 with a 2.63 goals against average, compared to his Freshman year where he went 15-4-2 with a 2.35 goals against average. This will be a tough task for Regan, if he struggles early expect Freshman Brian Foster to attempt to take over the net.

Overall the Wildcats should be in the top four again in Hockey East this year. There is the potential to be a three or four team race to the top in Hockey East, and with only four Seniors gone, UNH will have plenty of experience and talent. I don't expect them to be the top team in Hockey East this year, but they certianly will be back up to the top in another year or two.

The predicted ceiling for UNH is second in Hockey East, while their gutter is sixth.

Tommorrow the Niagara Purple Eagles will be featured as we hit day number 39 on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Nebraska-Omaha

2006-08-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, where the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks are featured.

Head coach Mike Kemp and the Mavericks are coming off their first ever NCAA tournament apperance. With the talent coming back this year, I won't be surprised if they make the NCAA's again. However, they are in a very tough CCHA conference which could see five teams fighting for home ice in the first round. Nebraska-Omaha is one of them as well as Northern Michigan, Ferris State, Ohio State, Alaska, and Notre Dame. It will be an intresting battle this season.

Bill Thomas, the teams leading goal scorer last year, left for the NHL. However, the teams leading scorer will probably be returning in Scott Parse, who could be a Hobey Baker finalist this year. Along with Parse, some key scorers returning are Bryan Marshall, Tomas Klempa, Alex Nikiforuk, and Brandon Scero. That is the five out of the six leading scorers on the team that are returning. So on offense there is no problem.

Defensively it was an up and down year for the Mavericks in 2005-2006. However five defensemen return from last years squad, which will help out goaltender Jared Kaufmann who had a goals against average of exactly 3.00. Expect his goals against average to improve.

Overall Head Coach Mike Kemp has a solid club this year. The Mavericks could have the top offense in the country, and with the defense improving, this team could sneak up on some teams again come tournament time. Expect Nebraska-Omaha to be talked about come March as a team on the outside looking in. Of course there could be many teams in the country looking at that scenerio for now.

The predicted ceiling for Nebraska-Omaha is fourth in the CCHA, while their gutter is eighth.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Durahm, New Hampshire where the New Hampshire Wildcats will be featured as we hit day number 38 in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Minnesota State

2006-08-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Mankato, Minnesota where the Minnesota State Mavericks are featured.

Minnesota State had a tough off-season starting with the departure of top players David Backes and Ryan Carter, and continued with some controversy on campus. Now that it is solved the Mavericks look to prepare for the season.

The good news for the Mavericks is that Co-leading scorer Travis Morin returns for his Senior season. Morin tallied 20 goals and added 22 assists for a total of 42 points. The bad news, he is the only returning player who had recorded double digits in the goal department. Head Coach Troy Jutting will have his work cut out for him as he will try to find not only a leader, but another scorer.

Defensively the Mavericks were pretty strong last year. Four defensemen return from last years team. This will help goaltender Dan Tormey who had a pretty solid Freshman year. That is what Minnesota States strength will be this year. Expect the Mavericks to win their games on defense.

Overall the Mavericks have some issues to adress. If they want to be a strong team this year they need to forget what happened during the sexual assult case in the early off-season. I think the Mavericks will be focused now that, that is behind them and will look forward to this season.

The predicted ceiling for Minnesota State is sixth in the WCHA, while their gutter is ninth.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, where the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour hits day number 37.

59 Teams in 59 Days Minnesota-Duluth

2006-08-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Duluth, Minnesota where the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs are featured

Head Coach Scott Sandelin, who signed a three year deal in July, was considered to be on the hot seat this year. However, with the Bulldogs pulling off a first round upset against Denver in the WCHA tournament, Sandelin got the three year deal and is considered to be off the hotseat for now.

This years squad will be looking to continue the momentum that they got from last year. With only four seniors gone from last years squad, Sandelin will have a veteran team to work with. True there are only four seniors on this years squad, but the recruting has been pretty good lately. Seven are coming for the class of 2010 and some of them will look to make a big impact.

