Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel hasn’t allowed more than one goal in her last 11 games (photo: Jim Pierce).
The Hockey Commissioners Association announced Friday the finalists for the inaugural Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award.
The eight finalists for the first Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award advanced from a “watch list” of 21 outstanding netminders. Voting was carried out by a panel of coaches, administrators and media members from across the country.
Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award Finalists
Sandra Abstreiter, Sr., Providence
Kennedy Blair, Sr., Wisconsin
Josie Bothun, Fr., Penn State
Andrea Braendli, Jr., Ohio State
Aerin Frankel, Sr., Northeastern
Kayle Osborne, Fr., Colgate
Loryn Porter, Sr., Maine
Emma Söderberg, Jr., Minnesota Duluth
The winner will be announced in March during the women’s Frozen Four.
UMass junior defenseman Marc Del Gaizo scored while being tripped on a breakaway at 1:59 of overtime as the Minutemen completed a comeback from 2-0 down to upset No. 1 Boston College, 3-2 (File photo: Rich Gagnon)
Marc Del Gaizo’s goal at 1:59 of overtime completed the comeback as No. 9 rallied from 2-0 down to knock off the nation’s top team, Boston College, 3-2.
The goal came on a wild play and only after a video review. Boston College defenseman Drew Helleson tripped down Del Gaizo, who was in the clear behind the Eagles defense. The immediate signal was for a penalty shot, but after video review, was ruled a goal as Helleson brought the puck into the net with him as he slid into goaltender Spencer Knight.
The Del Gaizo game-winner capped a wild game in which Boston College jumped to a 2-0 lead at 15:27 of the second on goals by Matt Boldy and Jack McBain only to allow UMass to climb back into the game just five seconds later.
Bobby Trivigno’s goal off the ensuing faceoff gave UMass life and in the third, a bouncing puck hit Carson Gicewicz on the back and rolled past Knight with 5:49 remaining to force the extra session.
The win for UMass lifts them into second place in the Hockey East Power Index, which will determine the seeding for the Hockey East tournament this season. The Minutemen trail only Boston College, which despite the loss holds onto the top position in the Index.
No. 2 North Dakota 4, No. 11 Omaha 2
Jasper Weatherby’s power play goal with 1:18 remaining broke a 2-2 tie and sent No. 2 North Dakota past No. 11 Omaha for the fourth win over the Mavericks over the last four games.
The power play goal was the third of the night for the Fighting Hawks, which also added a shorthanded goal by Judd Caufield into an empty net with 11.2 seconds remaining.
The victory comes a weekend after North Dakota swept Omaha to clinch the Penrose Cup presented to the NCHC regular-season champion.
The Weatherby goal extends Weatherby’s nation’s-best seven-game goal scoring streak. and gave the Fighting Hawks their 14th win in the last 16 games.
Mark Senden got North Dakota on the board at 7:29 of the first period. But Omaha had an answer 27 seconds into the second on Brock Bremer’s sixth goal of the season.
Jake Sanderson regained the lead for the Fighting Hawks but Jack Randi’s tally with 2:43 remaining evened the game and set up the dramatic finish.
Merrimack 5, No. 8 Boston University 2
Merrimack scored three goal in 2:11 midway through the first period and never looked back, upsetting No. 8 Boston University, 5-2, ending the Terriers four-game winning streak.
Regan Kimens and Declan Carlile started the offensive explosion for the Warriors, who are now 3-0-1 in their last four games after beginning the year 2-10-1. When Patrick Holway scored at 12:20 of the first, giving Merrimack a 3-0 lead, BU goaltender Vinnie Duplessis was pulled in favor of Drew Commesso.
Though the Terriers bounced back almost immediately after the goaltender switch and close the gap to 3-2, Merrimack’s Liam Walsh answered right back.
GOALLLLLL! Liam Walsh with the great tip in front on Dockery's shot and the Warriors take back the two-goal lead!
After a wild first period with six combined goals, both teams successfully shut down the opposition and Liam Dennison’s goal into an empty net was the only remaining tally.
With the loss, Boston University, which entered the day within striking distance of Boston College for the top spot in the Hockey East Power Index, dropped below UMass to third.
Thanks to North Dakota, I went back to three up on Matthew in our picks race. Last week, I was a perfect 3-0, while Matthew was 2-1. On the year, I am 44-23-6, while Matthew is 41-26-6.
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 26 and 28
Miami vs Western Michigan Candace: Western Michigan has killed me when I’ve picked against them this season, and they’re at home, so I’ll pick a sweep. Western Michigan 4-2, 3-2 Matthew: The flippant thing to say would be to refer to my Denver-CC prediction, but I like Western to do better in this matchup than Miami. Western Michigan 4-2, 4-2
Friday, Feb. 26
North Dakota at Omaha Candace: UNO is at home, and that will help, but North Dakota has been on fire. North Dakota 3-2 Matthew: UNO feels like it did better last weekend in Grand Forks than the games’ lopsided scores suggest, but for as much as pressure’s off North Dakota now with the Penrose Cup wrapped up, I’ll take the Hawks. North Dakota 4-2
Saturday, Feb. 27
St. Cloud State at Minnesota Duluth Candace: The battle for second place in the NCHC should be a rip-roaring game. I’ll take the home team. Minnesota Duluth 3-2 Matthew: This should be a really fun game. St. Cloud might be the better team on paper, but I think the Bulldogs will pull out a home win. Minnesota Duluth 3-2
Colorado College at Denver Candace: Denver looked good in Thursday’s win, plus they’re at home, so I’ll go with the Pios. Denver 3-2 Matthew: I picked CC to win at home, but Denver pulled it out. Going for the home team again. Denver 3-1
It’s back to a full conference schedule in ECAC Hockey after a bye last week. Here’s a look at the two series set for this weekend.
Quinnipiac at St. Lawrence
Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m.
St. Lawrence opened the season with a win and shootout loss against Quinnipiac, but the Saints are in a 1-5-1 skid over the last month, including a pair of losses to the Bobcats. Quinnipiac has one regulation loss in its last twelve games and is in position to clinch the Cleary Cup as the league’s regular season champion this weekend. The Bobcats will clinch at least a tie for first place with three more points than Clarkson this weekend and win the regular season outright if they have four more points than the Golden Knights. I’m going by the trends and picking a Bobcats sweep.
