Thanks to all you Hockey East readers out there for following your team in this blog.  It's been a fascinating and fun year, capped off by the league winning its fourth national championship in five years.I'd also like to remind you that I'll be signing copies of Cracking the ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- With Cornell's defeat at the hands of Ferris State in Green Bay two weeks ago, it was ensured that only two teams would finish the 2011-12 season with a victory: the tournament champs (Boston College, as it turned out) and ... Northeastern.The Huskies edged ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Boston College forwards Steven Whitney, Paul Carey, Chris Kreider and team chaplain Fr. Tony Penna talk after the 4-1 victory over Ferris State in the national championship game:[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ldh-6pTubo width=500][youtube_sc ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Ferris State defenseman Brett Wysopal and winger Garrett Thompson talk after the 4-1 loss to Boston College in the national championship game:[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXFBnAd7Of0 width=500][youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4HFL-GzYLE ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- As you're watching the game Saturday, listen as well: There's a very distinctive voice behind the Tampa Bay Times Forum's public address microphone.Gene Honda may be announcing his first Frozen Four, but he's no stranger to the stage. The Chicago native is the regular PA ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- This ain't Seth Appert's first rodeo ... but it is his first time with this particular bull(dog).Rensselaer's sixth-year head coach already has two rings, won as an assistant with George Gwozdecky and Denver in the springs of 2004 and '05. He's been to the Frozen Four ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- In a meeting on Thursday before the broadcast of the national semifinal games, NCAA officials and ESPN production staffers met to improve communication about replays and agreed on a method to let the broadcast crew know what was being reviewed."We've actually ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Here are the line charts for Saturday's national championship game, Boston College vs. Ferris State:BOSTON COLLEGE (32-10-1)9 Barry Almeida-24 Bill Arnold-21 Steven Whitney 19 Chris Kreider-12 Kevin Hayes-17 Destry Straight 13 Johnny Gaudreau-11 Pat Mullane-22 ...

It's hard to believe that the college hockey season will be over in a matter of hours. The Frozen Four this year has been a fantastic event. Tampa has been an excellent host city -- they really know what they're doing here -- and even though the Alabama-Huntsville presence hasn't been very ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- When you hear about microscopes and telescopes, you think of biology and astronomy. Well, you can add Boston College hockey to that list.Over the years, BC coach Jerry York has employed many descriptive devices to vividly make points to his teams. He uses an inverted ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Past Boston College teams have often relied on one or two bellwether stars to shoulder the heavy lifting at crunch time. Players like Brian Gionta and Nathan Gerbe.This year's squad, however, features no such bellwether but exceptional depth that results in a different ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Speed kills. Boston College is fast. Therefore, Ferris State will die.That's the prevailing logic, right?There's no question that the Eagles play a far faster game than do the Bulldogs, and -- seriously -- that may be very bad for Ferris State come Saturday night. ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Boston College Eagles may be appearing in yet another national championship game (the program's fifth in seven years), but the players and coaches remain a long, long way from becoming jaded."We went through this morning's breakfast with the players, and the enthusiasm ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Through 42 games this season, Ferris State has blocked 498 shots. Taking one for the team? Try taking 79 for the team. That's how many times senior defenseman Brett Wysopal has deliberately put himself into the line of fire this season, nearly 16 percent of the team's total ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Much has already been written about Boston College's recent run of success. On Saturday night, the Eagles will be appearing in their fifth national championship game in the last seven years. If they win, they will have earned their third NCAA title in the last five ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- A common theme around Tampa Bay Times Forum on Friday is how much of an underdog Ferris State is against Boston College in Saturday's NCAA championship game. According to those in Las Vegas who know of such things, coming into this weekend the Eagles had 6-5 odds to win while ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- We all know that hockey is a much different game today than it was in 1950, but there's still something striking about flipping through the Frozen Four record book and coming to some of the entries from that season.For one: How did Boston University goaltender Ralph ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Ferris State defenseman Brett Wysopal, center Matthew Kirzinger and coach Bob Daniels talk to the media on Friday, the day before the Frozen Four championship game against Boston College:[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BNh2gRplco width=500][youtube_sc ...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Boston College players Brian Dumoulin and Barry Almeida and coach Jerry York spoke to the media on Friday, the day before the Frozen Four championship game against Ferris State:[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pamJomxRqzE width=500][youtube_sc ...

For the first time since 2008, I'm not at the Frozen Four. While I certainly am not rooting for any of the teams in particular, I have to admit that I'm a bit worried about what might happen if Boston College wins it all. You see, if BC wins another Frozen Four that I don't attend -- they're ...