NCAA Rankings: Remembering the early thrills

As in every sport, some teams just don't live up to expectations during the course of the season. This week's power rankings remembers those teams and looks at the teams that have lived up to or surpassed their expectations. We will start this week’s power rankings with a premature...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Tuesday, February 21 2012

NCAA Rankings: What makes Ferris so special?

Last weekend saw a slew of top teams fall at least once in intraconference match-ups. As a result, we had to blow up last week’s rankings and start anew. Taking the top spot are the owners of the nation’s longest unbeaten streak, now at 12 games after a sweep of Notre Dame. 1. Ferris...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Monday, February 13 2012

Is NCAA role model for concussion prevention?

The NCAA requires players to wear full cage masks and regardless of player sentiment, it does not have a major concussion problem. That places it way ahead of the NHL, which has yet to get tough enough on the issue. Ask any college hockey player about the full cage masks that the NCAA requires...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Saturday, February 11 2012

NCAA Rankings: Who's afraid of the big Black Bears?

Don't like the way the rankings in the NCAA look? Just wait five minutes and they'll likely change. This week sees Maine and Ferris State on top, while traditional powerhouses like Minnesota and North Dakota see themselves slipping to the middle of the pack. The state of Minnesota has long...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Tuesday, February 07 2012

For Lowell, it's finally fast and fun

Puck possession has become the standard for some of the NHL's best teams. The style may reach many colleges but for Mass-Lowell they already have adapted and are getting the wins. Going into Friday night’s games, the best shot differentials in the NHL belonged to Pittsburgh (7.5 more...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Saturday, February 04 2012

NCAA Rankings: Conference races tighten up

As college hockey teams hit the final month of the regular season, conference races are far from settled. In the extremely competitive CCHA, just five points separate the top seven teams. Just four points separate the top six teams in Atlantic Hockey, and Hockey East has five teams within...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Tuesday, January 31 2012

NCAA: Who's next to lift the little bronze skater?

There's still a few weeks left in the season, but it's not too early to take a look at the frontrunners for college hockey's Heisman. In his landmark novel “This Side of Paradise,” author F. Scott Fitzgerald described the character of Allenby as “slim and defiant, as if aware...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Friday, January 27 2012

NCAA Rankings: Succumbing to the numbers

We’re not as smart as computers, and computers right now are saying the best college hockey team in the country sits a stone’s throw from Fenway Park. We won’t argue and stir the pot, though Boston may stir up the Beanpot in the coming weeks. Let’s all say it together:...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Tuesday, January 24 2012

NCAA: Terriers once again rule East

Losing two top stars would set most teams back a notch or two. Not with Boston University, where veteran coach Jack Parker's Terriers have begun rolling after hitting a rocky patch. The true measure of any good coach is how he leads a team through adversity. Herb Brooks took an undertalented team...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Saturday, January 21 2012

NCAA Rankings: Cream rises back to the top

At the end of last season, Michigan and Minnesota-Duluth were the two teams left standing in St. Paul. The new season could have a wild finish in store, but for now the same two schools top the power rankings. College hockey is now just two months away from NCAA Tournament selection Sunday, and...

Steve Wozniak | News/Futures Watch | Monday, January 16 2012