Game 1: Quinnipiac 4, St. Lawrence 2
Game 2: Quinnipiac 2, St. Lawrence 1
Clarkson vs. Colgate
Friday 5 p.m. at Colgate
Sunday 4 p.m. at Clarkson
The Golden Knights are back in action for the first time since Feb. 6 following a pause of in-person campus activities as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. Clarkson entered the pause on a respectable 2-1-3 stretch despite only scoring two or more goals twice during that stretch. That’s a little puzzling considering the talent up front for Clarkson, but the Golden Knights have gotten solid play from freshman goalie Ethan Haider, who has a .921 save percentage in league play. Colgate has also struggled to score this season, although the Raiders have also gotten good goaltending from Carter Gylander. This series seems like a split, with the home team winning each night.
Before we get to the final picks of the regular season, here’s what’s at stake in terms of Atlantic Hockey tournament seedings:
The East Pod is set:
1. American International
2. Army West Point
3. Sacred Heart
4. Bentley
5. Air Force (The Falcons go East pod based on their 10th place finish)
6. Holy Cross
In the West Pod, the top three seeds (Robert Morris, Canisius and RIT) will be determined by the results of the Canisius-Niagara series.
– If Canisius takes five or six points, the Golden Griffins will finish first, Robert Morris second, and RIT third.
– If Canisius takes three or four points, Robert Morris will finish first, Canisius second, and RIT third.
– If Canisius get two points or less, Robert Morris will finish first, RIT second and Canisius third.
So the West Pod is:
1. Robert Morris/Canisius
2. Robert Morris/Canisius/RIT
3. Canisius/RIT
4. Mercyhhurst
5. Niagara
Whatever the outcome of the final weekend, the First Round is set. These games are single elimination:
Air Force at Bentley
Holy Cross at Sacred Heart
Niagara at Mercyhurst
This Week’s Picks*: *All games are subject to change. Friday, February 26 and Saturday, February 27 Canisius vs. Niagara Dan: Weird things happen in rivalry games, but I’ll be interested to see what happens over the course of these two matchups. Canisius essentially already has a bye based on Sacred Heart, but I think the ability to win the pod is still a priority for seeding purposes. Like Chris, I see this as a Griffs sweep. Canisius sweeps. Chris: This is the only conference series to go forward this week due to COVID protocols and perhaps teams playing it safe heading into the postseason. It’s a meaningful one, as Canisius can win the West Pod regular season title with five or six points. I think they do it. Canisius sweeps.
Long Island University at Army West Point Dan: One more shot for Brett after a split with Uncle Brian. As we bid farewell to the Sharks for the season, I hope they get a more fair shake next year if/when we return to normal settings. LIU never got that first home game, but I think the first season showed they have some potential as a force to be reckoned with. Army West Point sweeps. Chris: We’ll also end with this non-conference series, the final games this season for LIU, an independent in its first season of play. The Black Nights put the nation’s longest unbeaten streak (8-0-1) on the line, and I think they’ll continue rolling into the playoffs. Army West Point Sweeps.
Here we are, once again, pickin’ Hockey East games can’t deny it, can’t pretend, the schedule keeps changing.
The season is winding down an teams are fighting for position so we have some games to pick.
Friday Feb. 26
UMass at Boston College (Fri. at BC)
The Minutemen have played just once since January 30 and they looked like a team ready to play, posting eight goals on Providence. That won’t be the output against Spencer Knight and the Eagles, most likely.
Jim’s pick: BC 3, UMass 2 Marisa’s pick: BC 4, UMass 2
Fri.-Sat., Feb. 26-27
UMass Lowell vs Vermont (Fri. and Sat. at Vermont)
The River Hawks have lost three of their last four and the Catamounts have lost four of their last five. Something has to give for one of them, and it’s probably the River Hawks.
Connecticut vs Maine (Fri. and Sat. at Maine)
It looked like the Huskies were ready to make a run, entering the rankings for the first time ever, before a string of three losses. They have a chance to make up some ground this weekend with a struggling Black Bears squad.
Jim’s picks: UConn 4, Maine 2; UConn 2, Maine 1 Marisa’s picks: UConn 3, Maine 2; UConn 4, Maine 1
Boston University vs Merrimack (Fri. at BU, Sat. at MC)
Is anyone hotter than the Terriers? Boston University has been on a tear ever since finally getting on the ice this season. Merrimack has been playing some decent hockey the past couple of weeks but that might not be enough against the surging Terriers.
Jim’s picks: BU 5, MC 2; BU 3, MC 2 Marisa’s picks: BU 5, MC 3; BU 4, MC 1
Sat-Sun 27-28
Northeastern vs Providence (Sat. at NU, Sun at Prov)
The Friars haven’t totally lived up to their potential but that contest with UMass on Tuesday was one of their rougher showings. They’ll be looking to make up the difference but Northeastern also needs some wins against a quality opponent.
Jim’s pick: PC 4, NU 2; NU 3, PC 2 Marisa’s pick: NU 3, PC 2; NU 4, PC 2
Wisconsin sophomore Cole Caufield leads the nation in scoring. (photo: Tom Lynn).
It’s the second-to-last week of the regular season. Can you believe it? Picks so far.
Last week
Drew: 4-1-1 (.750)
Paula: 4-1-1 (.750)
This season
Drew: 55-30-3 (.6342)
Paula: 49-36-3 (.574)
This week
It’s a post-points world, as we know now that there will be an unbalanced schedule in the Big Ten because of COVID-19. That means that win percentage is the first determinant of league standings and playoff seedings. Also, the the Big Ten championship has been moved up by a few days. Other than the schedule change, there’s nothing new about this news. Every win counts during seasons when our species doesn’t face an existential threat from a mutating virus, too.
There are two conference series and Arizona State plays Michigan. Penn State is still restricted from playing because of COVID issues, meaning that the Nittany Lions finish February without having played a game in a month. It also means that first-place Minnesota doesn’t play this week, as the Golden Gophers were scheduled to play Penn State.
All games are Friday and Saturday and all times are a local.
Notre Dame at Michigan State
6:00 p.m. Friday, 3:00 p.m. Saturday
The Irish enter the weekend in fourth place after having rebounded from a loss to Wisconsin last weekend with a tie and a shootout point, a point that no longer counts in any real way. The last-place Spartans dropped two to Minnesota last weekend — but don’t let where Michigan State is in the B1G standings fool you into thinking that the Spartans won’t be formidable opponents. These teams played to overtime twice in December, with the Fighting Irish going 1-0-1 in that series. Also, each of these teams has one win in its last six games. Drew and I agree on a split here.