On offense the Bulldogs return four out of their top five leading scorers from last year. Sophomores Mason Raymond, Andrew Carroll, and Michael Gergen combined to score 38 goals. Junior Matt McKnight will look to be an impact player this year. He is the second returning scorer coming back.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were young last year with only one Senior leading the defense, and Sandelin played up to four Freshman Defensemen in 2005-2006. Two Seniors will lead this years defense and those four Freshman Defensemen will have one year under their belt.

Goaltending wise the Bulldogs struggled all of last year. The once reliable Issac Reichmuth, only had six wins all of last year. And the other goaltenders not that much better. However, the Bulldogs are getting a goaltender who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL draft in Alex Stalock. Expect him to be the number one netminder going into the season.

Overall the Bulldogs have a lot of potential in them. Scott Sandelin knows how to recruit talent, the question is can those Freshman make an immediate impact? Expect the Bulldogs to improve from last year, and possibly make a run at the NCAA's come March.

The Predicted ceiling for Minnesota-Duluth is fourth in the WCHA, while their gutter is seventh.

Tommorrow we will continue with another Minnesota team, the Minnesota State Mavericks. A lot of controversy with the Mavericks in the off-season, the question is can they forget about it and move on? Find out tommorrow as we continue the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour in Mankato, Minnesota.

59 Teams in 59 Days Minnesota

2006-08-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a three day trip to one of the best hockey states in the country in Minnesota. Day one of this trip is in Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Golden Gophers are featured.

After suffering from the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history last year, head coach Don Lucia and the Gophers will be ready for this years version.

The bad news for the Gophers is they lost four underclassmen to the pros. Leading scorer Ryan Poltuny, the top Freshman scorer in the country Phil Kessel, Danny Irmen, and Kris Chucko all left to sign with their teams. Between them they combined to score 76 goals and 79 assists for 155 points.

The good news, more talent is coming. Minnesota who is known for having one of the best recruting classes in the country. And this year, they might have the top class in the NCAA. Eight newcomers are coming this year including the number one pick from this years draft in Defensmen Erik Johnson. Also coming from the first round are Kyle Okposo (picked seventh), and another first rounder David Fischer (picked 20th).

On offense the leading scorer returning is a defensemen Junior Alex Goligoski (11 goals, 28 assists, 39 points). Also returning are forwards Alex Gordon (12 g, 17 a, 29 p) Ryan Sota (10 g, 15 a, 25 p), Former first round pick Blake Wheeler (9 g, 14 a, 23 p) and Mike Howe (13 g, 6 a, 19 p). Expect all of those players to improve this year to pick up where the Kessel's, the Irmen's and Chucko's left off.

Defensively the Gophers return four. The defense was a little shaky at the end of the year. In the last three games they gave up 16 goals including eight in a WCHA semi-final game against St. Cloud State. But with Johnson coming the defense will improve over time. Kellen Briggs should be the number one goaltender, however Junior Jeff Frazee will challenge for that spot. But expect Briggs to hold the fort for his Senior year, and expect Frazee to start more in 2007-2008.

Overall this could be Don Lucia's best recruting class in his eight years at Minnesota. The question is which upperclassmen will step up this year? Only time will tell between now and April if the Gophers indeed get back to the Frozen Four in hope to make their fourth Frozen Four in six years.

The predicted ceiling for Minnesota is first in the WCHA, while their gutter is third.

Tommorrow we will continue with our three day tour of Minnesota as the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs will be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Michigan Tech

2006-08-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Houghton, Michigan where the Michigan Tech Huskies are featured.

The Huskies were once known as one of the powers in college hockey. Now they have become a laughing stock in the country.

This years version looks like a laughing stock. Jamie Russel's record at Tech is 23-75-15 in three years. I say he is certianly looking for anyone to step up this year to help him out.

The top two leading scorers are gone for Tech in Chris Conner and Brian Schwartz, the only two players who had 10+ goals and 20+ points on the team. Right now I don't think anyone on the team can replace that. Senior defensemen Lars Helminen, Senior forward Taggart Desmet, and Junior forward Tyler Shelast are the top three leading returning scorers. Combined they only scored 18 goals and had 36 assists for 54 points.

