The best College Hockey coverage is at CollegeHockeyNews.com http://www.collegehockeynews.com Sun, 11 May 2008 11:03:03 -0400 RSSCreator 1.2 http://www.collegehockeynews.com/images/design/chn2006-text-180px.gif http://www.collegehockeynews.com College Hockey News http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/05/11_wheeler.php Minnesota is losing Blake Wheeler after all. The senior-to-be has decided to leave early to pursue a professional career. It appeared that Phoenix, the team that selected Wheeler No. 5 overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, was not in a hurry to bring Wheeler out of school. But because it's been four years since being drafted, Wheeler can actually be a free agent if he doesn't sign with Phoenix ... Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/04/18_minnesota.php Mike Guentzel, who spent the past 14 years as an assistant coach at Minnesota, has announced his resignation to pursue other coaching opportunities. Guentzel played for the Gophers from 1982-85 and coached the team's defensemen for the past nine years under head coach Don Lucia. Previously, he was an associate head coach under Doug Woog and was a member of Minnesota's national championship teams ... Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/04/10_frazee.php Minnesota junior goalie Jeff Frazee is giving up his final year of eligibility and has signed a deal with the New Jersey Devils, the team that held his draft rights. Frazee, a second-round pick of the Devils in 2005, was a former U.S. World Junior team goaltender, but had lost his starting job this season to freshman Alex Kangas. Frazee played 14 games this season, but his last appearance came ... Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/30_negophers.php Saturday's 5-1 loss to Boston College in the first-round of the NCAA tournament was the final bitter pill that Minnesota was forced to swallow, ending an up and down roller-coaster ride that was their 2007-08 season. The Gophers endured star forward Kyle Okposo leaving school at the Christmas break, and the ensuing verbal thrashing their program took from New York Islanders general manager Garth ... Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/27_neregional.php At DCU Center -- Worcester, Mass. Saturday, March 29 * Air Force (21-11-6) vs. Miami, Ohio (32-7-1), 4 p.m., ESPNU * Minnesota (19-16-9) vs. Boston College (21-11-8), 7:30 p.m., ESPN360.com (tape delay on ESPNU, 1 a.m. on 3/30) Sunday, March 30 * Regional final, 4:30 p.m., ESPNU The Northeast Regional in Worcester is one of the most challenging brackets in the tournament, featuring one ... Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/22_ifthe.php When Holy Cross upset top seeded Minnesota in the opening round of the 2006 NCAA tournament, that was a Cinderella story. When Saint Cloud State upset top seeded Minnesota in the semifinal game of the 2006 Final Five tournament, that was a Cinderella story. So when did the University of Minnesota become a Cinderella story? 2008, that's when. "I think we've enjoyed it," said head coach Don ... Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/21_howeabout.php At a young age, University of Minnesota senior forward Mike Howe, a St. Cloud, Minn., native, was faced with a dilemma: cheer with his hometown or with his heart. "You know, growing up I was a big Gopher fan, but you know, I was also a big Husky fan," said Howe. "It was a tough decision, but like I said earlier, I was always a Gopher fan." And with Howe scoring [[Minnesota]]'s game winning goal ... Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/21_thehotdish.php WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod hopes his league's newly announced midseason "State of Minnesota College Hockey Showcase" will acquire a one-word catchphrase similar to Hockey East's coveted Beanpot tournament. He couldn't come up with much. "It would be great for this showcase to get a name like they have with the Beanpot out East," said McLeod. "With our showcase being in the Midwest, my first ... Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/20_wchafinal.php **No. 1 Colorado College (28-9-1)** Last Broadmoor: Never How they got here: Beat No. 10 Alaska-Anchorage 4-1, 3-2 (OT) What they're playing for: Other than their first Broadmoor Trophy win, the Tigers are looking to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, which will be played at home in Colorado Springs. Right now, they're sitting in one of those slots as the 4th overall seed, but they'll ... Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/20_bracket.php Despite a win in the WCHA Final Five play-in game, [[Minnesota]] is far from out of the woods when it comes to the NCAA tournament. You can use CHN's [[/ratings/yatc.php]]You Are The Committee[\] tool to see for yourself, but there are a number of scenarios where Minnesota is squeezed out due to [[Pairwise]] machinations. They all include Minnesota losing the next two games, to Colorado College ... Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/18_pohlout.php Minnesota forward Tom Pohl is out of intensive care and is in fair condition. According to Minnesota coach Don Lucia, he is expected to be released from the hospital in 3-4 days. Pohl suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain after hitting his head into the boards following a hit during Sunday's Minnesota-Minnesota State playoff game. Pohl was hit by the Mavericks' Jason Wiley as he was ... Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/17_breaking.php Minnesota senior forward Tom Pohl is in intensive care following surgery resulting from an injury suffered in the Golden Gophers' double overtime victory over Minnesota State on Sunday in Mankato. Pohl sustained a skull fracture when his head hit the boards in front of the team's bench at 6:09 of the second period. The injury resulted in bleeding on the brain and Pohl was airlifted to St. Mary’s ... Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/15_mavericks.php It wasn't more than 24 hours ago that No. 15 Minnesota had what some, including myself, described as an almost insurmountable mental edge in its WCHA playoff series against No. 10 Minnesota State. If you're a Gopher fan, you have to wonder who's on the short end of the proverbial "mental stick" now. Entering the game, the Gophers were unbeaten in 20 straight games against the Mavericks. They ... Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/03/13_no2no.php It's a question Minnesota State head coach Troy Jutting and Minnesota head coach Don Lucia have answered plenty of times over the years; who's in net? But the Mavericks' Mike Zacharias and the Gophers' Alex Kangas have helped lay that question to rest with more than stellar seasons. This weekend, the goalies will go head-to-head in the first round of the WCHA playoffs at the Alltel Center in Mankato ... Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EDT