Drew: Notre Dame 3-2, Michigan State 3-2 Paula: Notre Dame 3-2, Michigan State 3-2
Ohio State at No. 5 Wisconsin
7:00 p.m. Friday, 4:00 p.m. Saturday
Last weekend, Ohio State halted a five-game losing streak with a one-goal home win over archrival Michigan before dropping the rematch 6-0. Ouch. With six wins this season, the Buckeyes are a few percentage points out of last place and are working to keep it that way. Meanwhile, the Badgers continue to chase first-place Minnesota after defeating and tying Notre Dame last weekend. These teams split a series in Columbus in early December and split in Madison last season. Neither Drew nor I see that happening this weekend.
Arizona State at No. 7 Michigan
7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Arizona State returns to action following a bye week, with the Sun Devils having last played at Michigan State Feb. 14-15, splitting two one-goal games. Michigan split on the road with the Buckeyes last weekend, rebounding from that one-goal loss with a six-goal win that included five even-strength markers. These two teams met to start the college hockey season in what feels like a lifetime ago — just last November, if you’re keeping track — a series in which the Wolverines outscored the Sun Devils 11-1. The only thing Drew and I disagree on here is final scores.
Drew: Michigan 4-1, 3-0 Paula: Michigan 3-1, 5-1
Twitter!
Follow Drew Claussen (@drewclaussen) and me (@paulacweston) on Twitter and we may just follow back. The real bonus of following Drew is that you get to see photos of his adorable daughter. Fair warning: I post cat pictures.
Alex Frye was set to start his sophomore year at Alaska Anchorage in 2020-21 (photo: Chase Burnett/UAA Athletics).
The University of Alaska Board of Regents announced Thursday it had passed two motions focused on Alaska Anchorage hockey and gymnastics.
The motions extended the fundraising deadlines for the two sports, allowing for automatic reinstatement if fundraising targets are met.
“Today’s board of regents decision honors the work done by our teams, student-athletes and supporters from across Alaska,” UAA director of athletics Greg Myford said in a statement. “They have shown the significance and relevance that our programs have. There is still work to be done in terms of getting to the fundraising goals, but the additional time granted today provides great hope behind the existing momentum. My thanks to the board, President (Pat) Pitney and Chancellor (Bruce) Schultz for today’s outcome.”
Estimated savings to restructure UAA Athletics by eliminating these sports is more than $2 million and is part of an effort to close the gap on UAA’s $7.2 million budget reduction for fiscal year ’22.
The regents reinstated Alpine skiing at their January meeting in response to supporters successfully raising two years of operating expenses. UAA leadership, working in concert with Pitney, requested the extensions for hockey and gymnastics in response to “the tireless fundraising efforts of student-athletes, coaches and alumni, all bolstered by passionate boosters and community supporters, both statewide and nationwide, who have mobilized to raise funds,” according to a press release.
“The outpouring of support for the gymnastics and hockey teams has inspired hope in the possibility these athletic programs may yet survive and thrive at UAA, provided fundraising goals are met.”
For gymnastics, that means raising $444,000 by June 30, 2021 to cover the 2021-22 athletic season. Reinstatement beyond 2021-2022 means supporters must raise an additional year of operating expenses by June 30, 2022.
Hockey will pause for a year to allow for planning, recruitment, scheduling and — most importantly — a move toward a self-sustaining and community-supported model. Supporters must raise $3 million in funds by Aug. 30, 2021, covering two years of operating expenses. To date, they have raised $1,563,183.
The fundraising success of both sports is critical in order to ensure Title IX compliance.
Notre Dame is set to host the 2021 Big Ten postseason tournament in March (photo: Notre Dame Athletics).
The Big Ten announced Thursday that it has changed the dates of the 2021 Big Ten men’s hockey tournament from March 18-20 to March 14-16.
The tournament will take place as previously planned at Compton Family Ice Arena on the campus of Notre Dame.
According to a Big Ten press release, the decision to change the dates of the tournament was made “in order to ease compression between the regular season and postseason tournaments in the interest of the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches and officials.”
The tournament will include Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin, and will consist of six games, with three games on Sunday, two games on Monday and the championship game on Tuesday.
All six games will be carried live on Big Ten Network.
Due to the number of games postponed this season and the limited number of windows remaining to reschedule contests, the Big Ten champion and Big Ten tournament seeding will be determined using the protocol for unbalanced schedules approved prior to the start of the season. The first element of that protocol is winning percentage in Big Ten games, with wins in regulation and overtime counted as wins and shootout results counted as ties for the purpose of calculating winning percentages.
All institutions affected by postponements will continue to work with the conference to identify rescheduling options prior to the end of the regular season.
Daryl Watts, then with Boston College, won the Patty Kazmaier Award as a freshman back in 2018. She is now a senior at Wisconsin and a 2021 nominee (photo: USA Hockey).
The USA Hockey Foundation on Thursday announced the 10 finalists for the 2021 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
The honor, which began in 1998, is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey.
The finalists (in alphabetical order) are: Northeastern senior defender Skylar Fontaine, Northeastern senior goaltender Aerin Frankel (Northeastern), Clarkson senior forward Élizabeth Giguère, Clarkson senior forward Caitrin Lonergan, Ohio State senior forward Emma Maltais, Northeastern junior forward Alina Müller, Wisconsin junior forward Sophie Shirley, Wisconsin senior forward Daryl Watts, Penn State freshman forward Kiara Zanon and Minnesota senior forward Grace Zumwinkle.
Giguère was the 2020 winner.
The selection process commenced earlier this month when NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by multiple coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was returned to the coaches to vote for the 10 finalists. The independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, tabulated the ballots.
The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2021 award, will be chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, an at-large member and representative of USA Hockey. The top-three finalists will be announced on Thursday, March 18.
The presentation of the 2021 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is scheduled for Saturday, March 27. More details around the unveiling will be shared soon.
The award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton from 1981 to 1986. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.
Thursday’s Mercyhurst at Robert Morris and Saturday’s Rochester Institute of Technology at Mercyhurst games have been cancelled per Atlantic Hockey COVID-19 protocols, according to news releases from Robert Morris and RIT.
Only the Friday-Saturday home-and-home Canisius-Niagara series and Army West Point’s non-conference series with Long Island remain on the schedule, bringing the total number of cancelled games in the conference this week to nine.
The single-elimination first round of the Atlantic Hockey conference playoffs is scheduled for Saturday, March 6, and Sunday, March 7.
No. 6 St. Cloud State visits No. 10 Minnesota Duluth in a single, nationally-televised NCHC game on Saturday with conference and NCAA postseason implications. Bulldogs radio voice Bruce Ciskie previews the contest with a look at this year’s UMD team and how they match up against they Huskies.
Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger also look ahead at another NCHC tilt, No. 2 North Dakota at No. 11 Omaha, as well as No. 3 Minnesota State’s home-and-home series against No. 19 Bemidji State in the WCHA, No. 9 UMass at No. 1 Boston College for a game, and Ohio State at No. 5 Wisconsin.
Plus with almost the entire week’s schedule wiped out, playoff positions in Atlantic Hockey’s western pod all comes down to Canisius and Niagara’s home-and-home pair this weekend.
Paul Jerrard has been an assistant with Omaha since the 2018-19 season and came to the Mavericks with NHL experience (photo: Mark Kuhlmann).
More and more, athletes and coaches around the sports world are increasing their commitment to positive cultural changes while making their spheres more welcoming.
The same goes for college hockey, including in the NCHC.
League commissioner Josh Fenton, Omaha assistant coach Paul Jerrard and North Dakota forward Jasper Weatherby are each involved in College Hockey for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, a task force that was unveiled earlier this month but has been meeting since last summer.
NCHC representatives on the task force have been sharing in the media their experiences with the group so far. Weatherby last week spoke with the Grand Forks Herald, and this Wednesday, Jerrard told USCHO about how his involvement with the task force began.
“Josh Fenton talked to me about it, and they wanted to get representation from across college hockey and the different leagues,” Jerrard said. “With some of the stuff that went on in the world outside of COVID, with race issues that happened, everybody wanted to get something done, and I was happy to have that opportunity.
“I really enjoy it, and we have meetings once a week and just talk about a lot of different things, and we have a plan to help grow our game and help people understand that our game is welcoming. Our group wants to make a lasting impression throughout college hockey. Everybody in our group is committed to the long haul and seeing it through and making our game more inclusive for everybody.”
In all, 27 individuals representing the 11 NCAA Division I college hockey conferences are involved in the task force. So far, the group’s Zoom calls have often centered on sharing stories about members’ backgrounds.
“We do a lot of listening to each other, and talk and share ideas about how we want to make an impact,” Jerrard said. “We’ve talked about partnering with other outside entities to help get our message out a little bit more, but it’s just great to have that fellowship and listen to people’s stories.
“Everybody has a different story, but there are a lot of similarities in the stories that we share, and we take that into account with how we want to approach things going forward.”
College Hockey for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion’s mission statement indicates that the group “is dedicated to creating positive cultural change across our sport through communication, education, allyship, and advocacy. Together we are working for a better tomorrow, one shift at a time.”
With people of varying ethnicities and sexual orientations on board, identifying what’s in the shaded area of the proverbial Venn diagram helps the group decide what antiracist, antisexist and additional progressive directions to take.
“It’s just the commonalities that everyone has in their stories,” Jerrard said. “People might have had microaggressions in their heads when they were younger, and you learn about how people got through all that stuff.
“We all have similar stories where we can empathize with people, and that helps you increase the connection you have with these people, because we’ve all kind of been through the same things growing up, just in different avenues.
“One of the biggest things for me, because I grew up in Canada, it’s a lot different from growing up as a person of color in the U.S., and I’m finding that out through the difficulties and the segregation and the policies that have been put in place to oppress a lot of people of color in a lot of these cities,” Jerrard continued. “I’m learning a lot just about why the world is the way it is right now.”
Jerrard has plenty of praise for Weatherby, a white student-athlete with a Black adopted brother from Costa Rica who was found to be the descendant of an enslaved Nigerian, who was taken to Jamaica.
Weatherby’s grandparents, Ralph Temple and Ann Macrory, were both heavily-involved civil rights lawyers, and Weatherby’s mother, Lucinda, protested apartheid at the South African embassy in Washington.
Weatherby and UND teammate Jacob Bernard-Docker kneeled during the U.S. national anthem before the Fighting Hawks’ season opener Dec. 2, protesting against racial injustices and inequities.
“He brings interesting insight,” Jerrard said of Weatherby. “He knows racism firsthand, coming from a blended family, and he’s seen some things so he can share and empathize.
“One of the most important things for us is that we have people from a bunch of different races on our committee, and mixed-race people, but it’s just as important to have Caucasian people stand up and stand beside us. It gives us a lot more credibility, and that we all want to live harmoniously and play this game harmoniously and have it be welcoming for everybody.”
Jerrard also noted Fenton’s involvement with the task force, sitting in on weekly meetings.
“He’s dialed in like everybody there,” Jerrard said. “We’ve got College Hockey, Inc., on there, we’ve got coaches, we’ve got athletic directors, and we’ve got a lot of student-athletes. We have a well-rounded mix of people from all over men’s hockey and women’s hockey.”
More information on the College Hockey for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion task force can be found at the group’s website, collegehockey4DEI.com.
“We’re kicking around a lot of ideas,” Jerrard said. “We want to do something that will be meaningful and impactful, so we’re in no rush to put anything out.
“We made a huge step with the press (conference on Feb. 10) and our website, so we’re just going to continue to meet every couple weeks and share ideas, and I’m sure once a good idea comes out, we can’t wait to hunt it down.”
North Dakota retains Penrose Cup
With two games to spare, North Dakota won its second consecutive NCHC regular-season championship Saturday with a 7-1 home win over Omaha.
After downing the Mavericks 4-1 on Friday in the teams’ series opener in Grand Forks, UND got at least one point apiece from 12 different players Saturday. Collin Adams had a three-point night with two goals and an assist, while Bernard-Docker, Weatherby, Jordan Kawaguchi, Shane Pinto, and Jake Sanderson all had two points in the win. This came after Bernard-Docker, Weatherby, Jackson Keane and Tyler Kleven all scored Friday.
Adams and Bernard-Docker were named this Monday as the NCHC’s offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively.
This is the fourth time that UND has earned the Penrose Cup in the eight seasons that the NCHC has been around. UND has won 19 league titles all-time, between the WCHA and the NCHC.
UND (17-4-1) visits Omaha this Friday and will host the fourth-place Mavericks (13-8-1) again March 5.
Utica senior Conor Landrigan is among five seniors playing for the Pioneers in pursuit of another UCHC title (photo: Utica Athletics).
Between the end of the 2019-2020 season and the current 2020-2021 season, the COVID dynamic has created a variety of challenges for institutions, coaches, and players alike. While some teams and one conference in the D-III ranks in the east are playing real games, all are looking forward to a more normal hockey season in the fall of 2021 and the recruiting process, for many is focused on the seniors who have eligibility options according to NCAA actions during the pandemic. While travel and scouting has been dramatically impacted for coaches, some have started their recruiting pitch with proven entities already with the program and with a desire to play while continuing their education.