Defensivley the Huskies were young last year, so therefore they should improve slightly. Helminen will lead the defense, with Geoff Kinrade, Mark Malekoff, Jake Wilkens, and John Schwarz helping him out. Then the last defensive spot will be fought out between Sophomore Mike VanWagner, and incoming Freshman Drew Dobson. Expect the Huskies to be a little better defesivley.

Sophomore Michael-Lee Teslak will be the number one goaltender again this year. If the Huskies defense improve than his numbers will certianly be better than last year. There is a lot of potential in him the question is can he live up to it the next few years?

Overall look for Michigan Tech to struggle on offense. The defense will be their main focus as well it should be.

The predicted ceiling for Michigan Tech is eighth in the WCHA, while the gutter is 10th.

Tommorrow the Minnesota Golden Gophers will be featured. Many people think this is the best team out west and also the best Freshman class in the country led by the number one draft pick in this years draft in Erik Johnson. Can the Gophers rebound from that upset loss to Holy Cross in last year's tournament? Find out tommorrow as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour in Minneapolis.

59 Teams in 59 Days Michigan State

2006-08-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues as we hit day number 32. Today we go to East Lansing, Michigan where the Michigan State Spartans are featured.

Last year the Spartans captured the CCHA tournament title which led them to a number one seed in the East Regional in Albany. However the Spartans who had won 11 of 13 going 11-1-1 in that span, lost to Maine in the regional final.

Drew Miller the team's leading scorer and the captain of the Spartans last year left for the NHL. However, six out of the top nine scorers on the team return. True the Spartans will miss Miller. He had 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points. And true they will miss his leadership, however, the Spartans have a veteran team coming back and will look to make a run for their first Frozen Four apperance since 2001.

Defensively The Spartans look strong. Senior Tyler Howells will play both forward and defense like he did last year. His classmates Seniors Ethan Graham, Chris Snavely, and Brandon Warner all return on a veteran team. Goaltender Jeff Lerg will be the number one goaltender. The 5"6 Sophomore goaltender went 17-6-6 and was a key factor in the Spartans run late in the year. Senior Dominic Vicari will back up Lerg. He is one of the top backup goaltenders in the country and could start for a lot of other teams in the country. When you put it all together, this leads to a conclusion that the Spartans are going to be one of the best defensive teams in the country.

Head Coach Rick Comley has not been to a Frozen Four since 1991 with Northern Michigan where he won his only National Championship in his coaching career. Comley is approaching win number 700 (needs 12 more to get there) and is curently third among active coaches in wins. He is only behind Jack Parker of BU, and Jerry York of BC, who both have 700 wins. Comley will have a lot of talent in front of him, can he lead the Spartans back to the Frozen Four?

The predicted ceiling for Michigan State is first in the CCHA, while their gutter is third.

Tommorrow the Michigan Tech Huskies will be featured as we hit day number 33 on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Michigan

2006-08-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

After a week off, the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour resumes with a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the Michigan Wolverines are featured.

Last year was an up and down year for the Wolverines as the Wolverines started off 9-1-1 in their first 11 games. After that it went downhill as Michigan finished 12-14-4 in their final 30 games of the year. It was a young team last year however, and with most of the players coming back such as Sophomore Defensmen Jack Johnson, and Senior forward T.J. Hensick, the Wolverines look like a really solid team.

Head Coach Red Berenson signed a three year contract extension. This pretty much guarntees that Berenson will be spending the rest of his coaching career in Michigan.

With a reasonable schedule this year, the Wolverines will be prepared for anything thats coming their way. Some tough opponents such as Wisconsin, and Minnesota will test the club to see if they belong back in the elite. And with four out of their eight out of conference games at home [Alabama-Huntsville, Connecticut, and Northeastern (2)] Michigan should have a good early start.

