ECAC Hockey again sent two teams to the NCAA tournament this year, and league champion Yale pulled off an upset of 2nd seeded North Dakota in the first round, and was some average goaltending away from advancing to the Frozen Four. Cornell suffered a disappointing loss to UNH in the 1st round, but top to bottom ECAC hockey had a very good year, with Union on the verge of an NCAA berth and Quinnipiac playing some very good hockey, especially early in the season.
Player of the year – Broc Little, Yale
Little led the country in goals per game (.79) and [...]

Recently the Hobey Baker Memorial Award foundation announced the Hobey Hat Trick finalists for the 2010 Hobey Baker award. They are:
Bobby Butler, F, New Hampshire
Butler is the nation’s leading goal scorer with 29 goals. He also was tied for 2nd with 53 points. He was 5th nationally in points per game (1.36) and 2nd in goals per game (.74) for the Hockey East regular season champions.
Blake Geoffrion, F, Wisconsin
Geoffrion finished tied for 4th in goals per game, as well as tied for 2nd in total goals (.71 and 27 respectively) for Wisconsin, who earned a trip to the Frozen Four [...]

Last year Atlantic Hockey champion Air Force upset 1 seed Michigan in the first round and were an overtime period away from advancing to the Frozen Four. This year, RIT built on the foundation laid by their league-mates and upset Denver in the first round before dominating UNH to make it to the Frozen Four in Detroit. Whether or not RIT takes home the title, these past two years have been a huge credibility boost for Atlantic Hockey, whose top half has been legitimized over the past couple years. With the additions of Niagara and Robert Morris next year, the [...]

Quick rundown of the schedule for the past two weeks. This week I’ll be running down the awards for each of the six conferences, and next week will be five days of Frozen Four preview glory: key matchups, storylines, interviews, etc.
For now, though, let’s check out some CHA awards:
Player of the year – Matt Read, Bemidji State
Read was second in the conference in goals with 19 and second in points with 41. Read surpassed his point total from last year (40) while setting a career high in goals. Read has nearly a +60 +/- over his career.
Rookie of the year [...]

From Brad Schlossman’s Twitter, DU defenseman Patrick Wiercioch will sign with the Ottawa Senators. The Sophomore is expected to go directly to Ottawa.
Wiercioch went 6-21–27 for the regular season champions despite missing a couple games due to injury. He was an all league selection both of his years with the Pioneers.
New Hampshire Senior Bobby Butler also signed with the Senators. Butler led the nation with 29 goals for the Wildcats. He was second in goals per game to only Yale’s Broc Little.
Starting tonight will be my conference awards for each of the six leagues.

RIT 6, New Hampshire 2: Tyler Brenner had 2 goals, Tyler Mazzei had a goal and an assist and Jared DeMichiel had 24 saves as RIT won  a trip to its first ever Frozen Four. Congrats to Wayne Wilson and the Tigers.
Wisconsin 5, St. Cloud State 3: Mike Lee got yanked from another big game after allowing 3 goals on just 11 shots. Blake Geoffrion had a goal and 2 assists for the Badgers, and John Mitchell had two goals for Wisconsin as the Badgers make their first Frozen Four since they won the title in 2006.
In regional semis action, [...]

…Nothing! Seriously, comparing conferences based on how one team does in a single elim tourney is dumb dumb dumb.
Still, RIT’s 2-1 upset of Denver, I think, certainly confirmed that the top teams in Atlantic Hockey can compete with anyone, and the league only gets stronger next year with the additions of Niagara and Robert Morris. Hats off to RIT for winning their first NCAA tournament game. I’m sure St. Cloud is jealous.

The Northeast Regional is, top to bottom, the most competitive one out there. It features a regular season champ, and two tourney champs. Two of the teams have tournament experience from last year, and two have Frozen Four experience. The teams are deep, experienced, and talented on both sides of the puck. In short, this region’s winner will be sufficiently tested and that much more ready to win a national title.
1. Boston College (25-10-3)
How Qualified: Hockey East Champions
NCAA Titles: 3 (last in 2008)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 29 (last in 2008)
The Eagles achieved a rare feat this year: they scored the most [...]