“Our seniors are our first recruiting priority,” said Utica head coach Gary Heenan. “Certainly there are some extenuating circumstances for our group in that we won the league two years ago but didn’t get an invite to the NCAA tournament and then last year repeated as UCHC champs only to have the NCAA tournament canceled due to the pandemic. We are playing now in an abbreviated season but know that there is no tournament again this year. Even if we won the league there is no NCAA tournament so our seniors are very motivated to have a chance to play at that national level. So yes, our most important recruits for next year are some very good players sitting in our locker room.”
While the opportunity to play another season and extend to masters level course work at an institution may be appealing to some players, there is a full gamut that senior players are working through on the academic, hockey and life after school emotion range.
“It has been tough for our kids,” noted Anna Maria head coach Dave McCauley. “We are playing, we aren’t playing; we have games on multiple weekends postponed; we have a positive test that quarantines us all away from the rink – it has been disheartening for everybody but especially the seniors who now have to balance life after college and finding a job during a pandemic. We had some seniors opt out early with all the uncertainty. The unfortunate truth is that even the most passionate of players knows they must move on at some point, and the pandemic has made it easy for some players to shift their focus to that next phase. I feel for them since this was not of their doing.”
Still others are mulling their options around an ongoing educational opportunity, a chance to play another season and job prospects after graduation. At Babson a group of five seniors is seeing all factor into their decision process.
“D-III hockey is really the last level of pay-to-play hockey,” said head coach Jamie Rice. “We don’t have scholarships so extending another year to play means another year of tuition. Yes, graduate school here is a great opportunity but most of our kids come here for the opportunity the school gives them for starting their careers in addition to playing hockey. I think we have a couple of players that may come back but have others that already have jobs lined up after graduation and are ready to move on to the next chapter in their lives beyond school and hockey.”
At the end of the day, the decision to come back or go is a personal one with financial implications for many who weigh the costs to play another season vs. the job market and real-world, post-pandemic that awaits them after graduation in the spring. That said, the conversations in the locker room will talk about options and choices and may lead to a number of graduate student players populating 2021-2022 rosters.
On Tuesday of this week, though, Todd Milewski wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal that the Big Ten will likely be moving up the start date of the playoff tournament to Sunday, March 14. That is something that Wisconsin coach Tony Granato let slip, apparently, before anything official had been announced by the league.
In the article, Granato is quoted as saying that “all of the coaches are in support of” moving up the start date of the tournament to buy additional time for Big Ten teams that advance to the NCAA tournament, which is slated to begin at regional sites Friday, March 26. Granato said that a Big Ten title game on March 20 “would be asking a lot of the athletes and put us in a spot that we don’t want to be in.”
The final full weekend of Big Ten play is scheduled for the first weekend in March, and the last regular-season game is a rescheduled contest between Michigan and Michigan State Wednesday, March 10. The Wolverines and Spartans had a game Feb. 9 postponed because of a two-week COVID lockdown of the entire University of Michigan athletic department. It should be noted that the positive tests that precipitated that event came from outside of the hockey program.
The news of a possible change in B1G playoff plans comes coincidentally as Penn State is finishing a month completely devoid of competition.
On Feb. 9, Penn State announced that its series against Ohio State scheduled for the following weekend had been postponed because of positive tests among Tier 1 hockey personnel – players, coaches, anyone who works directly in person with the team – in the Nittany Lions program. Then a series against Arizona State was cancelled, and last week Penn State announced that its scheduled series against Minnesota this coming weekend had also been cancelled outright.
Prior to the positive COVID tests in the Penn State program, the Nittany Lions had a series against Michigan scheduled for Feb. 3-4 postponed because of that pause in the Michigan athletic department. There has been no word yet on when Penn State will return to competition – or about the games still labeled “postponed” on the Nittany Lions’ schedule – but Penn State is scheduled to end the regular season on the road against Notre Dame March 5-6.
Prior to the beginning of this season, the Big Ten published “Protocol for Unbalanced Schedules” at the bottom of its explanations of tie breakers. In the event that some teams might not be able to play all of their scheduled games in the 2020-21 season, the regular season Big Ten champion and seeding of the league’s playoff tournament would rely first and foremost on win percentage in all Big Ten games rather than on points earned.
Minnesota currently has the best win percentage in the conference (.750). Bob Motzko said that he’s treating the cancelled weekend against Penn State like every other bye week he’s had.
“We’ve all been through this before,” said the coach, who doesn’t seem especially worried about the cancelled series. “If we win, we’re good. Let’s win. We’ll figure it out.”
What, then, about that last game of the season, the one that Michigan and Michigan State are scheduled to play March 10? What if the outcome of that game won’t change the win percentages enough to affect the seeding of the Big Ten tournament? If that’s the case, it would make sense to cancel it so that the Wolverines and Spartans have at least as much time as the rest of the B1G field between the end of their regular season and the start of conference championship tournament.
It’s worth mentioning here, too, that in a memo last week, the NCAA outlined its six criteria for seeding the national tournament that include “Strength of Schedule” and “Quality Wins,” two things that seem difficult to quantify given the near-complete lack of interconference play this season.
The memo also suggests that the selection committee will employ degrees of subjective judgement and flexibility in determining the field and the seeding. Jimmy Connelly and I puzzle through this in this week’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback. Given how close we are to the end of the season and what’s happened to Penn State in February, it seems impossible to discuss the end of the Big Ten season without looking at an even bigger picture.
Then there’s this bit of news: The Michigan athletic department announced this past Monday that the field hockey team is postponing its opening weekend of play scheduled for Feb. 26-27 because of COVID-19 protocols.
There is nothing in that announcement connected to the men’s ice hockey team, but the news that the virus is out there circulating among more than one B1G athletic department this close to the end of the season is alarming.
They is actual hockey, too
Wisconsin defeated Notre Dame 4-2 last Friday before the teams tied 5-5 the following night. In that tie, the Badgers led 3-1 going into the third period and would have lost outright without Ty Pelton-Bryce’s tying goal with 27 seconds remaining in regulation.
“We got away from playing the smart game we were playing most of the weekend,” said Granato. “It was a wild third.”
Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said that he liked the way his team responded after doing a “poor job of managing the puck” in the second period. Tying it in the third “was just playing for pride,” said Jackson.
The Badgers are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. The Irish broke a three-game losing streak with that tie.
The Irish did prevail in the shootout, but that additional point does nothing for Notre Dame beyond giving the Irish an emotional lift heading into the final two weeks of the season. With the unbalanced schedule, the tie is a tie and does nothing for the win percentage of either the Badgers or the Fighting Irish.