While the out of conference schedule seems resonable for Michigan, the conference schedule looks like it could be tough. They only have to face defending CCHA regular-season champ Miami twice, both which will be on campus which is the good news. The bad news is, the Wolverines will face Michigan State four times and only one of those games at home. However mark down Febuary 10 on the calender because those two will face each other in a showdown at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Overall look for the Wolverines to be back, and better than last year. Billy Sauer will be the clear number one goaltender and that will be a huge relief for Red Berenson who had Sauer and Noah Ruden split time. Expect Sauer's numbers to improve.

With five out of the top six leading scorers returning, expect Michigan to be there offensively, and defensively they have already improved. Will this be the year for their 10th National Championship?

The ceiling for Michigan is first in the CCHA, while their gutter is fourth.

Tommorrow the tour hits day number 32 with a stop to East Lansing, Michigan, where the Michigan State Spartans will be featured.

59 Teams in 59 Days Miami

2006-08-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with day number 30 as we head to Oxford, Ohio where the Miami Redhawks are featured.

Head Coach Enrico Blasi, last years National coach of the year, took the Redhawks from a middle of the pack CCHA team in 2004-2005, to a CCHA regular season championship in 2005-2006. This year the Redhawks will look to stay up their in the elite class with Michigan and Michigan State.

Miami only lost five Seniors from last year, which means they have a veteran team coming back. Ryan Jones, one of the assistant captains as a Sophomore last year, and will probably be the teams captain this year. Jones scored 22 goals last year after just eight in 2004-2005. He and linemate Nathan Jones (the teams leading scorer from last year) who also had 20 goals is one of the best one-two scoring duos in the country. Also look out for Defensmen Mitch Ganzak who lead the team in assists last year. He could be one of the sleepers to watch out for.

Defensively Miami looks strong. They return five players who saw varsity action last year including Ganzak, and classmate Brad Robbins, along with Sophomores, Raymond Eichenlaub, Alec Martinez, and Kevin Roeder.

Goaltending wise expect Junior Charlie Effinger, and Sophomore Jeff Zatkoff to split time once again. Combined the two went 28-9-4 and also combined for four shutouts (three for Zatkoff and one for Effinger). This is arguably the best one-two goaltending duos in the country.

Overall Miami not only looks like a CCHA championship competitor, but also could be a Frozen Four competitor come NCAA tournament time. This is probably the best team Blasi has had in his eighth season at Miami.

The predicted ceiling for the Redhawks is first in the CCHA, while their gutter is third.

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour will continue a week from this coming Sunday. Why so? It's because I will be on vacation and the place im staying at is not wireless. But when we return with the tour, we will pick up with one of the most historic universities in college hockey and that is Michigan. Will this year be the year that Michigan gets their tenth National Title? Find out next Sunday as we make a stop to Ann Arbor on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour as we hit day number 31.

59 Teams in 59 Days Merrimack

2006-08-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 days tour continues with a trip to North Andover, Massachusetts where the Merrimack Warriors are featured.

Last year first year head coach Mark Dennehy and the Warriors matched there win total from 2004-2005 with only six wins. This year could be different.

Merrimack had a young team last year, but were very competitive. Sophomore Rob Ricci was the teams leading scorer with 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points. The only other player last year with 10+ goals was Matt Johnson. In all Merrimack totaled 64 goals in 34 games averaging less than two goals per game. With a year under his belt, Ricci could become a pretty good goal scorer, he will need some help however. Expect a sleeper to emerge for the Warriors this year.

The defense was not that much better giving up 114 goals in 34 games. Three Seniors leave from that team, so expect the defense to be youthful this year. Whoever the goalie might be whether its Sophomore Patrick Watson, or Senior Jim Healy, the Warriors will have a lot of work to do if they want to be better on Defense.

Overall I think Merrimack could disturb the Hockey East race this year. Also with an out of conference schedule that can favor the Warriors. With opponents such as Alaska-Anchorage, Brown, and Robert Morris (twice), there could be a boost of confidence if the Warriors indeed go 4-0 in those games. Expect the Warriors to fight for the eighth and final playoff spot in Hockey East along with UMASS-Lowell, and Northeastern.

