Thursday, October 3, 2024
Puck Drops This Weekend in NCAA DI Hockey
October has arrived and it’s after all time to drop the puck.
The 2024-25 NCAA Division I males’s hockey season will get underway in earnest this weekend, starting with six regular-season video games Friday and a complete slate of motion Saturday and Sunday.
Sixty-four groups start the yr with one final purpose: achieving the 2025 NCAA Frozen Four at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
Below are probably the most best storylines to look at this season.
CHI Preseason Media Kit (.pdf) | National Polls
Poll Position:
Defending NCAA champion Denver, winner of 2 of the closing 3 nationwide championships, used to be ranked No. 1 in each the USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live preseason polls. Last yr’s nationwide runner-up, Boston College, used to be ranked No. 2 in each polls. Preseason ECAC Hockey favourite Cornell used to be the one different college to obtain first-place votes in both ballot.
The Pioneers go back extra offense than another group within the country:
Most Returning Goals
Denver – 129
Michigan State – 102
Cornell – 101
Boston College – 98
Bentley – 87
Most Returning Points
Denver – 328
Boston College – 303
Michigan State – 278
Cornell – 266
New Hampshire – 252
Swan Songs:
A trio of mythical school head coaches introduced all the way through the summer season that the 2024-25 season could be their ultimate yr at the back of the benches in their respective techniques.
- In mid-June, Cornell trainer Mike Schafer introduced his plans to retire following the impending season. A 1986 graduate of Cornell, Schafer has guided his alma mater to 542 wins throughout 29 seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament on 14 events. Longtime Clarkson head trainer Casey Jones, Schafer’s collegiate teammate, used to be named affiliate head trainer will take the reins of the Big Red following the 2024-25 marketing campaign.
- Less than two weeks later, Notre Dame trainer Jeff Jackson additionally introduced his coming near near retirement. Jackson, who leads all lively NCAA Division I males’s hockey coaches with 589 occupation wins, will surrender this system to affiliate head trainer Brock Sheahan after the season. Jackson has guided the Fighting Irish for 19 seasons following a six-year run at Lake Superior State, the place he led the Lakers to NCAA titles in 1992 and 1994.
- Then in August, Army trainer Brian Riley introduced he would step down following his twenty first season in West Point, thus bringing to an finish a mythical generation for the Riley circle of relatives and Army hockey. Brian took over the reins from his brother Rob, who coached Army from 1986-2004. Prior to that, their father Jack had helmed this system since 1951. When affiliate head trainer Zach McKelvie takes over in 2025-26, it’s going to formally mark the tip of 75 consecutive years of the Riley circle of relatives main Army hockey.
Meet the New Boss:
At the opposite finish of the training spectrum, seven males’s techniques welcome new head coaches in 2024-25: Bowling Green (Dennis Williams), Clarkson (JF Houle), Lindenwood (Bill Muckalt), Miami (Anthony Noreen), Northern Michigan (Dave Shyiak), Princeton (Ben Syer) and Stonehill (David Berard).
All however Shyiak and Berard are first-time Division I head coaches. Shyiak led Alaska Anchorage from 2005-13 after a decade as an assistant at NMU, whilst Berard used to be the pinnacle trainer at Holy Cross from 2014-21.
Century Club:
Four avid gamers input the season with 100-plus occupation issues, even supposing they might quickly be joined by means of a number of different skaters:
Career Scoring Leaders (lively)
130 issues – Lukas Sillinger, Arizona State
101 issues – Carter Wilkie, North Dakota
106 issues – Jack Devine, Denver
102 issues – Lynden Breen, Maine
97 issues – Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Ohio State
94 issues – Ayrton Martino, Clarkson
93 issues – Nick Poisson, Providence
87 issues – Jack Ricketts, Quinnipiac
84 issues – Four avid gamers tied
Behind the Benches:
After 9 seasons competing as an NCAA Division I unbiased, Arizona State joins the NCHC as a complete convention member in 2024-25. The Sun Devils are coming off a program-best 24-win season, their 3rd 20-win marketing campaign since 2018-19.
Key returnees come with fifth-year F Lukas Sillinger (Regina, Saskatchewan), who leads all lively Division I males’s avid gamers with 130 occupation issues, and junior G Gibson Homer (Grand Rapids, Mich.), whose .931 save share closing season tops all returning Division I goaltenders.
Feeling a Draft:
College hockey rosters will function 232 NHL draft alternatives in 2024-25 with 40 other colleges rostering no less than one NHL draft pick out this season.
Most Draft Picks Playing NCAA Hockey
16 – Minnesota
13 – Boston University, Denver, North Dakota
12 – Boston College, Harvard
11 – Providence
10 – Minnesota Duluth
College hockey participant construction has led to report numbers of NCAA alumni taking part in within the NHL lately, together with 326 in 2023-24. Additionally, 15 of the NHL’s 32 present basic managers performed school hockey, as did 13 of the league’s 32 head coaches.
Young Terrier Pups:
Boston University freshman D Sascha Boumedienne (Stockholm, Sweden), who gained’t flip 18 till January 17, is the youngest participant in NCAA Division I males’s hockey in 2024-25.
It marks the second one instantly season BU has rostered the country’s youngest participant after closing yr’s eventual Hobey Baker Award winner, Macklin Celebrini, spent his complete freshman yr as a 17-year-old. Celebrini used to be later selected No. 1 general by means of San Jose within the 2025 NHL Draft.
For extra storylines, click on HERE for the 2024-25 College Hockey Inc. Preseason Media Kit.
Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders
Must Read:
BelfastGiants.com: U.S. College Ice Hockey Tournaments to Return to Belfast in 2025 and 2026
College Hockey News: Veremyev Dismissed Doubters, Now Wants to Lead CC to Title
College Hockey News: Alfond, Maine a Hit Again
College Hockey News: Davis, Denver Prepare for (Another) National Title Defense
College Hockey News: The Life of the Rileys
Duluth News Tribune: UMD’s Will Francis getting back from bone marrow transplant
EP Rinkside: NCAA hockey season preview: Can Boston College go back to the Frozen Four?
FloHockey: James Hagens, Logan Hensler Lead 2025 NHL Draft Prospects in College Hockey
Grand Forks Herald: Brad Berry says ‘it’s time to complete the activity’
New England Hockey Journal: Inside Quinnipiac’s plan to stay a countrywide name contender
New York Hockey Journal: Princeton in ‘great hands’ with Ben Syer as new trainer
The Fifty Athletes: Minnesota Duluth’s Will Francis
USCHO: New identify, similar objectives for rebranded convention heading into new marketing campaign
USCHO: Cornell, Quinnipiac stay ECAC favorites, however others nipping at heels for Whitelaw Cup
USCHO: New-look CCHA taking a look at giant image with Augustana becoming a member of, St. Thomas leaving in 2026
Must Hear:
CHN Insiders Podcast: Featuring new Clarkson head trainer JF Houle
College Hockey Today: 2024-25 Season Preview
Parting Schotts: Union trainer Josh Hauge previews the season
The CCHA Show: Previewing the season plus interviews with BSU’s Jackson Jutting, MTU’s Jack Works
UND Hockey Podcast: It’s time for a sport
Conference Websites
Atlantic Hockey | Big Ten | CCHA | ECAC Hockey | Hockey East | NCHC
College Hockey Inc. Resources:
Did you understand? 93% of NCAA Division I males’s hockey avid gamers earn their level!