This weekend, Wisconsin hosts Ohio State and Notre Dame plays Michigan State on the road.
An optimistic split
The Buckeyes broke a five-game losing streak last Friday with a 3-2 home win over archrival Michigan. “Our team, we just keep buying in,” said Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik. “We’ve been working hard. I like our practice habits. It just hasn’t translated.”
Rohlik said that the Buckeyes have been striving to play their best hockey at the end of the season.
“I know it hasn’t looked good at times,” Rohlik said. “We’ve lost some tough games, but you’ve got to learn from that. You’ve got to stick together [in] good times and bad times, and any time you step on the ice, you’ve got to expect to win. That might sound silly for us right now, but you know what? That’s our attitude and we’ve just got to continue to look at it and try to get better.”
The Buckeyes lost 6-0 the following night to the Wolverines, a game after which Rohlik found a positive takeaway.
“We just beat a top-10 team in the country,” he said. “We split with them. We got some things to build on. We’ve got a lot to look forward to next week playing another top-five team in the country.”
Boston University goalie Vinny Duplessis made 40 saves in his collegiate debut as BU topped No. 1 Boston College on Feb. 6 (photo: Matt Woolverton).
Three weeks ago, Boston University freshman goalie Vinny Duplessis wasn’t sure he’d see much — if any — action this season.
Then he was in net against Boston College, the top team in Hockey East, and he shut them down in one of BU’s best wins all season, a 3-1 victory on Feb. 6.
It kind of came out of nowhere — this season, there’s little time to prepare anyways with opponents coming out of the blue and nothing set in stone. So when the moment came the Terriers needed him, Duplessis was already in the mindset to be prepared for the unexpected.
“I pride myself in my career on just kind of adapting to whatever situation I’m thrown into,” said Duplessis. “That was just one of those situations where it was like, we got a good team in front of us, but at the same time I have one of the best teams in front of me as well. I felt prepared for it.”
When Duplessis joined the Terriers he knew there was little chance he saw consistent action. Ahead of him were elite freshman Drew Commesso and sophomore Ashton Abel, who has seen plenty of time in his own right.
Instead, circumstances had it so Duplessis was BU’s last resort, and he’s taken it and ran with it.
His numbers indicate he’s incredibly prepared. In four games, Duplessis has a .962 save percentage and has allowed just four goals en route to four consecutive wins.
It helps the Terriers are on a tear, taking advantage of their few opportunities to play after not starting their campaign until Saturday.
Those delays caused frustration at BU, but once it was time to take the ice, they took everything in stride. Like everyone else, Duplessis is just grateful for the chance to play at all.
“I’m practicing with my team every day, the same guys on this team that are 9-2 for a reason,” he said. “There’s a lot of good players on this team so for me to compete against these guys, that prepares me for when we do get games with other teams.”
After the Eagles game he shut down Vermont to earn his first career shutout, then held them to a single goal.
As if being thrown out there for his collegiate debut against the Eagles wasn’t enough, Duplessis started in net against UConn this past weekend without a backup.
“Every guy has an opportunity every day to show what he can do,” BU head coach Albie O’Connell told reporters after that game. “Especially at that position, you don’t want to just give the guy the reins. He’s got to compete and fight for it.”
For many that would be a ton of pressure, no matter if they’re a rookie or not, but Duplessis viewed it as just another challenge in a challenging year.
“I know some people might have thought like, I’d be like oh my God I can’t be injured or anything,” he said. “But no, I mean like I approach the game the exact same way. It’s something that’s out of my control and usually those kind of things work themselves out, I don’t really focus on them.”
At 21 years old, Duplessis is one of the oldest freshmen in Hockey East and the oldest with BU. He played in the AJHL last season, posting a .912 save percentage with Whitecourt and prior to that spent time in the BCHL.
He had his moments in the AJHL, leading the Wolverines in the postseason with a 1.99 GAA.
Duplessis said the collegiate level is more skilled and the shots are tougher, but it’s allowed him to hone in that much more.
He’s also embraced his role as the “old” freshman.
“I think we have one or two 19 year olds,” he said. “It’s more comfortable because, I’m not saying I’m more mature than these guys but I’m in a position where I can maybe help a little bit with experience and stuff. I’m like the dad of the freshmen.”
No one wants to be in a position where they’re essentially on an island as the only goalie option, but Duplessis handled it exactly like BU could have only hoped.
They’ve gotten lucky Duplessis was ready for these moments, or their season could have turned. Instead, they have a star in the making.
“I love pushing myself and we’ve played some really great teams,” said Duplessis. “It’s something new every week and just having the right mentality is what makes you better.”
Northeastern needs numbers
The Huskies might have the worst luck of any team in Hockey East this season when it comes to strength of schedule.
Matched up with Providence this week, their odds should get a bit better, but Northeastern hasn’t had the best opportunity to improve its place in the standings or Hockey East Power Index with the regular season rapidly coming to a close.
Heading into this weekend, the Huskies have played just six of their 17 contests against a top six team in the new HEPI, lower than any other in the conference at less than 50 percent of their games.
It’s impossible to balance everything with game cancellations and postponements happening at random due to COVID-19, so it’s tough to assign blame, but certainly must be frustrating.
It’s a busy week in the WCHA starting and ending with Alabama Huntsville and Bowling Green as nice bookends over a five-day stretch.
Things are heating up in the chase for the playoffs, and every game now means something to both teams.