The predicted ceiling for Merrimack is eighth in Hockey East, while the gutter is 10th.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Oxford, Ohio where the Miami Redhawks will be featured. National Coach of the year Enrico Blasi helped guide the Redhawks to their first regular-season CCHA title since 1993, now he is back for even better things. Can the Redhawks go from a middle of the road team to a Frozen Four competitor? Find out Tommorrow as we hit day 30 on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Mercyhurst

2006-08-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Erie, Pennsylvania where the Mercyhurst Lakers are featured.

In 2004-2005 the Lakers nearly stunned the number one team in the country in the Boston College Eagles in the NCAA tournament. Last year expectations were high but they could not exceed those expectations of making a second straight NCAA tournament apperance. So what does this year bring?

The Lakers lose Defensmen Jamie Hunt, who left for the Washington Capitals, and Last years leading scorer Dave Borrelli. So for this year who will pick up the pieces for the Lakers?

Mercyhurst does return Junior Ben Cottreau, and Senior Scott Champagne who were the second and third leading scorers on the team. In addition to that the Lakers also return key players such as Chris Trafford, Ryan Toomey, and Kyle Gourgon. But what about a sleeper? Well lets just go with Junior Matt Warren for now, he could be due for a big year.

Defensively the Lakers return four, which should help goaltender Tyler Small who had a solid Freshman season last year.

Overall head coach Rick Gotkin has a strong team despite losing a good amount of players. Expect Mercyhurst to be very competitive this year while they look for their second NCAA apperance in three years.

The Ceiling for Mercyhurst is first in Atlantic Hockey, while their gutter is fifth.

Tommorrow the Merrimack Warriors will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues. Will this be a step up year for the Warriors? Find out tommorrow as day we hit day number 28.

59 Teams in 59 Days UMASS-Lowell

2006-08-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to the original industrial city Lowell, Massachusetts. Today the UMASS-Lowell Riverhawks will be featured.

Last year head coach Blaise MacDonald and the Riverhawks looked like a team on the rise after a solid 2004-2005 season. However with Ben Walter leaving early and 2004-2005 Hockey East Rookie of the year goaltender Peter Vetri not playing up to his potential, the Riverhawks stumbled going 14-20-2 in 2005-2006, and finished in seventh place in Hockey East.

This years version does not seem to be promising. With Vetri leaving school, there is a big question mark in goal. Four of the Riverhawks' leading scorers are gone, and the defense which gave up 132 goals in 36 games does not look like it will improve.

So the first question for the Riverhawks is who will start in net? Sophomore Vinny Monaco only played in three games last year is the favorite to replace Vetri.

The next question is who will be the main offensive threat for Lowell? Seniors Jason Tejchma and Jeremy Hall are the teams leading returning scorers so look for them to lead the offense for the Riverhawks.

And the final question is will Blaise MacDonald be on the hot seat? I would say right now yes. It was rumored that he was interested in the Niagara Athletic Director position. However, if MacDonald exceeds expectations by some people this year (which is basically to stay out of the bottom of Hockey East) than he might be kept for another season. Otherwise come April look for UMASS-Lowell to look for another coach.

Overall Lowell is going to be a little inexperienced. Expect Lowell to be fighting for a Hockey East playoff spot this season with Merrimack and Northeastern.

The predicted ceiling for UMASS-Lowell is eighth in Hockey East, while the gutter is 10th.

Tommorrow the Mercyhurst Lakers will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues on day number 28 as we travel to Erie, Pennsylvania.

Bracketology August Edition 2006-2007

2006-08-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

With some major changes in this months bracketology, we should get right to work.

First let's breakdown the conferences and its projected bids:

CCHA: 4
Hockey East: 4
WCHA: 4
ECACHL: 2
Atlantic Hockey: 1
CHA: 1

Now that you know the conference bids lets do this month's power rankings.

