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Merrimack 6, Maine 2: Merrimack got two goals from Jesse Todd and 24 saves from Joe Cannata to move into third in Hockey East with two games in hand over the second and first place teams. Spencer Abbott had his 12th of the year for the Black Bears.

Union 2, Harvard 0: Union got goals from Mat Bodie and Kelly Zajac to move into 2nd in ECAC Hockey. Tony Grosenick stopped all 18 Crimson shots.

Michigan 4, Ohio State 0: The two teams will tangle at Progressive Field tonight, but it was the Wolverines who got the best of their rivals in Columbus. Shawn Hunwick was fantastic, stopping all 46 Buckeye shots.

North Dakota 2, Minnesota 1: North Dakota overcame injury woes and a reckless hit by Danny Kristo to defeat their rivals 2-1 with a late goal by Brock Nelson. Andrew MacWilliam also had his first goal of his career in the win as the Sioux move to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

St. Cloud State Sophomore Cam Reid has left the school for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. Reid has 6 goals and 15 points in 22 games for the Huskies this year, and finishes his college career with 14 goals and 30 assists in 59 games.

Reid was the 192nd overall pick by Nashville in the 2009 draft, and while he’s been OK in college I doubt that megariches await him in the NHL, so perhaps a college degree would have come in handy. (even if it’s only from St. Cloud State. Zing).

North Dakota and Clarkson played in Winnipeg this weekend, and by all accounts it was a huge success. Having Winnipeg just a couple of hours away from Grand Forks helps, but I imagine the event will help open the doors to more events in Canada in the future.

Arctice Ice Hockey had an interview with Paul Kelly, where he talks a bit about the general challenges of opening potential recruits’ eyes to the benefits of playing college hockey, but he also noted that they’re looking at making this a semi-regular occurrence. Toronto could end up hosting a Frozen Four which, passport issues aside, would probably be a fantastic event.

The last two points Kelly touched on that are important is they hope the NCAA will tweak eligibility rules so that players who play in fewer than 10 CHL games would still be eligible for college hockey. Obviously the easy work around on this is to just have coaches make sure kids play 11 games and then they’re screwed, but it still helps. The other, more important one, is making kids who commit to a college and sign a LOI off limits to CHL recruitment. This probably won’t stop the under the table payments from some OHL teams, but hopefully more kids will get a season of college hockey under their belt and then get to make their decision based on facts and their own experiences rather than what they hear through the grapevine.

1. Minnesota Duluth (14-3-3) (10-2-2)

Duluth is on a 16 game unbeaten streak, and they’re undefeated on the road this year. But most impressive has been the play of Kenny Reiter, whose .919 save percentage in conference play ranks 2nd in the WCHA.

2. Ohio State (14-4-3) (10-3-3)

All eyes will be on Cleveland this weekend, as the Buckeyes host rival Michigan at Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians. Now if only they could get Harry Doyle to announce.

3. Merrimack (11-4-4) (7-3-2)

The Warriors are significantly better on the road than at home this year, but have a chance to reverse that with their next six games coming at home, the first two with Maine.

4. Notre Dame (13-6-3) (8-3-3)

Riley Sheahan has been fantastic for the Irish this year: His 7 goals in 20 games already marks a career high, and he’s one point away from his career high of 22 which he set last year.

5. Boston College (13-7-1) (9-4-1)

The Eagles will take on Northeastern at Fenway this weekend, and play 11 of their next 13 games away from home. Continue reading this post »

BU 4, Merrimack 2: With Charlie Coyle and Corey Trivino gone, the Terriers have some serious Ewing Theory potential to borrow a Bill Simmons term. BU got four goals from four different Terriers, and Adam Clendening had an assist in his first game back from World Juniors. Josh Myers had his first goal of the year for Merrimack.

Miami 2, Michigan State 1: Connor Knapp stopped 33 of Michigan State’s 34 shots and the RedHawks got a goal from Bryon Paulazzo and the OT winner was supplied by Jimmy Mullin. The win vaulted Miami over Michigan State in the CCHA standings.