Alabama Huntsville at/vs Bowling Green (Wednesday/Sunday)
Jack: It’s going to be a strange week, with games every single day (we already had one Tuesday). This series has a few days between home-and-home dates, which is also strange. The Chargers have been playing better but I can’t see them winning either of these games. Falcons sweep, 4-1, 6-3
Daver: While it is non-traditional, most of this season has been non-traditional, so why not have a home-and-home that goes Wednesday-Sunday? I remain impressed by the Falcons, despite some of their recent shortcomings. The Chargers are still a ways away from being a winning team. Falcons sweep, 3-2, 4-1
Bemidji State at/vs Minnesota State (Thursday/Saturday)
Jack: A big bounce back by the Beavers last weekend against Michigan Tech. They’ll need to win all six of their last games down the stretch here to have any chance of the NCAA tournament at-large bid, one would think. That said, beating the Mavericks twice is going to be a tough ask. I think this is a split. Mavericks win Thursday, 3-2; Beavers win Sunday, 2-1
Daver: Man, the Beavers did some things that defied logic in Houghton last weekend. Get outshot by double each night, yet win both, impressive. I admit, I am curious to see if that same strategy could work against the Mavericks as well. I admit, I am in agreement with Jack on a split here. Mavericks win Thursday, 4-3, Beavers take Sunday, 3-1
Jack: The third of the home-and-home rivalry series this week, the Huskies have won all four games these two teams have played this season. I’d like to think it’s possible for the Wildcats to win at least one, but I don’t think they are going to win both. Huskies win Friday, 4-2, Wildcats win Saturday, 3-2
Daver: No matter what team you are facing, it is tough to win four games in a season against them, let alone five or six. However, I liked what I saw from the Huskies on Tuesday in their win over the Lakers, and I just don’t see the Wildcats taking that next step yet. However, these will be one-goal games. Huskies sweep, 2-1, 3-2
Lake Superior State at Ferris State (Friday)
Jack: These teams are also doing a home-and-home, but the final game (in Sault Ste. Marie) won’t be until March 6. Either way, I can’t see the Bulldogs winning this one. Lakers win 4-1
Daver: Boy, tough night Tuesday for the Lakers over in Houghton. They deserved a better fate than that, but that is the way hockey goes. I have a feeling a game against the Bulldogs at home might be just what the doctor ordered. Lakers win 5-2
Michigan sophomore defenseman Cam York was the captain of Team USA in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship that brought home gold (photo: Michigan Photography).
It certainly is a strange year in college hockey and thus this year’s Bracketology column regarding the selection and seeding of the men’s NCAA Division I ice hockey tournament will be a little bit different than in the past.
Some things will be identical to the past, namely that all six conferences will receive one automatic qualifier for the tournament. All six conferences have identified that this qualifier will be awarded to the conference tournament champion.
But at-large selection of teams will change. Based on the extremely limited amount of inter-conference play, it is very difficult to compare one league to another and thus, one team to another.
The NCAA has attempted to clarify the process. In a memo from the NCAA that was issued on February 16, it states:
“Due to the limited number of inter-conference games played this year, the committee has determined that the statistical value of the PairWise and RPI is not what it is in a typical year. As a result, the committee will not be using a strict PairWise comparisons as the sole determinant for at-large selection and seeding; however, the various criteria that have made up the PairWise and the RPI will be the primary basis for consideration by the committee in its selection and seeding process.
The criteria include:
• Won/Loss Record
• Strength of Schedule
• Head-to-Head Results
• Results vs. Common Opponents
• Quality Wins
• Home/Away Weighting
Due to the unusual nature of this year’s selection process, the committee will institute the use of two regional advisory committees comprised of six members each. Three national committee members from each region, as well as additional coach from each conference in the region, will serve on the regional advisory committees. The representatives were provided to the committee based on recommendations from the conference commissioners. These committees will assist in the observation and evaluation of teams and provide recommendations to the national committee.”
Let’s attempt to translate.
Basically, the PairWise, as we all know it can be thrown out. But the criteria used to establish the PairWise can and will be used to rank teams, particularly within each conference. From there, though, there will be an “eye test” provided by two regional committees that will help the six-member NCAA committee select the field.
Thus, in this year’s Brackteology, Jim Connelly and Jayson Moy will work each week to give their best guesses based on games played to date, which teams should qualify for the 16-team field.
Jim: Well Jayson, given everything we’ve read, my guts says that the best approach might be to identify teams within each of the six conferences should be given consideration.
And while the PairWise itself isn’t being used, I’m going to use it as a guide to determine conference-by-conference which teams I think should be considered.
I’ll start with the six leaders in the conference standings. As we did in past years, for the sake of selection, let’s award these six teams the automatic qualifiers.
Those teams are: AIC (AHA), Minnesota (Big Ten), Quinnipiac (ECAC), Boston College (Hockey East), North Dakota (NCHC) and Minnesota State (WCHA).
From there, I’m going to make a list of other teams to consider in each conference (note: teams must be .500 or higher AND play a minimum of 13 games prior to the tournament to be selected as an at-large team):
Atlantic Hockey: Robert Morris, Canisius, Army Big Ten: Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State ECAC: Clarkson Hockey East: Boston University, Massachusetts, Providence, Northeastern NCHC: St. Cloud, Omaha, Minnesota Duluth WCHA: Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Lake Superior, Michigan Tech
There are a total of 10 at-large bids available, and I have 18 teams on this list above, so I’m going to have to make some tough decisions, not too different from those the committee will be tasked with.
For me, when you can’t make conference-by-conference comparisons, it is important to determine just how strong each conference is. For me, that process includes looking not at the top teams, but the bottom. How many teams have been bottom feeders and elevated the win counts of each club?
For instance, in Atlantic Hockey, Air Force and Holy Cross have a combined six conference wins and 18 conference losses. Compare that to the bottom two teams in the NCHC, which have a combined nine wins and 29 losses. Or the WCHA, where the bottom two teams have just three conference wins and 18 conference losses.
It’s not an exact science, but nothing will be this year. I think it’s a decent way of measuring how strong a conference is.
So I’ve given personal grades to the strength of each conference, taking into account the number of strong teams in the conference as well as the number of weak teams:
NCHC: A Big Ten: B Hockey East: B ECAC: C* AHA: D WCHA: D
I put the asterisks next to the ECAC because it has just four members this year with eight teams sitting out this season. For me, that conference deserves one bid and should only get two if the automatic qualifier is not the top team, Quinnipiac.
I’ll then try to allot bids based on the strength of each conference.
That’s my process. Before I give a field, Jayson, why don’t you outline your process.
Jayson: Yes, it certainly is a strange process and I think there will be a lot of people out there who will say that this year we are back to the smoke-filled room.
But, I am sure the committee will be as fair as possible.
I am going to agree with you in the fact that you have to look within each conference and see who is worthy within each conference. Just how do you do that, I am not sure.
I like your attempt at grading the conferences based on the strength of the teams within the conference, but, I am not really sure. You can also say that because teams like Holy Cross and Air Force have so many conference losses because the teams at the top are so much stronger. Conversely, in the NCHC, you can argue that the records are more even because there are no strong teams and there is parity.
So while I like the idea of a grading system, I am not sure that would be the way I would go because it involves some sort of bias as well.
This year you can honestly say that there is no way of knowing which conference has stronger teams than others. It is just statistically impossible.
If I am the committee, I would look at all six conferences equally since no one knows the relative strength within the conference. I think it’s unfair to draw conclusions based on previous seasons (e.g. Atlantic Hockey only had 1 bid in x number of years, so they must be a weaker conference) and I think it’s also unfair to penalize the ECAC because eight teams decided to opt out.