#1 Boston College=
#2 Minnesota=
#3 Michigan+
#4 Harvard+
#5 Boston University-
#6 Maine=
#7 Michigan State+
#8 North Dakota+
#9 New Hampshire=
#10 Wisconsin-
#11 Miami+
#12 St. Cloud State-
#13 Ohio State+
#14 Dartmouth-
#15 Sacred Heart=
#16 Bemidji State+

Out from last month: Denver, Northern Michigan, Niagara.

Now that the rankings are done lets place them in their regions.

The Boston College Eagles are the number one seed in this months brackets, and they will be placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, New Hampshire. Joining them will be the host team the New Hampshire Wildcats, North Dakota, and Bemidji State.

Northeast Regional (Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH):

#1 Boston College vs #4 Bemidji State
#2 North Dakota vs #3 New Hampshire

The second overall seed and a number one seed in the West Regional is Minnesota, and joining them will be Michigan State, Sacred Heart, and Wisconsin.

West Regional (Pepsi Center, Denver, CO):

#1 Minnesota vs #4 Sacred Heart
#2 Michigan State vs #3 Wisconsin

The third overall seed and the number one seed in the Midwest Regional are the Michigan Wolverines. Their region has Dartmouth, Maine, and Miami.

Midwest Regional (Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan)

#1 Michigan vs #4 Dartmouth
#2 Maine vs #3 Miami

And the final number one seed and fourth overall seed are the Harvard Crimson, and they will be placed in the East Regional with Boston University, Ohio State, and St. Cloud State.

East Regional (Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY)

#1 Harvard vs #4 Ohio State
#2 Boston University vs #3 St. Cloud State

The brackets would look like this

Northeast vs East
Midwest vs West

Well next month will be the last preseason bracketology. As we get closer to the season don't forget about the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour as it hits day number 26 tommorrow, also don't forget about conference previews, picks, and preseason all americans.

59 Teams in 59 Days UMASS

2006-08-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Amherst, Massachusetts where the UMASS Minutemen are featured.

Last year the head coach Don Cahoon and the Minutemen started off real slow at the begginning of the year going 1-7 in their first eight games. Although they finished 13-21-2, the Minutemen can take a lot of what they learned last year into this year.

There might of only been two 10+ goal scorers last year in Seniors Marvin Degon and Stephen Werner, and they might not be back this year, but expect UMASS to score more this year. With the potential of this team which includes Sophomore Chris Davis and Junior P.J. Fenton who should both see their numbers go up, the Minutemen could be better in the scoring department. Also look out for Cory Quirk.

Defensively the Minuteman return five players. This could help Sophomore goaltender Jon Quick improve from last year. Even though Quick went 4-10-1, he had a huge win in Febuary against Boston College their biggest win of the year. Quick made 47 saves in the victory.

UMASS welcomes eight incoming Freshmen this year all of them could step up immediatley. Five of the eight recruits came from the USHL. Overall look for those players to come up and make an impact.

Overall UMASS is going to keep improving every year. Expect them to sneak up on some teams in Hockey East.

The predicted ceiling for the Minutemen is fourth in Hockey East, while the gutter is seventh.

Tommorrow we will take a trip to Lowell, and we will feature the third consecutive Hockey East team the UMASS-Lowell Riverhawks as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues.

59 Teams in 59 Days Maine

2006-08-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues as we are on day number 25. This time we make a trip to Orono, Maine where the Maine Black Bears are featured.

Last year head coach Tim Whitehead led the Black Bears to their fourth Frozen Four in Seven years, and three in his first five seasons at Maine. So what does this year bring? Well there is a lot of talent on this team and they prove time and time again that people should not underestimate them.

Last year the Black Bears were picked fourth in Hockey East. However with the emergince of a 6"7 goaltender in Ben Bishop, and a goal scorer in Greg Moore, the Black Bears finished second in Hockey East. After their loss to Boston College, many people thought if BC won the Hockey East Tournament than Maine would be out. BU won Maine was a #3 seed in Albany, and they defeated two very tough teams in Harvard, and Michigan State as they made the trip to the Frozen Four.