Alabama-Huntsville 3, Denver 2: Denver is struggling with some injuries right now but a loss to UAH is still a bad one, though it’s not Denver’s fault: The Pioneers outshot Huntsville 43-20 but Clarke Saunders was on top of things, making 41 saves. Mac Roy had the game winner with under 3 minutes to go in the game.

Cornell 3, Colorado College 1: Andy Iles stopped 39 of Colorado College’s 40 shots (and probably would have come in handy at World Juniors but that’s a topic for another day) as Cornell beat a Jaden Schwartz-less Tiger squad. John McCarron had the game winner, and his first of the season.

Jim Scherr will be named the first commissioner in NCHC history, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. He will be introduced tomorrow in a press conference by North Dakota AD Brian Faison, who seemingly has been the spearhead of the NCHC this whole time.

Scherr is a former USOC boss who resigned (or was forced to resign) just as the US was gearing up for the 2016 vote. His replacement was Stephanie Streeter, a complete unknown (especially to the IOC voters) so good work, USOC!

The South Dakota native was a national champion wrestler at Nebraska and finished 5th at 198 pounds in the Seoul games. Scherr became the USOC head after the fallout of the Salt Lake City bribery scandal, and oversaw the most successful period in Olympic history, as the US broke a record for medals won in an Olympics without a boycott in 2008 with 110. They also won 25 medals in Torino in 2006, the most medals they had won in a European winter Olympics. They then shattered their “road” Olympics medal high winning 37 in Vancouver. The 9 golds each in 2006 and 2010 are a US record for a Games not on US soil.

Player of the Year – Justin Schultz, Wisconsin

As I noted in the Hobey watch post, Schultz has been even better this year than he was last year, when he was a Hobey finalist. He is on pace to surpass his numbers from last year and is currently third in the nation in points per game at 1.56, insane numbers for a defenseman. He’s been good offensively and defensively, and overall has been the best player in the country.

Coach of the year – Mark Osiecki, Ohio State

The former coach and GM of the Green Bay Gamblers and former Wisconsin assistant has been tremendous in this, his second year at Ohio State. The year before Osiecki game to Ohio State the Buckeyes finished 8th in the league. Last year they struggled to a ninth place finish, but this year they sit in first place at the break with 32 points in 14 games, and are ahead of the pace set by the CCHA champions last season. Half of the team’s top 14 scorers are Freshmen, so Osiecki is clearly building a program that will compete for Big 10 titles for years to come.

Freshman of the year – Kyle Rau, Minnesota

At the start of his Freshman campaign there were open whispers as to whether Rau’s style would work in college hockey. People should have known after doubting whether it would work in the USHL, but in case they needed further convincing, all Rau has done is lead all rookies in goals (12) and points (22). He leads all NCAA rookies in goals per game and ranks third in points per game. He also ranks 22nd nationally in goals per game with .6 with 12 goals in his first 20 contests. His stellar play in the first half of the season led to him being a selection to team USA at the World Junior Championships. Continue reading this post »

With the holiday break – and World Juniors – in full swing, it’s time for a midseason reset of who the top candidates are for the Hobey. From this list on in I’m going to be presenting them in somewhat of the order I would vote for them if they ever lost their minds enough to give me a vote. 

Justin Schultz, Jr. D, Wisconsin

Schultz was a 2011 finalist and has been even better this year. His 9 goals and 28 points are on pace to surpass his numbers from last year and he keeps getting better on the defensive side of the ice as well. With the Ducks being as terrible as they are, Schultz is probably talented enough to play on that team right now, but Mike Eaves is reaping the benefits of the BC native’s decision to return to school.

Nick Bjugstad, So. F, Minnesota

Bjugstad’s November shooting percentage was over 34%, which is obviously unsustainable, but he still is fourth nationally in goals per game for a resurgent Gopher squad that is fighting for the MacNaughton Cup. Bjugstad has 10 multi point games this year for Minnesota. Continue reading this post »