College Hockey: Breaking Up is Hard

There’s a lot of college news breaking right now. Here are a few items of interest.

First, the Miami RedHawks have a new head coach. On Friday, Miami University announced that Chris Bergeron, who led Bowling Green State University to the NCAA tourney for the first time in 29 years, is returning to his alma mater. In nine season with the Falcons, Bergeron had a 171-154-44 (.520) record. Bergeron will make 360,000 annually with the RedHawks. It will be interesting to see what happens to assistant coach Peter Mannino.

“On behalf of my family and myself, I want to say a very sincere ‘Thank you’ for the last nine years,” Bergeron said in release from BGSU. “Your unconditional support from our early rebuilding years to the turnout last Saturday in Allentown has meant more to me than you will ever know. The last few days have been very difficult for me because President (Rodney) Rogers, Bob Moosbrugger and Jim Elsasser stepped up and showed their commitment to Falcon hockey. Having to choose between two places that I love dearly has been the toughest decision I have ever had to make. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this program that means so much to all of you. We are extremely proud that we are leaving the program better than we found it.”

Frozen Four Schedule

Thursday, April 11
5 p.m. ET: Minnesota Duluth vs. Providence (ESPN2/TSN2)
8:30 p.m. ET: Denver vs. Massachusetts (ESPN2/TSN2)

Saturday, April 13
8 p.m. ET: Championship Game (ESPN2/TSN Streaming)

Hobey Hat Trick

We now have the Hobey Baker Hat Trick. The Hat Trick is made up of three defensemen: Jimmy Schuldt, SCSU, Cale Makar, UMass, Adam Fox, Harvard

Congratulations to the 2019 Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists

Jimmy Schuldt (@SCSUHUSKIES_MH)
Cale Makar (@UMASSHOCKEY)
Adam Fox (@HARVARDMHOCKEY)

Check out player profiles athttps://t.co/suXYUdPyZ8#hobeybaker #voteforhobey #ncaahockey pic.twitter.com/Xz1WSu2WHZ

— Hobey Baker Award (@HobeyBakerAward) April 4, 2019

Early Departures

Colorado College junior goaltender Alex Leclerc has left the Tigers and signed a professional deal with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. That’s a big loss for the Tigers.

ASU Sun Devils junior goalie Joey Daccord signed with the Ottawa Senators and made his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres. The Senators lost 5-2.

When the St. Cloud State Huskies take the ice next season, they will be without five of their top-six players. Following their first round loss to American International, junior forward Ryan Poehling signed an entry level deal with Montreal Canadians. s/t to the (montrealgazette.com)

When Bergevin was asked why he decided to sign Poehling now, the GM said: “He’s ready to turn pro in my opinion … in our opinion. Our assessment of the young player from what he’s done the last few years, we feel it’s best suited for him to turn pro and start his pro career becoming an NHL player.”

Poehling said the Canadiens did have an influence on his decision to leave college.

“Going back to draft day, they took a chance on me, so it’s not just my decision — it’s also their decision, and I think we talked about it quite well and I think we kind of came to common terms.”

All-CHN Teams

Last Tuesday, College Hockey News Announced their All-CHN Teams. No one from UND made the list. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference checks in with three players from the conference (SCSU 2, CC 1) teams.

All-CHN First Team
F Patrick Newell, Sr., St. Cloud State
F Taro Hirose, Jr., Michigan State
F Alex Limoges, Soph., Penn State
D Cale Makar, Soph., Massachusetts
D Jimmy Schuldt, Sr., St. Cloud State
G Cayden Primeau, Soph., Northeastern

All-CHN Second Team
F Ryan Kuffner, Sr., Princeton
F Nico Sturm, Jr., Clarkson
F Rem Pitlick, Jr., Minnesota
D Adam Fox, Jr., Harvard
D Chase Priskie, Sr., Quinnipiac
G Joey Daccord, Jr., Arizona State

All-CHN Rookie Team
F Joel Farabee, Boston University
F Tyler Madden, Northeastern
F Sammy Walker, Minnesota
D Marc Del Gaizo, Massachusetts
D Bryan Yoon, Colorado College
G Dryden McKay, Minnesota State