This year again do not underestimate the Black Bears. Two 40+ point players in Josh Soares, and Michel Leveille both return for their Senior seasons. While losing Moore and Derek Damon are big, expect Junior Billy Ryan to come up big this year.

Defensively Maine lost two in Travis Wright and Steve Mullin. However they do return four and one of the biggest returnies will be Simon Denis-Pepin. Pepin is another 6"7 guy who loves to hit. So good that the Chicago Blackhawks drafted him in the second round of this years draft making him the second Hockey East player selected (the first was incoming Freshman Carl Sneep of BC who was drafted with the second pick of the second round). Also returning is classmate of Pepin, Matt Duffy, Senior Mike Lundin, and Juniors Bret Tyler and Travis Ramsey. The final two spots on D will be fought out between Sophomores Christopher Hahn, and Bryan Plaszcz, and incoming Freshman Brett Carriere. Overall Ben Bishop has a lot of support in front of him.

Although the Defense will be the focal point on the team, the Offense looks pretty solid as well. Look for this team to make another run at the Frozen Four this year.

The predicted Ceiling for Maine is first in Hockey East, while their gutter is fourth.

Tommorrow the UMASS Minuteman will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues in Amherst, Massachusetts.

59 Teams in 59 Days Lake Superior

2006-08-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan where the Lake Superior Lakers are featured.

Last year was an up and down year for first year head coach Jim Rogue and the Lakers, but the Lakers lost six out of their last seven games, which included being swept in the CCHA tournament in the first round as eleventh seed Western Michigan upset the Lakers.

The defense was solid for the Lakers last year as they gave up 84 goals. However, the offense struggled for much of the season, as they scored only 93 goals. Trent Campbell was the teams leading scorer as he was the only Laker to score 10+ goals. How Lake Superior survived I don't know but they managed to be on the NCAA tournament watch for some of the year.

This years version looks very different from last years squad. Lake Superior graduated 11 Seniors this past season. That is alot of Seniors to lose in one year. So who will step up this year for the Lakers?

Other than Seniors Trent Campbell, and Goaltender Jeff Jakaitis, there might not be much support for them all year. Someone has to step up and score goals. It didin't happen last year and I dont see it happening this year. However, the defense will still be alright. Its just a matter of who will step up and score the goals.

This team is unpredictable. The Lakers have a ton of potential, but people will have to step up this year. I don't see that happening this year, but in a couple of years the Lakers might be back up in the elite of the CCHA.

The predicted ceiling for Lake Superior is ninth in the CCHA, while the gutter is 12th.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Oreno, Maine where the tour hits its 25th day as we pay a visit to the University of Maine. The Black Bears made their third Frozen Four in five seasons under head coach Tim Whitehead, can the Black Bears make it four in six? Find out tommorrow as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues.

59 Teams in 59 Days Holy Cross

2006-08-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Worcester, Massachusetts where the Holy Cross Crusaders are featured.

Earlier this off-season head coach Paul Pearl got himself a contract extension. Some of that was due to Holy Cross' amazing upset over the top seed in the region (and the number two team in the NCAA tournament) Minnesota. Even though the Crusaders lost to North Dakota in the regional finals, Pearl and his team made headlines throughout the college hockey world.

This years team will look to repeat their performance from last year. However, the Crusaders will have to do it without some key players from last year including the conferences leading scorer in Tyler McGregor, The leading assist man on the team in Pierre Napert-Frenette, and all Atlantic Hockey goaltender Tony Quesada.

So who will replace these all league performers? James Sixsmith was the third leading scorer on the team last year, so expect another solid season from him.

Replacing Quesada will be tough. But whoever the goalie may be, whether its Sophomore Charlie Lockwood, or whether it will be an upcoming Freshman this year such as Tyler Chestnut and Ian Dams, they will have five returning defensemen from last years squad.

Overall the Crusaders look solid and might be able to make another apperance in the NCAA's as they should be one of the favorites to win Atlantic Hockey.

The ceiling for Holy Cross is first in Atlantic Hockey, while the gutter is fourth.

Tommorrow we will travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan where the Lake Superior Lakers will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour will hit day number 24.