Therefore, I would go with this:
– Each conference gets two bids – no matter what. If the Regular Season champion and the Tournament champion are different, you have fulfilled your quota. If the Regular Season champion and the Tournament champion are the same, you still get one more bid from your conference. If I am the committee, I designate that as the second place team in the regular season. This guarantees the strongest teams in my opinion
– This leaves four “at-large” bids
How would I determine who the remaining four bids go to? I would prioritize and then select.
Here is my Selection Criteria:
– Regular-Season Champion (6 bids)
– Tournament Champion (0-6 bids)
– Second-Place Teams (0-6 bids)
– Third-Place Teams (0-6 bids)
By this point the field should be selected.
Now, we have to determine how to select amongst the second place teams, etc.
That’s where we need to look at who they have beaten (e.g. how many times did they beat the regular season champion? Lost to the last place team? Etc, etc, etc.)
That’s how I would choose the field this year.
It’s equitable, it’s fair, takes no bias into account and leaves the meaningless statistics out of it for this year.
Jim: So I agree that there should be a balance, and at some point this season, I was highly in favor of the two bids per conference. And though my approach ultimately reaches that mark, I’m not sure I totally agree. I would be okay with only one AHA or WCHA team making the field if AIC and Minnesota State each win their tournaments.
The reality is, I see this 16-team field:
Minnesota State
Boston College
Minnesota
North Dakota
Boston University
Quinnipiac
Massachusetts
St. Cloud
Wisconsin
Michigan
AIC
Bemidji State
Connecticut
Providence
Minnesota Duluth
Omaha
I have controversy, no doubt. Technically, UConn can’t be in the field at 8-9-2. So it is possible to replace the Huskies, but I think at the end of this if they win some games, the UConn team needs consideration. Other than that, I am non-apologetic.
What do you say, Jayson?
Jayson: I can see it, but let’s face it, this year, controversy will reign supreme and I do not know if it will ever avoid not having an asterisk appear next to it.
If I look at my method, I get (winning percentage for standings in this case):
AHA: AIC, Army
Big Ten: Minnesota, Wisconsin
ECAC: Quinnipiac, Clarkson
Hockey East: Boston University (I will assume they get to the required number of games), Boston College
NCHC: North Dakota, St Cloud
WCHA: Minnesota State, Lake Superior
Now we need to add four more teams. Let’s look at the third-place teams:
Robert Morris
Michigan
Colgate
Massachusetts
Omaha
Bemidji St
Let’s rank by winning percentage/GP in conference:
Robert Morris (.667/15 GP)
Michigan (.556/18 GP)
Colgate (.429/14 GP)
Massachusetts (.675/20 GP)
Omaha (.614/22 GP)
Bemidji St (.562/8 GP)
We can eliminate Colgate because it is not over .500. That leaves four spots for five teams.
Going by winning percentage it looks like Bemidji St over Michigan for the last spot.
Since I have thrown out all debate and arguments and gone strictly with numbers, it is Bemidji St for me.
My 16 teams:
AIC
Army
Robert Morris
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Quinnipiac
Clarkson
Boston College
Boston University
Massachusetts
North Dakota
St. Cloud
Omaha
Minnesota State
Lake Superior
Bemidji State
The Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation announced Wednesday the three finalists for the 2021 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented annually to college hockey’s “finest citizen” for leadership in community service.
Jacob Adkins and Andrew Walker, Sophomore Forwards, UMass Boston
It all started with two pairs of roller blades and a friendly wager.
UMass Boston men’s hockey sophomores Jake Adkins and Andy Walker found a positive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they teamed up to become the “Men In Blades.”
The duo rollerbladed nearly 900 miles from Boston to Mason, Mich., this past summer to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS). Over the course of their journey, the pair raised over $30,000 for the ACS and raised awareness of the many charities that needed continued donations in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.
Josh Kosack, Senior Forward, Union
Two years ago, a chance encounter with a teenage fan at an away game inspired Union senior forward Josh Kosack to create “Kozi’s Kids,” an initiative that gives local Schenectady children a chance to experience a college hockey game – many for the first time.
Through the program, which utilizes unused game tickets and concession vouchers from Union players, Kosack arranges for transportation to a Union men’s hockey game, gives children a tour of the locker room before the game, and also answers questions from the children about life as a college student and a student-athlete. The nature of Kozi’s Kids changed dramatically this year due to the pandemic, but that did not stop Kosack from giving back to the community in different ways.
Without hockey games to bring local children to this season, he singlehandedly raised more than $5,000 to purchase Christmas presents for Schenectady children this past holiday season. And in the same week that his team received word that its 2020-21 season was canceled, Kosack delivered more than 100 coats to a local Schenectady charity as part of a drive he initiated on campus.
Even without a season of his own, Kosack still went to work helping others get through a challenging time.
Delaney Wolf, Senior Defense, Saint Mary’s
Wolf, a two-time finalist for the award, has proven to be a team leader from the minute she stepped on the Saint Mary’s campus.
Voted a team captain as both a junior and a senior, Wolf is beloved by her teammates, coaching staff and Saint Mary’s professors — because they all know she is going to bring her best to whatever she is asked to do.
Despite balancing the rigors of carrying a 4.0 GPA as a double-major in Biochemistry and Spanish and playing collegiate hockey, not to mention playing the French horn in the university band, Wolf finds time to give back — tutoring fellow Saint Mary’s student-athletes, hosting team meals, mentoring youth hockey players in the Winona association, and spending countless hours participating in local volunteer work both in her hometown of Bismarck, N.D., and in Winona, Minn.
Amanda Conger from Saint Anselm was honored as the 2020 recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award.
The 26th recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award will be honored in a ceremony on Friday, April 9 as part of the men’s Frozen Four weekend in Pittsburgh.
Additionally, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation will make a donation to the charity most important to each of the three finalists. These donations are made possible with the generous support of the award’s partners and donors.
Per Atlantic Hockey COVID-19 protocol, the Niagara-RIT game on Wednesday, February 24, has been postponed.
No makeup date has been announced.
The two-game series between Niagara and Canisius is still scheduled for February 26-27, with both teams flipping the home-and-home dates. Game one will be played on Friday, February 26 at Dwyer Arena at 7:30 p.m. with game two at the HarborCenter on Saturday at 7 p.m.
RIT is scheduled to take on Mercyhurst this Saturday, February 27 at 7:05 p.m. in Erie, Pa.
Thursday’s Mercyhurst at Robert Morris and Saturday’s Rochester Institute of Technology at Mercyhurst games have been cancelled per Atlantic Hockey COVID-19 protocols, according to news releases from Robert Morris and RIT.
