The University of Michigan had its hockey program on display Friday night when the 2021 NHL Entry Draft saw three Wolverines selected top five overall.

Coast To Coast is FloHockey’s monthly, cohesive news on North American hockey and live-streaming partnerships.

On June 30, WCHA president and men’s Commissioner Bill Robertson will complete his final contract. From that point on the Men’s WCHA, the granddaddy of college hockey circuits will cease to exist after 70 years of play. Robertson, on the other hand, has emerged from a nearly untenable two-year stint as a lame-duck commissioner to take over as president and commissioner of the USHL, America’s premier junior league. FloHockey’s Tim Rappleye caught up with the immensely popular commissioner to hear his tale of surviving and thriving.

The revitalized Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) has made a slew of announcements as the eight-team conference prepares for its inaugural season in 2021-22.

A deeper dive into the CCHA composite schedule reveals a pair of games that elevate the sport of hockey far beyond mere regular-season matchups.

For the six weeks since being introduced to the Minnesota hockey press throng, new St. Thomas coach Rico Blasi has had his phone to his ear. He is not coaching — he is recruiting in the unprecedented moment of NCAA athletics that will be remembered as the “Great Wide Open.” He is cobbling together a Division I virgin program, competing against five schools within The State of Hockey that all went to the NCAA tournament last spring, and he is doing it by himself. Welcome back to college hockey, Rico.

On Saturday, March 18, 1978, Bowling Green from the fledgling CCHA conference hosted and won an NCAA tournament game, defeating Colorado College 5-3. It was the first NCAA victory of any kind for a CCHA team, and it earned coach Ron Mason’s Falcons a trip to the NCAA semifinals in Providence, RI, a major coming-out party for the young league.

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) announced its 104-game conference schedule on Thursday. All eight CCHA teams will play a 26-game conference slate with the regular season champion being awarded the prestigious MacNaughton Cup, recognized as the premiere conference trophy in collegiate hockey.

Damon Whitten’s first coach’s show radio broadcast should have been a time for a victory lap, an opportunity to acknowledge the remarkable accomplishments of his 2021 WCHA tournament champs. And while there were a few platitudes handed out by radiomen Bill Crawford and Matt Pocket, Whitten spent most of Tuesday’s hour-long show explaining the new world order of the transfer portal, and what it will mean to the Lake Superior State Lakers and other small schools going forward. The days of respecting the sanctity of fellow coaches’ players are over.

Coast To Coast is FloHockey’s monthly, cohesive news on North American hockey and live-streaming partnerships.

The era of NCAA free agency has swept through college hockey like a thunderclap. Also known as the “Transfer Portal,” it has delivered both pain and pleasure to Division I teams, depending on what side of the portal you are on.

Minnesota native Bill Robertson took over the helm of the revamped WCHA in 2014. In two months he will be charting new waters as college hockey’s league of distinction for seven decades will cease to exist. FloHockey’s Tim Rappleye got a chance to debrief the man known as Billy Rob following the Frozen Four, a gratifying finale to a most challenging season. 

NCAA hockey media protocol is an emotional meat grinder. Three of the four teams in Pittsburgh will face, and ultimately surrender, to their season’s mortality, a step or two from snatching that coveted brass ring. 

Coast To Coast is FloHockey’s monthly dive into North American hockey and live-streaming partnerships.

Defensemen are an asset an organization can never have too many of, so when free agent NCAA defensemen show maturation professional clubs come calling.